Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 188

Along with her divorce petition, she filed an Asset Freeze Petition and a Discovery Subpoena.

By the time the entire process was finalized, it was already noon. The courthouse staff were clocking out, their steps brisk as they headed out for lunch.

Elara walked out alongside them, naturally catching their energy. The stifling grief of submitting the divorce papers—and enduring the occasional sympathetic glances from the staff—slowly parted like clouds, letting in the faint, warm rays of the winter sun.

There was nothing more important than eating.

Eat well, fill up, and then keep moving forward.

Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. Heavy, dark clouds pressed down from above, unleashing a fine, relentless drizzle laced with a biting winter chill.

Elara shivered as the freezing wind hit her. She instinctively pulled her coat tighter and buried her chin into her scarf.

The lightness she felt walking out of the building shattered in the cold, violently yanking her out of her pleasant daydream and back to reality.

She stood there in a daze for a moment. Only after fully adjusting to the cold did she remember she hadn't called a car yet, and hurriedly pulled out her phone.

The moment she unlocked the screen, she saw a text from her mom asking if she was coming home for lunch.

When Elara left the house, she hadn't told Jocelyn she was heading to the Shoreline County Courthouse. The message had been sent over an hour ago, right when Jocelyn was prepping lunch.

Given their usual understanding, her lack of a reply told Jocelyn she was busy, so she hadn't sent any follow-up texts to bother her.

Elara quickly typed a reply. She initially wanted to say she was on her way back, but fearing her mom would sense something was off and worry, she deleted it and typed:

[Got caught up in something and just saw your message. I'm grabbing lunch out, so I won't be back.]

Jocelyn quickly sent a voice memo. "Alright then."

"It's raining. Did you bring an umbrella?"

"It's freezing in the rain. Try to stay indoors as much as you can. Be careful not to catch a cold."

These were the exact words Elara had been saying to Melody since winter started. She never expected to be on the receiving end of her mother's nagging.

It warmed her heart, bringing the feeling back to her freezing hands and feet.

Elara patiently listened to it again. Only when Jocelyn stopped sending voice memos, confirming the conversation was temporarily over, did she reply with one of her own.

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