CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 53: Two Lives (Part 1)

After pulling out a cigarette and taking a long, hard drag, Julian Donovan’s frustration finally began to subside.

The last time he’d returned from Thailos, incandescent with rage over her divorce papers, the first thing he did was call Juliet Jennings and bring her to Meridia. Then, he deliberately made sure the tabloids were filled with rumors of their intimate, ambiguous relationship. He had only one thought: to punish her for her audacity—for daring to defy and enrage him by asking for a divorce!

He just hadn’t expected her to miss her step and fall down the stairs because of it, causing her to go into premature labor. It would be a lie to say he felt no guilt; after all, two lives had been at stake. Thankfully, both she and the baby were safe. Otherwise... He shook his head, not daring to think any further.

’But wasn’t she the one who wanted the divorce? Wasn’t she so cold and indifferent toward me? So how could she have been so affected by the rumors about me and Juliet Jennings?’

From outside the door came the sound of Juliet Jennings’s slightly angry voice, growing closer.

"Miss, I had a clear appointment with your President Donovan. He’s a man of his word, so how could he not be here? Besides, even if he couldn’t make it, he would have called to let me know. Now I’m here, and you’re suddenly telling me he’s out. How am I supposed to believe you?"

The secretary was in a difficult position.

"Miss Jennings, President Donovan really isn’t here. Please don’t go in!"

Listening from inside, Julian Donovan assumed his secretary wouldn’t be able to stop Juliet Jennings. He stubbed out his cigarette and turned to face her. He had brought Juliet to Meridia for two reasons. First, to use their relationship to vent his anger over the divorce. Second, he planned to help her build a career here. Since she had already been effectively blacklisted by Wendy Lowe back home, he would help her make it in Hollowind. Hollowind was completely outside of Wendy Lowe’s sphere of influence; there was nothing she could do to Juliet there.

For both professional and personal reasons, he had to help Juliet Jennings. Professionally, supporting her was a way to strike back at Wendy Lowe. Personally, she was, after all, a woman he had once truly loved. He couldn’t just stand by and watch Wendy Lowe drive her into a corner.

"Hi, superstar!"

Felix Draper’s voice rang out from the hallway. The four of them had their offices here; the entire floor belonged to them. Each had his own space and a clear division of labor. Caleb Rhodes, with his background in finance, handled cash flow. Felix Draper, who studied management, was in charge of overall company operations. He and Henry Hale were responsible for the hands-on management of their various projects.

In reality, the company had been founded primarily for him and Henry Hale. Caleb Rhodes and Felix Draper were scions of prestigious families with clean backgrounds, and each had their own legitimate businesses. He and Henry, on the other hand, had made their living on the streets. Caleb felt that their lifestyle wasn’t a sustainable long-term solution; if something were to happen one day, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Hearing Felix Draper’s voice, Julian Donovan breathed an inward sigh of relief. This was the kind of unspoken understanding they shared as brothers. Felix knew he was in the office and must have guessed he had his reasons for avoiding Juliet, so he’d come out to run interference.

Outside the door, Juliet Jennings stopped in her tracks when she saw Felix Draper. She greeted him with a small smile.

"President Draper. Hello."

Felix Draper leaned against the door to Julian Donovan’s office, flashing a roguish grin so handsome it was almost blinding.

"What brings you here to see Donovan? He’s really not in today!"

Juliet Jennings’s eyes were filled with suspicion, but out of deference to Felix Draper, she couldn’t push past him. She had no choice but to ask,

"Then... where did he go?"

Felix Draper tilted his handsome face up at a 45-degree angle, gazing at the lavishly decorated ceiling. After a moment of thought, he blinked his captivating, almond-shaped eyes at Juliet Jennings and murmured,

"I think he was suddenly missing his wife so much he was about to go crazy, so he impulsively flew back to Thailos to see her!"

Inside, Julian Donovan’s face darkened, and he could have spat blood. ’Couldn’t Felix Draper come up with a more plausible excuse? What was that about missing my wife like crazy? Since when do I miss her!’

