CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 22: Always Bewitched by Her

After he finished eating, he carried his plate to the kitchen to wash it out of habit. The moment she saw him, she rushed over to take it.

"I’ll wash it. You go get some rest!"

He froze for a moment. She had already taken it, placed it under the faucet, and begun to rinse it.

When he was with Juliet Jennings, he was almost always the one to do these things. Juliet was completely spoiled, waited on hand and foot. He had gotten used to it and never thought much of it. But now, being cared for so meticulously by her, a strange feeling stirred in his heart.

He desperately wanted to ask her why she was so good to him, but he swallowed the words. ’Because I suddenly understand,’ he thought. ’There’s no special reason for loving someone. She’s infatuated with me, just like I’m infatuated with Juliet Jennings. You meet them, you fall in love, and you can’t pull yourself away.’

Seeing him just standing there motionless, Naomi Shaw said, a little embarrassed,

"You go get some rest. I’ll head back on my own once the rain stops."

Julian Donovan glanced at her, then finally went upstairs to catch up on sleep.

In the middle of the night, a loud clap of thunder outside the window jolted him awake. The living room downstairs was completely silent. He assumed she had already gone home, but when he walked to the top of the stairs, he spotted a small figure curled up on the sofa. He glanced at the downpour outside and figured she must have fallen asleep while waiting for the rain to stop.

With a sigh, he turned and went upstairs, grabbing the warm comforter from his bed—still carrying his body heat—and covered her with it. He then took the throw blanket for himself and went back upstairs.

*And they say Donovan is heartless. See? He can be tender, too. Haha.*

The typhoon passed, and the next morning was bright and sunny. When Naomi Shaw woke up, she stared at her unfamiliar surroundings in a momentary daze. ’Where am I? The light on my bedroom ceiling is supposed to be shaped like a white, tiered cake.’

Once her brain came fully online, she shot up from the sofa with a gasp. ’I... I... I actually fell asleep here! Last night, after I finished cleaning the kitchen, I tidied up the messy living room. I was about to leave, but the storm outside was raging, and I was terrified. I decided to wait for the rain to stop... I can’t believe I fell asleep curled up on the sofa.’

Looking down at the comforter covering her, a flicker of warmth bloomed in her heart. ’I remember covering myself with a small throw blanket from the sofa last night. Did he swap it for this big one? Was he worried I’d get cold?’

At the thought, her eyes curved into crescents and she smiled softly, feeling that her mood today was as brilliant as the sun outside. It was just how it was. Because she loved him, the slightest bit of kindness from him filled her with boundless joy.

She got up, stretched, and then folded the comforter neatly. The first thing she did was run to the balcony to peek outside. ’His car is still there, so he probably hasn’t left yet. I still have time to make him breakfast!’

Just as she was about to turn toward the kitchen, she frowned and stopped. ’Oh, right... he doesn’t have any food in the house. What can I make? I could go get some ingredients from next door... but I don’t have a key to his place. If I leave, I won’t be able to get back in.’

’What should I do?’

After a moment’s thought, she decided to go upstairs to his room and sneak his key. ’I can’t hear a sound from upstairs, so he probably isn’t awake yet. He looked so exhausted last night. He’ll probably sleep for a while.’

With that thought, she tiptoed upstairs. She stopped in front of his bedroom door and raised her hand to knock softly.

She called out twice with no answer. Convinced he was still asleep, she carefully pushed the door open. He was lying on his side on the bed, his back to her, fast asleep. The small throw blanket she had used last night was draped over his waist, looking disproportionately small on his tall frame.

He had a lean, toned physique. His skin was tanned dark, and his muscles looked solid, the result, she guessed, of rushing about with Ian Shaw every day since arriving in Thailos.

Naomi Shaw felt the world spin around her. When she opened her eyes, she was met with his handsome face, inches from her own. The dark intensity in his eyes frightened her, and the hot, hard thing pressing against her thigh made her deeply uncomfortable. She swallowed hard, looking at him nervously.

"Ju-Julian, what are you doing?"

"Don’t you like me? If you like me, then you have to do this with me!"

Terrified, Naomi Shaw squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head again and again.

"Th-Then I don’t want to like you anymore..."

’She’s saying she doesn’t like me anymore over something this pleasurable?’ Julian Donovan thought. ’Perhaps her "like" for me only runs this deep.’ After being with a woman like Juliet Jennings, who had moved in with him back in college, he naturally couldn’t comprehend the terror an inexperienced girl, who’d only been with someone once, would feel about something like this.

"Julian, let me go! I... I was just bringing the comforter back..."

"Oh? And here I thought you were offering yourself to me."

"Then... will you marry me?"

"Marry you?"

He abruptly released her and sat up, his eyes filled with ice.

"Naomi Shaw, you’re unbelievably naive. To me, this is just a physical act, nothing more."

’How ridiculous! It’s just sex. It’s just that I happened to be in the mood, and she’d been acting like she was so into me before. And she actually expects me to marry her? If I went by her logic, would I have to marry every woman I sleep with?’

"So... you were just playing games with me?"

"If this is just a game, then I’m sorry, but it’s not a game I can afford to play."

After saying this, she covered her mouth and ran out. Behind her, an enraged Julian Donovan snatched the trouble-making blanket off the bed and threw it to the floor.

*Told you not to get your hopes up. Pfft.*

Naomi Shaw ran home in tears. Lara Nash was just getting out of bed, stretching as she walked out of her bedroom. When she saw Naomi coming in from outside so early in the morning, she shrieked as if she’d seen a ghost.

"Naomi, you... you... you’re coming from outside? You weren’t home last night?"

Naomi Shaw was in no mood to talk. She kept her head down and headed for her room, but Lara, sensing something was wrong, moved to block her path.

"Where were you last night? Ah..."

Lara stopped mid-sentence and let out another shriek, startling Naomi, who quickly looked up at her. The expression on Lara’s face was one of sheer horror. Her eyes wide with disbelief, she asked,

"Naomi Shaw, did you sleep with Julian Donovan?"

"No!"

Naomi Shaw quickly denied it, but Lara pointed to her neck.

"Then why do you have a giant hickey on your neck?"

Naomi Shaw remembered him biting her neck just moments before and hurriedly tried to explain to Lara.

"It’s not what you think..."

Lara was furious.

"Then why are you crying? Did he force himself on you?"

"Not that either..."

Lara’s questions only made the ache in Naomi’s heart worse. Nothing had happened between them, and he hadn’t forced her. What hurt more than any of that was his attitude and his words. ’Just playing games.’

’How could I have forgotten? He has a first love he’s still obsessed with. She’s the woman he truly wants to marry. And I was foolish enough to ask if he would marry me. What am I, Naomi Shaw, in his eyes? Nothing but a passerby he can use to satisfy his physical urges!’

As these thoughts made her heart ache with panic, she pushed Lara aside and ran into her room. Lara roared from the hallway,

"Julian Donovan, you bastard! I’m not through with you!"

Ronan Joyce walked out of her room and gently wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"What’s wrong now?"

Lara was hopping mad.

"He bullied Naomi again!"

Ronan Joyce sighed helplessly as Lara turned to him and said with dead seriousness,

"Round up every decent guy you know. I’m going to introduce them to Naomi, one by one. I refuse to believe no one can replace that heartless bastard! Aaaaargh, I’m so furious!"

In her room, Naomi Shaw heard Lara’s words and couldn’t help a bitter smile. ’She’s right... why can’t any man replace him? I can’t even pinpoint what’s so good about him. He’s not even good to me. So how did I end up falling deeper and deeper?’