Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 47

Her remark seemed like an innocent agreement with a toddler, but the lethal undertone hit its intended target with terrifying precision.

"Busy" was his favorite excuse, and Julian knew exactly what he'd been busy doing.

But for a father to be so "busy" that he was entirely oblivious to his daughter's illness, her injuries, and her grueling recovery process—that was pure negligence.

Burning with humiliation, Julian glanced at the two of them before silently returning the rejected jacket to its hanger.

After getting Melody into her top, Elara held off on the pants. Instead, she grabbed a tube of ointment to treat the wound.

The road rash wasn't dangerously deep, but it was brutal. Thick, blackened scabs tinged with angry red crisscrossed the little girl's pale knee, painting a horrifyingly painful picture.

The entire area was ringed in a nasty purplish-blue bruise, proving just how massive the swelling must have been when it first happened.

It looked almost exactly like Vivian's fresh injury.

A sickening realization slammed into Julian. Just last night, Vivian had whimpered about how agonizing her scrape was.

If a full-grown woman couldn't handle the pain, what about Melody?

Had his little girl cried?

In that split second, Julian finally grasped why Elara had gone nuclear on him the day of the accident.

She was notorious for never interrupting his workday. Yet on that specific afternoon, she had blown up his phone with three calls and a barrage of texts.

She must have been utterly terrified.

Pure, unadulterated guilt took root in his chest, spreading like wildfire until an invisible hand locked around his throat, choking the breath out of him.

Julian suddenly found himself gasping for air.

To protect the tender scabs from fabric chafing, Elara carefully applied a fresh layer of gauze and medical tape before finally slipping on the loose jeans and warm socks.

Melody hopped off the bed, sliding her little feet into fluffy slippers. She instinctively grabbed her mom's hand, peering up at Julian, who was still standing there looking completely shattered.

"Mom,"

Melody tugged at Elara's sleeve, whispering, "What's wrong with Dad?"

"I have no idea."

Elara threw a frigid glance in his direction before leading her daughter toward the en-suite. "Let's go brush your teeth."

"Okay."

Melody cranked her volume up to obnoxious levels, dragging out her vowels in a painfully obvious display of joy. "I absolutely LOOOOOVE tomatoes, and meat is my faaaavorite! Tomato and Meat Sauce Pasta is the BEST!"

It was already her undisputed favorite meal; there was literally zero reason for her to scream it at the top of her lungs.

The theatrical broadcast was a blatantly obvious attempt to remind her unforgiven father that it was time to eat.

The sweeter his daughter acted, the more nauseated Julian felt. Quickly shutting the closet doors, he scrubbed a hand harshly over his face and trudged after them.

Thanks to his long stride, he caught up to them near the bottom of the stairs. Just as he was about to close the gap, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

A text had just come through.

It was Vivian: [Good morning, Julian.]

[Are you awake? I just opened my eyes.]

[Image attached]

[Ugh, my knee is killing me. It's so swollen. Do you think I'm going to lose the leg?]

She followed it up with an entire row of bawling emojis.