CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me

Chapter 207 - 166: Betting Millions

She shoved him away hard, rising from the disheveled bed. Standing at a distance, she wiped the tears from her face. "Besides, I don’t want two kids getting in the way of my relationship with Sean Donovan. If you’re willing to raise them yourself, that’s perfect for me!"

Even the most resilient person couldn’t withstand being hurt by her like this, time and time again. And Julian Donovan had no defenses against her to begin with. Her words utterly destroyed him. He had tried everything, soft approaches and hard, but she remained just as cold. He felt as if she had ripped his heart straight from his chest, leaving it bloody and turning him into nothing more than an empty shell.

’Is she really... just trying to get revenge on me?’

Even though a part of him refused to believe she was this kind of person, her actions forced him to accept the cruel reality.

She stood a short distance away and pointed to the door. "Alright, we’re finished here. Please leave. Now."

He strode forward and gripped her chin, his eyes a storm of pain and fury. "Naomi Shaw, I seriously want to rip your heart out just to see what the hell it’s made of!"

She closed her eyes, shutting him out completely, and repeated impassively, "Please leave. Now."

’If he doesn’t leave right now, I can’t promise I won’t break down, hold him, and tell him everything.’

Overcome with uncontrollable rage, Julian Donovan violently shoved her aside. He turned, stormed out, and slammed the door behind him. Her slender frame was thrown to the floor, but she couldn’t feel a thing. The pain in her heart completely eclipsed any physical sensation. She just sat there, collapsed on the ground, weeping silently.

After crying for a while, she finally wiped away her tears and resiliently got to her feet. ’No!’ she told herself. ’I can’t fall apart like this. I have to pull myself together, find a way to make Sean Donovan lower his guard and allow me to get close to him again. Then I’ll find his secret drug manufacturing base as fast as I can.’

This was the fastest and best way to save both herself and Julian Donovan.

The person staked out in front of her apartment building saw Julian Donovan storm out, his face a mask of fury. The spy quickly snapped a picture of his condition and sent it off before making a call. "Boss," he said with a smug laugh, "I think she and Julian Donovan really had a falling out this time. You should have seen how furious he was!"

"Fool!"

the voice on the other end replied coldly, before adding a sharp command. "Keep your eyes on her. Don’t miss a single thing!"

"Yes, sir!"

The man had no choice but to agree. On the other end, the line went dead.

The first thing Julian Donovan did was call one of his subordinates. "Find out every single place she went after leaving the shop last night," he ordered, his voice harsh.

She was driving him insane.

When he returned to the event hall, the ceremony was nearly over. Dylan, holding Joy’s hand, rushed up to him. "Dad, how’s Mom?"

The scene on stage earlier had terrified the two children. They had thought their family would finally be whole, happy, and together, but then their mother had suddenly said such things. The two of them were distraught. Joy, who rarely cried, had already broken down in tears twice, and it had taken Lillian Huxley a great deal of effort to calm her down.

Julian Donovan looked at Dylan’s worried expression and Joy’s tear-filled eyes, and her resolute words about giving up the children echoed in his mind. A sharp pain shot through his heart. He crouched down and ruffled their hair. "We’re... we’re fine," he finally managed.

"Then can we go find Mom now, Dad?"

Dylan immediately asked. A cold glint entered Julian’s eyes. He stood and said to Willow Summers, who was standing nearby, "Can you take them to her apartment for me? I have some things to deal with."

’How could he possibly summon the courage to face her again?’

Willow Summers noticed his unease at once. She had a feeling things between them weren’t as "fine" as he claimed. She nodded in agreement. "Okay."

Even though Julian Donovan had just threatened Naomi Shaw so harshly, vowing never to let her see the children again, he ultimately couldn’t be as cruel as his words. So, he had Willow Summers take the children to Naomi’s apartment after all.

When Naomi Shaw saw her children, the composure she had just managed to gather shattered.

She couldn’t face them. She had no way to explain. Joy snuggled into her arms, wanting to be held, and murmured anxiously, "Mommy... Mommy..."

Her heart ached, and she nearly started crying again. ’Of course I want our family of four to live a happy, peaceful life,’ she thought. ’But as long as Sean Donovan is in the picture, we’ll never have a moment’s peace.’

She wasn’t so noble as to sacrifice her own family for the greater good. The only reason she’d agreed to the two officers’ request was to eliminate Sean Donovan as quickly as possible and win back a quiet, peaceful life for her family.

"Mom, the way you treated Dad... you have a reason for it, don’t you?"

Dylan asked, his gaze fixed on her. Willow Summers, who had brought them, watched her with a frown as well.

She didn’t answer Dylan. Swallowing her bitterness, she gently put Joy down and placed her little hand in her brother’s. Then, with a solemn expression, she said to Dylan, "Dylan, for the time being, I need you and your sister to live with your dad. Don’t try to see me for a while."

She couldn’t bring herself to be as cruel to her children as she had been to Julian Donovan, so this was the only way she could ask. ’If Sean Donovan sees that I’m willing to give up even my own children to cut ties with Julian, he’ll surely lower his guard against me.’

The moment Joy heard this, tears instantly welled in her already anxious eyes. Joy had never been separated from her mother since birth, and she was an extremely introverted child. The thought of not seeing her for a long time was enough to make her start sobbing.

Dylan, being much older and more mature than Joy, just furrowed his little brow and was silent for a moment. Then, he said with firm resolution, "Okay, Mom. I don’t know what you’re planning, but if you need me and my sister to cooperate, we will. We’ll do whatever you need."

He then turned and gently wiped the tears that were rolling down Joy’s cheeks. "Joy, we have to be good and listen to Mom, okay?"

Dylan’s maturity finally caused the bitterness Naomi Shaw had been holding back to overflow. She sank to her knees, pulled both children into her embrace, and sobbed. Watching from the sidelines, Willow Summers’s eyes filled with tears as well. "Naomi, what in the world is going on with you?"