Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 105

Sebastian gave her a playful wink. "Because I know magic."

He had ordered the pastries for his own birthday banquet from the Vance family's private pastry chef. Back then, he had specifically asked the butler to note down Melody's favorites and had the chef prepare a fresh batch to be delivered to his office this afternoon.

Melody stared at him in utter astonishment, her little brows knitting together. She desperately wanted to believe him but knew better. "Really?" she asked, verifying cautiously.

"But isn't magic only real in cartoons and storybooks?"

Sebastian was entirely speechless.

Melody was sharp. Just like him when he was a kid, she wasn't easily fooled by fairy tales.

Seeing that Melody was about to spiral into a deep philosophical debate about the existence of magic, Elara quickly intervened. "Sebastian just has his own special ways."

With that sorted, she looked up at the driver's seat. "Everyone's in their cars. We can head out."

Sebastian flashed an OK sign, buckled his seatbelt, and pulled out onto the road. Then, he asked in a deceptively casual tone.

"Why didn't my un... why didn't Julian pick you guys up himself?"

He had never once referred to Julian as his uncle. Outside of that one mandatory greeting at the birthday banquet, the word had never crossed his lips. Forcing himself to say 'my uncle' was practically a form of physical torture.

Fortunately, Elara didn't seem to notice the slip. "He's swamped with work. He said he has to finish up some things at the office before he can come home."

Sebastian frowned sharply. "What kind of work is more important than his own daughter's birthday?"

Elara's tone remained breezy and entirely unbothered. "I have no idea. I don't pay attention to what happens at his company."

Sebastian fell silent.

Even if she didn't care about the company's daily operations, she should have at least understood the explosive whistleblower files he had mailed her, right?

The convoy hit a sudden bottleneck at the intersection, slowing to a crawl. Sebastian eased off the gas, carefully tailing the car in front of him, and seized the chance to glance at the backseat through the rearview mirror.

Melody had pulled out all the boxes of tarts, verifying that every single one was her favorite flavor. She was absolutely over the moon, having entirely forgotten the 'magic' debate, and was eagerly showing them off to Elara.

"Mom, look! They're all my favorites! Sebastian is the best!"

Sebastian's lips curved upward slightly, forming a subtle, triumphant arc. His voice remained as cool and detached as always, though perhaps laced with a hint of lightness. "My company happens to have a new project that overlaps with Ark Solutions' territory. Word gets around."

"Oh."

The elite business circle was incredibly small. If you dug deep enough during a cocktail hour, there were no real secrets. It wasn't actually strange for Sebastian to have heard the rumors.

Sebastian waited for Elara to press for more details, completely unprepared for her to just say 'oh' and fall dead silent again.

He was at a total loss.

The traffic jam finally cleared, and the cars ahead surged forward smoothly. Sebastian accelerated slowly, keeping pace while patiently waiting for Elara to say something—anything.

When it became agonizingly clear that she had zero intention of prying further, his expression darkened significantly, his grip on the steering wheel tightening until his knuckles turned white.

As he rolled to a stop at a red light, he tapped his fingers aggressively against the leather wheel. Finally, unable to hold it in a second longer as the light turned green, he blurted out, "I can help you."

Elara had just finished packing the last box of tarts into Melody's bag. Hearing his sudden declaration, she was completely caught off guard. "What?"