Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 109

Elara had specifically reminded Julian about the party schedule before leaving the house that morning.

She had done it to prevent him from pulling another stunt, finding random excuses to show up late, or skipping it entirely.

She never expected that despite all her planning, Julian would still manage to be late.

By 4:10 PM, every text and call Elara sent had vanished like a stone dropping into the ocean, left completely unanswered.

Seeing that the scheduled time was approaching, the hired photographer approached Elara to ask when they should start.

Elara glanced at the clock, her smile tightening awkwardly. "Could we push it back by ten minutes?"

The photographer nodded and went back to capturing candid shots of the kids.

Jocelyn had been watching her daughter furiously text and call. She approached, her face etched with deep concern. "Still haven't reached Julian?"

Elara locked her phone, her expression darkening slightly. "No."

"Then what is he..."

"I have no idea."

Elara spaced out for a moment before letting out a bitter, exhausted laugh. "I'll give him ten more minutes. If he's not back by then, we're doing this without him."

Jocelyn let out a heavy sigh. "I guess we have to."

Across the room, one of the parents was glancing around, looking like they needed help.

Jocelyn gave her daughter's back a comforting pat and hurried over to assist the guest.

Elara unlocked her phone and sent one final, definitive text to Julian: [The family photos start exactly at 4:40. If you aren't back by then, I'm taking them with Mom and Melody without you.]

She hit send, ruthlessly shoved the phone into her pocket, and took Melody upstairs to change into her spectacular birthday dress—the Princess Elsa gown Elara had personally picked out for her.

Elara carefully styled Melody's hair into an elegant princess braid, secured a glittering crown on her head, and quickly changed into her own formal wear.

When the mother and daughter descended the grand staircase, the clock read exactly 4:35 PM.

In those fifteen minutes, Julian hadn't returned a single call.

Terrified of missing a message, Elara opened her chat app. Julian's icon was perfectly silent; the last message displayed was still her own ultimatum.

"If we drag this out any longer, we're going to lose the natural light!"

The pointed-at Sebastian: ?

Everyone else: "..."

The photographer hadn't exactly used an inside voice, and the entire venue plunged into an agonizingly awkward silence.

The kids looked utterly confused, while the adults exchanged deeply uncomfortable, knowing glances. Every single pair of eyes darted rapidly between Sebastian and the oblivious photographer.

Elara hadn't expected the photographer to drop a bomb like that, and for a split second, she froze in pure embarrassment.

Fortunately, she had mentally prepared for disaster. Her expression didn't shift a millimeter as she calmly smoothed over the tension. "I'm sorry, you're mistaken. That is Melody's cousin. Her father isn't here yet."

The photographer was completely mortified. "Oh? Uh, where is the dad then?"

Melody looked up at Elara with wide, curious eyes. "Yeah, Mom, is Dad still not back?"

"Right."