CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me

Chapter 226 - 176: How Are Things Going Now? (2)

Dylan frowned, glancing at him and then at Naomi Shaw. Without a word, he took his sister’s hand and walked away. Seeing Julian give her the cold shoulder, Naomi couldn’t help but turn and stomp upstairs in a huff.

In the changing room, they both grabbed clean clothes. Julian Donovan was quite unconcerned, stripping down and changing right there. Naomi Shaw was already upset from being ignored, so when she saw him unabashedly getting naked, she immediately turned her face away and waited for him to finish.

A moment later, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see he had finished changing and was about to leave. She finally ran after him, hugging him tightly from behind. "Julian..."

He did stop. She pressed her face against his back and said pitifully, "Please don’t be angry with me anymore, okay? I didn’t mean any of those awful things I said or did. Seeing you heartbroken hurts me more than it hurts you. I’ve loved you since I was eighteen, I..."

Thinking of all the suffering she had endured over the years for loving him, she was on the verge of tears. But before she could finish, he shoved her away. He didn’t look like he was about to forgive her at all; in fact, he seemed even angrier. "So, you still don’t know what you did wrong, do you?"

She tugged at his sleeve, pleading softly, "Tell me what I did wrong, and I’ll change it in the future!"

He angrily shook her hand off. "No! This is a mistake you need to realize on your own. Only then will you take it seriously. Otherwise, you won’t learn your lesson!"

With that, he turned and stormed off, ignoring the near-tearful expression on her face. She was so frustrated she was about to break down. ’What unforgivable sin did I commit for him to punish me like this?’

Downstairs, Dylan Donovan, who was already seated at the dining table with Joy, looked at the still-fuming Julian Donovan and asked, "What’s wrong with you and Mom?"

"Nothing!"

The fuming man didn’t want to drag the kids into their problems, but his clever son wasn’t about to let it go. He stared at him and asked relentlessly, "Then why are you being so cold to Mom?"

He shot Dylan a glare. "She made a mistake. She’s being punished!"

Dylan, staunchly supporting his mother, made a face at him. "Hmph, be careful it doesn’t backfire on you!"

Julian Donovan couldn’t be bothered with him. ’Right or wrong, that kid will always be on his mom’s side.’ He glanced at the well-behaved Joy sitting there and couldn’t help but think, ’A daughter is really the one to dote on after all.’

A short while later, Naomi Shaw also came downstairs in clean clothes. The family of four was finally sitting together for a meal, but because of a certain man’s long face, the atmosphere at the table was far from harmonious.

Naomi Shaw had planned to have a serious talk with him after the meal, but as soon as he finished eating, he took a call and rushed out. He only left them with one instruction, "I have something this afternoon, so I’m heading out. Don’t you guys go anywhere for the next few days!"

This left Naomi Shaw incredibly frustrated. She even suspected this was just another one of his tactics—a way to torment her by playing hard to get.

After lunch, once she had put the two children down for their naps, she called Lillian Huxley. The kids had mentioned that Lillian had been helping take care of them, so Naomi wanted to call and say thank you.

"Naomi, you don’t have to be so formal with me. Huh? I thought you and Julian Donovan cleared up your misunderstanding? Why do you sound so listless?"

Lillian Huxley asked, puzzled. She had heard about the situation with Naomi and Julian Donovan from Caleb Rhodes and assumed that once the misunderstanding was resolved, everything would be fine between them.

"The misunderstanding is cleared up, but he’s ignoring me. He told me to reflect on my actions, but I don’t even know what I did wrong! I’ve already apologized for everything I could think of!"

Naomi Shaw lamented miserably. Lillian Huxley thought for a moment and said, "I’m no expert on matters of the heart. I suggest you ask Writer Summers—Willow Summers—to analyze it for you. She’s always going on about love and romance, and since she’s written so many novels, she must have a great understanding of how men think!"

Naomi Shaw thought Lillian’s suggestion made sense. Willow Summers might seem a bit flaky at times, but she was actually sharper and more insightful than anyone.

When Willow Summers received Naomi Shaw’s call for help, she was at a restaurant on a date with Walter Jennings. Her company, Sutton, was just two streets away from Walter’s, so as long as he didn’t have a business lunch, he would meet her near her office to eat together. After eating, the two would chat until it was time to go back to work in the afternoon.

In reality, their "chats" mostly consisted of her talking and him listening. She mostly talked about office gossip, especially about Sarah Sutton and Sue North. Then, as she talked, she would start imagining how the stories would develop, completely forgetting the man across from her as she got lost in her own imagination.

After hearing Naomi’s story, she once again forgot about the man across from her and enthusiastically began playing the role of a relationship expert. "Hey, hey, Naomi! Julian Donovan isn’t angry because you hurt him. I bet... he’s mad that you went undercover without telling him, right?"

Naomi Shaw was stunned. "Huh? But if I had discussed it with him, he never would have let me go. How could I have gone undercover then?"

"Whether you could have successfully gone undercover or not, the point is you were wrong not to discuss it with him!"

Willow Summers explained earnestly, "That’s just how men are—obsessed with their pride. You went undercover behind his back, and that wounded his male ego. Especially a guy like Julian Donovan, who’s the domineering, tyrannical type!"

"Oh? Is that it..."

Naomi Shaw bit her lip and thought about it. What Willow Summers said made sense, especially since he had previously asked her what she really thought of him.

"This is just my personal guess, of course. Why don’t you... try apologizing for that and see what happens?"

Willow Summers laughed, completely oblivious as the expression on the man across from her grew darker and darker.

"Okay, I’ll give it a try!"

Naomi Shaw sighed. Right now, placating him was the only thing that mattered. She couldn’t stand him being so hot and cold, so close and then so distant.

"This is the time to pull out all the stops—the honey trap, playing the victim, whatever it takes! Don’t be shy!"

Willow Summers kindly offered her advice. Naomi sighed wearily. "I’ll see how it goes. Thanks, Willow!"

After Willow Summers hung up, she noticed the man across from her looked thunderous and couldn’t help but ask, puzzled, "What’s wrong?"

Walter Jennings snorted coldly. "You seem to be quite good at guessing what other men are thinking, huh?"

"Hey, what’s with the weird, sarcastic tone all of a sudden?"