CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 24: You’re an Even Bigger Scumbag (2)

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: You’re an Even Bigger Scumbag (2)

Julian Donovan dragged Naomi Shaw by her slender wrist all the way into the courtyard, where he threw her arm aside and roared in a fit of uncontrollable rage.

"Naomi Shaw, do you have any idea what you’re doing?"

’It would have been one thing if they had just woken him up in the middle of the night,’ he thought. ’He could let that slide; it was no big deal for young people to get a little rowdy. But the moment he walked in and saw her leaning on that boy’s shoulder, a wave of uncontrollable anger washed over him. It was clear his warning from the other day had gone in one ear and out the other!’

Naomi Shaw didn’t have the courage to face his anger. She stood with her head lowered, anxiously rubbing the wrist that ached from his grip. Still, she recklessly muttered under her breath,

"What I do is none of your business..."

’Since he thinks I’m worthless, why should he care about what happens to me?’

"What did you say? Say that again!"

Julian Donovan didn’t even know where all his rage was coming from tonight. His roar was thunderous, and when he saw her visibly flinch, he reined in his temper slightly and said to her coldly,

"Nothing to do with me, is that it? Fine! I’ll show you something!"

With that, he strode toward his house. Naomi Shaw timidly glanced up at his back, which was rigid with anger, and hesitantly followed him inside.

His face a cold mask, Julian Donovan brought his laptop downstairs, booted it up, and plugged in a USB drive. Lips pressed into a thin line, he said nothing as he roughly pulled Naomi Shaw, who was standing beside him, over to look at the screen.

It was a video of the boy from earlier singing karaoke with a group of friends. In the clip, one of his friends asked him,

"Hey, since when did you change your type? Now you’re into innocent little bunnies like Naomi Shaw?"

A smug grin spread across the boy’s face.

"Her dad’s the head of The Shaw Dominion, man. Ian Shaw only has one daughter. If I can win her over, you think The Shaw Dominion won’t be mine one day?"

"You sly dog, you’ve really got it all planned out. You’ll get to skip twenty years of struggle!"

The whole group erupted in laughter.

"How did you get this?"

After watching the video, the color drained from Naomi Shaw’s face and she collapsed weakly to the floor. ’How could this be? How could this happen? That gentle, considerate boy who seemed so respectable... was nothing but a despicable schemer.’

’She remembered Julian Donovan’s warning from a few days ago to be wary of people with ulterior motives. Back then, she’d thought he was just being cruel, and had deliberately gotten even closer to that boy out of spite...’

At this thought, she curled into a miserable ball and buried her head in her knees. ’I’m such a failure,’ she thought. ’The man I like can’t stand me, and the one who says he likes me is just trying to use me.’

"I trust my judgment of character far more than yours!"

Julian Donovan stood looking down at her imperiously. He had seen the boy’s ill intentions at a glance and had someone keep an eye on him.

The way she was curled up, hiding like an ostrich, only infuriated him more. Assuming she was crying, he began to berate her harshly.

"What’s there to cry about! Do you even have the right to cry? You’re lucky nothing serious happened this time. It’ll be too late for tears when it does! For God’s sake, can’t you be a little more discerning when it comes to men? How could you fall for a scumbag like that?"

Naomi Shaw, who had been burying her head in her knees, suddenly shot her head up and said indignantly,

"Then doesn’t that make you an even bigger scumbag!"

*Naomi has defied him several times now. Would you call this torturing Donovan?*

’Julian Donovan froze for a second before her words sank in. Ah, right. She was into him, too. In scolding her, hadn’t he just called himself a scumbag as well? He never expected her to have such a sharp tongue. The comeback made him fume.’

"Things with The Shaw Dominion are already a chaotic mess. Can’t you just keep your head down out here and stop causing more trouble for your dad and for us? And another thing, if you keep making trouble like this, I’ll personally drag you back to The Shaw Residence and force you to stay under your father’s watchful eye!"

