CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me

Chapter 209 - 167: Torment (Part 2)

He wasn’t in a hurry to make his move. But this time, once he did, he would never let her go again.

Julian Donovan had already returned to his office. Seeing his two children brought back by Willow Summers, both in tears, he shot up in a rage and swept everything off his desk. Like a destructive tornado, the items on his desk were instantly sent crashing to the floor—some breaking, some shattering, some tearing apart, just like his heart.

She’d even sent the two children away. She really was determined to end things for good.

Just then, one of his subordinates called again, reporting that she had picked up her clothes the previous night, hailed a cab home, and everything was normal. He was so annoyed he almost threw his phone. But looking at Joy’s tear-streaked, terrified face and Dylan, who was watching him with a little frown, he finally suppressed his anger. He walked over, picked Joy up, and gave her a kiss. The soft little girl helped to quell some of his rage. "I’m sorry, Daddy scared you..."

He shouldn’t have, he really shouldn’t have lost his temper in front of the children. She was heartless, but he couldn’t be like her.

But he knew that in his current state, he wasn’t fit to be around the children. So he coaxed them in a soft voice, "Daddy still has some things to take care of. How about I take you to Grandma’s?"

Dylan nodded understandingly. Joy just blinked her teary eyes at him. Willow Summers spoke up from the side, "Alright, alright, you go handle your business. Walter Jennings and I will take the kids for you!"

’It’s just my lot in life to serve their family,’ Willow Summers thought. ’After all, Julian Donovan saved my life.’

After entrusting the two children to Willow Summers and Walter Jennings, Julian Donovan immediately threw himself back into a restructuring meeting for the Donovan Group. He was deliberately keeping himself this busy; if he was busy, he naturally wouldn’t think about other things.

That evening, after work, he dragged Felix Draper straight to a bar to drink. He downed one glass after another, and Felix Draper couldn’t stop him. A singer was performing in the bar, a woman with a slightly husky voice. She sang:

"I gave up everything for you, just hoping you’d turn back. Let’s pretend we can start all over. Your kiss still lingers, stinging my wounds; I’m too weak to undo this sorrow. I gave up everything for you, just wishing you would stay. Though love cannot be forced, let me bear it all. I’ll make the cursed vow; I’m willing to be a prisoner of your love." Perhaps the song’s lyrics stung Julian Donovan’s heart too deeply, or perhaps the singer’s voice was too profound, resonating with the scars on his soul. Drunk, Julian Donovan made a grand gesture, throwing down ten million to "buy" the singer and then began to lead her away. Felix Draper stood there, stunned for a long moment, before finally snapping out of it and rushing after them.

"Julian Donovan, are you crazy?!"

Felix Draper rushed out and grabbed Julian Donovan, shouting at him angrily. Even if he was in a bad mood, he couldn’t just get involved with some little-known singer, could he? Everyone had seen how he felt about Naomi Shaw. Felix couldn’t let him make a huge mistake while he was drunk.

Julian Donovan shook him off. "Get away! I know what I’m doing!"

After shaking off Felix Draper, he continued to drag the young singer toward his car. Left with no choice, Felix first stepped forward, pulled the singer aside, and warned her fiercely, "You stay over there!"

The young singer shrank back and moved to the side. Of course, she knew who these two men were. She had no illusions that Julian Donovan would actually touch her or anything. All she wanted was the scandal that would come from this. She knew how incredibly rare an opportunity it was for a third-rate singer like her to make the front-page headlines.

Julian Donovan’s anger at being obstructed by Felix Draper finally erupted. He turned, his eyes bloodshot, and roared at Felix, "Do you really think I’m that depraved? Do you think I’d just randomly find some woman? I just want to create a scandal to make her jealous, to make her care about me!"

As he finished, he slammed his fist onto the car in anguish. Then he just leaned against the vehicle, his shoulders heaving as he tried to calm his spiraling emotions.

’She’s so cold to me. I don’t know what else I can do to get her attention. Maybe this is the only way she’ll even look at me again.’

Seeing him like this, Felix Draper felt terrible too and didn’t know what to say. "I think you should wait a few days until you’ve both calmed down, then try to have a proper talk..."

But hearing this only made Julian Donovan more desperate. ’No one else understands her temper, only I do. She seems gentle, but deep down, she’s incredibly stubborn, just like when she insisted on the divorce.’

So he stopped listening to Felix Draper, turned, and pulled the young singer into the car. He left Felix with just one sentence, "I know what I’m doing. You can go back now!"

He had drunk a lot, but his mind was still clear. He was acting out, throwing a tantrum like a willful, unreasonable child, for no other reason than to make her care about him, even just a little.

Felix Draper heaved a heavy sigh and turned to leave. ’Love... it’s a fucking maddening, incomprehensible emotion. You think you want love at first sight, but then you find yourself falling for a woman who was once a total stranger.’

’Women... they’re such fucking fickle, impossible creatures. You feel like she loves you, but then she leaves you in an instant. She can love you to death, and she can also discard you with cold, ruthless cruelty.’

Naomi Shaw was tormenting Julian Donovan like this, and Sarah Sutton hadn’t given him any less grief.

And so, overnight, the news that Julian Donovan had spent ten million on a third-rate singer and taken her to a hotel room swept the headlines of every major newspaper and media outlet.

Naomi Shaw didn’t sleep well all night. She didn’t know about the news yet; she was sleepless from the torment and conflict of the day’s events. She loved him so much, and now, by treating him this way, she was hurting even more than he was.

But even though things had gotten this bad between them, she still had to go to work—back to his side. She couldn’t lose her job, too. If that happened, she wouldn’t be able to survive.

Besides, Sean Donovan hadn’t made any move at all, and she had no idea if he would come looking for her again. Deep down, she selfishly hoped—prayed—that Sean Donovan would see through her ploy and remain unmoved. That way, the police would have nothing on her, she wouldn’t have to take these risks anymore, and she wouldn’t have to go through this painful process of torturing Julian Donovan and herself.

During the period he was restructuring the Donovan Group, she had been by his side, temporarily acting as his assistant. She managed everything for him during the day, and at night, she had him and the two children for company. She truly enjoyed this peaceful, warm life.

She wasn’t a career-driven woman; she was perfectly content with the quiet days they’d been having. She had even considered giving up her beloved nursing career just to stay by his side as his assistant, taking care of him and supporting him.

Only after being with him did she realize how busy and exhausting his work was every day. He rarely performed surgeries, but when he did, they were always for serious cases. A single operation could last anywhere from three or four hours to six or seven. Sometimes, he didn’t even have time to eat, and it broke her heart to see it.