Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 110

Elara led her daughter to the sofa and sat down. "Dad just called and said an emergency came up. He's going to be a little late."

Melody's excitement visibly deflated. "Oh."

Elara gently tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her daughter's ear. "How about we take some pictures with Grandma first?"

Melody's heart ached with disappointment, and she was genuinely upset that her dad hadn't shown up, but she also knew this was entirely his fault. She wasn't about to take it out on her mom or her grandma.

Besides, all her friends and teachers were watching. She absolutely refused to ruin her own party.

"Okay!"

Melody pasted on a bright smile, looking over at Jocelyn and waving her little hand enthusiastically. "Grandma, hurry up! Come take pictures with Mom and me!"

"Coming, sweetie!"

Jocelyn hurried over and took a seat on Melody's other side.

With the crisis averted, the room's attention snapped back to the birthday girl.

Sebastian quietly stepped back into the shadows and shot a text to Finnian Fletcher: [Find out exactly where Julian Beckett is right now.]

Finnian, who had already packed up his desk and was waiting to clock out now that his boss was gone, was left utterly speechless: "..."

Disappearing without a trace on his own daughter's birthday? Whether as a husband or a father, Julian was proving to be a spectacular failure.

Shoving down his annoyance at the impromptu overtime, Finnian fueled his investigation with pure, unadulterated judgment and started making calls.

The photographer snapped several formal portraits of the three generations of women, then directed Melody through a series of adorable solo shots before waving them off to enjoy the party while he and his assistant captured candid moments.

Watching Melody pose like a supermodel, the other kids dragged their parents over, begging to take photos with the birthday girl.

The banquet hall erupted with lively chatter once again.

Sebastian was nearly a foot taller than her, forcing him to lean down significantly just to meet her eyes. At her response, he frowned, tilting his head and locking onto her face with an unblinking, predatory gaze.

The proximity felt entirely too intimate. With his broad shoulders and towering frame bent toward her, it practically looked like he had her pinned in his arms.

Elara stepped back smoothly, slipping out of his space before meeting his probing gaze head-on.

Her reaction was completely composed, a faint smile resting on her lips without a single trace of the grief or fury of a betrayed wife.

She didn't look like a woman swallowing her pride to save face, either.

The crease between Sebastian's brows deepened, his confusion and frustration mounting.

He had given her such a massive hint, so why was she still so terrifyingly calm?

Did she genuinely not care about Julian's affair, and was she actually planning to cover for him and stay in the marriage?