When it ca to Julian Donovan, she had vacillated between love and hate millions of tis, leaving her covered in scars.
She had to accept her fate. He was the calamity of her life.
He had left when she needed him most. Then, just when she’d finally had a mont to breathe, he would reappear with gentle words. A casually spoken "I love you" was all it took to revive her dead heart, making her want to do nothing more than run straight to him.
But it turned out to all be a conspiracy.
Was there anyone in this world whose path to love was more fraught with hardship than hers?
For the rest of this life, she would pray devoutly before the Buddha, praying that she would never be reborn as a human. She would rather be a fish—a fish with only a seven-second mory—so that all the love, the hate, and the pain would be forgotten in an instant.
But Naomi, if love isn’t irrigated by suffering, how can it ever blossom into sothing so dazzling?
When Naomi Shaw found a free mont in the afternoon, she gave Willow Sumrs a call. Here in Wincastle, she had almost no other friends she could trust. And while she didn’t know Willow Sumrs well, she had a feeling she was a good person—soone worth befriending and confiding in.
Willow Sumrs’ cheerful voice ca through the phone. "Anna, what’s up?"
She sounded a little embarrassed as she began, "Um... could I trouble you to pick up Joy and Dylan for tonight?"
She didn’t want the two children to know what was about to happen between her and Julian Donovan. This was especially true for Dylan. Even though he was mature enough to never say anything—even siding with her against Julian Donovan—she could still sense his deep desire for them to get back together and give him a complete family.
"No problem, leave it to ! You just go and enjoy your ti alone with Julian Donovan, don’t worry about a thing!"
Willow Sumrs teased. Naomi let out a resigned laugh. It was true they were going to have ti alone, but it wasn’t the romantic kind of ti Willow was imagining.
"Thank you, Willow!"
"Oh, don’t thank ! Your Julian Donovan is my savior. I’d do anything for him!"
Willow Sumrs had already heard that Julian Donovan had whisked her away to Thailos. She was convinced the trip must have greatly improved their relationship, which was why she’d said "your Julian Donovan." Little did she know how deeply ironic those words were to Naomi Shaw. Without another word, Naomi hung up.
Julian Donovan arrived in Wincastle in the afternoon. He had wanted to see Naomi Shaw imdiately, but there was an urgent surgery to perform, so he went directly into the operating room. When he finally ca out, he saw the sky had already darkened. He turned on his phone and found a text ssage she had sent: *I’m having Willow Sumrs take Dylan and Joy to her place tonight, so you don’t need to pick them up.*
He raised a handso brow, a smile playing on his lips. ’What’s this? Did she send the kids away on purpose? Does she want to spend so ti alone with ?’
A glance at his watch told him it was the end of the workday. He took a quick shower in his office bathroom, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and drove straight to the entrance of Donovan Hospital. As he pulled up, she was walking out of the main doors, her head lowered. She looked pale, and a pang of concern shot through him.
He tapped the horn. She looked up, saw his car, and froze. After a mont’s hesitation, she walked over and got in. The instant she closed the door, he leaned in to kiss her. He hadn’t seen her for days and had missed her terribly. In his idle monts, his thoughts were completely consud by her.
’What is she doing? What is she eating? What is she thinking about?’ He felt he was being ridiculous, obsessing over a woman like so kid who’d never been in love before.
Emma, there are still four thousand characters to go. I can’t write anymore, sob.
But she turned her head to avoid him, a flicker of revulsion in her eyes. "You’re blocking traffic. Let’s go."
His brow furrowed imdiately, but he didn’t push it. He started the car and pulled away from the hospital.
Naomi Shaw remained silent for the entire drive, gazing out the window. She was never very talkative, so Julian Donovan didn’t think much of it at first. But when they stopped at a red light, he couldn’t help but reach over and take her hand. She didn’t struggle, simply letting him hold it. Her bare ring finger, however, made his frown deepen. "Why aren’t you wearing your ring?"
"I don’t feel like it..."
she murmured. Julian Donovan’s sharp gaze swept over her face, finally settling on her slightly swollen, red-rimd eyes. His voice grew heavy. "What happened?"
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