’And more importantly, I never told Juliet Jennings that I was married. Now this big mouth Felix has just blabbed it for the whole world to hear. Is he deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?’

Sure enough, he heard Juliet Jennings’s voice suddenly rise an octave, her tone filled with astonishment.

"W-Wife? What wife? Since when does he have a wife?"

Felix Draper feigned surprise that she didn’t know.

"Oh? Donovan didn’t tell you he was married? Tsk, tsk. That’s not right. He’s just leading you on. And I heard their baby is almost due, too. I think it’s next month!"

Juliet Jennings froze on the spot, her stunning face a mask of shock and disbelief. It took her a long moment to come to her senses. She shook her head frantically, her composure shattered.

"Impossible! That’s impossible! How could he be married and have a child!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Believe what you want. I was on the phone with his wife not too long ago."

Felix Draper continued to fan the flames. Regarding the woman Julian Donovan had brought to Meridia, Caleb Rhodes and Henry Hale were smart enough to keep their mouths shut and offer no opinions. Only Felix shamelessly voiced his disapproval, constantly whining to Julian and vocally supporting Naomi Shaw, who was all the way in Thailos.

He had never even met Naomi Shaw, and the one time he’d called her, he’d gotten an earful. Yet, for some reason, he was firmly on her side. Even he found it baffling, as if he were possessed. In Henry Hale’s words, he was just "bored and looking for trouble," which was why he was so obsessed with Julian Donovan’s family drama.

Seeing the certainty in Felix Draper’s eyes, a profound sense of despair washed over Juliet Jennings. She shrieked at him in anguish,

"You’re lying! The one he loves is me!"

After her desperate cry, she was in no mood to press the issue of whether Julian Donovan was actually there. Covering her mouth, she turned and fled.

’No wonder! No wonder he’s been acting so strange!’

A few months ago, he had called and asked her to come to Meridia. He bought her the most luxurious mansion, the most expensive car, and the most dazzling jewelry. He even helped her connect with A-list directors and producers in Hollowind. He had showered her with what seemed like endless affection.

And yet, he had never once touched her.

They had kissed several times. But aside from the day she first arrived in Meridia, when he had kissed her with a fierce passion, as if venting some deep frustration, she had been the one to initiate things. Back when they were together, all it took was for her to press her body against his and tease him a little, and he would lose control, pinning her to the bed or against a door and taking her fiercely. But now, she had to use every trick in the book just to get a reaction out of him.

But every time they were about to cross that final line, he would stop abruptly. At first, she thought he found her tainted because of what had happened with Wendy Lowe. She had tearfully confronted him, but he’d denied it. Now it seemed the real reason he wouldn’t touch her was because he had another woman. Was he trying to be faithful to that woman, to his marriage?

’Married? A child?’

Juliet Jennings rushed out and got into the luxury sports car he had bought for her, tears streaming down her beautiful face. She glanced at her own stunning reflection in the rearview mirror and gave a bitter smile.

’Why did fate have to be so cruel to me? Why let me fall in love with him when he had nothing, only to force me to give him up in the face of reality? And why, now that he’s powerful and successful, would it give him to another woman?’

’How could it be so unfair?’

She refused to accept it. She simply couldn’t.

A moment ago, Felix Draper’s words had sent her reeling, her mind blank as she cursed her fate. But now, as her reason slowly returned, so did her confidence. She felt that Julian Donovan still had feelings for her. Otherwise, why would he go to such great lengths to help her?

As for this wife of his, her intuition told her that Julian Donovan felt nothing for the woman.

After all, if a man truly loved a woman, how could he go for months without even calling her? If Felix Draper hadn’t said anything today, she would have sworn from Julian’s behavior that he was still in love with her. In their current relationship, aside from the lack of sex, he was impeccably good to her.

As she thought this, the dark clouds on her face gradually parted, and the smile on her lips slowly widened. The lack of sex wasn’t a problem. As long as he was by her side, she would make him want her. After all, back when they were together, things had been very, very good between them, hadn’t they?