Unmasked My CEO Ex-Husband’s Regret novel Chapter 83

Elara was fully awake now.

Even though she knew Julian wasn't in the room, she instinctively checked her surroundings before lowering her voice. "Are you sure?"

Sarah replied, "Positive."

"I had someone go directly to his registered hometown. They arrived this morning and ran straight into the man's family."

Elara fell silent.

No wonder she had called so early in the morning.

"Thank you. I owe you one."

"Just a heads-up, we're going to need a copy of this guy's death certificate to make it bulletproof."

"Don't worry, I've already got someone on it."

While they spoke, Sarah forwarded a batch of files over via message.

Elara reviewed them, grabbed her laptop, and securely saved the tombstone photos and the new documents alongside the rest of her evidence. She planned to organize the whistleblower report as soon as Julian left the house.

After hanging up, Elara got out of bed and changed her clothes.

She washed up, headed downstairs to confirm breakfast with the housekeeper, and then came back up to wake Melody.

"Good morning, Mom."

Melody's eyes were heavy with sleep, her morning greeting muffled as she stood swaying on her feet.

Elara said good morning back, held out an outfit, and asked if she wanted to wear it today.

It took Melody a delayed second to register the clothes in Elara's hands. After staring at them blankly, she nodded. "Okay."

Elara helped her get dressed.

Breakfast would take a little longer, so after washing up, Elara sat Melody down in the bedroom to braid her hair.

The bedroom door was open. The moment Julian appeared in the doorway, Melody spotted him. Assuming her dad hadn't come home last night, her eyes widened in surprise.

Julian met Melody's gaze and raised a hand in a wave. "Good morning, sweetheart."

Melody almost blurted out a 'good morning' in return, but remembering she still hadn't forgiven him, she clamped her open mouth shut, lowered her head, and went back to playing a matching game on her tablet.

"Elara."

He stopped her, hesitating before asking, "Didn't I already... yesterday? Why is Melody still ignoring me?"

Paying a hefty fine for breaking a promise was the easiest shortcut for him.

But since the concept was far too transactional to discuss openly in front of a child, he banked on Elara understanding his implication.

Elara certainly understood. Without bothering to hide it from Melody, she said bluntly, "Transferring money is just you paying the price for breaking your word. No one ever said accepting the money guaranteed automatic forgiveness."

Julian was stunned.

It was true that the contract they signed yesterday didn't explicitly state that paying up meant Melody had to forgive him.

"You're..."

Julian felt like he'd been played. Given Melody's unique behavioral quirks, he knew he couldn't apply adult logic to her, nor could he reprimand her for it.

He gave Elara a deep, lingering look before moving to Melody's other side. He didn't say or do anything else, simply watching her play her game in silence.

Once the braids were done, Elara set down the comb, grabbed some clips, and pinned the braids perfectly in place.