CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 67: Haven’t Done Anything Yet (2)
"Julian, why aren’t you here yet? Are you still busy?"
Before Julian Donovan could reply, Ken burst into his office, looking flustered.
"Young Master Donovan, it’s bad! Dylan has been hospitalized for food poisoning!"
Julian Donovan felt his heart plummet. He asked urgently,
"How did this happen? Which hospital?"
"The one you invested in, Mercy Hospital!"
Ken had only just found out from a call from the hospital himself. They said Naomi Shaw had just arrived in a taxi, carrying Dylan.
"Get the car ready, now!"
Julian Donovan ordered Ken as he strode out the door. At that moment, his mind was filled with the image of Dylan’s little face, scrunched up in pain. He had completely forgotten he was still on the phone with Juliet Jennings.
On the other end of the line, Juliet Jennings stared in stunned disbelief at the disconnected call, furious. She knew Dylan was his two-year-old son, but she couldn’t believe Julian would just cast her aside like that.
She had no children of her own, so of course, she couldn’t understand a parent’s instinctual devotion to their child. All she felt was resentment and hatred. She resented him for ignoring her like this and hated that woman and child for tying him down. She had been hesitating over Wendy Lowe’s request, but now, she had no doubts. ’That woman and her child are the biggest obstacles in my way.’ She didn’t know what Wendy Lowe planned to do to them, but the mere thought of that woman getting hurt filled her with glee.
’Mercy Hospital, is it? Good. Now that I know where she is, how hard can it be to get a photo? These days, anything is possible if you have enough money.’
When Julian Donovan sped to the hospital, Tyson, SARA, and Lara Nash were all there. The moment Tyson saw him, his eyes blazed with fire. Without a word, he rushed forward and threw a vicious punch.
"Julian Donovan, are you a fucking man or not?"
Julian Donovan didn’t have time to dodge and took the full force of Tyson’s punch. The impact was so great that blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Tyson, his anger unabated, swung at him again.
"I don’t care why you married her, but since you did, you damn well better treat her right! If you can’t take care of her and your son, then let her go!"
Tyson roared, his eyes bloodshot. Julian Donovan didn’t know what was wrong with him; he didn’t even fight back. Perhaps, subconsciously, he felt he deserved Tyson’s punches. On the way over, Dylan’s illness had made him think. He was a doctor himself and knew that newborns, especially a child as young as Dylan, often got sick due to their weak immune systems. ’How did she handle it all those other times Dylan got sick? Did she also have to take him to the hospital all by herself, just like this time?’
Every time he had seen Dylan before, the boy had been healthy and happy, so such worries had never crossed his mind. It was only now, with this incident, that he realized how wrong he had been to ignore her and his son just because he was angry with her.
He staggered a few steps before steadying himself. SARA quickly rushed over and pulled Tyson back.
"Tyson, calm down!"
Tyson’s chest heaved as he glared furiously at Julian Donovan. Julian Donovan wiped the blood from his lip and asked with a worried expression,
"How’s Dylan?"
Although seeing Tyson land two punches without any retaliation was satisfying for Lara Nash, there was no way she would let him off that easily. She immediately shot back with a cold, sarcastic remark,
"Well, well! Finally remembered you have a son? With your mistress already making herself at home, I thought you were about to kick him and his mother to the curb."
SARA gave Lara Nash a helpless look.
"Lara, that’s enough."
’Julian Donovan is already here,’ she thought. ’They shouldn’t make things so difficult for him.’
"Julian Donovan, I’m warning you! Get that shameless mistress out of Thailos right now, or else..."
Lara Nash let out a cold laugh.
"Or else I’ll use my father’s influence to get rid of her! She wanted to come here so badly? Fine, then I’ll make sure she’s buried here!"
Julian Donovan glared at Lara Nash just as the hospital room door opened. An exhausted Naomi Shaw stepped out.
"Please, stop shouting. Dylan was just about to fall asleep, and you woke him up!"
After the whole ordeal, Naomi Shaw was exhausted, filled with guilt and self-blame. It was because she’d been so out of it all day that she had let Dylan eat something unclean at the amusement park, leading to his food poisoning. The memory of Dylan clutching his stomach, collapsing to the ground and wailing in pain, was still heart-wrenching to recall.
She had been terrified at the time. Dylan was two and had been sick a few times before, but never anything so sudden or severe. She had been in a complete daze, and it was only when a bystander reminded her to get to a hospital that she snapped out of it, picked Dylan up, and ran to find a taxi.
On the way to the hospital, she had felt so helpless and afraid. She’d wanted to call Julian Donovan, but then she’d thought, ’He’s probably with Juliet Jennings right now.’ In the end, she hadn’t made the call. It seemed the hospital must have notified him.
The sight of Naomi Shaw, so haggard and weary, made Julian Donovan’s heart clench. He strode over to her and asked,
"How is Dylan now?"
The sight of him reminded Naomi Shaw of Dylan, and her eyes began to sting. She lowered her gaze and said flatly,
"He’s on an IV drip. He’s much better, but he’s still having symptoms of nausea..."
The man towering over her was silent for a long moment before he suddenly spoke.
"I’m sorry!"
She looked up at him, stunned. Those two words, "I’m sorry"—she had never heard them from his lips before. She knew he wasn’t one for soft words. During their two years together, whenever they had a minor disagreement, he would always try to make peace by giving her a gift.
Of course, Lara Nash, Tyson, and the others standing nearby were also surprised. They never expected Julian Donovan to apologize. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Julian Donovan just kept his eyes lowered, looking at Naomi Shaw.
"I didn’t know she was coming to Thailos. I honestly wanted to take Dylan to the amusement park today..."
Naomi Shaw stared at him blankly. ’Is... is he explaining himself? If this is his explanation, does that mean I misunderstood him today...?’ But whether he knew Juliet Jennings was coming to Thailos or not, their relationship was what it was. With that thought, she turned her face away and stopped looking at him.
"Go in and see Dylan. He was just calling for you..."
After saying this, Naomi Shaw didn’t look at Julian Donovan again. Instead, she walked over to Tyson and SARA.
"Tyson, SARA, I’m sorry for making you worry!"
She had only called Lara Nash, because in her utter helplessness, Lara was the only one she could turn to to share her fears. She hadn’t actually notified Tyson. Ever since he got married, she had tried her best to keep her distance from him to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings. She had just happened to run into him and SARA when she arrived at the hospital with Dylan. She’d heard SARA was pregnant; they were probably there for a prenatal check-up.
Thinking back to how Julian Donovan had completely ignored her when she was pregnant, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of despair. ’We both married men who don’t love us, so why are my circumstances so different from SARA’s? Is it my fault? Or is it Julian Donovan’s?’
The truth was, if Naomi Shaw had just been willing to ask one more question, and if Julian Donovan had just been willing to say one more thing, their situation wouldn’t have ended up like this. But she stubbornly refused to ask, and he was even less willing to express or explain himself, so they only drifted further and further apart.
Tyson was still fuming and just snorted coldly at her words. SARA, however, quickly spoke up.
"We’re all family. Don’t talk about making us worry. The important thing is that Dylan is okay!"
Lara Nash came over as well.
"Exactly, Naomi. As long as Dylan’s okay, that’s what matters. You should go back and take care of him. We’ll get going and come see him another day!"
With that, the group said their goodbyes. Naomi Shaw turned and went back into the hospital room, where she saw Julian Donovan sitting by Dylan’s bed, speaking to him in a soft voice. It was only with Dylan that she ever saw this gentle side of him.
