CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 99 - 97: The Cruelest 7

Willow squinted, smiling as she looked at him.

"Anna Quinn, who worked as a caregiver with me at the orphanage, was wearing a bracelet on her wrist a while ago that was exactly the same as yours!"

A flicker of light ignited in Julian’s eyes. ’She wore one too? Does this mean she’s still holding a torch for me?’ Willow was waiting for this exact expression, the smile on her face growing wider.

"Later, when I didn’t see her wearing it anymore, I asked her why she stopped wearing something so pretty. Guess what she said?"

She successfully piqued Julian’s interest. He looked at Willow expectantly, and she giggled.

"She said it was just a cheap thing from a street stall, so she threw it away when it got old!"

It was like a needleprick to Julian’s heart. Willow waved goodbye to him, then turned and walked toward her car, lamenting to herself as she went.

"Oh, well. If you lose a thing, it’s probably somewhere nearby. But if you lose love, it’s gone to the ends of the earth!"

’This was a line she’d seen on social media, and now she felt it was the perfect fit for Julian.’

The color drained from Julian’s face in an instant. He wasn’t deaf to the sarcasm in Willow’s words, but he was powerless against her because her statement was a perfect reflection of his own love life.

In the end, he said nothing. He simply took Dylan’s hand, turned, and walked into the house.

Willow drove home alone, her favorite sad EASON love songs playing in the car. They inexplicably stirred up a well of emotions in her. As a writer of romance columns and novels, she was always more affected by such things than most people.

’In every love story, there’s always a supporting character destined to be cannon fodder. I wonder who it will be in this story—Julian or Sean. I actually quite like that Sean. The memory alone of him holding an umbrella for Naomi Shaw in the rain is enough to make my heart swoon. It’s just...’

She sighed, looking up at the heavens. ’What can I do? I’m a sucker for the original couple. Deep down, I still hope Julian gets the girl in the end.’

"Where did you eat dinner?"

Dylan answered calmly.

"Willow treated me!"

Julian didn’t press the matter. Dylan had gotten very close to Willow while she was living in Thailos. When they reached Dylan’s room, Julian bent down, hugged him, and gave him a kiss, but then he frowned.

"Why do you smell like cooking oil?"

’Where on earth did Willow take him to eat? He came back reeking of grease.’

That evening, while Naomi Shaw was cooking, Dylan had stayed with her in the kitchen the entire time. Though he often acted like a little adult, he was still just a child who clung to his mother. He wouldn’t leave her side, following wherever she went. Finding him underfoot, Naomi finally just scooped him up and continued to stir-fry with him in her arms.

He immediately struggled, wanting to be put down.

"Mommy, I’m a big boy now, you don’t have to carry me. You should save your strength for carrying Joy. Besides, I’m really heavy..."

Naomi smiled and gave him a kiss.

"It’s okay, Mommy can still carry you!"

No matter how delicate a mother may seem, she can always summon a mysterious strength for her child. A mother can do the impossible for her children.

And that was how Dylan ended up reeking of cooking oil. Afraid Julian would figure something out, he pushed him away and darted into his room.

"What are you talking about? You must be imagining things. Anyway, I’m going to sleep. Good night!"

"You reek. Take a shower before you go to bed—"

Julian followed, intending to give him a bath, but Dylan immediately bolted the door from the inside, shutting him out. Once in his room, Dylan took off his jacket and dove straight into bed. ’I’m not taking a shower,’ he thought. ’This is Mommy’s smell.’

In the middle of the night, Julian, who was sleeping in the adjacent room, was startled awake by Dylan’s painful groans. He leaped out of bed, rushed over, and pounded on Dylan’s door.

"Dylan, what’s wrong?"

Dylan’s weak voice drifted from inside the room.

"Dad, my stomach hurts!"

Julian was worried sick, but Dylan had locked the door before going to bed. Without hesitating, Julian kicked the door open and rushed in to find Dylan curled up on the bed, clutching his stomach, his forehead beaded with sweat.

"What did you eat tonight?"

