CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 45: Pregnant and Getting Married (5)

When she got pregnant, Julian could have refused to have the child and chosen not to marry her. But once her father stepped in, Julian felt indebted to him and had no choice but to compromise. However, he came to resent her for it, choosing to torment her with a loveless marriage. They couldn’t even return to the peaceful two years they’d once shared. It had reached the point where they were just torturing each other.

She felt that she and Julian were now caught in a vicious cycle. She loved him but was afraid to love him any longer. He didn’t love her, yet he had dragged her into this marriage. They were trapped, each suffering in their own private misery. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Seeing her like this, Lara’s heart ached. After a moment’s thought, Lara sat down beside Naomi and tried to offer some comfort.

"Naomi, the way I see it, since you’re married and have a child on the way, why don’t you try to win his heart? You were with him for two years. He must have some feelings for you, right?"

"Win his heart?"

Naomi Shaw gave a desolate smile. She hadn’t told anyone what Julian had said about going to Meridia to study after the wedding. ’I’ll just bear those hurtful words alone.’

’He won’t even be here, so how could I win his heart? Through daily long-distance calls? Or by following him to Meridia while pregnant? No! I can’t hope for that. For the rest of my life, all I wish is for him and our baby to be safe. Nothing else matters.’

On Wednesday, Naomi Shaw received a call from Ken, telling her to go to the bridal shop for a fitting. Ken sent a car to pick her up, so she went. Ken was a truly meticulous person. For every occasion—the white wedding gown, the traditional red dress, the reception gown—he had the designer prepare several styles for her to choose from.

She tried on a white gown first. She fell in love with it the moment she saw it on the mannequin. After a store clerk helped her adjust it, she stepped out of the fitting room. As she looked up, she saw someone ascending the stairs, and her expression instantly froze. ’I thought he would have definitely scheduled his fitting for a different time. I can’t believe he’s here today.’

Julian was clearly surprised to see her here as well. He had specifically told Ken to schedule their fittings at different times. He never thought Ken would just let his words go in one ear and out the other. But in the next second, the surprise in his eyes was replaced by awe. Dressed in a beautiful, dream-like white wedding gown, she stood there, shyly holding the hem. The simple, flowing design, free of any complexity, outlined her slender figure. The strapless bodice snugly supported her small bust, hinting at a subtle sexiness without being revealing. Her shoulders were bare, her collarbones delicate. Sunlight streamed through a nearby window, casting a halo around her and making her look as elegant and enchanting as a princess, fresh and sweet.

He found himself walking toward her. Ken immediately shot a knowing glance at a few of the clerks. They all carefully followed him downstairs, leaving the rare, warm, and tranquil moment to the two people they left behind.

Julian walked toward Naomi step by step, making no effort to hide the awe in his eyes. His intense gaze left Naomi flustered. She nervously took a small step back, but the long hem of the gown nearly tripped her. In one smooth motion, Julian’s long arm wrapped around her, pulling her into his embrace. He then lowered his head and kissed her moist, soft lips. He kissed her gently, as if the resentment and conflict between them had never existed. He softly took her lip between his, suckling it tenderly. As always, she shyly closed her eyes and accepted his kiss. He persisted, nipping and teasing until she was nearly breathless and had to part her lips to gasp for air. Only then did his tongue dart out, easily parting her teeth to find and tangle with her own.

As the kiss deepened, their breathing grew ragged. Julian, no longer satisfied with just a kiss, let his fiery lips trail down her pale neck, finally coming to rest on the swell of her breasts, barely contained by the strapless gown. When Naomi caught sight of the intimate scene in the mirror—his head buried in her chest—her face burned hot, and she raised her hands to gently push him away.

"Julian, don’t..."

’If this keeps up, he might take me right here. I’d be too mortified to face anyone.’

"I’ll be home tonight!"

Panting, Julian lifted his head from her chest and turned to nip at her delicate earlobe. He had never denied the immense pleasure she brought him. Even though she had no technique, even when he did all the work, she gave him something no other woman ever had. Not even Juliet Jennings had ever left him this satisfied.

His words made Naomi’s brow furrow in alarm.

"But we’re not supposed to have sex during the first three months of pregnancy..."

Of course, Julian knew that. ’But what am I supposed to do if I can’t hold back?’ he thought. He had enjoyed her to his heart’s content for the past two years, and he wasn’t used to suddenly having to abstain. Seeing her worried frown, however, he suddenly felt the urge to tease her.

"Did I say I was coming home to do *that* with you?"

Naomi bit her lip in embarrassment and said nothing. ’But the fire in his eyes just now clearly meant exactly that.’

Julian gave her neck a hard, lingering bite, as if staking his claim. Then he chuckled suggestively in her ear.

"But it’s not like we can’t do anything... You can satisfy me in other ways, can’t you?"

Naomi’s face turned completely crimson. Sometimes, when she was on her period and he was particularly insistent, she would be forced to take care of him with her hand. Whenever that happened, she’d be so mortified and furious she wanted to kick him out and tell him to find another woman to vent his frustrations on. Once, he’d even tried to coax her into using her mouth. She had refused so vehemently that she started to cry. No amount of coaxing worked after that; she wouldn’t even use her hand, so he’d had to give up.

"Wait, Young Master Donovan, you haven’t had your fitting yet!"

"I have something to do. I’ll come back another day!"

’Obviously,’ he thought. ’If I stay any longer, am I going to take her right here in the bridal shop?’

Naomi watched him leave, a pang of disappointment in her heart. ’He’s always like this,’ she thought. ’A brief moment of sweetness, followed by endless neglect.’

She lowered her gaze, hiding the sadness in her eyes. Picking up the hem of her gown, she started toward the fitting room to try on the next outfit. But when she glanced in the mirror, she gasped and her face flushed red. There was a bright red mark on her neck where he had bitten her. The clerks who came back upstairs saw it too. They smiled and teased her as they brought over the matching jewelry set to try against her neck.

"My, my, Young Master Donovan. Couldn’t he wait?"

"Don’t worry about the mark. It should be gone by the wedding day. If not, the necklace will cover it. But you two should be careful not to leave marks anywhere else, you hear!"

Naomi wished a hole would open up in the floor and swallow her, especially with Ken standing right there.

Ken stood to the side, a gentle smile on his face as he watched the beautiful young woman. Having chosen to work for Julian, he was dedicated to taking care of everything for him, both personally and professionally. He truly hoped from the bottom of his heart that Julian and Naomi could find happiness together. But he was, after all, only a subordinate. The most he could do was try his best to create opportunities for them to connect.

But how could he bring himself to tell her that Julian’s flight was booked for the night of their wedding?

After her fitting, Naomi went home. Because Julian had said he would be home that night, she went out of her way to buy his favorite ingredients. After two years with him, she knew his preferences like the back of her hand. She knew he disliked spicy food, loved seafood, and adored light-flavored Syanese cuisine, while he absolutely couldn’t stand Thailosian food.

She made an authentic Syanese meal of four dishes and a soup. After eating a little herself to tide her over, she curled up on the sofa to watch TV while she waited for him. Ever since The Shaw Dominion had grown more powerful, his face often appeared on the business channel. She didn’t know when it started, but she had fallen into the habit of switching to the business channel whenever she turned on the TV, just to catch a glimpse of that familiar figure. Lara always teased her about it. "Isn’t seeing him at home all day enough? You have to watch him on TV, too?" Because Lara loved watching entertainment news, she would always fight with Naomi for the remote whenever she came over.