Walking Away While Pregnant: Dear Ex-Husband, I Don't Love You Anymore novel Chapter 147

Chapter 147: Chapter 147

"Pfft! Cough, cough—"

Over at the front desk, the female staff member spat out a mouthful of her drink, coughing frantically as she scrambled to grab a few tissues to clean up the mess.

Fleur whipped her head around to glare at her.

The girl quickly waved her hands in apology. "I—I didn’t hear a single thing! Please, carry on, carry on!"

This terribly unconvincing defense left Fleur’s face flushing a chaotic mix of red and white. She glared at Elise, her chest heaving with fury. The rage in her eyes was nearly impossible to suppress, but with the staff member still right there, she couldn’t just fly off the handle.

"Elise, I came here with nothing but good intentions to thank you. Why do you always have to target me like this?" Lowering her head, Fleur reached up to wipe at the corners of her eyes, which were entirely devoid of tears. Yet, her gaze was secretly darting toward the reception desk.

The staff member had raised a magazine to block her face, pretending to be utterly absorbed in reading.

Frustrated, Fleur took a few deep breaths to force herself to calm down. She couldn’t lose her temper here. She couldn’t afford to clash with Elise in public.

Elise watched her, her expression flat. No matter how brilliant the acting, it grew tiresome after a while. Standing a few steps up, she looked down at Fleur’s hypocritical face.

"Fleur, I honestly don’t understand why you’re so obsessed with provoking me. If you have designs on Dylan, go put your energy into pursuing him. Why do you keep trying to establish your presence in front of me, his soon-to-be ex-wife? Do you honestly think that the more I despise you, the more Dylan will love you?"

"Elise, how can you say something like that again?" Fleur looked up at her, her voice cracking with a sob. "Dylan only looks after me for the sake of his late older brother! I’ve never wanted to steal anything from you. I didn’t even dare say a word when Robin became closer to you. What on earth do I have to do to make you happy?"

"Nothing you do will ever make me happy." Elise met her gaze, her eyes like ice. "I despise you. It’s not because you’re Dylan’s sister-in-law, nor is it because you’re Robin’s mother. I simply despise you as a person. Just looking at you and speaking to you makes my stomach turn."

Fleur froze. She quietly slipped her hand into her bag and pressed the record button on her voice recorder.

Sniffling, her voice took on an even more pitiful, aggrieved edge. "Can you really not tolerate my existence? Elise, we are both women. You’re about to become a mother yourself—why can’t you leave me a path to survive?"

Elise caught her subtle movement perfectly, the corners of her lips turning up in a faint smile. The mockery in her eyes deepened.

"Fleur, how could you ever run out of ways to survive? You’re so incredibly skilled at playing the victim, and you know exactly how to manipulate a man’s savior complex to get what you want. A woman like you can survive anywhere there is a man. You really ought to have more confidence in yourself."

There was no way Fleur could miss the bite in those words. Elise was blatantly mocking her for relying on seduction and men to get by.

"Elise, how can you say that about me?! George has been gone for so many years. If it weren’t for Robin, I wouldn’t have had the strength to carry on..."

"If this is all for Robin, then take him and leave. Why are you putting on this mother-of-the-year performance in front of me?"

"I... I was only..."

"You were only what?" Elise cut her off again, her eyes sweeping over the bag in Fleur’s hand with a cold smirk. "You think I used some underhanded tricks to lure the father and son out here. You’re terrified that Dylan and I won’t get divorced, and that you’ll be stuck as his sister-in-law forever. You panicked. Coming here with a gift to thank me was a farce; hiding a voice recorder in your bag and playing the victim to frame me was your actual goal."

Fleur’s breath hitched. She stared at Elise in absolute, wide-eyed disbelief.

"W-What absolute nonsense!" Fleur instinctively took a step back, clutching her bag tighter. "I don’t know anything about a voice recorder..."

"It doesn’t matter. Even if Dylan were standing right here, I would throw these exact words right back in your face, word for word."

Fleur glared at her. Tight with a mix of anxiety and fury, her chest rose and fell rapidly, her eyes burning with pure hatred.

Elise couldn’t be bothered to waste another second on her. She turned, resting a hand on the banister as she started back upstairs.

She had only taken a few steps when Fleur suddenly shrieked behind her—

"Elise! You malicious woman! Do you really have to drive me to my death before you’re satisfied?!"

Elise paused and turned back, looking down at Fleur from the stairs.

Fleur had worked herself into a frenzy, her eyes shot with blood.

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