Chapter 93: Chapter 93
Elise took a good look at Fleur.
Fleur had delicate, arched brows and soft, almond-shaped eyes—the kind of classically gentle appearance that carried absolutely no edge. With a face like that, she didn’t even have to do anything; just standing there with a few tears in her eyes was enough to make anyone feel incredibly sorry for her.
Yet, Madeline had explicitly mentioned that back in college, Fleur was famously known as the "ice queen." Looking at the woman in front of her now, Elise found it hard to see even a trace of that persona.
But on second thought, it made sense. After losing her husband, giving birth alone, and spiraling into depression, going through such dramatic highs and lows in life was bound to change someone’s personality.
"Fleur, the issues between Elise and me have nothing to do with you. Don’t overthink it." A deep, masculine voice resonated from behind her.
Elise turned slightly, her gaze sweeping over Robin, who was still crying and wailing for "Mommy" in Dylan’s arms. She frowned, ignoring Dylan completely and offering no comfort to the child.
Instead, she looked back at Fleur, her eyes cold. "Miss Bonnaire, you’ve got one thing wrong. The person I welcome the least here is Dylan."
Fleur froze at her words, instinctively looking over at Dylan with a helpless, flustered expression. "Dylan, she’s definitely just speaking in anger. Don’t take it to heart."
Dylan’s thin lips pressed into a tight line, his dark eyes fixed heavily on the back of Elise’s head. To him, Elise was indeed just throwing a tantrum out of spite. With both Robin and Fleur present, he didn’t want her to keep acting so stubbornly.
He let out a soft sigh. "Elise, I’ll explain everything between us properly later. Right now, Robin needs you."
"He’s calling for his mother. I am not his mother. You both know that perfectly well, don’t you?"
Elise glanced sideways at Dylan before shifting her gaze back to Fleur.
"Miss Bonnaire, Robin saved my life, so as a return favor, I agreed to help look after him for a while. Now that he’s recovered and you, his biological mother, are back, I think it’s time to lay it all out clearly for the child. Don’t you agree?"
Fleur knit her brows and bit her lower lip. "I... I know. It’s just that I’ve only just returned, and Robin isn’t familiar with me yet. I’m afraid he won’t be able to accept me all at once..."
"That is your problem," Elise interrupted sharply, her tone commanding. "Even if I am still legally his aunt, there is no law stating that I must unconditionally cooperate with you to manage his feelings. Under the law, I myself am a pregnant woman who requires special care."
Fleur was momentarily stunned, and her eyes welled up even more. Lowering her head, she wiped away a tear, her voice growing even weaker.
"I... I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought we were all family. Robin relies on you so much, so I wanted to ask for your help. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you angry."
"God, I believe I’ve made myself perfectly clear." Elise was reaching her limit with Fleur’s fragile, helpless act—the way she consistently danced around the main point. It gave her the frustrating sensation of talking to a brick wall.
The apartment was filled with the sounds of Robin’s tantrums and Fleur’s soft sobbing.
Elise’s patience was entirely exhausted. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her expression was dead serious.
"Miss Bonnaire, you are an adult, and I expect you to have some sense. Given my current situation with Dylan, I see no reason to interact with you, nor do I have any obligation to help you. So please, don’t show up unannounced like this again. I need peace and quiet during my pregnancy, and I don’t appreciate being disturbed by outsiders."
With that, Elise turned and walked straight toward the master bedroom.
Dylan stared at her retreating back, his narrow eyes dark and unreadable.
Elise pushed the door open, stepped inside, and locked it behind her. No matter how good the soundproofing was, it couldn’t completely block out Robin’s crying. She could vaguely hear the muffled voices of Dylan and Fleur trying to soothe the boy together.
Closing her eyes, Elise let out a long, heavy sigh.
She was so tired. When would this endless, suffocating entanglement finally come to an end?
It took about ten minutes before the outside finally fell quiet.
