CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 177 - 149: Be Good, I Have a Gift for You, Too
They say love is blind, and she was living proof. Even though he’d hurt her in the past, she chose him anyway, without a second thought.
"Naomi, do you know why I’m so set on acquiring the Donovan Group?"
Julian leaned against the car and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into an intimate embrace. Their noses were almost touching, and when she tried to pull back just a little, he firmly drew her back.
Naomi shook her head, completely lost. A flicker of sorrow and pain crossed his eyes as he looked at her. "Originally, I was a direct-line grandson of the Donovan family, with a right to inherit the Donovan Group. But Charles Donovan looked down on my mother for her humble origins, so he looked down on me too. He later used underhanded tactics to force me to give up my share of the inheritance!"
That was when he had begged Charles Donovan to operate on Ian Shaw. But he would never let her know. He never wanted her to feel indebted to him. He knew if he used this to win her over, she would stay by his side, completely devoted. But he wouldn’t do that.
He wouldn’t be like Sean Donovan, who always exploited her kindness to manipulate her decisions. He would prove through his actions that his love for her was real, and that he genuinely wanted to be with her.
’Sometimes I wonder... why was I so willing to give up my inheritance to save Ian Shaw? Was it really just because I owed him a debt of gratitude? Probably not. The troubled look in that innocent girl’s eyes... that was a major reason I made that choice, wasn’t it?’
’Could it be that I’d fallen in love with her even back then?’
Naomi’s heart ached as she looked at him. "Julian..."
His voice was laced with bitterness and resentment. "I couldn’t accept it. So I swore I would take back everything that was mine!"
"So, what Sean Donovan told you—that I’m only trying to win you back to get revenge on him—is a complete lie. He’s slandering me. Even if you and I were never involved, I was always going to take back the Donovan Group and get my revenge on them! I started planning this a long time ago. Even starting Mercy was part of my plan to oppose the Donovan Group!"
He finally dared to expose Sean Donovan’s wrongdoings to her, because he could feel her trust in him growing.
He hadn’t bothered explaining much before because back then, Sean Donovan was like a flawless god in her eyes. She wouldn’t have believed a word he said. But things were different now. He was in her heart; he could feel it.
He still wasn’t ready to tell her that Sean Donovan had approached her with ulterior motives from the start. She would be devastated to suddenly learn that the man who had been so good to her was completely insincere. It was better this way: Sean revealing his true colors bit by bit, her slowly realizing it on her own, and her heart gradually turning against him.
Naomi felt a pang of sadness. It hurt to hear Sean being accused of slander, but she had to accept it. Julian’s explanation made it clear that his conflict with Sean, Charles Donovan, and the entire Donovan Group was inevitable, with or without her.
’I’ve been so foolish,’ she thought. ’Letting Sean manipulate me so easily. And I actually went and confronted Julian about it.’
With that thought, she instinctively snuggled deeper into his embrace. "I’m sorry," she murmured. "I misunderstood you. And about those pictures with you and Juliet Jennings..."
’I never imagined Sean could be so malicious. He always seemed so gentle, humble, and reserved. How could he do something like this?’
Julian gently flicked her delicate nose and chided her affectionately, "Silly woman!"
She sniffled, her nose tingling where he’d flicked it, and snuggled back into his chest. Julian let out a low grunt, then wrapped his arms around her, holding her even tighter. The feeling of her, warm and soft in his arms, was incredible—especially when she was being this pliant and gentle.
After they had savored the rare, quiet moment, Julian finally put an arm around her and started leading her away. "We should get back. We don’t want our Little Princess to cry her eyes out waiting for us!"
"She would never! She’s far too sensible for that!"
Naomi’s retort made Julian laugh, and he hugged her closer. "So, who do our two kids take after? They’re both so smart and sensible!"
"They take after me, obviously! My dad always said I was such a well-behaved and sensible kid!"
Naomi shot the reply back without hesitation; she was famously well-behaved, after all, especially compared to someone like Lara Nash. Every time Lara’s dad saw Naomi, he’d shower her with praise before turning around and giving his own daughter a lecture.
"But I was a very easy child for my mom, you know," Julian murmured.
