CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me

Chapter 201 - 163: The Taste of Being Cruelly Abandoned (Part 2)

"Emma, my head is killing me!"

Willow Summers wailed. One of her friends quickly asked, "What’s wrong? You’re pregnant! You have to take care of yourself!"

"From writing her spicy scenes, of course!"

Lillian Huxley answered for her with complete certainty. "She only ever gets a headache this bad when she’s writing those scenes!"

"Spicy scenes...?"

Naomi Shaw was confused. Lillian Huxley smiled and explained, "Doesn’t she write erotic novels? In her line of work, they call writing about lovemaking ’spicy scenes’ or ’setting sail’!"

"Oh..."

Naomi Shaw replied, a little embarrassed. ’Lovemaking? How would you even write that?’

Willow Summers slammed her hand on the table at Lillian Huxley. "Lillian Huxley, I do not write erotic novels, okay? Could your kind of erotic novel get published? The novel I write is titled *Deeply in Love*, you know? Such a profound title! Hmph!"

"And that’s only because my Mr. Rhodes and I made it happen for you!"

Lillian Huxley took an elegant sip of her drink, calmly shutting her down. Willow Summers was instantly speechless. She just huffed and shot Lillian a glare. Naomi Shaw and Shani Linton, who was sitting nearby, both pursed their lips to hide a smile. They were all used to the way Willow and Lillian interacted.

「The day before the ceremony」

After work, Julian Donovan took Naomi Shaw to a boutique to pick up their custom-made outfits. Naomi had no idea he had arranged all this. Staring at the magnificent gown, she was stunned. "Why go to all this trouble?"

"You’ll find out when the time comes!"

He smiled mysteriously and nudged her into the fitting room to try it on. He realized he was growing more and more fond of surprising her. He loved seeing her so happy that her eyes crinkled with laughter.

The gown fit her perfectly, with its flowing skirt and stylish cut. The boutique belonged to Sue North, the reigning queen of Wincastle’s fashion scene. Any design of hers was guaranteed to be on the cutting edge. The dark purple color made Naomi’s already fair complexion look as smooth as porcelain, making her radiant and captivating. Paired with a set of magnificent, sparkling jewelry and exquisite makeup, she stood there like an elegant queen, leaving everyone breathless with admiration.

Julian Donovan was both stunned and delighted—stunned by her beauty, and delighted that such a beautiful woman belonged to him. Naomi felt shy under his and the staff’s admiring gazes, so she hastily fled back to the fitting room to change.

When she came out of the fitting room, Julian Donovan approached her with a wide smile and wrapped an arm around her. "Do you like the dress?"

She nodded. "It’s beautiful. I’ll have to properly thank Miss North!"

’She never knew she had such an elegant, coolly beautiful side to her.’

The words had barely left her mouth when Julian Donovan’s phone rang. He let go of her and stepped aside to answer it. A moment later, he walked back over, frowning. "You can take the clothes and head home first. Something’s come up and I have to go out."

Seeing the grim look on his face, she said softly, "Okay. Try to come home early tonight."

Julian Donovan nodded and turned to leave. His subordinate had just called to report that they had found the woman who impersonated her to kill Charles Donovan. But... she was already dead. The police found no evidence of foul play at the scene and would have to wait for the coroner’s examination to determine the cause of death.

Even without any proof, he was certain Sean Donovan was behind it. Things had reached this point. Sean Donovan had clearly lost his mind. Any one of the crimes he had committed was enough to get him the death penalty.

Julian Donovan got home a little after eight that evening. As soon as he walked in, Dylan ran up to him, his little face etched with worry. "Dad, I think Mom’s in a bad mood. She didn’t eat dinner and just went upstairs. I think I heard her crying in the bedroom..."

They had been staying at Julian Donovan’s villa for a while now. Her old apartment was a bit small, and Dylan and Joy couldn’t keep sharing a single bedroom, so they had simply moved in here.

She had been reluctant to leave the small apartment, but Julian Donovan had comforted her, "I’ve already bought that apartment. For when we want to have some time to ourselves in the future..."

Julian Donovan frowned. "Crying?"

Dylan nodded solemnly. "I think so. Joy and I called for her, but she wouldn’t open the door, so I put my ear against it and listened for a bit!"

Julian Donovan’s face darkened instantly as he rushed upstairs to the bedroom. As expected, the door was locked from the inside. He knocked urgently, calling her name, "Naomi!"

There was no response. He didn’t have the patience to keep knocking. Just hearing that she was crying had thrown his heart into chaos, so he went straight downstairs to get the spare key.

She was lying on the large bed, having only taken off her coat. Her small face was stained with fresh tears. His heart ached as he helped her up and pulled her into his arms. "What happened?"

She raised a hand to wipe the tears from her face and gave him a faint, pale smile. "It’s nothing. I was just overthinking things..."

His sharp gaze swept over her face. "Be good and tell me the truth. Why were you really crying?"

Her tears flowed even faster. She wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in his shoulder, and whimpered endearingly, "I was just thinking about everything I have now... It all feels so unreal, this happiness. And then I got scared that it might all disappear one day..."

Her explanation seemed plausible enough for Julian Donovan to believe her, at least partly. It wasn’t just her; even he, a grown man, sometimes found his eyes stinging with tears when he thought back on all the bitter and sweet moments they had gone through to get here.

He gently raised a hand to wipe away her tears. "You really are just letting your imagination run wild."

"Dylan said you didn’t eat dinner. Let’s go downstairs and get you something to eat."

He tried to coax her up from his embrace, but she just hugged him tighter, refusing to let go, and mumbled into his chest, "I’m not hungry. I don’t want to eat."

"You have to eat even if you’re not hungry."

He pulled her out of his arms with a helpless smile. She was suddenly acting as willful as a child. But he liked it. He liked it when she acted this way, needing him to coax and comfort her.

She stared at him, her eyes shimmering with tears. Suddenly, she moved forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and tremulously pressed her lips to his. Her soft lips, her fragrant little tongue... it was like a sweet poison that instantly destroyed his self-control.

Of course, he wasn’t going to refuse such an invitation. He held her, rolled over, and pressed her down onto the large bed. "Are you sure you don’t want to go downstairs and eat?"

She said nothing, only tightened her arms around his neck, pulling him down. Her actions were her answer.