CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 73 - 71: A Bad Premonition (2)

He gently pushed her back, cupped her tear-streaked face, and looked at her as he said seriously,

"Go get some rest. By the time you wake up, Arnold will be back with us. Trust me!"

She nodded through her tears as he turned and strode into the emergency room. Surgery was indeed his strong suit, but he didn’t yet know the exact location of Arnold’s wound. All he knew was that for her sake, he had to succeed.

Because if Arnold died, she would be consumed by guilt for the rest of her life. He couldn’t bear to see her live like that.

With this singular thought in his mind, Julian Donovan walked into the operating room.

If you fall in love with two people at the same time, choose the second one, because if you truly loved the first, you never would have fallen for the second.

Julian Donovan entered the operating room, scrubbed in, and changed his clothes. Each movement was deliberate and steady, yet heavy with purpose. He had stood at the operating table countless times, but never with such gravity. The image of her tear-streaked face replayed endlessly in his mind...

Inside the operating room, Julian Donovan and several other doctors fought to save Arnold’s life. Outside, Naomi Shaw wept and prayed fervently. ’If only it had been me,’ she thought, ’I’d rather be the one who was shot than have someone uninvolved like Arnold suffer for my sake.’

She was getting out of the car, holding Dylan, while Arnold followed behind with their things. All she heard was Arnold’s shout—"Miss Naomi, look out!"—before he tackled her to the ground from behind. She instinctively hugged Dylan tighter, bracing her fall with one hand to avoid crushing him.

Then a gunshot rang out, followed by a pained grunt from Arnold. The thick scent of blood filled the air. She knew instantly what had happened and let out a piercing scream,

"Arnold..."

Having grown up by Ian Shaw’s side, she had understood the dangers of this world from a young age. But Tyson had always protected her so well that, over time, those who might have targeted her had given up.

This was one of the reasons she had been drawn to Julian Donovan’s clean, untainted aura in the first place. She loathed all the violence and bloodshed. She had thought he would be a gentle, kind man with a brilliant, respectable career. She never expected him to end up on the same path as Ian Shaw, but by then, she was already in too deep to pull away.

"Dylan, don’t look! Don’t look! Don’t look at anything! Be a good boy and bury your face in Mommy’s arms!"

She pressed Dylan’s head tightly to her chest, shielding him from the bloody scene, and screamed toward the house,

"Mrs. Sommers, call an ambulance! Hurry!"

Arnold’s chest was already soaked in crimson. Supporting him, her face was instantly streaked with tears as Arnold weakly tried to comfort her.

"Miss Naomi, don’t be sad. I took this bullet for you and Dylan willingly. I don’t have any family in this world. You’re the only one who’s ever treated me like a real little brother... who’s cared for me, who’s looked after me..."

Wendy Lowe and Juliet Jennings may have hoped for something to happen to her, but her own kindness and goodness had earned her the loyalty of a man willing to sacrifice himself to save her.

The moment the shot rang out, Mrs. Sommers and the others rushed outside. Thankfully, the driver was home and immediately rushed the three of them to the hospital.

Seeing Naomi Shaw in such a daze, Ken’s heart ached for her. He walked over to offer some comfort.

"Naomi, you should go change your clothes and get some rest. Didn’t Julian tell you to trust him?"

Naomi Shaw weakly shook her head.

"I’ll wait here. I won’t be able to rest until I see Arnold come out..."

Tears began to fall again as she spoke. Ken didn’t press the matter, just sighed and stepped aside. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Several hours later, the light above the operating room door went out. Julian Donovan and the other doctors emerged, their faces etched with fatigue. Naomi Shaw tried to rush over and ask about Arnold, but her legs had gone numb from standing still for so long. She took a single step before they buckled, and she crumpled to the ground.

Ken, who was standing beside her, was about to step forward and help her up when Julian Donovan dashed over. He bent down and swept the nearly collapsing woman into his arms. His voice was heavy with fatigue as he spoke,

"Didn’t I tell you to get some rest?"

With red-rimmed eyes, Naomi Shaw asked anxiously,

"I couldn’t rest. How is Arnold?"

For the first time in years, Julian Donovan offered her a genuine, heartfelt smile.

"He’ll live."

In his arms, she instantly broke down, crying like a child.

Julian Donovan glanced down at her, then carried her all the way back to her hospital room, despite his own body screaming in protest after the grueling, hours-long surgery.