Walking Away While Pregnant: Dear Ex-Husband, I Don't Love You Anymore novel Chapter 164

Chapter 164: Chapter 164

"We can’t rule that possibility out," Elise said, her expression solemn. "If they really are working for Fleur, then she’s hiding far more secrets than we thought."

"I used to think Fleur was just a manipulative green tea bitch, but now it seems there’s been some unknown force backing her all along," Zoey said indignantly. "So what do we do now?"

"Let’s hold off for a moment," Elise said calmly. "If the people obstructing us aren’t working for Fleur, then it’s highly likely they belong to Dylan."

"Huh?" Zoey gasped in surprise. "Dylan is investigating Fleur too? He actually has the heart to doubt his beloved sister-in-law?"

"When it comes to Robin, even though Dylan usually favors Fleur, that bias stems largely from the fact that she’s the boy’s birth mother. After all, Dylan deeply valued his twin brother whom he never got to meet—a reverence rooted in immense guilt, which naturally drives his fierce protectiveness over Robin."

"Hearing you put it like that, their brotherly bond is almost touching!" Zoey sighed over the phone before continuing, "Still, his guilt or devotion toward his late brother is no excuse for deceiving you time and time again! Elise, you’ve always seen things with crystal clarity. The fact that you can talk about this so calmly shows you don’t harbor bitter hatred toward him anymore. But please, don’t just soften your heart and forgive him! Regardless of whether he had noble intentions for everything that happened later, the indisputable fact remains that you lost the twins because of him!"

"Zoey, rest assured," Elise said softly, her tone tranquil. "I’ve simply come to terms with a lot of things lately. As the baby grows day by day, I can feel myself slowly healing. I no longer harbor hatred for Dylan, not because I’ve forgiven him, but because I’ve made peace with myself. Life is far too long—I can’t let myself remain trapped in those painful memories forever just because of one man."

"Mhm, as long as you aren’t softening up to forgive him!" Zoey paused briefly before adding, "By the way, Fleur’s show has already started filming."

"I know," Elise said indifferently. "The online backlash is spiraling out of control. My third sister called this morning—Fleur’s team can’t afford to wait until the taping wraps up."

"Can’t wait? What do you mean?"

"My sister said their team is currently discussing pivoting to a live-stream format instead."

"A live stream?" Zoey scoffed. "As if Fleur would ever agree to that! With her half-baked skills, she can only fool the audience through heavy post-production editing. If she actually goes live, she’s guaranteed to expose herself! She’d have to be completely out of her mind to pull a stunt like that!"

Elise chuckled softly. "So think about it—if her team really does force the show into a live-stream format, doesn’t that prove Fleur hasn’t even told her own crew the truth? Her team, and perhaps even Anna, probably have no idea that she not only plagiarized, but is also trying to usurp the original creator’s identity."

"Holy crap. If she actually dares to go through with this, all I can say is she’s all ambition and no brains!"

"It’s not that she lacks brains; it’s that stealing and usurping have become such second nature to her that over time, she genuinely feels those accomplishments belong to her," Elise said coldly. "But when you spin too many lies and do too many wicked things, karma will eventually catch up with you."

"Did Rina say what the next move is? Or rather, what do you have in mind?"

"Come to Rainport," Elise said, lightly caressing her belly. "My plan requires you to handle things in person. If Oliver has any objections, tell him to call me directly."

On the other end of the line, Zoey was already beaming with excitement. "Awesome! I’ll book my ticket right away!"

After hanging up, Elise leaned back against the sofa, raising a hand to massage her temples.

Jessica came down from the second floor. Seeing Elise sitting alone in the living room, she strolled over.

Hearing footsteps, Elise raised her eyes to meet Jessica’s gaze. "Are the kids asleep?" she asked.

"Fast asleep." Jessica walked over and sat down beside her, glancing around. "Where’s everyone else?"

"They all went back to their rooms for an afternoon nap."

"Aren’t you going up for a nap yourself?"

"I am," Elise smiled. "I was just on the phone with Zoey."

"Have you been sleeping poorly lately?" Jessica inquired, carefully observing her complexion. "Having frequent dreams?"

"Can you tell just by looking at me?" Elise asked in surprise, instinctively touching her own cheek. "My sleep is actually fine. Being pregnant makes me quite drowsy, so I usually drift off as soon as my head hits the pillow. It’s just that I’ve been dreaming constantly lately, though I can never remember what they were about when I wake up."

Jessica pondered for a moment, then said, "Let me check your pulse."

After a short moment, she asked, "Do you experience night sweats?"

At the filming camp for Fleur’s show:

It was currently 1:30 PM, just half an hour away from the live broadcast.

Inside the dressing room, Fleur kept her head lowered, staring intently at her phone screen. She was rewatching past videos by "Selin," desperately trying to engrave every single frame into her mind.

Suddenly, the dressing room door was kicked open.

Anna stormed inside, shouting at her, "We’re going live in a few minutes! Why are you still sitting here?!"

"Anna..." Startled, Fleur hurriedly shoved her phone away and stood up, looking at Anna with a frantic expression.

She attempted one last desperate plea: "Anna, could you please talk to Director Kelly again? This really isn’t going to work! I genuinely can’t do a live broadcast—I get so nervous that I won’t be able to do anything right..."

"What is there to be nervous about?!" Anna snapped irritably. "There are several apprentices on set to assist you! This is way easier than when you used to shoot videos all by yourself! Just listen to me and relax. No one is expecting you to deliver a masterclass on cultural heritage right off the bat. Just keep an eye on the live chat, interact with the viewers, and when the timing is right, reveal that you are ’Selin.’ We’ll handle everything else with public relations afterward."

"But..."

"No more ’buts’!" Anna grabbed her arm, dragging her toward the door. "Director Kelly is already losing his temper because he couldn’t find you. Today is our very first live broadcast, and Mr. Lee might even show up! At a critical moment like this, don’t you dare drop the ball on me!"

Hearing Anna’s words, Fleur’s face turned even paler, her eyelids twitching nervously. She yanked her hand free from Anna’s grip, clutching her abdomen while feigning intense agony. "Anna, my stomach hurts terribly—I need to run to the restroom!"

Without waiting for Anna to react, Fleur turned and sprinted toward the restroom.

"Hurry it up!" Anna yelled anxiously after her.

Inside the restroom, Fleur locked herself in a stall, pulled out her phone, opened her contacts, found Dylan’s number, and dialed it...