All Chapters of UGLY? No More!: Chapter 141 - Chapter 150

Her words hit him like shards of glass. He inhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair, visibly struggling to keep his composure. “I didn’t know, Elara,” he said finally, voice cracking just slightly. “I swear on everything I have, I didn’t know.”She blinked, startled by the rawness in his tone. “You didn’t know?” she repeated bitterly. “You expect me to believe that?”“Yes,” he said hoarsely. “Because it’s the truth.”Her lips trembled. “Then tell me, Julian. Tell me the truth. Every piece of it. Because if I have to hear one more half story from someone else, I might lose my mind.”He nodded slowly, stepping closer, not enough to touch her, but close enough for her to see how much it cost him to say what came next.“It happened more than three years ago,” he said quietly. “Before… before we were serious. Before I even became CEO. It was one night, I was drunk, angry, reckless. Diana was there. It happened, and I regretted it the next morning. I didn’t even remember half of it u

They stepped out together, Elara straight backed, head high, her gown gliding like liquid gold under the hallway lights.Sebastian walked beside her, keeping a discreet but protective distance, the kind that made people glance twice.The sound of the gala grew louder as they neared the main hall, laughter, music, camera shutters. The world resumed its rhythm, dazzling and merciless.When they entered, heads turned. Elara’s absence had been noticed, her return, even more so, and with Sebastian at her side, no less.Julian saw her almost instantly.He was standing near one of the tables, drink untouched in his hand, the expression on his face unreadable. But when his eyes landed on her, on her walking back with Sebastian, smiling faintly at something he said, the tension in his jaw betrayed him.His fingers tightened around the glass until his knuckles whitened.Sebastian leaned in slightly to say something to Elara, something casual, probably, but to Julian, it looked like intimacy. To

The elevator chimed softly as its doors slid open to the dim corridor of the hotel’s top floor.The hum of the gala had faded into silence, leaving only the muted echo of Elara’s heels against the carpet and the faint rustle of her gown.She walked ahead of Julian, spine straight, eyes fixed on the far end of the hallway where her suite waited.The glittering night had peeled away from her like old skin, leaving something raw beneath.Julian followed a few steps behind, his hands half lifted as if afraid to reach for her.The evening’s applause, the cameras, the flashes, it all felt meaningless now. What mattered was the look on her face when he’d confessed. That flicker of disbelief, the tremor in her voice.“Elara,” he said quietly.She didn’t slow down.“Elara, please. You’ve barely said a word since we left.”She stopped at her door but didn’t turn. Her reflection shimmered faintly in the polished wood, eyes dark, shoulders tight. “You’ve said enough for both of us,” she murmured.

Julian didn’t say anything as he slipped off his jacket and followed her inside.The suite was dim, the curtains drawn halfway. Mira’s laughter still echoed faintly from the adjoining room, a sound that grounded them both.Elara sat at the edge of the bed, kicking off her heels. Julian crouched before her, undoing the clasp on the last one. His movements were slow, reverent, as if afraid to startle her back into distance.When he looked up, she was watching him, expression unreadable. “You still do that,” she said quietly.He tilted his head. “Do what?”“Look at me like I’m something you’ll break if you touch too fast.”He smiled faintly. “Maybe because I know I already did.”Her breath hitched, and for a second, neither of them moved. Then she leaned forward, resting her forehead against his. “Don’t say things like that,” she whispered. “It makes it harder to stay angry.”He closed his eyes. “Then don’t be angry. Just… stay.”The plea was so quiet, so human, that it unraveled somethi

Elara’s throat tightened.She looked down at their joined hands, his warmth seeping into her skin. The certainty in his voice should have comforted her, but instead it made her chest ache. “Julian…”“I need to protect both of them,” he said quickly, almost as if he were afraid she might stop him before he could finish. “I’ll never let Diana come near this family again. If Milo stays with us, it will be through a third party. I’ll make sure all communication goes through legal channels. She won’t see him, won’t reach him, won’t twist him the way she’s twisted everything else.”He paused, his thumb still brushing her hand, steady and deliberate. “Milo will grow up with Mira. He’ll know love, not manipulation. And one day, he’ll know that I fought for him. But Mira...” His voice faltered then, emotion thickening in it. “She’ll always be the one I choose first. She’ll always be the little girl who called me Daddy before anyone told her she shouldn’t.”Elara closed her eyes.A tear slipped