Julian rushed to his side, examining him as he questioned him. But Dylan bit his lip and refused to say a word. He knew if he described the dishes he’d eaten, his dad would know he had seen his mom.

When Dylan didn’t answer, Julian frowned and asked again.

"Why aren’t you answering? You have such a sensitive stomach; you know better than anyone that you have to be careful about what you eat."

Dylan had always had a weak stomach. Ever since a bout of food poisoning at age two, he had become extremely picky and careful with his food, so something like this rarely happened.

"Dad, it hurts—"

Not wanting to answer the question, Dylan just blinked his big eyes and looked up at Julian pitifully. Seeing him like this, Julian didn’t press him further. He got up, found some stomach medicine, and gave it to him. But suspicion had already taken root in his mind. ’Dylan is a boy of principle and holds himself to high standards. He knows he has a weak stomach; he would never eat recklessly.’

’But based on my quick examination, he just ate too much. What delicious meal could possibly make the self-disciplined Dylan break his own rules and eat himself sick? There could only be one answer.’

He glanced at Dylan, who was now lying quietly, the medicine having eased his pain. Julian was furious but also helpless. He was angry that Dylan had met with *her* behind his back, but he was also wary of how fiercely the boy protected her. One wrong move now would only make Dylan push him away even more.

So, he could only let a wry smile touch his lips. ’Fine. They want to play games behind my back, is that it? I’ll play along with this mother-son duo. Come to think of it, this could be fun.’

Lying in bed, Dylan saw that faint, mysterious smile on his father’s lips, and a bad feeling washed over him. He furrowed his little brow, his guard immediately going up.

"Dad, my stomach feels better now. You should go get some sleep!"

’I don’t want to be around my sly, cunning dad any longer,’ he thought. ’Nothing good ever comes from that smile.’

"I’ll sleep in here with you tonight, in case the pain comes back!"

Julian ignored his son’s deep frown, switched off the light, lay down beside him, and pulled him into an embrace.

Dylan shifted away in protest, turning his back and mumbling.

"I like it better when Mommy holds me..."

Julian immediately seized the opening.

"Then why don’t you have her come hold you?"

Dylan fell silent and obediently let his father hold him as he drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning, Willow received an accusatory phone call from Julian.

"Willow, what did you feed Dylan yesterday? He ended up with a stomachache in the middle of the night!"

"Huh? A stomachache?"

Willow, on the other end of the line, wasn’t even fully awake yet.

"That can’t be right. Logically, home-cooked food is perfectly clean. How could he get a stomachache?"

"At home?"

Julian narrowed his eyes on the other end of the line. ’Just as I guessed.’

Realizing she’d let it slip, Willow quickly tried to cover her tracks with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, at a home... I mean, I took Dylan to a friend’s home for dinner yesterday. Anyway, gotta go, I have to get up or I’ll be late!"

You all begged me to make Donovan suffer, and now that I am, you feel sorry for him. Ladies, where are your principles! Hmph!

Julian stared at the phone Willow had hastily hung up on, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. He then turned and went to Dylan’s bedroom.

"Dylan, don’t go to school today. Stay home and rest."

’In a little while, I’ll call Willow again and make Dylan’s condition sound even more serious,’ he schemed. ’Knowing Willow, she’ll definitely tell *her*. And once she hears her son is sick, could she possibly remain indifferent? She’ll come running right to my door, won’t she?’

’Don’t blame me for being despicable. Since she refuses to come to me, I have to resort to these measures to close the distance between us. I have to admit, Dylan is the only bargaining chip I have left to get close to her.’

Dylan was still a bit weak. Although the medicine had helped last night, he’d started having diarrhea this morning. Even so, being the good student he was, he still wanted to go to school.

"But Dad, my stomach doesn’t hurt anymore. I don’t want to miss school..."

"You still need to rest at home, even if the pain is gone. Look at how weak you are. Are you really in any condition to attend class?"

Although Julian planned to use Dylan as bait to lure her over, he was also genuinely concerned for the boy’s well-being and wanted him to rest. The little guy was practically collapsing from his stomach issues, yet he was still trying to act tough. ’I wonder who he gets that stubborn streak from,’ he thought.