Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 218

"No, of course not."

Vivian answered with a bright smile, and even though she knew he couldn't see her, she shook her head. "You know our promise. I would never go to sleep without hearing from you first."

Julian obviously knew, which only made his guilt flare hotter. "I'm so sorry."

"I hate hearing you say that."

Vivian cut off his apology, putting on an act of playful annoyance. "Besides, you know perfectly well that's not what I want to hear from you, so why do you keep saying it?"

"Noted."

Julian let out a soft chuckle and obliged. "If you don't like it, I won't say it."

Vivian was satisfied.

Julian still hadn't figured out how to break the news that he wouldn't be coming over tonight. For a brief eternity, dead silence stretched between them, save for the relentless rushing of the shower echoing in both their ears.

Vivian waited for him to speak, but the longer the silence dragged on, the heavier the sinking feeling in her stomach became.

"Julian."

She couldn't bear to let him say the words, so she took the initiative to ask, "Are you... still coming over tonight?"

Just as she feared, her question was met with an even thicker, suffocating silence on Julian's end.

Her worst fears confirmed, Vivian swallowed the rest of her words.

"Viv, I'm really sorry."

It took a painfully long time for Julian to finally force the words out.

Vivian felt a crushing wave of disappointment and sorrow, yet she fought desperately to keep her composure. She bit her lip, suppressing her reaction, entirely forgetting that a strained, forced silence sent a loud message of its own.

Julian instantly picked up on it. His chest ached, and he desperately wanted to soothe her, only to realize that every word in his vocabulary felt sickeningly hollow. It felt as though nothing he said could alleviate the pain of his broken promise.

"Is it because of Melody?"

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