Naomi Shaw sighed. What Lara Nash said was a complete fantasy. ’How could there ever be a day where he cos begging ?’ He probably wished she’d stay as far away as possible. Lara Nash shook her relentlessly.
"Did you hear ? Did you hear ? If you forgive him, I’m done with you!"
"Alright, alright, I promise!"
According to Syanese tradition, a married daughter is supposed to return ho to thank her parents. Naomi Shaw hadn’t told Ian Shaw and the others that Julian Donovan had left for ridia on their wedding night; she didn’t want them to worry about her again. She only went back a few days after the wedding. On the day she returned to the Shaw Residence, Ken was the one who ca to pick her up. The first thing Ken wanted to do when he saw her was explain Julian Donovan’s trip to ridia.
"Madam, about Young Master Donovan’s trip to ridia..."
The way Ken addressed her grated on Naomi Shaw’s ears, and she cut him off imdiately.
"Ken, please just call Naomi like you always have."
Ken was a man who paid attention to detail. He felt that since she had married Julian Donovan, he should address her respectfully as "Madam." But seeing her objection, he could only relent.
"Naomi, Young Master Donovan’s trip to ridia was arranged a long ti ago. The orientation date was set by the university and couldn’t be changed, which is why he had to leave overnight."
’Couldn’t be changed?’ Ken’s words were well-intentioned, hoping to ease so of Naomi Shaw’s resentnt toward Julian Donovan. But to his surprise, she just sat quietly in the back seat, gazing out the window, and humd softly in acknowledgnt.
Ken continued to explain, trying to make Julian Donovan’s overnight departure sound more convincing.
"He went to ridia for advanced dical training. You know that was his original major. He’s had to neglect it for the past two years because he was busy with state affairs. Now that he has the ti and ans, he wants to fulfill his unfinished dream!"
Naomi Shaw still responded with the sa placid tone.
Ken glanced at her in the rearview mirror as he drove. Seeing her completely unconcerned expression, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of anxiety for Julian Donovan. ’In an age this fickle, if he lets a good girl who loves him with all her heart slip away, where will he ever find another?’
"Um... I can give you regular reports on his schedule in ridia..."
The hidden aning in Ken’s words was that if Julian dared to start seeing other people in ridia, he would be sure to tell her.
At this, Naomi Shaw finally lifted her eyes to glance at Ken, the corners of her lips curving into a faint smile.
"That won’t be necessary, Ken. What he does in ridia is his own business. As outsiders, we have no right to pry or interfere. Besides, I don’t really want to know."
Her completely unconcerned tone surprised Ken. He watched her in the rearview mirror and saw her gently stroking her belly, her head bowed as she smiled tenderly.
"Right now, just looking after the baby is more than I can handle, let alone other people and other things. Thank you, Ken."
Naomi Shaw was telling the truth. The baby in her womb was her entire world now. Her days were spent thinking about how to stay in good spirits and how to provide plenty of nutrients for herself and the baby. She had no ti or energy to think about irrelevant people.
Since she’d put it that way, Ken could only look at her contented smile and say no more. He sighed and drove on toward the Shaw Residence.
Ian Shaw had sent Mrs. Somrs to wait at the gate much earlier. Upon seeing Naomi Shaw arrive alone, Mrs. Somrs imdiately asked,
"Where’s Julian Donovan?"
"Oh, he went to ridia. He said he had so business to take care of."
Naomi Shaw linked her arm affectionately through Mrs. Somrs’s and shot Ken a look. Ken imdiately chid in.
"That’s right. Sothing ca up unexpectedly, so Young Master Donovan had to go to ridia."
Mrs. Somrs looked skeptical, but Naomi Shaw quickly changed the subject, drawing her into a conversation about other things. ’I’ll just have to keep this from them,’ she thought. ’For as long as I can. Especially from Dad. I really can’t have him worrying about again, not when he’s so sick. It’s better to just put on an act, to let them think my life isn’t so bad after all.’
When she saw Ian Shaw, Naomi Shaw again put on a calm front and fobbed him off with the sa excuse. There was this man, a man who gave her both pain and joy, who taught her to bear and endure, who taught her to hide and conceal. ’Should I thank him for forcing to grow up? Or should I hate him for making lose my innocence?’
Ian Shaw didn’t press the issue, simply asking after her health and, in particular, the baby’s condition. Only when the topic turned to the baby could Naomi Shaw muster a genuine smile. She told Ian Shaw that the baby was perfectly healthy and that she was taking great care of it every day. A gratified smile spread across Ian Shaw’s face.
"Naomi, after I’m gone, don’t be sad. Let this little life be here with you in my place. In the future, he’ll be your only family. For his sake, you have to live a good life."
Tears instantly stread down Naomi Shaw’s face. ’He’s preparing ,’ she realized. ’He knows he doesn’t have much ti left, so he’s trying to comfort in his own quiet way, trying to keep from falling apart when he’s gone.’ It was a blessing that this little life had co when it did. Otherwise, she truly didn’t know how she would ever go on after losing her father.
「Three months passed, and Julian Donovan hadn’t sent a single word.」
Of course, the so-called lack of contact was only in regard to Naomi Shaw; he was still in touch with Ken and the others about work. But he never contacted her, and she refused to hear any news about him from Ken. Her days with her baby were peaceful and content. She spent most of her ti at the Shaw Residence with Ian Shaw, reading books on nursing in her free ti. She planned to find a proper instructor after the baby was born; for now, while pregnant, she could only study the theory without any hands-on practice.
When Tyson learned that Julian Donovan had gone to ridia, he ca to her, heartbroken but at a loss for words. She just gave him a faint smile.
"Tyson, don’t be angry. I’m just doing this so Dad can pass on without any regrets. Don’t worry, I’m not deluding myself anymore. Once Dad is gone, I’ll file for divorce."
Tyson looked at this completely changed woman before him, wishing he could march right up to Julian Donovan and beat the hell out of him.
In fact, Julian Donovan had been living in near-total isolation for those three months as well. Having neglected his studies for two years, he had a lot to catch up on. The university he’d applied to required him to pass an entrance exam, so he had no choice but to cram day and night, only finding ti to deal with work emails in the dead of night.
Fortunately, there was one silver lining to this grueling routine: he made a few like-minded friends—Caleb Rhodes, Felix Draper, and Henry Hale. They all attended the sa university but had different majors. Julian Donovan had a habit of going to a bar for a drink whenever he was exhausted, and that’s how he gradually got to know them.
The four of them shared one thing in common: their hotown was Wincastle, which made them feel an even closer bond. Caleb Rhodes was a steady, self-disciplined man, rarely seen with won, with the sole exception of his beautiful secretary, Shani Linton.
Henry Hale was cold and seed to have no interest in won; at first, Julian Donovan almost thought he was gay. Felix Draper, on the other hand, was a quintessential, unrestrained playboy, often seen with a woman on each arm. He did, however, tone it down considerably after a sweet, docile girlfriend entered the picture.
Caleb Rhodes focused on architecture and economics, Felix Draper on managent, and Julian Donovan on dicine. Henry Hale was the strange one—he studied everything, learning with a mad, insatiable hunger. When they asked him why, he’d only say that he would learn anything that could make him stronger.
Caleb Rhodes and the other two were single. When it was Julian Donovan’s turn, he hesitated for a long ti, unsure how to explain his situation. Felix Draper, never one for subtlety, kicked him.
"Hey, what are you hemming and hawing about? If you’re married, you’re married. If you’re single, you’re single. What’s the big deal?"
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