Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 170

Eventually, her parents grew too old and frail to enforce their will.

But her husband seamlessly adapted. The moment she even whispered the word 'divorce,' he would storm over to her family's house, smashing things, screaming, and violently leveraging her parents' safety to terrorize her into submission.

Elara had endured her fair share of beatings as a little girl. It was her own fierce ambition and academic brilliance that eventually saved her. By bringing immense pride to the Sterling family and elevating their status in the village, she slowly made herself untouchable.

Once Elara got into college, majored in law, and gained the power to protect herself, her abuser had also aged out of his violent rampages. Jocelyn finally experienced a brief, hollow stretch of peace.

Jocelyn had genuinely believed that this purgatory was all her life would ever amount to.

She never expected her daughter to be so ruthless and decisive. Elara took point on the lawsuit, secured the divorce, and utterly annihilated the man's control over her, finally allowing Jocelyn to breathe and live like a normal human being.

Now, watching her daughter navigate her own collapsing marriage with zero hesitation, executing a flawless legal strategy without shedding a single tear of indecision, Jocelyn felt a crushing wave of sorrow.

She had spent her entire life acting like a coward.

In her youth, she had zero agency. Her parents had quite literally sold her, and she hadn't fought back.

As a mother, she had utterly failed to protect her own child. She forced a little girl to endure brutal beatings alongside her, making a child responsible for her own survival.

And now, as a grandmother watching her daughter's marriage implode, she was completely in the dark. And even when she knew the truth, she was entirely powerless, reduced to simply mourning the past.

"Elara." Jocelyn's eyes flooded with tears. She gripped Elara's hands like a lifeline, her voice breaking. "Mom is so sorry. I'm completely useless to you."

Elara placed her free hand over her mother's, patting it gently. "How can you say that? Since the moment you got here, you've been a lifesaver."

Jocelyn looked bewildered, unable to recall a single helpful thing she had done.

Elara smiled warmly. "With everything going on with Julian, Melody's emotions have been a powder keg. She could have a total meltdown at any second. Because you're here keeping her company, she doesn't have the idle time to sit around and spiral."

"And then there's the cooking. If you weren't handling breakfast and dinner, I'd have to do it all myself. That extra time is exactly what I need to compile my evidence."

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