CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me

Chapter 202 - 164: Undercover

When Julian Donovan woke up the next morning, she was no longer beside him. The suit and shirt he planned to wear today hung neatly on a hanger by the headboard, her gown hanging right next to them. It was as if he had returned to those years when she took such thoughtful care of him—waking up each morning to a perfectly pressed and coordinated outfit, then going downstairs to find a delicious breakfast waiting for him.

Sure enough, when he had finished getting ready and came downstairs, she was just placing the last side dish on the table. Their two children were already seated properly at the dining table, dressed in brand-new formal attire. He was taking them with him to the ceremony today, where he would announce their relationship to the world.

He walked over, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her forehead. "Why didn’t you sleep in a little longer?" he said softly. "I could have made breakfast."

Ever since he had bulldozed his way into her small apartment, he had always been the one to get up and make breakfast. All she and the children had to do was wait to eat.

"I couldn’t sleep anymore. Breakfast is ready, so sit down and eat."

A flicker of something akin to pain crossed her eyes, but before he could get a closer look, she had already turned to the kitchen for the bowls and chopsticks. He could only push aside his confusion and sit down at the table.

The meal itself was a happy, harmonious affair, aside from her zoning out several times. This distracted, almost haunted look of hers persisted all the way to the ceremony venue, showing no signs of improving.

Backstage, Julian Donovan frowned at her. She was already in her gown, her makeup perfectly done. "Naomi, you don’t seem right."

She gave him a little push and smiled. "It’s just because I’m so tired from last night."

"It had better be."

He gave her one last, deep look before turning to leave and greet the various dignitaries and elites who had come for the ceremony.

Caleb Rhodes and the others had all arrived, each with a beautiful partner on his arm. The women gushed over how elegant and captivating Naomi Shaw looked today, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

The ceremony began with him on stage, speaking with his usual debonair, humble elegance. From the audience, she watched him without so much as a blink, as if trying to permanently sear his image into her mind.

She didn’t register a single word he said, her gaze fixed solely on him. Then, it seemed he was inviting her to the stage. She was in such a daze that she stumbled on her way up, nearly falling before he strode over and steadied her.

He took her hand, led her to the front of the stage, and smiled at the audience. "And now, I’d like to introduce the charming woman beside me. She is—"

"That won’t be necessary."

She cut him off before he could finish, her voice frigid. Shoving his hand away, she gave him a cold smile. "Julian Donovan, did you really think I would forgive you so easily for all the pain you’ve caused me?"

"What do you mean?"

The color drained from Julian Donovan’s face. He stared at her in utter disbelief. The woman before him felt like a complete stranger, cold and distant.

The smile on her face grew colder, more mocking. "I don’t mean anything by it. I just wanted you to taste what it’s like to fall deeply in love with someone, only to be ruthlessly thrown away!"

A roar filled Julian Donovan’s head. He stumbled back several steps, then lifted his gaze to her, his eyes filled with a bleak, devastating pain.

It wasn’t just Julian Donovan who was reeling. In the audience, those who knew the tangled, on-again, off-again history of their relationship were frozen in place. Caleb Rhodes, Felix Draper, Willow Summers, and the others could only stare at the stage in stunned disbelief.

From what they knew, Julian Donovan had planned to publicly acknowledge her and their two children today, which would in turn give them a proper, official standing. If she agreed, he would have taken her to get remarried immediately, but she had never seemed particularly enthusiastic about the idea.

Julian Donovan took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. He stepped forward to take her hand, but she recoiled, stepping back to avoid his touch. His hand was left hanging in the air, and the raw hurt in his eyes was a shock for everyone to see.

’If she still hadn’t forgiven him, he could have taken this. If they had been fighting, this would make sense. But they had been so loving, so perfectly in sync. For her to do this now... it was like being cast out of heaven and plunged into hell.’

But she just stood there, watching his pain and his struggle without a flicker of emotion. Then, she ruthlessly pushed him back into the abyss. "This whole time," she said, "it was all just an act. I stopped loving you a long time ago. The moment we divorced three years ago, my heart died. Everything I’ve done... it was all just to get back at you!"