Chapter 426 - 428: Reconciliation
Chapter 426 - 428: Reconciliation
Naomi Kenway shook her head, but then remembered something and nodded.
Ian smiled sweetly. "Then Ian and Mommy will wait for Daddy to come home together!"
Gazing at Ian’s face, so similar to Ethan Shaw’s, Naomi Kenway nodded in a daze.
The silent treatment had unknowingly stretched on for three days. During this time, Ethan Shaw picked up and dropped off Ian like clockwork every day, but he never stayed the night.
At ten o’clock at night, unable to sleep, Naomi Kenway went out to the balcony to tend to her roses.
The roses were vibrant and dewy, a clear sign of meticulous care. A smile blossomed on Naomi Kenway’s face, as if she’d found something to devote herself to.
Suddenly, she remembered the bouquet of artificial roses on the table, and her gaze drifted into the distance.
From downstairs, she heard the sound of a car engine shutting off, followed by the faint sound of conversation.
Both sounds were extremely faint, but with her extraordinary five senses, Naomi Kenway could hear their cheerful conversation.
Naomi Kenway pulled back the curtains and looked down. The area outside was lit up as bright as day. She could clearly see Ethan Shaw and a beautiful woman in a business suit getting out of the car one after the other. The two were talking and laughing, looking extremely familiar with each other.
Liam Sherman ran up to Ethan Shaw, after which Ethan handed something to the woman.
The woman took it and said goodbye to Ethan Shaw with a smile.
It wasn’t until the woman left in a silver-gray sports car that Naomi Kenway snapped back to reality. She yanked the curtains shut.
*
After turning around, Ethan Shaw looked up and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Was there just a light in the bedroom? Is she still awake?"
The butler said, "You must have been mistaken, sir. Nanny Warren went upstairs at eight-thirty and said the madam was already asleep."
Ethan Shaw nodded and walked into the house.
After going upstairs, Ethan Shaw gently opened the bedroom door. The room was pitch-black; she was, indeed, asleep.
After showering, Ethan Shaw changed into his pajamas and lay down next to Naomi Kenway. He wanted to reach out and pull her close, but he stopped halfway, only daring to gently touch the edge of her sleeve.
When he couldn’t see her, he thought about her constantly.
Breathing in her familiar, sweet scent, Ethan Shaw’s heart finally settled, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.
*
The next day, Ethan Shaw finished work early. After putting Ian to sleep, he realized that Naomi Kenway still hadn’t come down from upstairs. ’She must be asleep already,’ he thought.
Ethan Shaw went up to the third floor, and suddenly, his brow furrowed.
The door wouldn’t open.
*
Naomi Kenway was curled up under the covers, listening to the hushed discussion between Ethan Shaw and the butler outside the door. With a CLICK, the door was opened.
Naomi Kenway closed her eyes.
The footsteps grew closer. She knew it was Ethan Shaw who had come in, despite his light steps.
The other corner of the comforter was lifted, and a warm body pressed against her back.
Naomi Kenway’s body trembled almost imperceptibly.
’Doesn’t he have his own blanket? Why is he trying to squeeze into mine to sleep?’
As his body pressed closer and an arm wrapped around her waist, Naomi Kenway finally snapped. She shoved Ethan Shaw’s arm away and scooted back. "Don’t touch me!"
Then she flipped on the lights in the room.
She clearly saw the shock and sheepish embarrassment of being caught on Ethan Shaw’s face.
"You’re still awake?"
Naomi Kenway replied icily, "I’m still awake."
Ethan Shaw very slowly reached for Naomi Kenway’s hand, but she instantly slapped it away. "I said, don’t touch me!"
The disgust in her voice made Ethan Shaw visibly falter. His Adam’s apple bobbed twice. "Why do you hate me so much?"
"You know exactly why! How dare you come into the bedroom and hug me when you’re having an affair? You might not think it’s disgusting, but I do! Just thinking about it feels filthy! I saw everything last night, you getting out of the car with a beautiful woman!"
Realizing she was getting too emotional, Naomi Kenway calmed herself down a little. She turned her head away, unwilling to look at him. "I’ve already said that I would respect your decision. If you’ve found someone you like, I’ll respect that and wish you well. You don’t need to hide anything from me. I won’t stand in the way of you pursuing your own happiness."
Naomi Kenway thought she had been very rational and understanding, not clingy in the slightest, but she waited for a long time, and Ethan Shaw said nothing.
It was only when she turned her head back again that she saw Ethan Shaw staring at the floor, his fists clenched so tightly that the veins stood out, as if he were suppressing some powerful emotion.
’This isn’t how I imagined this would go.’
But Naomi Kenway no longer wanted to understand the details. She just felt that the shock of last night’s scene was too great. She hadn’t expected Ethan Shaw to be so efficient—or perhaps he had been involved with someone else for a long time and was just good at hiding it.
"To avoid any more trouble for either of us, let’s just get a divorce."
After saying this, Naomi Kenway let out a deep breath.
Again, Ethan Shaw didn’t react for a long time.
Naomi Kenway had imagined many possible reactions from Ethan Shaw: he might happily agree, get angry at being found out, or even turn completely nasty.
But she never expected Ethan Shaw’s eyes to turn red. He tilted his head up before the tears could fall, his voice somewhat hoarse. "You’ve wanted to leave me for a long time, haven’t you?"
Just as Naomi Kenway was about to answer, she was pulled into an embrace. Ethan Shaw was holding her so tightly that for a moment, she couldn’t push him away.
"That’s my cousin. Her name is Linda Chandler, my maternal uncle’s daughter. If you don’t believe me, you can look into it, you can even check the security footage. I don’t have that kind of relationship with her. She came over last night to pick up a document. I didn’t know you saw, and I certainly didn’t know you would misunderstand..."
Naomi Kenway froze, feeling him hold her even tighter. "It’s all my fault. I came and questioned you without investigating properly. I should have known there was a painful reason why you never wanted to mention that bastard."
"So you were suffering so much, and I never knew. I won’t let the Kensington Family off the hook..."
Naomi Kenway interrupted, "Leave Jackson Kensington and the others to me. I want to deal with them myself!"
Ethan Shaw asked, "Are you still angry?"
Naomi Kenway nodded, then shook her head. "I’m not angry anymore. It was all just a misunderstanding. By the way..."
Naomi Kenway pointed to his shoulder. "Can you let go of me now? You’re holding me so tight, I can barely breathe."
Ethan Shaw slowly loosened his grip, his eyes lingering on her, full of longing. "You actually like me a little, don’t you?"
As if someone had stepped on her tail, Naomi Kenway retorted, "What are you talking about...?"
"During these eighty-plus hours of our cold war, I was thinking about you every single moment. I couldn’t eat or sleep properly. I’ve been listening to the butler’s reports, so I know you were just as out of sorts as I was. You were so angry when you saw me getting out of the car with Linda Chandler. It’s because you care about me a little, isn’t it?"
"Tell me I’m not just being presumptuous."
Naomi Kenway gave an extremely slow nod.
She didn’t want to lie to herself anymore. Despite her many reservations, she had, in fact, fallen for Ethan Shaw.
At the same time, Ethan Shaw lowered his head and firmly kissed her lips, a passionate response to her silent admission.
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