CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 101 - 99: You’ve Always Been Like This (Part 1)

Chapter 101: Chapter 99: You’ve Always Been Like This (Part 1)

"No explanation needed. This is exactly what it looks like!"

Willow Summers figured it out, too. So Julian Donovan had played the victim to trick her, and in turn lured Anna Quinn here. She couldn’t help but curse resentfully,

"Damn, that old fox!"

Looking up at Anna Quinn, she saw her expression had soured as well. Willow Summers asked glumly,

"What do we do now?"

Anna Quinn thought for a moment, then said calmly,

"Forget it. Since it has come to this, let’s just face it head-on."

’He’s already cornered us in his house. It’s too late to hide or run. I might as well see what he’s really up to. We’ll just have to deal with whatever comes our way, right?’

Dylan wrapped his arms around her neck and said, as if facing a formidable enemy,

"Mom, don’t worry. I’ll protect you!"

She couldn’t help but laugh. She raised a hand to ruffle Dylan’s hair, comforting him.

"Mom isn’t as fragile as you think!"

’Isn’t that right? In the few times we’ve met since we saw each other again, I’ve had the upper hand, haven’t I?’

In high spirits, Julian Donovan parked his car and walked in. The butler greeted him with a report,

"Ms. Summers and a friend of hers are here to see the young master—"

"I know!"

Julian Donovan cut the butler off before he could finish and strode quickly upstairs. The butler frowned again. ’He knows? Is he some kind of psychic?’

Julian Donovan hurried upstairs to Dylan’s bedroom door. He raised his hand to knock but felt a strange sense of nervousness—an emotion a man his age really shouldn’t be feeling.

He took a deep breath, then knocked.

"Dylan, are you in there?"

The door was opened from within. The face he longed for day and night appeared before him, her expression serene. He feigned surprise.

"Ms. Quinn? What are you doing in my house?"

"I’m with Willow Summers, visiting a little patient."

After letting him in, Anna Quinn turned and walked back into the room. Julian Donovan followed right behind her, completely ignoring Willow Summers and Dylan, who were standing off to the side.

"Oh? And what’s this little patient to you? Why make a special trip just to see him?"

Anna Quinn sat down on the edge of Dylan’s bed.

"We’re connected. Willow Summers brought him over to my place for dinner yesterday."

Julian Donovan pressed on,

"Oh? I wonder why Willow Summers would take him to your house for dinner?"

’He thought he could finally force her to admit her identity.’ But she just coolly threw a line back at him,

"Because I’m a good cook!"

He was too annoyed to speak. She smiled at Dylan.

"Isn’t that right, Dylan?"

Dylan nodded with great solemnity.

"Yeah, Willow Summers said she had a friend who was a good cook, so I went with her!"

"That’s right, that’s right!"

Willow Summers chimed in from the side as well. Julian Donovan gritted his teeth in frustration, but there was nothing he could do. The three of them were clearly a united front, stubbornly refusing to let her reveal her identity.

Of course, he wasn’t one to be trifled with either. He smiled, looking perfectly mild and harmless.

"Now that Ms. Quinn mentions it, I’d almost forgotten. The other day when I treated Joy, you still owe me a home-cooked meal, don’t you? Since my son loves your food so much, why not make lunch for us here today?"

Both Willow Summers and Dylan glared unhappily at Julian Donovan. Anna Quinn, however, calmly accepted.

"Alright."

’She didn’t have any other motive. She just didn’t want to be indebted to him. She hoped that after this meal, they would be even.’

"We just bought some fresh fish, it’s in the fridge. Why don’t you make spicy fish with pickled mustard greens?"

’Julian Donovan hadn’t forgotten. The man on the phone that day had asked for spicy fish with pickled mustard greens.’ Anna Quinn just gave a faint smile.

"Alright."

’But inwardly, she sighed in resignation. ’Why is he putting himself through this? Spicy fish with pickled mustard greens is a spicy dish, and he can’t even eat spicy food.’’

Seeing her agree, Julian Donovan turned and walked out, satisfied.

Willow Summers was furious.

"Anna, that old fox Julian Donovan is obviously giving you a hard time! How can you be so patient? Why aren’t you angry at all?"

She just smiled.

"It’s not that I’m good-tempered. When we were together, it was because I cared too much about his feelings. I tolerated everything I could and could never bear to argue or get angry with him."

