CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 66: Haven’t Done Anything Yet (Part 1)

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Haven’t Done Anything Yet (Part 1)

Naomi Shaw gazed out the car window at the big, fluffy white clouds dotting the sky. ’What a beautiful day,’ she thought with a self-deprecating smile. ’Too bad my mood is so dark and dreary I can hardly stand it.’

Lara Nash’s indignant voice came through the phone.

"How can you be the other woman? You’re his legal wife, for God’s sake! And you have a child together!"

She gave a bitter smile.

"Maybe on paper, *she’s* the other woman, but in Julian Donovan’s heart, I’m the one who came between him and Juliet Jennings. I’m the real homewrecker, aren’t I?"

’The one he truly loves is Juliet Jennings!’

Lara Nash was at a loss for words for a moment, then said in frustration,

"Who cares who he loves! The bottom line is, from a moral standpoint, Juliet Jennings is just shameless!"

"Lara, let’s not talk about this anymore. I have Dylan at the amusement park today. I’ll call you when I get back."

After saying this, Naomi Shaw hung up and turned off her phone. She didn’t want to discuss the topic any further, nor did she have the courage to. Right now, she just wanted some peace and quiet with her son. Just the two of them.

The moment Julian Donovan left the Shaw Residence, he started calling Naomi Shaw’s phone. At first, the line was busy. Then, it went straight to voicemail. He was so furious his stomach ached.

He tried calling a few more times, but it was still off. Unable to reach her, he had no choice but to give up. There were so many amusement parks; how was he supposed to know which one she’d taken Dylan to? He had genuinely wanted to take Dylan to the park today, but she was always so presumptuous, always shutting him out in the cold.

’How did she know I wouldn’t spend time with our son just because Juliet Jennings showed up?’

Just as he was fuming, a call came in from Juliet Jennings. Her voice was soft and alluring.

"Julian, guess where I am?"

"Why did you come without any warning?"

Subconsciously, he didn’t want Juliet Jennings here. This place felt like his own private sanctuary.

Hearing his tone, Juliet Jennings knew he must have already seen the news, so she dropped the pretense.

"The last movie I was in just wrapped, so I have some time for a vacation. I just wanted to come and see the city where you’ve been living for the past few years!"

’Juliet Jennings knew exactly why he had returned this time. At such a critical juncture, how could she not be here to supervise in person? If something went wrong and they didn’t get divorced, wouldn’t her years of waiting have been for nothing? So, even though she knew coming here unannounced would displease him, she came anyway. It was better to ask for forgiveness than permission. What could he do to her now, anyway?’

With that in mind, she adopted a wheedling tone.

"Julian, will you be my tour guide for the next few days? Let’s explore the city where you made your name!"

"Juliet, find a hotel and check in for now. I’m busy with something over here."

Julian Donovan frowned, hung up, and headed for the Shaw Dominion.

Juliet Jennings’s arrival left him inexplicably vexed.

’Strangely enough, the thought of divorce had vanished.’

To be honest, he’d never truly considered divorce. It was just that Naomi Shaw’s indifference over the years had made their marriage feel rather meaningless. And then, hearing that conversation between Juliet Jennings and her agent had made him waver. He couldn’t let go of his strange fixation on Juliet, yet he also couldn’t bear the thought of Naomi and his son becoming complete strangers to him.

He had to admit, his emotional intelligence was zero. He just couldn’t figure any of it out.

’Juliet Jennings was deeply dissatisfied with Julian Donovan’s cold attitude, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was already trying hard to suppress her urge to be clingy. The pity play she’d staged with her agent last time had been very effective; the very next day, he’d told her he was coming back to deal with his marriage. He hadn’t been explicit, but for a man like him, that was as good as a promise.’

She didn’t realize that while great acting might win her all the glory she desired in the world of theater, in real life, relying on performance and pretense could not last. By failing to play the part of someone nonchalantly waiting for his marriage to end, and instead brazenly coming to Thailos, she had just buried any future she might have had with Julian Donovan.