Elise unlocked her phone and opened her home security app.
The living room was completely empty. They were all gone.
She slowly let out a sigh of relief.
After a moment of thought, she dialed Madeline’s number. "Maddie, are you free right now...?"
About half an hour later, the doorbell rang again.
It was Madeline.
Elise went to open the door.
Outside, Madeline waved a cream cake in her hand. "I queued up at that bakery on West Street to get this. It’s sea salt and chocolate flavored."
Elise took the cake and gave her a soft, warm smile. "Thank you."
Madeline walked in, changed into slippers, and glanced around the quiet apartment. "It’s so quiet in here. Where are Mrs. Lander and Robin?"
"Dylan brought Fleur over this morning. Robin and Mrs. Lander went back with them."
Madeline flinched. "He brought Fleur over today?"
"Yeah." Elise walked over to the sofa and placed the cake on the coffee table. "Would you like something to drink?"
"As if I’d let a pregnant woman wait on me!" Madeline gave her a playful glare. "You sit. I’ll go grab some plates and forks. Is there anything to drink in the fridge?"
"Yes," Elise replied. "And fresh some fruit. Just take whatever you want to eat or drink."
"Don’t worry, I won’t stand on ceremony!" Madeline gave her an "OK" sign and turned toward the kitchen.
A moment later, Madeline walked out holding two bottles of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a set of pastry utensils.
Setting them on the coffee table, she sat down next to Elise and asked, "Did Melissa leave with them too?"
"Yeah. She was placed here by Dylan in the first place," Elise said flatly.
Madeline froze mid-slice, turning to look at her with a frown. "Unbelievable! Doesn’t that mean he knew you were pregnant from the very beginning?"
"Yes."
Madeline had no idea what to say.
No wonder Dylan had shown up so perfectly on time at the airport the day Elise tried to fly abroad. Turns out he’d known all along, and had deliberately waited until she was just about to board to catch her red-handed!
"Dylan is way too petty!" Madeline exclaimed, brimming with indignation. "If he knew you were pregnant from the start, and he didn’t want a divorce or to let you leave, he should have just sat down and talked to you face-to-face! I really don’t get what goes on in men’s heads. Looking at it now, birds of a feather really do flock together. That idiot Aaron is cut from the exact same cloth!"
Hearing this, Elise looked at Madeline, raising an eyebrow in surpirse. "What does this have to do with Aaron?"
"It has everything to do with him!"
Madeline put down her fork, took a deep breath to steady her emotions, and then continued,
"Just mentioning him makes my blood boil! Didn’t Dylan go abroad with Aaron this time? At first, I thought they went for business. But last night, he called our whole circle out to the ’Golden Room,’ claiming it was just an old friends’ get-together. But when I got there, I realized that so-called reunion was actually a welcome-back banquet Aaron threw specifically for Fleur!"
Elise frowned. "Are Aaron and Fleur close?"
"Close, my foot!" Madeline said crossly, "Aaron is nothing but a hopeless simp! Back in college, he pursued Fleur for two years to no avail. Then she went abroad and never kept in touch with him.
I thought he’d gotten over her after all these years, but who knew? The moment he heard Dylan was going to bring Fleur back to the country, his inner simp immediately took over!"
Elise pursed her lips. "I suppose that’s the power of a ’white moonlight’ first love."
Madeline rolled her eyes. "Men really have zero sense! Fleur came back as the eldest young mistress of the Bennett family—since when does a simp like him get to run around catering to her every need?
I was seriously furious. You should have seen it at the party. Fleur just had to delicately mention that she couldn’t drink, and Aaron immediately stepped up to drink on her behalf. He took down a glass for every single person who toasted her. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought it was his and Fleur’s wedding banquet! Ugh, pathetic simp. It’s a miracle he didn’t drink himself to death!"
Listening to Madeline, Elise’s impression of Fleur soured even further.
She fell silent for a moment before asking, "So... did Dylan go last night?"
