novelraw Chapter 200 - 163: The Taste of Being Ruthlessly Abandoned
Chapter 200 - 163: The Taste of Being Ruthlessly Abandoned
In the past, she was either pregnant with Joy or taking care of her. When would she have had the time to enjoy a snow scene like this? More importantly, her heart had been tied in knots all those years. She had always hated him, yet she loved him, too. Now, all that love and hate was far behind them. Able to receive his wholehearted love, her state of mind was naturally beyond compare to how it used to be.
Julian caught up to her in just a few steps, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight. He lowered his gaze to her flushed cheeks. "From now on, I’ll bring you to see the snow every year!"
It wasn’t some flowery sweet talk, just a simple promise, but it was enough to touch her heart. She nestled in his arms, tilted her face up to look at him, and nodded earnestly. "Mmm..."
’Every year from now on.’ In truth, that promise carried a lot of weight.
The two of them didn’t linger long in the small town. After breakfast, they rushed back to Wincastle. The Donovan Group had been officially acquired by Mercy, and just as Julian had predicted, Sean Donovan gave up all his shares and left with nothing.
On the way back, Julian received a call from the subordinate in charge of the acquisition. After getting a general update on the situation, he said to Naomi, "Don’t go to work at the Donovan Group for the next few days. Come be my assistant at Mercy for a while. My assistant has been trying to resign lately, says she wants to go to Sutton to become a celebrity!"
His assistant, Reina Draper, had been wanting to resign for a while, but he hadn’t approved it because so much had been going on.
"Huh? Be your assistant?"
Naomi was surprised. Julian smiled. "Besides, I need to restructure things at the Donovan Group first. You can go work there after everything is sorted out."
"Alright..."
Naomi felt he had a point, so she agreed. In truth, Julian had arranged this for his own selfish reasons; he wanted to keep her by his side, to watch over her and have her near him every day.
The hot springs trip had made their bond even stronger. The hurt Naomi had suffered from Sean Donovan’s scheme had been masterfully soothed away by Julian, who had successfully found his way deep into her heart.
Mercy’s aggressive takeover of the Donovan Group merged Wincastle’s two most famous private hospitals into one. A grand ceremony was, of course, indispensable. In reality, Julian had planned this celebration long ago. He had originally intended to use it to spite Charles Donovan after the acquisition, but unexpectedly, Charles had kicked the bucket before Julian could make his move.
But the ceremony still had to go on—as a message for Sean Donovan. Although Sean had vanished from the public eye since the takeover, Julian knew he was definitely watching, ready to launch another attack at any moment.
He had another reason for holding this ceremony: to publicly reveal her true identity. She was not Anna Quinn, not Sean Donovan’s fiancée. She was his woman, Julian Donovan’s. She was the mother of his two children. Her name was Naomi Shaw.
He also established a foundation in her name, "The Shaw Love Foundation," dedicated to helping autistic children. It was a gift for her and Joy. Even though Joy wasn’t truly autistic, he wanted to do more good deeds like this to accumulate good karma for Naomi and their two children. After all, he had done too many bad things in the underworld.
But no matter how bad he had been, he had always stuck to one principle: never get involved with drugs.
He planned to invite all of Wincastle’s elite to the ceremony, so Julian placed extreme importance on it. He personally oversaw every detail, and though it left him exhausted, he happily threw himself into the work.
For the occasion, he even had formalwear custom-made for himself and Naomi. He would wear a high-end, custom-tailored black suit with a dark purple shirt, while she would have an evening gown in the exact same shade. He once thought of her as being as pure as a white lotus, but now he felt she could effortlessly carry a color so elegant and regal.
Naomi had no idea he had arranged all this. Her life lately had been simple and happy. She went to work with him at Mercy during the day and came home at night to lovingly care for their two children and him. When she didn’t feel like cooking, she’d go over to Jean Coleman’s for dinner. Occasionally, Willow Summers would invite her out to eat with their friends, and on those occasions, Julian and Caleb Rhodes became bona fide "daddy-nannies."
One day, while she was out with Willow Summers and Lillian Huxley, she noticed Willow sitting with her hand pressed to her forehead. "Willow, what’s wrong?" Naomi asked with concern. "You don’t look very well."