CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 74 - 72: Rest Well (Part 1)

Ken had been about to step forward to report on the attack, but upon seeing the scene, he chose to step aside for the moment. No matter how deeply you once loved someone, if it wasn’t meant to be, you would ultimately become mere strangers passing in the night. And even if you didn’t love her at first, to hold her tightly and comfort her in such a perilous moment... that had to mean she was special to you now.

Although Naomi Shaw’s wrist was only a hairline fracture, as the saying goes, "an injury to the bone takes a hundred days to mend." The doctor put it in a splint to help it heal, leaving her entire right hand unable to move freely.

By the time they reached the hospital room, Mrs. Sommers had already brought a set of clean clothes. Mrs. Sommers offered to help her change, but Julian casually took the clothes from her. Mrs. Sommers was too taken aback to say anything. Naomi’s face instantly turned red, and she just stood there, smiling awkwardly, refusing to move an inch.

Julian narrowed his eyes, staring at her. The two remained at a standstill. Dylan, who was uninjured and had been with Mrs. Sommers the whole time, saw the two of them frozen like that and walked over to tug on Naomi’s pant leg.

"Mommy, Daddy is really bad at helping people get dressed. Let Dylan help you instead!"

Julian shot an annoyed glare at Dylan, then strode forward and pulled Naomi directly into the restroom. He didn’t have time to waste dawdling with her; he still had to deal with this incident. ’Anyone who dares to touch my woman and my son will pay the price!’

Naomi stood with her back to the sink, awkwardly using her uninjured hand to cover herself.

"Don’t... I-I’ll change by myself!"

’If I weren’t covered in blood, I’d just wear these clothes for the next few days.’

"Are you sure you can manage?"

Julian didn’t press her further. He simply stood before her, watching her as he asked. Naomi nodded quickly, and he handed her the clothes.

"Then go ahead, show me. If I see you can manage, I’ll leave you alone."

Naomi’s face flushed with embarrassment again. ’He’s going to watch me change? What’s the difference between that and him helping me?’

"Get some rest."

After helping her into her top, Julian finally tossed out that sentence and turned to leave. ’If I don’t leave now, I’m afraid I’ll lose control. But there are more important things to do.’

Naomi turned and saw her reflection in the mirror, her face as red as a ripe tomato. Using her good hand, she cupped some cool water and splashed it on her burning cheeks before adjusting her clothes and walking out. She didn’t expect that the moment she emerged, Dylan would exclaim,

"Mommy, your face is so red!"

She gave Dylan an embarrassed glare, while Mrs. Sommers just smiled knowingly.

"What’s there to be shy about? A young couple should have moments like these every now and then!"

"Mrs. Sommers!"

Naomi blushed, cutting Mrs. Sommers off. Mrs. Sommers just laughed.

"Alright, alright, I won’t say any more. Come on, Dylan, let’s go home for now and let your mommy get some rest!"

The doctor had said that while Naomi’s wrist injury wasn’t severe, it would be best for her to stay in the hospital for treatment. Dylan obediently let Mrs. Sommers carry him out. After they left, Naomi was just about to lie down when several doctors and nurses knocked and entered. They explained that Julian had instructed them to perform a full-body check-up to ensure there were no other lingering injuries from the shooting.

She could only cooperate. By the time they were finished, she was already groggy and had drifted off to sleep.

In the hospital corridor, Julian listened as Ken updated him on the investigation into the shooting. Ken wore a grave expression.

"It’s clear these two are well-trained professionals. They were fully masked, didn’t linger after the attack, and only fired a single shot. Their escape was also highly sophisticated. According to the men we sent after them, they’re likely mercenaries with strong counter-surveillance skills. Tracking them down will be difficult..."

Julian’s voice was cold and ruthless.

"Tear this city apart if you have to, but find those two for me! I want them brought in, dead or alive!"

Ken nodded.

After a moment’s thought, Julian gave him another order.

"She and the boy can’t stay at the Shaw Residence anymore. Find me a secluded, secure property. I want tight security around the perimeter, with our people stationed there. It has to be hidden from outsiders while ensuring that mother and son are completely safe!"

"Yes! I’ll arrange it immediately!"

Julian waved a hand, dismissing him. After Ken left, Julian went to the intensive care unit to check on Arnold. It looked like he was out of critical danger; he would wake up once his body had time to recover.

