Walking Away While Pregnant: Dear Ex-Husband, I Don't Love You Anymore

Chapter 116: Chapter 116

"Our house?"

Was Fleur seriously considering herself the mistress of this home now?

Elise watched Fleur’s performance, remaining entirely unfazed. Seeing that Elise wasn’t responding, Fleur simply pressed the baby clothes directly into her hands. "Take a look, Elise. If you don’t like the style, we can still exchange them."

Without so much as looking at them, Elise merely offered a flat "thank you" before calling out to Mrs. Lander. "Take these clothes upstairs and put them in the nursery."

As she spoke, Elise casually handed the baby garments over to the housekeeper.

"You got it!" Mrs. Lander walked over to take the clothes, then turned to Fleur with polite deference. "Thank you for being so considerate, Miss. I’ll take care of these."

Fleur’s smile stiffened. She glanced at Mrs. Lander, then looked back at Elise. "Elise, you didn’t even look at them. What if you don’t like the style?"

"Baby clothes are all pretty much the same style. As long as they’re from a reputable brand and made of pure, skin-friendly cotton, they’re fine." Elise’s response was completely detached. As she spoke, she had already stood up. "I have dinner plans with a friend tonight, so I’m going upstairs to get ready."

Fleur stood up right after her, pressing further. "Elise, who are you meeting?"

Elise paused her steps on the stairs and turned around, her calm, level gaze falling upon Fleur’s face. She didn’t answer the question, only stating indifferently, "Just let Mrs. Lander know whatever you and Robin want to eat."

With that, she turned and headed straight upstairs.

Left standing in place, Fleur watched Elise’s departing back, her hands hanging at her sides, tightening slightly.

. . .

In the walk-in closet of the master bedroom, Elise opened the wardrobe. Her fingertips brushed past autumn dresses one by one, but her gaze ultimately fell upon the suitcase sitting at the bottom of the closet.

She stared at the suitcase for a long moment before finally withdrawing her gaze and pulling out an apricot-colored dress. After changing, she grabbed a trench coat to drape over her shoulders, picked up her bag, and walked out the door.

As Elise came downstairs, she happened to hear Fleur sitting on the sofa, talking on the phone.

"...Elise said she has plans and is going out, so it’s just me and Robin at home tonight... I asked, but she didn’t say..."

As Elise stepped off the stairs, Mrs. Lander came forward and said respectfully, "Madam, the driver has pulled the car into the courtyard and is waiting for you."

"Alright." Elise held her bag and walked toward the entrance, passing through the living room without stopping.

Hearing the commotion, Fleur immediately hung up the phone and rushed to the front door.

Mrs. Lander pulled a pair of flat shoes from the shoe cabinet and placed them by Elise’s feet. Holding her bag in one hand, Elise leaned against the cabinet with the other to change her shoes.

"Elise, I just called Dylan," Fleur said, watching her with a face full of concern. "He thinks that since you’re pregnant, it’s really not a good idea for you to go out alone. He said if it isn’t a very important meeting, you should cancel it. He’s just not comfortable with a pregnant woman heading out by herself at night."

Having finished changing her shoes, Elise slowly raised her head, her cold gaze landing squarely on Fleur’s face.

"I think Dylan’s concerns make sense," Fleur continued smoothly. "He’s only doing it for the sake of the baby. Surely you can understand that?"

Standing off to the side, even Mrs. Lander couldn’t help but frown upon hearing Fleur’s words. Why does everything out of this woman’s mouth sound so incredibly grating?

"I am pregnant, not a three-year-old child," Elise said, her tone flat. Out of consideration for Robin, she was already keeping her words as diplomatic as possible. "Furthermore, public safety in this country is excellent, and I have a dedicated driver taking me to and from my destination. It is perfectly safe."

Yet, Fleur still maintained her worried facade. "But Dylan and I are just worried about you. Dylan said he can’t get away from his business dinner, but he also mentioned that if you insist on going out, I should accompany you as your sister-in-law."

Hearing this, Elise finally couldn’t help but let out a soft, mocking laugh.

She looked at Fleur, a delicate brow arching slightly. "Fleur, let alone the fact that Dylan and I are currently estranged—even during the sweetest days of our honeymoon, I never needed his permission to go anywhere. I am an adult, and where I go is my own business. I don’t care whether you are being fake or trying to drive a wedge between us, but if you keep pestering me, don’t blame me for speaking harshly."

Fleur choked on her words, the gentle expression on her beautiful face nearly cracking entirely.

Having said all she wanted to say, Elise turned and walked straight out. Fleur lowered her eyes as she listened to the car engine fade into the distance, a flash of pure coldness darting through her gaze.

In truth, Elise didn’t have any prior plans at all. It was only after she got into the car that she dialed Madeline’s number.

Madeline picked up almost instantly. "Elise?"

"Maddie, are you free tonight?"

