CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me

Chapter 224 - 175: The Cold War’s Punishment

Naomi glared at him, fuming, but refused to come out. Just as the doctor was wondering how on earth he was supposed to get her out, a deep voice sounded from behind him. "Your job is done."

The doctor turned and saw his own hospital director had actually come to get the person himself. He looked as if he’d been granted amnesty. After telling Julian Donovan he’d be leaving, he scurried into the stairwell. Naomi, horrified, frantically mashed the elevator button, hoping the doors would close and shut him out. But just as the doors were about to slide shut, he suddenly stuck his hand in and brutally pried them back open. She was both shocked and furious. "What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?!"

His face was like ice. Without a word, he strode forward, yanked her out of the elevator, and started marching toward his office with her hand in his. He ignored her as she hit him and screamed for him to let her go. His grip was like an iron clamp. By the time they reached his office, Naomi was utterly exhausted from struggling.

Once inside, Julian Donovan locked the door with a sharp CLICK. Then he turned, walked over to the sofa, and sat down, leaving her to fume as she tried to open the door. "Julian Donovan, what are you doing? Let me out!"

Suddenly, his cool voice came from behind her. "How does it feel to be an undercover agent?"

Her body trembled. She gave up on the door and turned around to look at him, stunned. ’How... how does he know?’

"Cat got your tongue? I asked you a question. How does it feel to be an undercover agent?"

Julian Donovan sat there leisurely, the corners of his mouth lifting into a charming smile. But she could see the fury simmering beneath it, ready to erupt at any second. She knew how terrifying he could be when he lost his temper, so she couldn’t help but shrink back.

And just as she expected, his anger flared. He rose from the sofa and advanced on her, one step at a time, his handsome features frozen with a chilling frost. "Naomi Shaw, you’ve really outdone yourself, haven’t you? You actually had the guts to go undercover?"

The air around her instantly dropped to a freezing point. She wanted to say something to defend herself, but she was so nervous she couldn’t get a single word out. She just kept backing away. For every step he took forward, she took one back, until her back hit the door and she had nowhere left to go.

Julian Donovan had no intention of letting her off. He pressed closer, his voice aggressive. "Where did you place me in all this? Tell me, what do you take me, Julian Donovan, for?"

Pinned against the door, Naomi finally managed to get a sentence out, her voice trembling. "How... how did you find out?"

She didn’t know why, but even though she was terrified of his rage, she felt an immense sense of relief. ’He knows the truth. I can finally stop pretending, stop hurting him. I’m finally free.’

The chill on Julian Donovan’s face deepened. He bent down, looming over her pale little face, and snorted. "You seem very concerned about how I found out. Shouldn’t you be more concerned about how to appease my anger?"

"I’m sorry..."

She managed to get her apology out just in time. It was what she had been telling him in her heart every single day, and today, she finally had the chance to say it aloud.

But he cut her off harshly. "You threw me from heaven into hell, then put me through a series of inhuman tortures. Don’t you think a simple ’I’m sorry’ is a little hollow?"

"I had no choice. Since you already know the truth, you should also know that everything I did was just an act. I never meant to hurt you..."

Her attempt to explain only enraged him further. He had been leaning close to her, but after hearing her words, he abruptly straightened up, pulling away. He stared down at her with cold eyes. "It seems you have no idea what you did wrong. In that case, you can stay here and reflect on it. And don’t expect me to forgive you until you figure it out!"

Did she think he was angry about the pain she caused him? He was furious that she had hidden something so dangerous from him!

Naomi stood frozen in stunned silence, watching as he coldly pushed her aside and prepared to open the door and leave. She had no idea how she had managed to anger him again. ’Wasn’t I just explaining things to him? Wasn’t I trying to clear up the misunderstanding between us?’ He had flown into a rage for no reason and was now saying she didn’t know what she’d done wrong.

’How could I not know? I’ve done so many things to hurt him these past few days, but that wasn’t my intention! I already apologized, didn’t I? What does he mean by saying so viciously that he won’t forgive me?’

Seeing that he was about to leave, she hastily grabbed him. "You can’t lock me in here. I won’t be able to explain things to Officer Warren..."

When Julian Donovan saw that she wasn’t in the mood to reflect on her actions and was instead still worried about helping the police, he grew even angrier. He violently shook off her hand and, at the end of his rope, roared at her, "Don’t let me hear you mention the police again!"

Then he SLAMMED the door and left, locking it from the outside. Naomi was furious. "Hey! Julian Donovan, you’re such a tyrant!"

