Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 48

The photo was a gruesome close-up of her injury. Vivian had ripped off the gauze, exposing the jagged red flesh and gnarly purple swelling. It looked even worse than Julian had imagined last night.

A fierce wave of protective anxiety slammed into him. He wanted nothing more than to teleport to her bedside and take the pain away.

Thumbing open the keyboard, he fired back: [Tell the maid to come upstairs and reapply the ointment.]

[Actually, no. You need to go to the hospital.]

[Do you have a wheelchair at the house? Stay in bed today. Do NOT try to walk.]

He was so panicked over Vivian's condition that his texts were practically bordering on incoherent as he frantically tried to figure out where he could buy a high-end wheelchair on short notice.

After blasting off his frantic orders, Julian swapped over to his text thread with Lester. He was halfway through commanding the driver to procure a wheelchair when Melody's bright chatter from the dining room yanked him back to reality.

Elara had a great rapport with Lester, and the man had been chauffeuring her and Melody quite frequently lately. If Julian ordered a wheelchair through him, there was a dangerously high chance Lester would let it slip to Elara during a drive.

Julian's thumbs froze. Swearing under his breath, he deleted the entire draft.

As he backed out of the thread, Vivian's icon popped up with a fresh barrage of notifications.

Vivian: [You're overreacting! I definitely don't need a wheelchair. (Sweatdrop emoji)]

[It's probably just stiff because I barely moved all night. Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to whine and get some attention from you. I exaggerated a bit. It's really not that bad!]

[I'm so sorry for scaring you!]

[Julian... you're not mad at me, are you?]

Vivian was a notoriously fast texter. In the sixty seconds he'd spent stressing over Lester, she had already blasted through a complete cycle of guilt, apologies, and eager backpedaling.

Terrified by his radio silence, Vivian assumed she'd genuinely pissed him off and desperately pivoted back to cloying sweetness.

[Julian, I swear I didn't mean it.]

[I'm so, so sorry. I messed up. I shouldn't have panicked you. Please don't be mad at me!]

Watching the "typing..." bubble dance across the screen, Julian didn't feel a shred of annoyance. Instead, a massive wave of relief washed over him.

His panic had purely stemmed from the terror that she was writhing in agony.

Knowing she was actually perfectly fine, how could he possibly hold it against her?

The truth was, his delayed response was mostly just an excuse to watch her adorable, frantic backpedaling. It was incredibly endearing.

When Vivian threatened to FaceTime him just to prove she wasn't dying, Julian suddenly remembered he was standing in the middle of his own home, mere feet away from his wife and daughter. He quickly typed back.

[I'm not mad.]

[I was just incredibly worried about you. I thought you were in agony, so I was trying to arrange a ride to the clinic.]

[I'm just glad you're okay.]

[Still, you're staying in bed today. I'll have HR clear your schedule.]

Knowing she had pushed her luck, Vivian instantly fell in line: [Yes, sir! Whatever the boss commands!]

She spammed a barrage of saluting emojis to cement her absolute submission.

Julian had strictly adhered to this protocol his entire life, ruthlessly enforcing it in his own household.

Melody had been conditioned from birth to follow the mandate. Now, she was staring in sheer disbelief as the man who preached the rule blatantly shattered it right in front of her.

She genuinely couldn't wrap her head around it. Was texting someone on a screen seriously more important than eating with your family?

Noting her daughter's intense stare, Elara didn't force her to eat. Instead, she turned her cool gaze on Julian. "Busy?"

Her tone was terrifyingly flat, entirely stripped of any accusation. For a fleeting second, it made Julian forget he was currently ignoring his wife and child during a family breakfast.

His immediate instinct was to say "Not at all." He glanced up, locking eyes with the two intensely focused women staring him down. Blinking in sudden realization, he forced a casual nod. "Yeah."

Elara held his gaze for a beat longer. "Work stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't you claim just last night that the corporate crisis had finally blown over? Why are you suddenly fighting fires at eight in the morning?"

"...It's not entirely resolved."

Julian fired off one final heart emoji to Vivian before placing the phone face down. He turned to Elara. "We've done everything in our power, but the final verdict is out of our hands now. Rather than panicking blindly, I figured I'd let the staff catch their breath after busting their asses for months."

"Is the company in trouble?"

Elara instantly recognized he was laying the groundwork for a massive corporate deception. Feigning ignorance, she leaned into his lie. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

Julian offered a vague, grim nod. "We hit a massive roadblock, yes."