"I’m still at the law firm," she replied. "But I’m just about wrapping things up."

"Then let’s grab dinner together?"

"Right now?" Madeline asked. "Where?"

"Let’s just go to that Cantonese restaurant near your firm," Elise said, lightly massaging her temples. "I’m already on my way. I’ll head over first to book a private room, and you can come straight from the firm."

"Sounds great!" Madeline agreed.

When Elise arrived at the restaurant, she told the driver to make his own arrangements for the evening, noting that she would call him half an hour before she was ready to head back. Afterward, she went inside and reserved a private room just as Madeline arrived.

Upstairs in the private room, the two women sat down across a round table from each other, and a server entered with a tablet to take their order. Once the food was selected, they waited for the dishes to arrive.

Madeline studied Elise carefully from across the table. "Your complexion looks a lot better than last time."

Elise took a sip of lemon water and set her glass down, offering a faint smile. "Yes, I think I’ve gained a bit over a pound this month."

"That’s a good thing!" Madeline laughed. "I was worried you wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep well after moving back to the villa. Looks like your resilience has upgraded significantly!"

Elise smiled but said nothing.

Seeing her reaction, Madeline could guess that Elise’s relationship with Dylan still hadn’t improved. However, she wasn’t going to offer any of those generic "reconciliation" speeches this time.

Frankly, Madeline had had quite enough lately watching all the foolish, love-struck things Aaron had been doing for Fleur’s sake!

Still, she couldn’t resist asking about Fleur. "How is the other woman doing these days?"

Elise replied in a detached tone, "She’s at the villa with me."

Madeline’s eyes widened. "Right now?"

"Mm." Elise’s expression was entirely composed. "There’s a high probability she’ll be staying the night."

"Are you kidding me?" Her friend let out a cold scoff. "Does she have absolutely no sense of boundaries? That is your and Dylan’s marital home. Even if she’s Dylan’s sister-in-law, she can’t be that thick-skinned, can she?"

"I’m not even angry, so what are you getting worked up for?"

"I’m mad at her utter lack of sense!" Madeline said, exasperated. "Just the day before yesterday, she claimed a water pipe burst at her place and called Aaron for help. It’s ridiculous! Your neighborhood is a luxury estate—the property management handles things like burst pipes entirely, alright?"

Elise froze. "Aaron actually went?"

"He went! In the dead of night, he went over to fix a widow’s water pipe!" Madeline rolled her eyes aggressively at the memory. "Then his car got a flat tire on the way back, and he called me to come pick him up. He’s the one losing his mind, not me!"

Elise pressed her lips together, her expression becoming rather complicated. Aaron’s actions were indeed quite surprising to her. But then again, wasn’t Dylan exactly the same? It seemed most men fell right into Fleur’s particular trap.

"My mother set me up on a blind date," Madeline said, taking a sip of tea and setting her cup down with a heavy sigh. "Elise, sometimes I really annoy myself. I clearly know Aaron isn’t right for me, but I just can’t stop paying attention to him. So, I’ve decided to actually go on this blind date!"

"It’s good to go and see," Elise said encouragingly. "There’s nothing wrong with blind dates. You’ll know their background, and if your personalities click, it’s worth seeing where it goes."

"Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking."

Elise and Madeline’s dinner lasted until nearly 9:00 PM. After parting ways outside the restaurant, they each headed home.

Once Elise was back in the car, she instructed the driver, "Take a lap around the downtown area. We’ll head back a bit later."

"Understood," the driver replied.

The night in the city was as bustling as ever, with a steady stream of traffic flowing through the center. The driver kept a leisurely pace, circling the downtown core before finally pulling back into the villa gates around 10:00 PM.

The moment Elise stepped into the house, Mrs. Lander came forward to hand her her slippers. "The master came back a little after eight. He’s currently in the study. The eldest young mistress took the young master to bed."

Elise gave a quiet murmur of acknowledgment. "You’ve had a long day too, Mrs. Lander. Go get some rest."

"Alright, goodnight, Madam."

Slipping into her house shoes, Elise walked straight up to the second floor and headed into the master bedroom. The door closed behind her, leaving the hallway shrouded in dead silence.

About half a minute later, the door to Robin’s bedroom clicked open soundlessly.

Fleur stepped out into the hall. She was dressed in a white silk camisole nightgown with a matching robe draped loosely over her shoulders, exposing her fair neck and delicate collarbones.

Gently pulling the door shut, Fleur cast a fleeting glance at the tightly closed master bedroom door. Then, she turned and glided downstairs.

The lights on the first floor had already been turned off, and Mrs. Lander had retired to her quarters for the night. Fleur walked into the kitchen, located the honey, and mixed a glass of warm honey water. Holding the glass, she made her way back upstairs.

Standing just outside the second-floor study door, Fleur held the honey water in one hand. With her free hand, she reached up and subtly tugged her robe downward.

In an instant, a smooth shoulder was left entirely bare...