Juliet Jennings had just checked into her hotel room when her phone buzzed. She glanced at it—a picture message from an anonymous number. When she opened it, her face went white. It was a lewd photograph. A woman was kneeling on the floor, her head buried between a man’s legs. Even though long hair obscured the woman’s face, she knew it was her. She recognized the small butterfly tattoo on her own right shoulder. Given her celebrity status, if this photo got out, the consequences...

Deathly pale and trembling, she collapsed to the floor. Just then, her phone rang. Suppressing the urge to scream, she answered it with a shaking hand. A man’s laughter echoed from the other end.

"Juliet. You still remember me, don’t you?"

"Wendy Lowe, you despicable bastard!"

she shrieked. ’I don’t know when he took that picture of me. It must have been one of the times I was... going down on him. He must have secretly taken it with his phone from above.’

Wendy Lowe chuckled on the other end.

"Of all the people to get involved with, you had to pick Julian Donovan. Don’t you know that he and I are mortal enemies? It’s him or me. Do you really think I’d let you off the hook?"

The grudge between Wendy Lowe and Julian Donovan ran deep. To make matters worse, Julian had later banned marijuana cultivation, cutting off a huge portion of Wendy’s income. Most of his wealth came from drug trafficking, which he then used to invest in the entertainment industry and sleep with a revolving door of beautiful women.

Juliet Jennings took a moment to compose herself, her jaw clenched. On the other end of the line, Wendy Lowe was still smiling.

"I hear you’ve arrived in Thailos. Get me a picture of Julian Donovan’s wife and son."

Julian Donovan and Naomi Shaw’s wedding had been public, but because they had virtually no life together as a married couple, people had forgotten her identity over time. Combined with her naturally private nature—she rarely went out or attended any social events—it meant that no one had ever managed to get a picture of her.

"What are you going to do?"

Juliet Jennings asked warily. Wendy Lowe sounded smug.

"I’m not going to do anything. I just want to teach him a lesson, make him watch his step around me and stop being so arrogant! Speaking of which, I really have you to thank. If you hadn’t been constantly wrapped up in scandals with him, prompting the media to dig into his life, I’d never have known the bastard was married and even had a kid!"

"No!"

Juliet Jennings’s immediate reaction was to refuse, but Wendy Lowe didn’t seem angry.

"Juliet, Juliet. It’s a simple trade: one photo for another. Once I have what I want, I swear your picture will never see the light of day. Otherwise..."

Wendy Lowe’s laugh was sinister, and Juliet Jennings gritted her teeth in fury.

"I’ve never even met his wife or his kid. How am I supposed to get a picture for you?"

"You’re a smart woman. I’m sure you’ll figure something out. All right, that’s all. I’ll be waiting for your good news."

Wendy Lowe was about to hang up, but then added as if he’d just remembered something,

"One more thing. For the sake of the years we were together, let me give you some free advice, from one man’s perspective. Since he allowed her to have his child back then, no matter what he feels for her now, it means that at that moment, at least, he had feelings for her. What’s more, he still hasn’t divorced her. You can imagine what’s on his mind. So, I’m telling you, give up on your dream of becoming Mrs. Donovan."

"My affairs are none of your damn business!"

Juliet Jennings’s already pale face turned even more grim. She spat the words at Wendy Lowe and slammed the phone down. She thought back on Julian Donovan’s attitude toward her over the last few years. Even though he had given her everything, she could no longer see any trace of his former passionate love in his eyes.

’It wasn’t that she couldn’t see it. She was just unwilling to accept it. She refused to resign herself to that fact.’

Julian Donovan was busy at the office all day. He tried calling Naomi Shaw several times, but her phone was always off. He also called the Shaw Residence, where Mrs. Sommers told him that she and their son hadn’t returned. He grew increasingly agitated. In the afternoon, after finishing his last piece of business, he tried her number one more time. It was still off. A bad feeling washed over him. He was just about to tell Ken and Arnold to send men to search all the local amusement parks when a call from Juliet Jennings came in. He was in no mood to talk, but she was persistent, calling again and again, so he finally answered. Juliet Jennings’s voice was tinged with resentment.