CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 174 - 147: Gentle Comfort (Part 2)

Jean Coleman put down the bowl, stood up, and looked at her, her eyes full of compassion. "Anna, he already told me about what happened between you and that unfilial son of mine!"

"How am I unfilial?"

Julian Donovan protested, dissatisfied.

"You shut up!"

The moment Julian Donovan opened his mouth, Jean Coleman roared at him, shouting him into silence. He knew Jean had always been gentle and reasonable; in all his life, she had almost never spoken to him in such a fierce tone.

As if roaring at him wasn’t enough to vent her anger, Jean Coleman walked over and slapped him hard on the arm. "How are you not unfilial?" she said as she hit him. "Running your family into the ground like this is the very definition of unfilial!"

Julian Donovan cried out from the slap but didn’t dare to resist. It was obvious Jean Coleman was truly furious. Naomi Shaw hadn’t expected the ever-gentle Jean to fly into such a rage, either. Just as she was about to step forward and mediate, she saw Jean continue to berate Julian. "Now that you’re a father yourself, you should understand. All parents want is for their children to be happy and safe. You took a perfectly good home and shattered it. You tell me, is that what you call being a good son?"

"But I’m trying to fix things now..."

Julian Donovan mumbled under his breath, clutching his stinging arm. But the thought of the suffering his daughter-in-law and two children had endured made Jean Coleman unable to stop herself. She stepped forward and slapped his arm again. "Julian Donovan, I, Jean Coleman, never gave birth to such a heartless son! From this day on, don’t you dare call me ’Mom’ again!"

After being hit and scolded by Jean Coleman, Julian Donovan stood there gloomily, clutching his arm in silence. It was the first time in his life she had ever hit and cursed him. He knew his sins were unforgivable, so he didn’t resist at all. If this could lessen his past transgressions, he was willing to let her hit and scold him a few more times.

Seeing Julian Donovan’s pathetic and pitiful state, Naomi Shaw stepped forward and took Jean Coleman’s arm. "Dean Coleman, it’s all in the past. You don’t need to get so worked up. It’s not good for your health!"

’What else could I say? The past was the past.’

’And seeing his pitiful state, I can’t help but feel sorry for him.’

Jean Coleman came over and took her hand, her face full of apology. "Anna, if I had known about what happened between you two sooner, I would never have allowed things to get to this point. But that unfilial son of mine didn’t tell me anything. I’ve always been so confident in him, how could I have known he would commit such a terrible sin!"

From a young age, Julian Donovan had been a sensible child she never had to worry about. Jean Coleman had rarely ever lost sleep over him. He only ever told her the good news and never the bad. She had only found out in recent years that he had even gone off to Thailos. Who would have thought that after never giving her cause for concern, he would drop something this big on her all at once.

When he suddenly produced a son, Dylan, that was already enough to give Jean Coleman a headache. Whenever she asked about Dylan’s mother, he refused to say a word. Now the truth was finally out, but she never imagined her son would have treated a girl like that.

Last night, as soon as she got his call and heard the gist of what had happened, her usual gentle demeanor vanished. She flew into a rage, packed her things, and rushed to the hospital, planning to give him a piece of her mind. But when she arrived, he was gone, leaving her with a beautiful, cherubic little girl, fast asleep.

Jean Coleman had always been very fond of Naomi Shaw. Now, finding out that her son’s ex-wife was Naomi herself, she was both furious and delighted. She was furious at the sin her son had committed, but delighted that the person by his side all those years had been such a wonderful, kind-hearted girl, and not that vain, power-hungry woman from the glamorous world of entertainment.

As Jean Coleman was speaking to Naomi Shaw, Julian Donovan, who had just been called an unfilial son again, interjected, "Her name isn’t Anna Quinn, it’s Naomi Shaw!"

’Her identity is clear now, can we please stop using that name? It sounds so awkward to me.’

Jean Coleman roared at him again without holding back. "I told you to shut up! You don’t get a say here!"

Julian Donovan threw his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine, I’ll shut up! I won’t say another word, okay?"

’I’ve finally gotten the message. Mom is seriously pissed this time. It’s best not to provoke her any further.’

’This is what they mean by ’you reap what you sow.’ Right now, I have to carefully placate my mom, rack my brains to win back my wife, do my best to take care of my daughter, and be a responsible father to my son. Is there any man in the world with a more miserable lot in life than me?’

Resigned to his fate, he walked over to Joy, who was sitting up in the hospital bed, blinking her big, dark eyes at the three adults. He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss. "My Little Princess, did you miss Daddy?"

"Mmm..."

Joy puckered her lips and kissed his clean-shaven cheek. Julian Donovan’s heart melted. Back when it was just Dylan, he had never experienced this kind of deep, tender, and warm affection. Joy made him want to give her the world.

That soft little kiss soothed some of the gloom from his mother’s scolding. Julian Donovan sat down by Joy’s bed, picked up the bowl of porridge Jean had set down earlier, and began carefully feeding his Little Princess, one spoonful at a time.

Meanwhile, Jean Coleman’s words warmed Naomi Shaw’s heart. Even though she no longer held any resentment toward Julian Donovan, she was still touched by what his mother had said. She smiled and tried to comfort Jean. "Dean Coleman, please calm down. I don’t hate him anymore, so please don’t be so hard on him."

’It’s hard for me to watch him being hit and scolded.’

Her sensible and considerate nature made Jean Coleman’s heart ache for her even more, to the point that she started to cry. "Anna, it’s our Julian who has wronged you..."

At this, Naomi Shaw didn’t know what to say. She could only try to gently persuade her, "You watched over Joy for us all night. Why don’t you let Julian take you home to rest first?"

Seeing his mother losing control of her emotions, Julian Donovan quickly came over as well. "That’s right, Mom. Let me take you home to rest first. You can vent all the anger you want on me after you’ve had some sleep!"

Jean Coleman wiped her tears and shot him a fierce glare. "I don’t need you to take me. Just looking at you makes me angry!"

Taking the hint, Julian Donovan quickly changed his tune. "Then I’ll have the driver take you..."

With that, he stepped aside to call the driver. Jean Coleman took Naomi Shaw’s hand and said sorrowfully, "Anna, how I wish... you would call me ’Mom’."

’To have such a wonderful, kind-hearted girl as her daughter-in-law was a blessing she must have earned over several lifetimes. It was just a shame her son had hurt her so badly.’

After saying this, Jean Coleman let go of her hand and walked over to Joy. She lovingly stroked the little girl’s face and said with reluctance, "Joy, Grandma will come back to stay with you tonight, okay?"