Walking Away While Pregnant: Dear Ex-Husband, I Don't Love You Anymore novel Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Chapter 168

Just as Zoey reached the door to Elise’s room, it opened from the inside.

Elise stood in the doorway, looking at Zoey with a gentle curve in her eyes. "I could hear your voice from a mile away."

"Well, I couldn’t wait another second to see you!" Zoey grabbed Elise’s hands and pulled her into the room. "Hurry, let me take a look at you! Has anything changed? It’s been almost a month!"

Closing the door behind them, Elise looked at her with mild amusement. "It’s been less than a month. How much could I possibly change?"

Zoey narrowed her eyes, studying Elise intently before nodding in approval. "You’ve filled out a little. You’re still on the slender side, but your complexion looks so much better than before. Tancheng really agrees with you—no wonder you want to settle down here!"

Elise’s lips curved into a soft smile as her hand rested gently on her stomach. "If you like it so much, you’re welcome to move here and stay with me."

Zoey walked over to the sofa, sat down, crossed her legs, and gave them a casual swing. "Have you forgotten I’m an overworked corporate drone now?"

She bit her lip, considering her words for a moment. "Honestly, you don’t necessarily have to stick to that contract. If I insist on bringing you over, what could Dylan really do to stop me?"

Zoey paused, narrowing her eyes as she squinted at Elise. "Oho! Don’t tell me things between you and Dylan have taken a turn while I was away?"

"You’re overthinking it," Elise said calmly, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. "I just feel that since I gave up on going abroad, he wouldn’t use you to keep me in check anymore. Besides, before the baby is born, I doubt he wants to push our relationship into another bitter deadlock."

"Put that way, I suppose you have a point." Zoey uncrossed her legs and leaned back against the sofa cushions. "As much as I want to come back and keep you company right away, I think I’d better stay on Oliver’s end for now."

"Why?" Elise looked at her curiously. "You didn’t actually go through with the honeypot trap, did you?"

Zoey’s eyes flickered with guilt. "I’m not even sure if it counts as one. Anyway, we got into a heated argument that day, and he had a business dinner right after. So while he was drunk..."

At this point, Zoey felt her face burning with embarrassment. She shifted her gaze away, her voice dropping to a mumbled murmur. "...I kind of just took advantage of him..."

"?"

Taking advantage of a drunk man?

Elise stroked her stomach, biting back a smile. Looking at her best friend’s guilty expression, she felt compelled to offer a gentle reality check.

"Zoey... do you really think a man can actually perform if he’s genuinely wasted?"

"Huh?" Zoey looked up, her eyes wide with innocent confusion. "Why wouldn’t he?"

Rising from the bed, Elise walked over and sat down beside Zoey. "Zoey, if a man is so drunk that he can’t even recognize who’s in front of him—or so passed out that he’s completely at a woman’s mercy—he’s almost certainly incapable of doing anything. The saying ’getting frisky under the influence’ usually applies when both parties have had a few drinks and are just tipsy enough to be impulsive and excited. His awareness and physical capability are still very much intact."

"Is that so..." Zoey scratched her head, processing this. "So you’re saying he wasn’t actually that out of it that night?"

"You could put it that way." Elise looked at her, pausing briefly before adding, "Unless... he was unusually inept that night."

Replaying the memory in her head, Zoey swallowed hard, raising a hand to touch her flushed cheek. "Well... he was actually pretty capable."

"...?" Elise looked at her, caught between laughter and disbelief. "Why are you reminiscing now? Zoey, don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for Oliver?"

"Hey! What nonsense are you talking about?!" Zoey shot her a playful, defensive glare. "Don’t look at me like that! I had a bit to drink that night too, okay? Like you said, alcohol makes people impulsive. Looking back... it’s honestly hard to say who initiated things that night..."

"..."

How is this situation getting more complicated by the minute?

Elise let out a soft sigh. "And then what?"

"What do you mean, ’and then’?"

"What’s your relationship now?"

"Colleagues who had a one-night stand?" Zoey adopted a breezy, nonchalant tone. "I snuck out the next morning, and Oliver never brought it up again. So that’s that."

Elise knit her brows slightly. "Did you use protection?"

"No."

Elise’s breath hitched.

"But I bought emergency contraceptive pills right after," Zoey added hastily. "Relax, I’m an adult. As if I’d let a one-night stand turn into an unexpected pregnancy!"

Looking at Zoey, Elise sighed once more. "If I’d known, I never would have let you go."

"Why do you look like I took a massive loss?" Zoey giggled. "It was Oliver’s first time. Trust me, I didn’t lose out."

"..." Elise gently stroked her bump. "Mind the baby’s prenatal education!"

"Right, right! The baby is listening!" Zoey chuckled, reaching out to lightly pat the faint swell of Elise’s belly. "You’re really starting to show! And looking at your glowing complexion these days, I’m more convinced than ever that it’s a girl."

That night, every social media platform crashed completely under the traffic spike.

Selin had seamlessly hijacked the hype generated by Fleur, using it to build unprecedented momentum for Rina’s new production—entirely free of charge.

Although the shooting locations were kept strictly confidential, countless viewers pleaded for Selin to reveal her face during the show.

Before wrapping up the stream, Selin threw out one final hook: she promised to unmask herself live during the final episode.

With that teaser dropped, the success of Rina’s show was officially sealed.

At the same time, Mr. Lee sat on the balcony of his guesthouse room. On the table before him, a tablet was playing Selin’s live stream.

Theo stood respectfully to the side. "Mr. Lee, do you think this is really Selin herself?"

Mr. Lee chuckled softly. "It’s her."

Observing the rare smile on his boss’s face, Theo caught a subtle whiff of romance in the air.

Had the boss known all along that Fleur was an impostor? So when he said ’nothing special’ that day, he wasn’t referring to Selin, but to Fleur?

Just then, Mr. Lee’s phone rang.

Glancing at the caller ID—’Father’—his expression darkened instantly.

Theo immediately muted the tablet.

Mr. Lee picked up the call, his deep voice carrying a degree of deference rarely heard from him. "Listening"

"The person I asked you to find... any news?"

"I have a lead." Mr. Lee kept his eyes fixed on the masked woman on the screen, his gaze deep and inscrutable. "I will report to you the moment it’s confirmed."

"Good... Of all my children, you are the most composed, and the one I trust most. Leaving this in your hands brings me peace of mind... cough, cough!" Heavy coughing echoed from the other end of the line. "I don’t have much time left. Before I pass, my only wish is to see her one last time..."

"Please take care of your health, Father," Mr. Lee said solemnly. "I will find her and bring her back as quickly as possible."

"Very well. With your word, I can rest easy while I wait."