CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 68: I Dare You to Be More Self-Righteous (Part 1)

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: I Dare You to Be More Self-Righteous (Part 1)

Dylan shot her a reproachful look.

"Mom, Dad just said he was supposed to take me to the amusement park, but you wouldn’t let him go!"

Naomi Shaw’s expression turned awkward. ’Having a son who learned to speak so fluently and logically this early wasn’t always a good thing,’ she thought.

"Dylan, weren’t you just sleepy? Hurry up and get some rest. When you wake up, your little tummy won’t hurt anymore!"

But Dylan tilted his pale little face up at her and shook his head.

"I’m not sleeping, Mom. I’m afraid Dad won’t be here when I wake up!"

A sharp pain pierced Naomi’s heart. ’Dylan has only met Julian a handful of times, so why is he so attached to him? Is this what they call a blood bond? Kinship? But Dylan, what will you do in the future if you’re this clingy? He’s going to have other children with another woman. By then, he might not even remember you. He’ll surely love the child he has with the woman he truly loves more than he loves Dylan, won’t he?’

Julian glanced at Naomi, who stood there with a pained expression, then raised a hand to ruffle Dylan’s hair, coaxing him softly.

"There, there. Go to sleep now. Daddy’s right here with you."

Joy filled Dylan’s eyes.

"Really? You can’t lie to me, Dad. Or else I’ll never believe you again!"

Julian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’This kid... he already knows how to use both carrot and stick at his age.’

"When have I ever lied to you? The only reason I broke my promise today was because a certain someone was being presumptuous!"

Naomi flushed with embarrassment again, and to make matters worse, Dylan called out to her.

"Mommy, come over here. Hold me and sing me a song."

Dylan always needed her to coax him to sleep. Sometimes, when she was in a good mood, she would even sing him nursery rhymes, which always helped him drift off quickly. But today... with Julian watching her, how could she possibly sing? She could only say,

"Mommy’s tired today..."

Dylan was never one to throw a tantrum, so he just mumbled, "Oh," and burrowed under the covers. But the disappointment on his little face was plain to see. Resigned, Naomi had no choice but to walk over.

In my heart, I have a scale to weigh whether he is worthy of her love.

Even though Dylan had asked her to hold him, Naomi felt too inhibited with Julian there. She sat on the edge of the bed, leaned over, and began gently patting Dylan while humming a soft nursery rhyme. Julian sat opposite her, his finger tightly clasped in Dylan’s free hand—the one without the IV drip. As she tried to lull their son to sleep, Julian’s gaze never left her, causing her to mess up the lyrics.

Fortunately, Dylan wasn’t paying attention to what she was singing, only to the gentle comfort of her presence. After a long day at the amusement park followed by the misery of his illness, seeing both his mother and father by his side was all he needed. Naomi had only hummed a few lines before Dylan Donovan closed his eyes in contentment and drifted into a deep sleep.

Naomi let out a quiet sigh. ’Finally, I’m free,’ she thought, relieved. She pulled the blanket over Dylan, glanced at Julian opposite her, and said coolly,

"I can stay and watch him. If you’re busy, you should go."

’That Juliet Jennings is probably still waiting for him. It wouldn’t be right to abandon her after she came all this way for a vacation, would it?’

Julian’s expression darkened. He crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and kept his voice as low as he could.

"What could possibly be more important than my son being sick!"

’See? There she goes again, being presumptuous. Did she really think he would abandon his own sick son for Juliet Jennings?’

Naomi lowered her eyes and mumbled,

"The doctor said it’s nothing to worry about now..."

Before she could finish, Julian shot up from his seat. With a cold expression, he strode over, yanked her to her feet, and began dragging her out of the room. Afraid of waking the sleeping Dylan, she didn’t dare struggle and simply let him pull her along.

The moment they were out the door, Julian slammed her against the wall and snarled,

"Naomi Shaw, could you *be* any more presumptuous!"

Naomi looked up at him, stunned. ’He’s calling me presumptuous? What? Was I wrong?’

But she was in no mood to argue with him about who was right or wrong. She averted her gaze and said,

"I’m going back in to watch Dylan..."

He jerked her back, his large hand clamping around her arm as he issued a domineering command.

"I’ll watch Dylan tonight. You go sleep in the adjoining lounge!"

Just as Naomi was about to protest, his phone rang. He took it out, and her eyes immediately fell on the name flashing on the screen. Her expression instantly clouded over. Julian rejected Juliet Jennings’s call, glanced at Naomi’s dejected face, and then powered his phone off completely before looking at her to speak.

"I’m sending her away tomorrow."

He didn’t even know what came over him; the words just tumbled out when he saw her crestfallen expression. Besides, with Dylan like this, he was in no mood to play tour guide for Juliet. Sending her away early was for the best. He was already quite annoyed that she had come to Thailos uninvited in the first place.

Naomi was stunned once more. She bit her lip, her wide, glistening eyes staring at him in a daze.

"Now, get in there and sleep."

Julian’s tone left no room for argument. Naomi gave him one last look before finally deciding to obey, turning and heading back toward the hospital room. ’He seems like a different person tonight,’ she thought. ’I saw a flicker of something like concern in his eyes.’ But then, she corrected herself. ’He must only be emotional because Dylan is sick. He’s worried about Dylan, not me.’

His voice followed her from behind.

"Stop trying to guess what a man is thinking. You’ll never get it right."

’If she didn’t always jump to conclusions about what he was thinking and then give him the cold shoulder, things between them wouldn’t be so tense.’

Her footsteps faltered. Flustered, feeling as though he’d seen right through her, she hastily scurried into the adjoining lounge.

She heard him enter the room behind her and sit down at Dylan’s bedside. Dylan’s IV drip would likely run until midnight, and someone needed to watch over him and remove the needle when it was done. ’The thought of a big man like him cooped up in that chair all night feels... wrong,’ she mused. ’He really didn’t have to order me around like that. I’m already used to taking care of Dylan, after all.’

With him on watch outside, she hardly slept soundly, tossing and turning in a fitful doze. In the middle of the night, she heard a noise from the main room—he must have been removing Dylan’s finished IV. She was debating whether she should tell him to come rest in the lounge while she slept with Dylan, when she heard her son’s tearful voice.

"Mommy, Mommy..."

Startled, she shot up and rushed out. Julian must have woken Dylan when he removed the IV. The boy was now sitting up in bed, sleepily looking around with bleary eyes, calling for his mother with a pitiful whimper. Naomi hurried forward and swept him into her arms, soothing him.

"Shhh, Dylan, it’s okay. Mommy’s here, Mommy’s here..."

Nestling into her embrace, Dylan finally quieted down, letting her hold him as he drifted off to sleep again. No matter how much he acted like a mature little adult, at the end of the day, he was still just a child.

Once Dylan was asleep again, Naomi gently laid him down on the bed and looked at Julian, who was still standing there.

"You go rest in the lounge. I’ll sleep here with Dylan."

He glanced at her but said nothing before turning and walking into the lounge. She climbed onto the bed, held Dylan tightly in her arms, and fell asleep beside him.

It felt like the first time the three of them had ever slept peacefully in the same space. That night, Naomi had a beautiful dream. She dreamed that she and Julian didn’t just have Dylan, but also a lovely daughter. She dreamed of the four of them as a family, playing and laughing on a grassy lawn. The look he gave her was filled with tenderness and adoration, and she returned his ardent gaze with a gentle warmth of her own.