CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 49: Returning Home (2)

"Hey, Donovan, that’s not right of you. That girl just now said you ditched your wife on your wedding night and came to Meridia. That’s cold, man!"

Julian Donovan suppressed the anger he’d felt for being forgotten by her. He took a sip of his drink and said nonchalantly,

"It’s not like I love her..."

Felix Draper indignantly lectured him,

"If you don’t love her, why did you marry her? Now that you’re married, you have to treat her right!"

Julian Donovan shot Felix Draper a furious glare. He couldn’t begin to explain the tangled mess of his relationship with her. Felix Draper was used to a life of freedom and thought you could just refuse to do anything you didn’t want to. He believed that he would either never marry, or if he did, it would be to a woman he truly loved.

One day in the future, when Felix Draper was forced by his old man to marry Sarah Sutton, a woman he didn’t love, Julian Donovan would mercilessly throw these very words back in his face. And every time Felix complained to their friends about his own loveless marriage, Julian would never hesitate to mock him with the harshest, most cutting remarks.

Unsettled by Julian’s glare, Felix Draper awkwardly picked up his drink and moved to another seat. ’Damn, what a piercing gaze. He looks like he could kill somebody.’ Caleb Rhodes chuckled, raising his glass.

"Feelings can be nurtured over time, you know. When you have a chance, you should go back and see your wife!"

Julian Donovan’s expression stiffened. Henry Hale, on the other hand, let out a long sigh before declaring boisterously,

"Come on, let’s drink! Nothing beats a good drink!"

The four of them clinked their glasses and downed their drinks.

After the party ended, Julian Donovan went back to his apartment. The feeling of being forgotten by her earlier that night gnawed at him, and the more he thought about it, the more irritated he became. But he was too proud to call and confront her. When Ken called to give him a work update, he finally couldn’t hold back and asked,

"How has she been lately?"

Ken answered dutifully,

"Very well!"

Julian Donovan asked through gritted teeth,

"What do you mean, ’very well’?"

Ken reported truthfully,

"It seems she’s eating well, drinking well, and sleeping well. She’s even put on a little weight. Every morning, she goes to the hospital to accompany Ian Shaw. In the afternoon, she has tea and chats with friends, and at night, she reads and studies!"

"So she really is doing ’well’!"

Julian Donovan gave a cold snort, slammed the phone down, and threw himself onto his large bed.

Perhaps her gentle, fragile presence by his side these past two years had given him the wrong impression. He had assumed her world would collapse without him. So, hearing that she was living such a tranquil and composed life left him feeling a profound sense of disappointment. He didn’t understand that he only had the right to be proud before her when she loved him. Now that she didn’t, he was nothing at all.

When Naomi Shaw was almost five months pregnant, Ian Shaw took a turn for the worse. It was only then that she dialed Julian Donovan’s number for the very first time. She had saved it after that earlier phone incident to avoid any more embarrassing mix-ups, but she’d never had a reason to use it. He had never called to demand why she hung up on his friend, and she had never called to explain. They had simply remained out of contact.

She deliberately called when it was daytime for him. She was afraid that if she called at night, she might overhear something intimate, or worse, have another woman answer. She refused to give him any opportunity to hurt her. As it happened, Julian Donovan had just woken up when her call came in. He had been up until nearly dawn the previous night working on a project and had slept straight through to noon.

His eyelid twitched when he saw the caller ID. Any lingering grogginess vanished instantly. Remembering the last phone call, his first instinct was to angrily reject it. But in the end, he forced himself to answer, though his tone was anything but friendly.

Hearing his hostile tone, Naomi Shaw smiled self-deprecatingly. ’He really detests me. Even after all this time apart, he still speaks to me like this.’ But she wasn’t in the mood to dwell on it. She chose her words carefully, trying to sound as natural as possible.

"Sorry to bother you."

Julian Donovan listened, sensing something was off. It took him a moment to pinpoint it: she hadn’t called him "Julian" in her usual soft, gentle way. Her distant tone was jarring and unfamiliar. Her dispassionate voice continued,

"My father’s condition has worsened these past few days. The doctors have issued several critical condition notices. For the sake of the complete trust he’s placed in you all these years, I was hoping you could come back to see him one last time. If this disrupts your studies or causes you any inconvenience, then I apologize."

Julian Donovan didn’t know why, but her words ignited a sudden rage in him. Perhaps it was her detached tone, or perhaps it was something else entirely.

"Naomi Shaw, so you finally remember I exist? What is it now? You need me to play along with one of your acts again?"

Naomi Shaw fell silent for a moment before her voice turned icy.

"You already put on the act of marrying me. What’s one more performance to see him off?"

With that one short sentence, Naomi Shaw hung up the phone. ’He was right,’ she thought. She had asked him to come back just so they could put on one final act of a loving couple for her father, allowing him to pass on without any worries.

Julian Donovan stared at his phone where the call had been disconnected, shocked and enraged. ’How dare she talk to me like that? How dare she hang up on me? Is this her idea of asking for a favor?’ He was so furious he felt like his lungs would burst. He wanted to strangle her. But she was far away in Thailos, and with no other outlet for his rage, he furiously hurled his phone aside.

But his anger was one thing. If Ian Shaw was truly on his deathbed, he had to go back. After all, the man had been his mentor. Even if he refused to play along with her act, it was the right thing to do. After taking care of a few things, he flew back to Thailos the next day. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

When Julian Donovan arrived at the hospital, Naomi Shaw was the only one in Ian Shaw’s room. Her father was hooked up to a myriad of tubes. Peering through the window, Julian saw Naomi, towel in hand, gently wiping her father’s face and hands.

She wore a sleeveless, pale blush dress, her expression focused and serene. She had started growing her hair out two years ago, and it now fell loosely over her shoulders, strands occasionally slipping forward as she moved, lending her an air of gentle grace. She had put on a little weight as Ken had said, but she was still slender. As she stood up, he noticed the slight swell of her belly. The thought that her small body was nurturing a new life made his heart soften considerably.

He knocked and entered. She looked up, a little surprised to see him, then offered a faint smile.

"You’re here."

That one phrase was their entire greeting. She then turned and bent down to continue tending to her father. ’Naomi was, in fact, quite surprised to see him. After their phone call, she had been sure he wouldn’t come. But whether he came or not, she no longer had the heart to care. Her world had narrowed to this one person, the family she was about to lose.’

Julian was taken aback by her indifference. Ever since he’d met her, she had always greeted him with gentle words and a shy smile. He cleared his throat in embarrassment, stepped closer, and asked,

"How is he doing?"

Naomi stopped her work. She straightened up, her gaze still fixed on her father as she answered softly,

"The doctor said he doesn’t have much time left..."

Julian couldn’t see the look in her eyes, but he heard the profound sadness in her voice. Perhaps it was that, or perhaps it was the sight of Ian Shaw, so gravely ill, that thickened the air with sorrow. On impulse, he reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Don’t be too sad..."

Startled by the sudden intimacy of the gesture, Naomi instinctively recoiled, dodging his touch. She had never imagined he would comfort her so gently, and it unsettled her. Realizing her reaction had been a bit extreme, she lowered her gaze to dispel the awkwardness.