Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 52

Elara pulled her daughter into her arms, showering her face with kisses.

As long as she had her daughter, every hardship and exhaustion felt completely worth it.

Wrapped up in their affectionate bubble, Elara completely forgot to order the car.

Julian walked over. Seeing that her screen still didn't show a booked ride, he offered, "Don't bother calling a car. I'll drive you both to preschool."

The moment the words left his mouth, mother and daughter froze. Two heads, one large and one small, snapped up to stare at him in sheer disbelief.

Julian frowned.

Before, as long as he wasn't swamped with work, he had always driven Melody to school in the mornings. What was so shocking about it?

Elara and Melody stared at him for a long moment before looking down at each other, mirroring the exact same confusion in their eyes.

Melody decided to just ask him outright, "Dad, is your work not busy anymore?"

Was it really okay for him to drive her to school when he had been so busy he barely even came home lately?

Julian was speechless.

Elara chimed in, "If you're busy, don't worry about us. I can just get an Uber to drop Melody off."

"...It's fine."

Julian replied nonchalantly, "It's on my way. It won't take up much time."

Since he was offering a ride, Elara had no reason to decline. "As long as you're okay with it."

"Yay!"

Melody cheered, throwing her arms around Julian's leg. "Dad, you're finally taking me to school again! Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?"

Julian's throat suddenly felt tight. Even knowing his daughter wouldn't want to hear it, he forced out a difficult apology. "I'm sorry."

"As long as you know."

Melody accepted the apology gracefully, crossing her arms and lifting her chin with a touch of arrogance. "But I haven't forgiven you yet."

"Thanks, but I already ate."

Elara took the documents and flipped them open. "I'll just read through this. Take your time eating."

"Obviously. Even if you didn't tell me, I'd make sure I was fed first."

Last night, Elara had noticed glaring inconsistencies in a few contracts. She had taken photos for evidence and sent the partner companies' details and personal information to Sarah, asking her to run a background check.

"You were right to be suspicious of Julian."

By the time Elara was nearly finished reading, Sarah had finished her breakfast, tossed the trash, and sat down directly across from her.

"We don't have enough solid evidence yet, but there's definitely something shady going on with these two companies. One of them was established barely two months ago, and the legal representative has absolutely no other businesses to their name."

"A brand-new shell company with zero background swooping in to land massive orders from emerging tech firms right out of the gate..."

Sarah let out a scoffing laugh. "Who exactly does Julian think he's fooling?"