When he returned to Naomi’s room, she was asleep. The incident had clearly left her terrified, and she was sleeping fitfully. Her brow was tightly furrowed, and sweat beaded on her forehead. Seeing her like this, Julian rushed to her side and called her name softly,

"Naomi? Wake up! Are you having a nightmare?"

Naomi was indeed having a nightmare. As soon as she closed her eyes, her mind filled with the image of Arnold, covered in blood, lying in her arms. In the next instant, the blood-soaked figure became Dylan, and then Julian. Terrified, she began to flail her arms and mutter in her sleep,

"No! Don’t hurt them, don’t hurt them..."

Finally, unable to bear the alternating flashes of gore any longer, she sat bolt upright with a scream.

"Ah... Arnold... You have to be okay. Please, be okay..."

Covered in sweat, she sat there, her face pale, panting heavily. Julian sat down on the edge of the bed, sighed, and finally raised a hand to pull her into his arms, comforting her softly,

"Naomi, Arnold’s going to be fine. Everything is over now."

It seemed that after weathering Dylan’s illness and now this life-or-death ordeal, his temper had softened considerably. A hint of warmth had begun to creep into his voice when he spoke to her.

Naomi rested in his arms, clinging to him tightly with her good hand, still overcome with emotion.

"Julian, I was so scared. So scared that Arnold wouldn’t make it, and so scared that the bullet would hit me or Dylan..."

Julian said nothing, only held her tighter. ’Could he admit that he had been afraid, too? Afraid of losing any one of them?’

Naomi lifted her head from his chest, her tear-streaked face looking up at him pleadingly.

"Julian, please, can you stop doing these dangerous things? I know my father left his criminal enterprise to you, but you don’t have to inherit it!"

’She wasn’t blaming him for putting her in mortal danger with his line of work; she’d prepared herself for that possibility before. But ever since Dylan was born, she had grown increasingly terrified of this life of violence.’

A shadow passed over Julian’s features.

"There’s no turning back for me now, is there?"

This must have been the first time he had ever been so candid with her about his feelings. It seemed this incident was changing everything, creating all sorts of firsts. Juliet Jennings had thought she could destroy them, but instead, she had only deepened their bond and destroyed her own chances with Julian.

"What do you mean, no turning back? The Shaw Dominion makes more money than you can spend in a day. Why not use it to invest in hospitals? You could help people and put your own education to good use!"

Julian looked at her desperate, pleading expression and finally just said,

"It’s not as simple as you think. Now, just focus on getting better. Don’t worry about it so much."

’The Shaw Dominion had grown to its current, unassailable position. Its existence was no longer just about taking responsibility for its own people, but for everyone with whom it did business. She was too naive, too kind. She thought you could decide everything based on personal preference. If only the world were that simple.’

He stood up and left after saying his piece. Long after he was gone, it dawned on Naomi how they had just interacted. From the moment she’d woken from her nightmare, he had spoken to her gently, even sharing his private burdens with her. ’Has he changed, or am I just imagining things?’

She didn’t have the courage to let her thoughts run wild, but she didn’t dare fall back asleep and into her nightmares either. So, she got up and went to the intensive care unit where Arnold was. Standing outside, she looked at Arnold, who was being kept alive by machines, and her tears began to fall again. ’Such a good young man... he nearly died for me and Dylan. In the future, I have to make sure Dylan repays Arnold for saving his life.’

In the evening, Mrs. Sommers brought Dylan and some dinner to visit her. She had missed Dylan terribly after just one day apart. He carefully crawled onto the bed beside her and gave her a kiss.

"Mommy, I moved into a new house today!"

"A new house?"

Naomi looked confused, and Mrs. Sommers explained from beside her,

"Oh, Julian said the old house wasn’t safe anymore, so he had us move. I’m the only one who came to the new place to look after you and Dylan. No one else knows where it is." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Naomi pursed her lips, silently digesting what Mrs. Sommers had said. Mrs. Sommers, meanwhile, took the opportunity to offer some advice.

"A husband and wife aren’t a real couple until they’ve gone through some things together. Now, with Dylan’s illness and this major shooting incident, he has chosen to stay by your and Dylan’s side. You should stop being so cold to him, like you used to be!"

Naomi felt a little abashed at Mrs. Sommers’ words and was just about to offer a few words in her own defense when she looked up and saw him walk in. The retort she had for Mrs. Sommers died in her throat. Instead, she looked at him and said softly,

"I heard you found a new place for me and Dylan. Thank you."