Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 64

Melody had never asked a question like that before.

Back when Julian first started breaking his promises, she had been disappointed but still full of hopeful optimism, always comforting herself by saying that Daddy was just really busy with work.

Now, even when Julian personally swore he'd be home before her bedtime, Melody no longer believed him.

Elara didn't want to prematurely influence her daughter's judgment, so she kept it neutral. "I'm not sure what Daddy's schedule looks like, honey."

"What do you think?"

Melody scrunched her brow in deep thought, her round little face puffing up with concentration.

After a moment, she shook her head. "I have a feeling Daddy is going to be really late tonight."

"Why do you say that?" Elara asked, genuinely curious.

Melody's little face wrinkled as she struggled to find the words to articulate her intuition. "Because Daddy lies to me a lot now. I don't even know which words of his are true anymore."

"Before, he always said he'd come home, and then he never did."

"Even though I love him and I want to trust him... I'm scared to believe him too much."

Elara crouched down to meet her daughter's gaze, a bitter lump forming in her throat. She couldn't bring herself to admit that she felt the exact same way.

"Then we'll wait for him together,"

Elara said softly, standing up and taking Melody's hand to head downstairs. "But we have to eat dinner first."

"Ah, I was supposed to say that!" Melody suddenly groaned in frustration.

"Say what?"

"I came all the way upstairs to call you for dinner, but you stole my line!"

"Then why don't you invite me again, sweetheart?"

"Okay!"

Fully committed to the bit, Melody let go of Elara's hand, ran to the door, closed it, and then swung it back open. She poked her adorable head through the gap, her voice sickeningly sweet.

"Mommy, dinner is ready! Come downstairs and eat."

Currently, Melody had stockpiled five reward cards from Elara with zero Penalty Coupons, and two reward cards from Julian with zero Penalty Coupons.

However, she had already racked up a staggering ten Penalty Coupons to issue to her father.

Because Julian hadn't been coming home lately, she simply never had the chance to hand them over.

Her reward cards from him couldn't be cashed in either.

—

Knowing Julian was coming over that evening, Vivian Winthrop had given her maid the afternoon off.

Having gone a whole day without seeing him, Vivian missed Julian terribly.

She turned up the thermostat early, bringing the apartment to a balmy seventy-seven degrees. Right before Julian arrived, she slipped into a sheer, deeply provocative silk nightgown that clung perfectly to her stunning curves, radiating an effortless, seductive charm.

The sound of the front door unlocking echoed through the hall. Barefoot, Vivian stepped out from behind a tall decorative vase near the entryway.

Julian was bent over taking off his shoes when he caught her reflection in his peripheral vision. Although he frowned internally at her walking barefoot with a bad knee, he was intrigued by whatever surprise she had planned, so he pretended not to notice.