CEO Ex-Husband, Don't Bother Me-Chapter 125 - 121: Come Back with Me
The whole party headed back. Since there were so many of them, Naomi Shaw, Lara Nash, and Mrs. Sommers took one car, while the two children rode with Julian Donovan in Arnold’s car.
On the way back, Mrs. Sommers held her hand and persuaded her.
"Naomi, Lara told me all about Julian’s feelings. Why not give him a chance? How many love stories in this world begin with both people in love from the very start? Most begin with one person’s persistent pursuit, which eventually captures the other’s heart. You put in the effort, and in return, you’ve won his devotion. Now you can just be together and live a happy life. What is there that you can’t let go of?"
Mrs. Sommers’s words threw Naomi Shaw’s heart into even greater turmoil. She lowered her head and said nothing, her gaze falling on the ring he had insisted she take. He had said that this time, it was his turn to pursue her...
Lara chimed in from the side.
"That’s right! A prodigal son’s return is more precious than gold!"
To hear even Lara—who had always been against Julian Donovan—say such a thing made Naomi Shaw lift a hand to cover her face, bowing her head in silence. After a long moment, she finally spoke.
"I’ll try to trust him and accept him, but... I can’t promise how long it will take..."
Seeing her friend like this, Lara’s eyes suddenly reddened. She looked away, flustered, turning to gaze out the window.
’I’m telling Naomi to accept a reformed Julian Donovan, but what about me? Can *I* ever forgive him?’ she asked herself.
Then, she gave herself the answer: ’No, I can’t forgive him!’
’Because he isn’t a prodigal son. He’ll never turn back. He only ever strides forward without a single backward glance. Love isn’t his everything—his future, his career, his picture-perfect life, that’s his everything. And I, Lara Nash, was nothing more than a tool he used for four years, a way to relieve his loneliness and satisfy his desires.’
She recalled that day in Port Sterling when she was inspecting her family’s hotel. The front desk had announced a guest named Ronan Joyce had checked in, and she had panicked, dropping and shattering her glass. The memory alone sent a sharp pain through her heart.
’Pathetic!’ she cursed herself viciously as tears began to stream down her face.
’Fine, Ronan Joyce. You swore you’d never set foot in Thailos, didn’t you? Then I’ll just stay in Thailos forever. We will never see each other again for the rest of our lives.’
"Lara? Lara? What’s wrong?"
Naomi Shaw was startled to see her friend, who rarely cried, suddenly in tears and quickly questioned her. Mrs. Sommers also looked on with concern. Lara raised a hand to wipe her face, only then realizing it was tear-streaked. She hastily tried to explain it away.
"Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about everyone’s reunion earlier. It just made me a little emotional, heh..."
’What else could she say? She no longer had the courage to tell anyone about the man who had wounded her so deeply. It was a wound that felt fatal. Four years of giving her all, holding nothing back, had ended in a humiliating breakup in front of her entire family. The pain, like a thousand arrows piercing her heart, was worse than death itself.’
But despite Lara’s attempt to cover it up, Naomi Shaw keenly sensed something was wrong. ’She’s never been the sentimental type,’ Naomi thought. ’How could a reunion make my tough-as-nails friend cry like this?’
Mrs. Sommers looked at the two young women and sighed, her heart aching for them.
"Sigh... You two. Why is it that neither of you can get a happy ending with the one you love?"
Mrs. Sommers knew all about what had happened between Lara Nash and Ronan Joyce. She glanced at Lara and patted her hand.
"You should find a man and get married while Cheryl is still little. That way, she can get used to him from a young age!"
In everyone’s eyes, it was impossible for Lara Nash and Ronan Joyce to ever get back together. Lara’s family was an obstacle, to say nothing of how brutal their breakup had been. Ronan Joyce’s words had been mercilessly final, and Lara’s actions had been just as extreme—she had nearly shot him. How deep must her hatred run?
Lara’s situation was different from Naomi Shaw’s. Naomi had been hurt by Julian Donovan over and over, so when they finally separated, she was simply heartbroken and disillusioned. But Lara’s case was different. Her four years with Ronan Joyce had been sweet and happy, so to be treated that way so suddenly... The wound it left could only be deeper than the one Naomi carried.
"I know, Mrs. Sommers. I’ve actually been going on a bunch of blind dates lately. There are a few decent guys, and I’m thinking about trying to date one of them!"
Lara concealed the pain in her eyes and gave Mrs. Sommers a playful smile.
’That’s right,’ she thought. ’Ever since I got back from Port Sterling, I’ve stopped fighting the blind dates my family keeps arranging, which is totally unlike me. If I hadn’t run into him again, I would have kept resisting. But after seeing him, I suddenly want to get married as quickly as possible. It’s the only way to stop myself from thinking too much.’
Hearing her say this, Naomi Shaw asked in astonishment, "Lara, you—"
Lara cut her off. "What about me? Cheryl can’t go on forever without a father, right? I just started sending that little girl to preschool, and now she comes home every single day asking me for a dad. She’s driving me crazy!"
Though she was complaining, Lara’s expression softened considerably at the mention of Cheryl. The words made Naomi’s heart ache. Lara spread her hands and said, "So, see? Even if it’s just for that little girl’s sake, I need to get myself married off quickly!"
Naomi Shaw didn’t know what to say. ’I understand how she feels,’ she thought, ’because I feel the same guilt toward Joy. The whole reason I agreed to be with Sean Donovan was to give Joy a proper family. Back then, I never imagined Julian would come back. I really thought we would never cross paths again in this life.’
As the three women were talking, their car pulled up to the Shaw Residence. The car carrying Julian Donovan and the children arrived right behind them. Everyone got out. Lara and Mrs. Sommers didn’t go inside, telling the others to get some rest, especially with the two children. No one insisted they stay, and Mrs. Sommers invited everyone to come over again for dinner that evening.
