Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 16

It was indeed a hickey, and it certainly couldn't be shown to Elara.

But there was no way he could say that out loud.

"Your hands are too cold."

Julian said stiffly. Passing the initial wave of awkwardness, he turned the question back on her. "Your hands always used to be so warm in the winter. Why are they so cold now?"

He gave Elara a quick look. She was wearing a mint-green slip dress, but she had a shawl draped over her shoulders. The heating inside kept the room at a comfortable seventy-two degrees—she couldn't possibly be that cold, could she?

Elara truly didn't feel cold; her heart had simply frozen over, and she couldn't seem to thaw it out.

"That was in the past."

Elara met his puzzled gaze, her words carrying a double meaning. "My hands and feet have been ice-cold all year. Have you really not noticed?"

Julian genuinely hadn't noticed, so he dodged her pointed stare. "H-have they?"

He had barely come home at all this winter, so he legitimately had no idea how her body had changed.

Naturally, he didn't realize Elara was laying a trap for him.

"Are you feeling sick anywhere?"

Julian awkwardly changed the subject, projecting a facade of concern. "Have you seen a doctor? What did the doctor say?"

Elara only felt her extremities grow even colder. "I'm not sick. I just need to adjust my diet a bit."

Julian gave an absent-minded hum of agreement. "That's good. Whatever you want to eat, just have the chef make it for you."

Seeing that his daughter was still staring at him blankly, he picked up another orange pastry and held it to Melody's lips. "Want a bite, Melody?"

Melody had been startled by his sudden movement and hadn't quite recovered yet. However, she could distinctly feel that her father had zero patience for them right now.

She couldn't help but fall back into her habit of self-doubt, mentally reviewing everything she had done since he returned to see if she had somehow angered him.

After replaying the events in her head and still finding nothing she had done wrong, Melody asked directly, "Dad, do you not like spending time with Mom and me?"

Julian froze. "Dad doesn't feel that way. Why would you think that?"

"Because you look really unhappy, Dad."

Melody scrunched up her little face, her crisp voice tinged with melancholy. "Especially toward Mom. Why are you mad at Mom? Did she do something wrong?"

"..."

Julian was rendered completely speechless by his daughter's barrage of questions.

Right at that moment, the music in the banquet hall transitioned to a piano rendition of "Happy Birthday."

The butler knocked and entered. "It is time to cut the cake. Mr. Sebastian asked me to invite Miss Melody to join him."

The three of them paused. Elara asked in confusion, "Sebastian wants Melody to cut the cake with him?"

The butler smiled and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Why?"

It was such an important birthday. Even if he didn't cut it with his immediate family, how could it possibly be Melody's turn?

And to do so in such a momentous setting, in front of both the Vance and Beckett families, before so many powerful and influential figures—it was an introduction whose shock value far exceeded Kendrick Vance announcing the new head of the family.

At first, Elara couldn't understand why he was introducing Melody to the crowd, but when he formally announced her as his aunt, the realization hit her, leaving her feeling deeply moved yet incredibly conflicted.

Back at the staff quarters, Julian and Vivian had been too deeply engrossed to notice her standing outside the door. Similarly, because of the massive shock she had received, she hadn't noticed Sebastian lingering in the corridor either.

She had assumed he only knew that Julian and Vivian were in the bathroom.

But it turned out he had heard their final conversation as well.

That was why he had acknowledged her—an aunt who was only five years his senior—for the first time, officially and solemnly validating her identity to the world.

He was trying to help her solidify her position as Julian's wife.

Their eyes met, and Sebastian understood the look Elara was giving him.

He paused his outstretched hand for a second before casually pointing toward Julian, who had been caught entirely off guard by this unexpected turn of events.

"And this is..."

Sebastian's tone was no longer as formal and solemn as when he introduced Elara and Melody. The corners of his lips quirked up into a smirk—seemingly relaxed and nonchalant, yet carrying an undercurrent of mocking madness.

It was enough to make Julian instantly tense up.

Yes, Sebastian was a lunatic capable of absolutely anything, but today was his birthday. With the elders of both families and so many prominent figures present, surely he wouldn't drag himself down just to humiliate Julian, right?

Julian's reasoning was entirely logical, but deep down, he had absolutely zero confidence.

Because Sebastian didn't actually like him, and the younger man had never been the type to swallow his pride for someone he despised.