"Mhm..."
She nodded. Sean Donovan glanced at her and asked, "Anna, so how did your talk... with Julian Donovan go last night?"
A flicker of unease crossed Naomi Shaw’s face as she recalled Julian Donovan’s brutish demands from the night before. She lowered her eyes and said softly, "It’s impossible between us now. Thank you for the tily reminder. You helped avoid making the sa mistake I did three years ago."
Sean Donovan reached out and lifted her small face, gazing into her bright, clear eyes. "Anna," he said gently, "I just want you to be happy."
Naomi Shaw gave him a long, deep look, then turned and took a delicate box out of her purse. She held it out to Sean Donovan, saying apologetically, "Sean, I’m sorry..."
Sean Donovan’s expression changed drastically. Of course he knew what was inside that box. He had painstakingly chosen it himself. It held the diamond ring he had given her, and now she was actually returning it! He stared at her, shaking his head in disbelief. "Why? Why, Anna? Didn’t you say it’s impossible with Julian Donovan? Why are you giving the ring back to ?!"
The apology on Naomi Shaw’s face deepened. "It is impossible between him and , but over these past few days, I’ve also realized that what I feel for you isn’t love. It’s not fair to you. So... I should give the ring back. I hope you can find soone who truly loves you in the future."
Julian Donovan or Sean Donovan—she wouldn’t choose either of them. The complex web of grievances and entanglents between them was more than she could face. Besides, she didn’t know when it started, but she had begun to feel a strange, inexplicable aversion to Sean Donovan.
"Anna, I know you don’t love . I told you a long ti ago that I don’t mind! As long as you stay by my side, keep giving warmth, and let take care of you and Joy, that’s enough for !"
Sean Donovan roared, losing so of his composure. The best-laid plans often go awry. He had calculated every possible outco, but he never imagined she would make a decision like this. He thought that after her heartbreak and despair over Julian Donovan, she would beco even more dependent on him. He never expected that in choosing to give up on Julian Donovan, she would also choose to give up on him.
He couldn’t accept it! Her decision was a blatant declaration that everything he had done before was now all for nothing!
Naomi Shaw pressed the ring box into Sean Donovan’s hand. "Sean, other than ’I’m sorry,’ I don’t know what else to say right now. After everything that’s happened, I feel like I see things much more clearly. I’m no longer fixated on love or hate..."
"I don’t agree!"
Before she could finish, Sean Donovan cut her off with an anguished roar. A chill crept into his usually gentle eyes. "Anna, I don’t agree to this breakup! Besides, the news that we’re together is already public. If we break up after just a few days, what will the dia think of us?"
Before Naomi Shaw could say anything, Sean Donovan shoved the ring back into her hand, then turned and stomped away in anger. He was moving so fast in his fury that his injured foot flared with pain, making his retreat look pathetic. With a helpless sigh, Naomi Shaw put the ring back in her purse.
’I’ll definitely return his ring,’ she thought. But her imdiate priority was to find a new apartnt. The place she was living in now belonged to Sean Donovan. If she was truly determined to break up with him, she would have to move out.
Near the end of the workday, Willow Sumrs called to ask her to dinner. After a mont’s thought, she agreed. She had asked Willow Sumrs to pick up Joy and Dylan the previous night, so she really ought to thank her properly. This was the perfect opportunity to treat Willow to a al.
Besides, after what had happened with Sean Donovan today, he definitely wouldn’t be coming ho for dinner. That ant she didn’t need to prepare a al like she usually did. After work, she picked up Joy and headed straight for the restaurant Willow had ntioned.
Willow Sumrs had brought another woman Naomi didn’t know. This woman had a completely different personality from Willow. If Willow was as passionate as fire, then this woman was as cold and proud as frost. She was very beautiful, with an aloof air. It wasn’t that she was deliberately acting that way to keep people at a distance; it was just her natural disposition.
Willow Sumrs slung an arm around the woman’s shoulder and introduced her with a grin. "This is my best friend, Lillian Huxley. You can just call her Huxley!"
Then she turned to the other woman to introduce Naomi. "Co on, Huxley, this is my friend from my volunteer work at the orphanage, Anna Quinn... or is it Naomi Shaw?"
"You guys can just call Naomi."
Now that her identity was exposed, there was no need to hide it anymore.
"Hello, Naomi. I’ve heard so much about you!"
The woman greeted her. Her way of speaking wasn’t as cold as her appearance suggested. When she smiled, pressing her lips together, she was quite beautiful.
"Hello..."
She gave a faint smile in return. The woman’s eyes fell on Joy in her arms, and she reached out to hold her, clearly smitten. "What a quiet little girl. Huh? Why does she look so much like soone?"
"Who?"
Willow Sumrs leaned in and asked. The woman frowned in thought, then tilted her head and uttered a na. "Julian Donovan?"
’She can tell that Joy looks like Julian Donovan? What about Julian Donovan himself? Has he noticed?’
Holding Joy, Lillian Huxley imdiately saw how unnatural Naomi Shaw’s expression was and beca convinced the child was most likely Julian Donovan’s. In truth, Lillian Huxley hadn’t said it to provoke Naomi Shaw; she genuinely thought, at first glance, that there was sothing about Joy that resembled Julian Donovan.
Seeing Naomi Shaw sitting there, a bit stunned, Lillian Huxley quickly elaborated. "Oh, right, I forgot to give a more detailed introduction. My husband is Caleb Rhodes. He, Julian Donovan, Felix Draper, and Henry Hale are all good friends, so I know Julian Donovan, too."
Naomi Shaw averted her gaze, looking uncomfortable. "Oh, I see..."
Willow Sumrs jumped in, playing host. "Alright, alright, let’s not talk about that for now. Let’s order!"
While they were waiting for the food to arrive, Lillian Huxley went to the restroom. Willow Sumrs quickly leaned over to Naomi Shaw and said, "That one’s a genuinely cold-hearted woman. It took Caleb six years to win her over."
"Six years?"
The word struck the most fragile place in Naomi Shaw’s heart. She couldn’t help but murmur it, stunned.
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