Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 43

Melody hadn't always been the type to randomly send voice notes or initiate FaceTimes with her dad.

It had taken Elara two solid weeks of gentle coaxing just to get the little girl to admit she missed him.

Teaching her how to video call, and encouraging her to press the button herself, took another half month. Then it took several more days for her to actually speak to Julian once the call connected.

It was only in the past few months that Melody had finally gained the confidence to grab her mother's phone, dial his number, and ask for what she wanted.

They had invested years of relentless effort into building their daughter's self-esteem, cementing the fact that their love for her was absolute.

Julian used to joke that he was spending a lifetime's worth of patience exclusively on his daughter.

Apparently, Julian's definition of a "lifetime" was pathetically short.

"Julian."

Elara pinned him with a devastating stare. "Do you even remember that Melody is your flesh and blood? That you're her father?"

"Of course I do."

The words tumbled out of him instantly. But the moment his gaze collided with hers, it felt like grabbing a live wire. He snapped his head away, his voice suddenly stripped of all its conviction. "Of course I remember. How could I ever forget?"

"You don't need to convince me. Deep down, you know the truth."

Elara cut him off smoothly. "But blatantly ignoring your sick child, ghosting us for weeks, and treating this house like a hotel—that definitely looks like a man angling for a divorce."

Julian had no comeback.

She leaned back against the headboard, her face devoid of all emotion. "Do you remember the promise we made before we got married?"

Julian stared at her, dumbstruck.

He couldn't form a single word.

He had completely forgotten.

They had made countless promises over the years, all of them blurring together into white noise.

"I remember every promise I've ever made to you."

Elara flashed a cynical smile and chose not to dignify the blatant lie with a response.

"I admit, my behavior lately has been inexcusable."

Seeing that she wasn't pushing the attack, Julian settled back onto the edge of the bed, abandoning his defensive posturing.

"The crisis at work has finally blown over. Moving forward, I'll honor my word to Melody. I'll make sure to get home early every day and actually be a father to her."

Deliberately ignoring the topic of divorce, he tentatively reached out to grasp her right hand.

Elara's immediate instinct was to yank her hand away, but she forced herself to relax, allowing his fingers to wrap around hers.

Taking her compliance as a green light, Julian looked deep into her eyes. "I messed up. Please, just give me a chance to make this right."

Elara remained terrifyingly silent. Just as he opened his mouth to plead further, she spoke, her voice eerily calm. "When we got back home earlier... you were so desperate to leave that you screamed at your own daughter. Where exactly did you run off to?"