The things that boy in the video said about her hadn’t made Naomi cry, but this one sentence from Julian brought tears to her eyes. ’How could his words be so ugly? What does he mean, asking if I can keep my head down? When have I ever not been well-behaved? And he says I’m making trouble? What trouble have I ever made? I’ve always thought of myself as obedient and sensible.’

The most scathing, cruel words Naomi Shaw had ever heard had all come from him. In that moment, her tears began to fall like beads from a broken string. Julian Donovan couldn’t stand this childish behavior. His brow furrowed in displeasure as he snapped at her,

"Why do you just start crying at the drop of a hat?"

’This was exactly why he disliked girls with her personality—they were like children who needed to be coddled. Juliet Jennings was never like this. If she had an issue with him, she would confront him directly instead of trying to solve things with tears. And most importantly, Juliet Jennings was strong; she wouldn’t burst into tears at the drop of a hat.’

Naomi Shaw already felt deeply wronged, and Julian Donovan’s harsh tone only made her more upset. The tears flowed uncontrollably. Julian, feeling he was about to lose his mind, tossed the tissue box in front of her.

"Can you just stop making a scene?"

’Of all the things he could say, that was the one Naomi Shaw hated most. The phrase "making a scene" made her sound so immature and unreasonable. But wasn’t he the one hurting her with his words? Did she not have the right to cry when she felt wronged?’

"How am I not keeping my head down? How am I making trouble? That boy was chasing *me*, it’s not like I was interested in *him*! You didn’t even get the story straight, so what right do you have to lecture me like this?"

With that, she scrambled up from the floor and ran for the door. Her little burst of temper drove Julian mad. He reacted in a flash, catching up and yanking her back, pinning her against the doorframe.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Naomi huffed sullenly.

"Home!"

Julian Donovan gritted his teeth.

"After seeing that video, you can still go back and face that guy?"

She fell silent at once, leaning against the door with her head bowed, biting her lip as she choked back sobs.

"Can you just stop crying!"

Julian commanded irritably, which only made her tears flow faster. He was completely at a loss. He seriously wondered how her petite frame could hold so many tears. Left with no other choice, he raised a hand to her chin, tilting her face up as he leaned in close.

"Believe it or not, I have other ways to make you be quiet."

It worked. She immediately stopped sobbing and looked up at him in terror. Her watery eyes were as innocent as a frightened rabbit’s. In that instant, he stamped out the flicker of desire that had just sparked within him—the urge to capture her soft pink lips in a fierce kiss.

He let her go.

"I’ve made myself clear. From now on, you’d better be careful. Go to sleep."

With that, Julian turned and went upstairs. Behind his back, Naomi Shaw pouted before climbing onto the sofa and curling into a ball. A few moments later, she heard his footsteps coming back down. A blanket landed on top of her. Without a word, he turned and left again.

Naomi looked down at the blanket; it seemed new. She didn’t have the energy to think about it anymore. Her body was already beyond exhausted. She pulled the blanket over herself and fell into a heavy sleep.

*I know you’re all saying how terrible it is that Donovan doesn’t love Naomi. But think about it: if he could so easily forget the crush he’s chased for two years and transfer his affections to Naomi, would he even be worthy of being the male lead?*

When Naomi Shaw woke up the next morning, Julian Donovan was nowhere to be seen. His car was gone from outside. She had wanted to thank him. After all, no matter how harsh his words had been last night, he was the one who helped her see that boy’s true face.

When she returned to her own apartment, Lara Nash rushed over and asked worriedly,

"Naomi, Julian Donovan didn’t do anything to you last night, did he?"

Seeing how furious Julian Donovan had been last night, Lara Nash had been half-convinced he was going to eat Naomi Shaw alive. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Naomi Shaw shook her head and told Lara what happened with the boy. Later that day at school, Lara found the boy and beat him so badly he was crying for his parents and begging for forgiveness. But Lara wasn’t done yet. Naomi barely managed to pull her off him. Eyes bloodshot with rage, Lara roared at the boy, "Don’t you ever let me see you again! If I do, I’ll beat you every single time!"