She yelled for a while, but no one responded. Dejected, she threw herself onto the sofa. ’I thought I’d be free once he knew the truth. I never expected him to pull something like this.’

’Still, him being angry with me is better than me being by Sean Donovan’s side, hurting him.’ Thinking this, she let out a long sigh of relief, curled up on the sofa, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep. It had been a long time since she’d slept so peacefully. Now that he knew the truth, she wouldn’t dwell on those troublesome matters anymore. Besides, even if she wanted to worry about them, he wouldn’t let her. Locked in here, worrying was useless.

Julian Donovan left his office. Just as he reached the elevators, he saw Sean Donovan and his bodyguards emerge from one. He stood there calmly, staring at Sean Donovan as he spoke. Sean, for his part, got straight to the point. "Julian Donovan, I’m the one who brought her here as a patient. Even if she’s staying in the hospital, you should at least let me see her, right?"

Julian Donovan laughed. "So what if you brought her? What’s your relationship with her? I don’t think she needs an outsider making decisions for her, does she?"

"She is my private caregiver now. I’m her boss. Of course, I’m responsible for her condition and her safety!"

Sean Donovan tried his best to keep his emotions in check. He had a feeling that if he let her go this time, he might never see her again in this lifetime.

The smile on Julian Donovan’s face grew wider. "I do believe *I’m* her boss. She resigned from the hospital, but I never approved her resignation letter. So, she’s still an employee of our hospital. As for the days she’s missed work, I’ll be sure to settle that account with her!"

Sean Donovan finally erupted. "Julian Donovan, you’re despicable!"

Julian Donovan’s smile vanished as well. His eyes darkened as he replied to Sean Donovan without a hint of politeness, "When it comes to the word ’despicable,’ you’re the very definition of it."

Sean Donovan’s eyes burned with fire as he glared at Julian Donovan. The two of them were destined to never coexist. Beyond the grudges between their parents’ generation, their conflict over Naomi Shaw also made it impossible.

Julian Donovan jutted his chin toward the elevator. "So, I won’t see you out."

Sean Donovan’s jaw was clenched tight with fury. He wanted to lose control several times but forcibly suppressed his anger. With his physical condition, he stood to gain nothing from a direct confrontation with Julian Donovan. He knew his frail body couldn’t protect him, which was why he had hired two former mercenaries as high-priced bodyguards.

So, in the end, he swallowed his anger again and again before turning with his bodyguards and entering the elevator. As soon as he was inside, his eyes turned grim as he gave a cold order to his bodyguards, "I don’t care what methods you use or what price you have to pay. I want you to bring her back to me!"

His feelings for Naomi Shaw were no longer just about loving her and wanting her. There was also a vindictive desire to make Julian Donovan suffer by taking away the one he loved. As long as he was alive, he couldn’t bear to see them together.

"Yes, sir!"

The bodyguard responded respectfully.

After getting rid of Sean Donovan, Julian Donovan called Caleb Rhodes and Felix Draper to discuss mobilizing people to deal with Sean. As for that unrepentant woman, he would just leave her locked in the office to reflect for now.

’I have to teach her a good lesson this time. Otherwise, if something like this happens again and she hides it from me, I can’t guarantee she won’t be the death of me.’

After dealing with his business, Julian Donovan returned to his office. The moment he opened the door, he saw the slender figure curled up on the sofa. He was at once angry and heartsick—angry that she hadn’t reflected on her actions at all and had instead fallen asleep, yet heartsick at the sight of her sleeping so peacefully.

He stood conflicted in the doorway for a moment before finally taking off his overcoat and walking over. He gently draped it over her. He had come to terms with things after learning she had only hurt him as part of her undercover act. Startled by his presence, she shifted restlessly, turning over to face the back of the sofa as she continued to sleep.

He sat down beside her, quietly gazing down at her. ’How long has it been since they could just be together like this?’ In reality, it hadn’t been that many days, but it felt like years. The days she wasn’t by his side, every day felt like an eternity. He had even felt at one point that his world had gone dark and he couldn’t go on living. That was why he had drunk himself into a stupor those few days, why he had stood freezing in the snow, heedless of his own health.

She sat up from the sofa, feeling a little lost. Noticing his coat was draped over her, she murmured a quiet, "Thank you."

He walked over with a cold expression, picked up his overcoat, and put it on. "Now that you’re well-rested, get up and let’s go," he said coolly.

Even though he desperately wanted to be with her, to live a peaceful life without fighting, it was clear she hadn’t properly reflected on her actions. So, of course, he wasn’t going to show her a pleasant face.