All Chapters of UGLY? No More!: Chapter 201 - Chapter 210

Julian straightened, gaze sweeping across the room. “If I hear anyone here, or anywhere, suggest otherwise, they can pack up their things before I even finish the sentence.”The silence that followed was absolute.Even the hum of the monitors seemed to vanish.Finally, Julian exhaled and turned back toward the door. “Get the statement ready in an hour. Send me the final draft before you release it.”As he left the conference room, the team exhaled collectively, tension easing slightly. But Julian’s anger wasn’t gone, it just followed him, simmering beneath his calm expression.He walked straight into his office, shut the door behind him, and leaned against it for a moment.His phone vibrated again. Dozens of messages. Calls. The weight of the situation pressed down on him.But beneath all the chaos, one thought rang loud and clear:They can say whatever they want about me. But not about her. Not about Mira.He would protect them both, Elara and Mira, from this circus, no matter what i

Elara forced a small smile, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. “They will,” she said quietly. “Because your daddy’s fixing it. And Mommy always tells the truth.”But when she looked down again, Mira wasn’t meeting her eyes anymore.The bright, trusting spark that always lived in her gaze had dulled, replaced by something heavier.Doubt.“Okay,” Mira whispered, but the word was thin.She slipped from Elara’s arms, clutching the tablet tightly as she walked to her room.Elara watched her go, her heart hollow.Milo lingered, looking up at her uncertainly. “She’ll be okay, right?”Elara swallowed hard, forcing a nod. “She will be,” she said softly, mostly to herself.Then, when he’d gone too, she sat back on the floor, pressing a trembling hand over her mouth as the tears she’d been holding finally broke loose.It wasn’t just the headlines.It wasn’t just the world.It was the look in her daughter’s eyes, the moment a child started to doubt love itself.Elara’s phone began to vibrat

Julian closed his eyes briefly, guilt flashing through him. “I should’ve been here.”Elara shook her head. “You were doing what needed to be done.”“Still,” he murmured, sitting down beside her. “I hate that this is what she has to see. What you have to face.”She didn’t say anything for a moment, just stared out at the skyline, her expression unreadable. Then, in a small voice, “They won’t let it go, will they?”He looked at her, jaw tightening. “No. Not until something else distracts them.”Her lips curved into a bitter little smile. “So, what, we just wait for another family to implode?”Julian exhaled slowly, then turned toward her, his hand finding hers. “No. We disappear.”That made her look at him fully. “Disappear?”He nodded. “Take a break. Go somewhere far from this noise. Somewhere the kids can breathe again. Where you can breathe again.”Elara blinked, caught off guard by the quiet conviction in his tone. “You mean...?”“I’ve already had the jet prepped for whenever we’d n

Slowly, she slipped off the bed, padded to the doorway, and leaned against the railing that overlooked the living room below.The sight that greeted her made something inside her chest ache, and heal, all at once.Julian stood in the center of the hall barefoot, wearing a simple white shirt and dark slacks, sleeves rolled to his elbows. Mira was in his arms, squealing with laughter as he spun her in slow circles, her hair flying wildly around her face.On the couch, Milo sat cross legged with a bowl of cereal, watching them with that quiet, amused smile that looked far too mature for his age.“Daddy, stop!” Mira giggled, her small hands clutching his shoulders. “You’re dizzying me!”Julian laughed, a low, unrestrained sound that filled the house in a way Elara hadn’t heard in hours. “Then that makes us even, sweetheart. You’ve been dizzying me since the day you learned to say daddy.”Mira’s laughter turned into hiccupping giggles, and Julian set her down gently, bending to boop her no

Mira squealed, spinning around with her bunny like she was dancing under invisible fireworks.Milo smirked. “She’s going to lose her mind when she sees the plane.”Julian slipped an arm subtly around Elara’s waist, nothing overt, just a grounding point, a silent reassurance, and leaned in.“I’m not letting anything break this family,” he murmured near her ear. “Not the media. Not public opinion. Not Diana. Not lies.”Her chest tightened, gratitude and fear clashing inside her.Across the pavement, Teresa already had Mira by the hand, letting her chatter excitedly about beach sand and airplane snacks.Both grandmothers were coordinating luggage, speaking to one another with surprising ease.Elara watched them, the unexpected crowd that was suddenly her shield.“This is… a lot,” she whispered.Julian squeezed her side gently.“It’s exactly what we need,” he said. “And I’ll take the blame for ambushing you with reinforcements later.”Despite everything, the headlines, the calls, the clie