CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 63: How Dare You Ask Me for Love (Part 1)
"Be good. We can talk about this later, hmm?"
Naomi Shaw was so mortified she could have died, slapping at his hand repeatedly.
"No! We’re talking about this now!"
"You’re not the one in charge right now. If you don’t cooperate, then the matter of Dylan is off the table!"
Naomi Shaw fell silent, just biting her lip as she looked at him, aggrieved tears shimmering in her eyes.
A sudden chill swept through the air. Naomi Shaw shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, her gaze shy yet pleading.
"If I do this, will you let me keep Dylan?"
"Fine. From now on, you can make the decisions about Dylan..."
"Please."
She curled up on the sofa, begging softly, "Julian, I’m so tired. My legs are so sore. Can you please let me go to sleep..."
"Tired?"
"We’re just getting started!"
The next day, Naomi Shaw woke to the sound of soft, murmuring voices. She opened her eyes to see a fully dressed Julian Donovan sitting in a chair on the balcony, their son, Dylan, on his lap. The two of them, one big and one small, were laughing joyfully in a room filled with sunlight.
Naomi Shaw rarely saw Julian Donovan laugh so freely. Most of the time, his face was a blank mask. Watching the scene, she felt a mix of sorrow and relief. She was sorrowful because he had never smiled at her like that, but relieved because he was clearly fond of their son. At least this way, Dylan wouldn’t have to grow up without a father’s love due to their distant relationship.
"Mama."
Julian Donovan stood up, holding Dylan, and walked over. The broad smile on his face faded slightly, but a trace of it remained.
"You’re awake? I ordered takeout. After you eat, you and Dylan can see me off at the airport."
"The airport?"
"Mhm, I was originally supposed to go to Port Sterling for a meeting. I just stopped over here for a night. After the meeting, I’ll fly back to Meridia directly from Port Sterling."
’He’d chosen a flight with a layover in Thailos just to get a proper taste of her.’
Hearing this, Naomi Shaw didn’t know what to feel. It was a sour, bittersweet sensation that she couldn’t put into words.
Recalling the fleeting moment from before, Julian Donovan carried Dylan aside to soothe him.
"Papa, Mama..."
’It’s good she didn’t breastfeed. They’re still so full and tender!’
’I really don’t know how he connects breastfeeding with something like this.’
’But his attentiveness isn’t reserved just for me. He still has a first love he can’t forget.’
A knock came from outside the door.
"Hurry up and come out to eat once you’re done washing up!"
She shook her head to clear it and answered.
"Oh, coming..."
The takeout he ordered was exquisite, and the nutritional balance was well-planned. ’He probably did that because Dylan would be eating with us,’ she thought. During the meal, she stuck to the principle of not speaking while eating, barely interacting with him. She focused only on feeding Dylan first, and only ate herself after he was full.
Julian Donovan took Dylan, who had finished eating, so she could have a chance to eat. Watching her spend the whole meal busy with Dylan, he suddenly felt that she didn’t have it easy. While she was eating, he spoke up.
"I heard you’re studying nursing at night?"
"Mhm. I don’t have much else to do anyway, and I enjoy it..."
She answered honestly, and he nodded.
"Not bad. I’ll have one of the nurses from the hospital show you the ropes someday."
She quickly waved her hands in refusal.
"There’s no need to go to all that trouble. I don’t want people to talk. Besides, Dylan is still little, so I can’t go out to work yet. I’ll just keep learning on my own for now."
Julian Donovan didn’t press the matter, just squinted as he glanced at her serene face, her head lowered.
’Does he think that one warm, sweet night is enough to make me let go of all my hang-ups and follow him with my whole heart again?’
’No! He’s wrong!’
The elevator stopped on the first floor. Naomi Shaw thought this distractedly as she walked beside him.
"Mama, hold me..."
Dylan’s voice beside her snapped her out of her troubled thoughts. She turned to take Dylan from him and met his deep, probing gaze.
"What are you thinking about?"
She forced a smile.
"N-nothing..."
He raised an eyebrow.
"If you keep this up, I’m going to think you’re upset because I’m leaving and you can’t bear to see me go."
"That’s not it!"
She pouted in protest, glancing awkwardly at Ken, who was driving. Ken just chuckled from the rearview mirror as he watched the two of them banter.
After Julian Donovan said that, Naomi Shaw wasn’t as lost in thought, but her mood still couldn’t lighten.
The car arrived at the airport. Ken tactfully got out first, leaving the family of three to their farewells. Julian Donovan first held Dylan and gave him several kisses, then pushed Dylan back into her arms. He took the opportunity to lean in, wanting to steal a kiss, but she didn’t know where the courage came from as she suddenly turned her face away. His movement froze, and his expression instantly darkened.
She hugged Dylan tightly, mustering the courage to look at him and speak.
"In the future... don’t do this anymore..."
’Don’t come back and stir me up like this, messing with my heart. It will take me long enough to forget the tenderness he’s shown me this time.’
Julian Donovan raised his hand and lifted her chin.
Naomi Shaw took a deep breath and met his displeased gaze as she spoke.
"If you don’t love me, then please don’t keep messing with my heart with this ambiguity. I can’t afford to play this game, and I can’t afford to lose. I don’t want to be forced to accept our separation after I’m in too deep to pull myself out!"
As she spoke, her eyes gradually reddened. Julian Donovan’s gaze was so dark it could kill.
"Naomi Shaw, your appetite is getting bigger and bigger. You actually dare to ask me for love?"
Dylan must have sensed the strangeness between them. He shrank obediently into her arms without a sound, his big, dark eyes blinking as he looked from Naomi Shaw to Julian Donovan.
Stung by Dylan’s gaze, Naomi Shaw retorted loudly.
"Yes! It’s not that you don’t give enough, it’s that I want more and more! I want a husband who loves only me. I want to give Dylan a healthy, warm home. If you can’t give Dylan and me these things, then please let us fend for ourselves here! We would rather not have your love than have you split one love into two!"
Julian Donovan was so enraged by her words that the veins on his forehead bulged. He couldn’t connect the pliant little woman who had melted into a puddle beneath him last night with this stubborn, infuriating woman before him now. He couldn’t understand her mercurial moods at all. He just felt humiliated and furious, felt his proud ego had been ruthlessly trampled. He had traveled a thousand miles just to be with her, and she was telling him not to do it again!
"Fine! You want to fend for yourselves? I’ll grant you your wish!"
With that, he viciously flung her hand away, turned, and got out of the car. Limp, Naomi Shaw sat there holding Dylan, watching him walk toward the departure hall with his luggage, not once looking back. A bitter tear slid from the corner of her eye. ’Was I wrong? Was I asking for too much?’
Dylan raised a small hand to touch the tears on her face, pressing his soft lips to her cheek.
"Mama, don’t cry..."
But her tears only flowed more fiercely.
"Oh, Dylan, Dylan, am I the most pathetic mother? I can’t even give you a proper home, can’t even keep your father..."
As soon as Ken got back in the car, he saw her crying while holding Dylan. Recalling the sight of Julian Donovan storming off with a dark face, he couldn’t help but sigh, shake his head, and start the car to drive them back. ’What happened this time? Didn’t they just spend a wonderful night together?’
After Julian Donovan left, there was truly no news from him, not even a single phone call. If it weren’t for the time she and her son were attacked, Naomi Shaw thought, he really would have just let them fend for themselves here.
