Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 442

That night was destined to be sleepless.

After surviving the Vance family's banquet, Sebastian personally escorted Kendrick Vance back to his room. When he came out, he stayed behind to discuss corporate matters with a few uncles and older cousins who held major positions at Vance Dynamics.

Holiday schedules didn't align globally. While it was a major winter holiday stateside, the overseas branches operated on standard business hours.

Returning to his room, he waded through a mountain of work and ran several quick video conferences.

By the time he finally paused, showered, and stepped out of the bathroom, it was past midnight.

February 14th.

The Anniversary of Juliet's Passing.

It had been exactly fourteen years since his mother left him.

Sebastian didn't bother drying his hair. He let the freezing water droplets trail down his skin, leaving his bathrobe hanging open. Reaching for a pre-chilled bottle of liquor, he popped the cork, poured a full glass, and downed it in one agonizing gulp.

He had already consumed a significant amount of alcohol during the banquet. He had barely pushed through the subsequent meetings on pure willpower.

But after the shower, it felt as though all the alcohol had been washed out of his system. Without a fresh burn in his chest, he couldn't numb the pain, let alone sleep.

He threw back two more glasses before the savage craving in his veins finally dulled to a low throb.

The temperature at the mountain estate was brutal. It had even snowed a little, leaving a thin, ghostly layer of frost over the dark foliage outside his window.

Valentine's Day, and the winter holidays were right around the corner. God truly had terrible timing; He couldn't even bother to grant them a warmer breeze.

Elara had mentioned planning to take Melody out over the break to practice socializing and help her acclimate to crowded places.

With the weather this freezing, they probably wouldn't go, right?

The thought prompted Sebastian to set down his glass. He grabbed his phone, opened WhatsApp, and pulled up Elara's chat window.

He wanted to send her a simple "Happy Valentine's Day."

Realizing it was past midnight and she was likely asleep, sending a message now felt like a petty intrusion. He deleted the drafted text and just stared blankly at her profile picture.

But it wasn't just the timing that was wrong.

It was his position.

He was pursuing her, but he had sworn never to make her uncomfortable.

On an intimately romantic holiday like Valentine's Day, what right did he have to send her such greetings?

What if he spooked her? What if he destroyed the fragile progress he had finally made, and pushed her completely away?

To prevent his drunken impulsivity from doing something he would profoundly regret, Sebastian exited the chat and closed WhatsApp entirely.

He drew the curtains shut, slumped onto the sofa, and poured himself another glass.

The icy liquid carved a burning trail down his throat, chilling his stomach and freezing his heart.

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