Dylan frowned, glancing at him and then at Naomi Shaw. Without a word, he took his sister’s hand and walked away. Seeing Julian give her the cold shoulder, Naomi couldn’t help but turn and stomp upstairs in a huff.
In the changing room, they both grabbed clean clothes. Julian Donovan was quite unconcerned, stripping down and changing right there. Naomi Shaw was already upset from being ignored, so when she saw him unabashedly getting naked, she imdiately turned her face away and waited for him to finish.
A mont later, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see he had finished changing and was about to leave. She finally ran after him, hugging him tightly from behind. "Julian..."
He did stop. She pressed her face against his back and said pitifully, "Please don’t be angry with anymore, okay? I didn’t an any of those awful things I said or did. Seeing you heartbroken hurts more than it hurts you. I’ve loved you since I was eighteen, I..."
Thinking of all the suffering she had endured over the years for loving him, she was on the verge of tears. But before she could finish, he shoved her away. He didn’t look like he was about to forgive her at all; in fact, he seed even angrier. "So, you still don’t know what you did wrong, do you?"
She tugged at his sleeve, pleading softly, "Tell what I did wrong, and I’ll change it in the future!"
He angrily shook her hand off. "No! This is a mistake you need to realize on your own. Only then will you take it seriously. Otherwise, you won’t learn your lesson!"
With that, he turned and stord off, ignoring the near-tearful expression on her face. She was so frustrated she was about to break down. ’What unforgivable sin did I commit for him to punish like this?’
Downstairs, Dylan Donovan, who was already seated at the dining table with Joy, looked at the still-fuming Julian Donovan and asked, "What’s wrong with you and Mom?"
"Nothing!"
The fuming man didn’t want to drag the kids into their problems, but his clever son wasn’t about to let it go. He stared at him and asked relentlessly, "Then why are you being so cold to Mom?"
He shot Dylan a glare. "She made a mistake. She’s being punished!"
Dylan, staunchly supporting his mother, made a face at him. "Hmph, be careful it doesn’t backfire on you!"
Julian Donovan couldn’t be bothered with him. ’Right or wrong, that kid will always be on his mom’s side.’ He glanced at the well-behaved Joy sitting there and couldn’t help but think, ’A daughter is really the one to dote on after all.’
A short while later, Naomi Shaw also ca downstairs in clean clothes. The family of four was finally sitting together for a al, but because of a certain man’s long face, the atmosphere at the table was far from harmonious.
Naomi Shaw had planned to have a serious talk with him after the al, but as soon as he finished eating, he took a call and rushed out. He only left them with one instruction, "I have sothing this afternoon, so I’m heading out. Don’t you guys go anywhere for the next few days!"
This left Naomi Shaw incredibly frustrated. She even suspected this was just another one of his tactics—a way to tornt her by playing hard to get.
After lunch, once she had put the two children down for their naps, she called Lillian Huxley. The kids had ntioned that Lillian had been helping take care of them, so Naomi wanted to call and say thank you.
"Naomi, you don’t have to be so formal with . Huh? I thought you and Julian Donovan cleared up your misunderstanding? Why do you sound so listless?"
Lillian Huxley asked, puzzled. She had heard about the situation with Naomi and Julian Donovan from Caleb Rhodes and assud that once the misunderstanding was resolved, everything would be fine between them.
"The misunderstanding is cleared up, but he’s ignoring . He told to reflect on my actions, but I don’t even know what I did wrong! I’ve already apologized for everything I could think of!"
Naomi Shaw lanted miserably. Lillian Huxley thought for a mont and said, "I’m no expert on matters of the heart. I suggest you ask Writer Sumrs—Willow Sumrs—to analyze it for you. She’s always going on about love and romance, and since she’s written so many novels, she must have a great understanding of how n think!"
Naomi Shaw thought Lillian’s suggestion made sense. Willow Sumrs might seem a bit flaky at tis, but she was actually sharper and more insightful than anyone.
When Willow Sumrs received Naomi Shaw’s call for help, she was at a restaurant on a date with Walter Jennings. Her company, Sutton, was just two streets away from Walter’s, so as long as he didn’t have a business lunch, he would et her near her office to eat together. After eating, the two would chat until it was ti to go back to work in the afternoon.
In reality, their "chats" mostly consisted of her talking and him listening. She mostly talked about office gossip, especially about Sarah Sutton and Sue North. Then, as she talked, she would start imagining how the stories would develop, completely forgetting the man across from her as she got lost in her own imagination.
After hearing Naomi’s story, she once again forgot about the man across from her and enthusiastically began playing the role of a relationship expert. "Hey, hey, Naomi! Julian Donovan isn’t angry because you hurt him. I bet... he’s mad that you went undercover without telling him, right?"
Naomi Shaw was stunned. "Huh? But if I had discussed it with him, he never would have let go. How could I have gone undercover then?"
"Whether you could have successfully gone undercover or not, the point is you were wrong not to discuss it with him!"
Willow Sumrs explained earnestly, "That’s just how n are—obsessed with their pride. You went undercover behind his back, and that wounded his male ego. Especially a guy like Julian Donovan, who’s the domineering, tyrannical type!"
"Oh? Is that it..."
Naomi Shaw bit her lip and thought about it. What Willow Sumrs said made sense, especially since he had previously asked her what she really thought of him.
"This is just my personal guess, of course. Why don’t you... try apologizing for that and see what happens?"
Willow Sumrs laughed, completely oblivious as the expression on the man across from her grew darker and darker.
"Okay, I’ll give it a try!"
Naomi Shaw sighed. Right now, placating him was the only thing that mattered. She couldn’t stand him being so hot and cold, so close and then so distant.
"This is the ti to pull out all the stops—the honey trap, playing the victim, whatever it takes! Don’t be shy!"
Willow Sumrs kindly offered her advice. Naomi sighed wearily. "I’ll see how it goes. Thanks, Willow!"
After Willow Sumrs hung up, she noticed the man across from her looked thunderous and couldn’t help but ask, puzzled, "What’s wrong?"
Walter Jennings snorted coldly. "You seem to be quite good at guessing what other n are thinking, huh?"
"Hey, what’s with the weird, sarcastic tone all of a sudden?"
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