CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me

Chapter 249 - 190: Do You Still Love Him?

Lara Nash was seething as she spoke, but inside, Naomi Shaw, who was driving, was secretly smiling.

The first time Ronan Joyce took Cheryl Nash home, he and Naomi had a chance to talk. He told her how Lara Nash’s family had once threatened the lives of his parents, who were far away in Syan, to force him to break up with Lara.

With the passage of time, whenever Naomi Shaw remembered their devastating separation, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache for them.

"But Lara said... you told her you already had a fiancée back in Syan..."

This is what she had asked Ronan Joyce. He had shaken his head bitterly. "What fiancée? Back then, I just said whatever I thought would hurt her enough to make her break things off with me!"

Naomi Shaw sighed. "After hurting her so badly back then, trying to win her back now probably won’t be so easy."

"I know!"

A flash of pain crossed Ronan Joyce’s stern face. "I gave up on her back then. For all these years, I never had the courage to look for her. I didn’t even dare to ask how she was doing. I was afraid she’d gotten married and forgotten me, but I was also afraid she was still thinking of me..."

If she had forgotten him and found someone else, his heart would ache. But if she was still thinking of him, still in love with him, his heart would ache even more. He would feel even more guilt for having abandoned her.

But now, their interactions were even more awkward. She had his child, yet she was about to marry another man.

He didn’t know if she had forgotten him or if she was still in love with him.

Naomi Shaw could only comfort him. "In any case, wait until she gets here. You two can talk it over when you meet."

Ronan Joyce nodded, his expression resolute. "No matter what, I won’t give up this time. It’s not just because we have Cheryl. It’s because she’s never left my heart!"

Remembering this conversation with Ronan Joyce, Naomi Shaw couldn’t help but glance at Lara Nash. Lara had stopped her rant and was now leaning her head against the window, gazing outside. She traced a finger lightly on the glass, a self-deprecating smile on her face. "You know, Naomi, I used to love this city so much, because it was the city where the man I loved once lived..."

’To love a city for the sake of one person.’

That year, he had brought her to this city to meet his parents. She had been so shy, naively believing they would truly become a family—that she would be his wife, bear his children, and be a dutiful daughter-in-law to his parents.

It was just a shame that reality was so cruel.

’Looking back on it now, I just feel like a foolish clown.’

Naomi Shaw seized the opportunity to ask cautiously, "So... are you still in love with him?"

Lara Nash snapped out of her thoughts and laughed out loud. "Love? Hate? We’re too old for that. Talking about this stuff is so childish!"

With that one dismissive sentence, she evaded Naomi Shaw’s probing question.

She truly didn’t want to talk about it anymore; she didn’t have the energy for it.

She didn’t understand how some people could fall in love multiple times in their lives, and each time with such sincerity and passion. For her, it had only taken one time, and it had nearly killed her.

Now, when it came to love, she felt fear, not anticipation.

Her heart was covered in a dense web of scars from loving him. She couldn’t forgive, couldn’t move on, and no one else could get in.

Naomi Shaw couldn’t say anything more. She just drove Lara to the appointed location. As Lara was about to get out of the car, Naomi said, "Why don’t you stay at my place tonight?"

Lara Nash smiled. "You know I’m in the hotel business now. So whenever I’m on a business trip, I stay in a hotel to study and research their management!"

"Alright, you really are completely devoted to your career!"

Naomi Shaw chided her with a laugh. Lara Nash reached out, hugged her, and said coaxingly, "After my meeting, I’ll come to your place to see Cheryl and scrounge a meal. You’d better have a feast ready for me!"

"Alright, alright. You should get going to your meeting!"

Naomi Shaw was helpless against her charms. Lara Nash finally got out of the car with a smile.

The meeting spot the other party had chosen was, surprisingly, a hotel room. Lara Nash figured since she was meeting a woman, there was nothing to be wary of. They were both women, after all. Besides, her Boxing training wasn’t just for show. She’d once had an earth-shattering fight with Julian Donovan himself. What was there to be afraid of?

When she reached the door of the specified room, she took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock. Today, she was going all out; she had to get this plot of land back.

The person who opened the door was a very young woman. Upon seeing Lara, the woman just froze, staring at her intently. Finally, Lara had to patiently prompt her, "Excuse me, are you Miss Chester?"

The young woman finally snapped back to reality and replied hurriedly, "Yes, yes, that’s me! Please, come in!"