"Now, it’s because I don’t care anymore. Since I don’t care, I feel there’s no need to be angry. The world is a beautiful place, so why should I let some irrelevant person make me unhappy?"

Julian Donovan, who hadn’t walked far, overheard her words from outside. His handsome face instantly turned cold. ’So her words were basically an admission of her identity... but she dared to call me an irrelevant person?’

He gritted his teeth, thinking furiously, ’An irrelevant person? Fine! Naomi Shaw, you win this round!’

Hearing Anna Quinn say that made Willow Summers’s heart ache. Having been through her own share of love and heartbreak, she knew you couldn’t just decide to forget someone or stop caring. For Anna to be this calm, there was only one explanation: her heart was dead to him.

She glanced at Anna Quinn, who was gently watching over Dylan, then turned and left, giving the mother and son this rare, precious time together.

Julian Donovan was standing by the window, sulking and smoking a cigarette. She walked over and took a jab at him without hesitation.

"Don’t you have a lot to do at the hospital?"

Julian Donovan shot her a glare, but she was unfazed.

"Julian Donovan, was it really worth it, using tricks to lure her here?"

Julian Donovan ignored her. He stubbed out his cigarette and headed upstairs, his face a cold mask. She followed him, calling out nervously,

"Hey, hey, Julian Donovan, what are you trying to do?"

Julian Donovan walked straight into Dylan’s room, strode over, and yanked Anna Quinn to her feet. His tone was frigid.

"Anna Quinn, we need to talk!"

Before Anna Quinn could react, he was already dragging her out of the room. Dylan scrambled after them, tightly gripping her other arm. Julian Donovan whirled around and glared angrily at Dylan.

"Dylan Donovan, what are you doing?"

"Don’t you dare bully her!"

Dylan protested, huffing with anger. Anna Quinn gave him a gentle smile.

"Dylan, it’s okay. Let go."

’It’s just a talk. It’s not like he’s going to eat me alive, is it?’

Though reluctant, Dylan obediently listened to his mom and let go. Anna Quinn was dragged out by Julian Donovan. Willow Summers, who had followed them in, couldn’t say anything. ’Let them talk,’ she thought. ’Seeing Anna’s mood, Julian is bound to get shut down.’

Julian Donovan dragged Anna Quinn into his bedroom next door. Willow Summers, who had been watching, turned to Dylan and exclaimed,

"Emma, why are they talking in your dad’s bedroom? What if things go south and he tries to force himself on her?"

Dylan rolled his eyes at her.

"Can you think of something proper for once?"

Willow Summers shook her head smugly,

"According to all the novel tropes, this is exactly the kind of situation that leads to him forcing himself on her!"

Dylan was left speechless. Meanwhile, Willow Summers tiptoed over to the adjacent room and pressed her ear against the door to eavesdrop.

After dragging her into the bedroom and kicking the door shut, Julian Donovan finally released her. He lowered his gaze to look at her, but Anna Quinn kept her eyes downcast, staring at the red marks his grip had left on her wrist, refusing to meet his gaze.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Her posture, with her head bowed and eyes downcast, was just as it had always been, yet now she radiated an icy indifference from head to toe. This made a fire of anger flare up in Julian Donovan’s chest, and his tone was just as heated.

"Since you and Dylan have reunited, there’s no point in hiding your identity. So I’ll just ask you one question: Naomi Shaw, if I try to win you back, will you come back to me?"

’She stood there with her eyes lowered, feeling a profound sense of despair. ’This is his idea of winning me back? Still so high and mighty, still so domineering and arrogant, still so dismissive of my feelings. Does he really think that kind of pain can be wiped away with a single, careless sentence?’’

’Actually, it wasn’t really his fault. They had gotten used to this imbalance between them. He was used to his pride, his arrogance, his conceit. He would never understand how to truly love someone. But she no longer wanted to be the person who had to teach him. So, she raised her eyes to meet his and calmly refused.’

"I’m sorry. I’m doing just fine now."

’His eyes held the anger she’d expected. ’See? There it is. His high-and-mighty self must feel that his pride has been wounded by my rejection. He probably thought all he had to do was say the word and I’d come running back to him, overjoyed, didn’t he?’’

A small smile played on her lips.

"Is there anything else? If not, I’m going to go see Dylan."

He didn’t respond, just continued to glare at her with that displeased look. She was about to leave when he suddenly grabbed her arm.

"I think, for Dylan’s sake, you should at least try to accept me again."