Chapter 425: Chapter 425: That Sounds Familiar
Dizzy with anger, Ethan Sloan was beside himself with rage. He blurted out, "Nathaniel Sloan, are you still denying it?! You obviously already promised Thea!"
Nathaniel asked casually, "What did I promise? If I agreed to get engaged to Thea York, why would I bring Christian and the others along?"
The three little ones squeezed through the crowd. Looking incredibly adorable, they blinked their big eyes as if to say, "We don’t know what you’re talking about, but Daddy is right."
Ethan choked on his words.
He found it almost laughable when he belatedly realized he had been played by Nathaniel.
How was this possible? Nathaniel had clearly taken that drug. He was supposed to be madly in love with Thea and completely obedient to him. Why had everything suddenly changed?!
Ethan had no time to overthink. Everything for today was already arranged; there was no room for Nathaniel to refuse.
"Nathaniel, I’m doing this for your own good. You have no reason to object!"
Nathaniel chuckled softly, then slowly turned his gaze to Thea. "You want to marry me?"
Thea gently pursed her lips. "Nathaniel..."
"Then Miss York might be looking for the wrong person. As you can see, I have no current interest in keeping a harem. My father, on the other hand, has developed quite a ’good’ habit over the past twenty or thirty years. If you really want to marry into the Sloan family, you can go to him."
Liam Sloan was speechless.
He thought, "Just look at your father’s face."
Ethan’s face flushed crimson. Furious beyond measure, he yelled, "Nathaniel Sloan! What is the meaning of this?!"
"I mean it literally," Nathaniel replied nonchalantly. "If you have no other business, Father, I won’t see you out." As soon as he said this, someone stepped forward, ready to escort the guests out.
Thea cried pitifully, tears streaming down her face. She shook her head desperately. "No, Nathaniel, my feelings for you are genuine..."
The onlookers watched this farce in stunned silence. They looked at each other in dismay, unsure of what to say.
Ethan gritted his teeth and suddenly sneered. "Nathaniel, I know that in your eyes, Thea is shameless for interfering in your marriage. But have you ever thought about why Thea didn’t tell you the truth? It was all for you! She was afraid you wouldn’t be able to handle it!"
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes.
Liam immediately had a bad premonition.
The next moment, Ethan let out a cold laugh. "The annual gala has been going on for so long. Where is Estelle Lockwood? Has she even shown her face? Since she hasn’t appeared, Nathaniel, why don’t you think about where she went!"
The crowd in the banquet hall couldn’t help but start whispering among themselves.
They murmured, "That’s right, where is Estelle? Why hasn’t she shown up yet?
"She is Mrs. Sloan. It’s impossible for her to miss the annual gala for no reason, unless she has other matters to attend to, but..."
"We were originally worried you wouldn’t be able to accept it. But since you don’t appreciate it, Nathaniel, we’ll just say it straight!"
Ethan sneered, "Thea wanted to save Estelle’s face and begged us not to expose her. But looking at it now, there’s nothing left to hide.
"Estelle hasn’t appeared because—she abandoned you a long time ago!"
The crowd was in an uproar. The room buzzed with shock. What did this mean?
What did he mean, Mrs. Sloan had abandoned him? They still had children together. Why would Mrs. Sloan leave?
Ethan spoke with absolute certainty, "As parents, everything we do is for our children. Back then, we didn’t agree to your marriage with Estelle, but because the engagement couldn’t be stopped and you insisted on going your own way, I figured that as long as Estelle knew her place, it wouldn’t matter. No matter how much of a spendthrift she was, our Sloan family could afford to support her.
"Everyone here knows how important the annual gala is to Evernight International. But before the gala, I actually discovered that Estelle only wanted to attend this event to show off. She never once thought about how to help you. I realized something wasn’t right back then!"
"So, I told her the Sloan family was prepared to give up on you and that you were about to lose everything. She immediately got scared!" Ethan shouted hoarsely.
"I only wanted to test her true feelings for you. I offered her a sum of money to leave you. I never expected her to agree right away! She didn’t even want the three kids and just left!
"Nathaniel, you’re still thinking about Estelle, but did Estelle ever think about you? If she had, she wouldn’t have believed you were broke and abandoned you when you were at your lowest!"
His high-sounding words managed to bluff the audience. The venue fell into a dead silence.
Thea wept, tears streaming down her face as she desperately shook her head. "Uncle Sloan, please stop talking. I beg you, stop... I understand Estelle’s decision. She just handled this matter poorly, but that doesn’t define her as a person. Please, say no more..."
Ethan was shaking with anger. "Look, just look! Thea is still speaking up for that woman even now. Nathaniel, open your eyes and see clearly who truly loves you the most!
"A woman who leaves you just because she thinks you’re down and out—do you really dare to keep a woman like that by your side? Huh?!"
He truly acted like a good father who had broken his heart worrying over his son.
Nathaniel laughed.
Ethan and Thea were absolutely certain that Estelle was already dead, which was why they dared to spout such nonsense.
Thea bit her lip and shook her head tearfully. "Nathaniel... I know that if I marry you, it’s inevitable that people will call me a mistress who stole the wife’s place. But I don’t care about that. I was just afraid you would be sad.
"The reason I didn’t tell you the truth was because I worried you wouldn’t be able to handle it. But... but now...
"Uncle Sloan didn’t do it on purpose. Nathaniel, please don’t be angry."
Mrs. York chimed in, "That’s right, my daughter isn’t that kind of person. If Miss Lockwood hadn’t left, my daughter would absolutely never have entertained such thoughts. You two are childhood sweethearts. How could she bear to ruin your marriage?
"But now, this is all just a helpless last resort!"
Laura Jennings also interjected, "Thea has sacrificed so much for you, and you don’t even want to take responsibility? Are you even a man?!
"Thea gave up her reputation just to marry you! What is so good about Estelle Lockwood anyway?!"
Weeping, Thea pleaded, "Nathaniel... I don’t ask you to love me. I only ask you to look at me. Forget about Estelle. Don’t think about her anymore. Don’t break your heart over a woman who isn’t worth it. I will treat the three children as my own. I beg you, please don’t be sad anymore..."
Her tone was so humble that it made people sigh.
The onlookers murmured, "Miss York’s love has truly humbled her to the dust.
"Such a devoted person. She didn’t even reveal the truth about Estelle’s departure just for Nathaniel’s sake...
"So, how will Mr. Sloan reply?"
The crowd cast subtle glances at Nathaniel, but he suddenly smiled.
"Thea York, your words sound very familiar."
Thea froze, not expecting this expression from him. "Nathaniel..."
"Noelle Lockwood said the exact same thing back then."
Nathaniel chuckled softly. His eyes were icy, and the smile didn’t reach them.
"Take a guess. What did the final truth turn out to be?"
Back then, with Noelle Lockwood... The crowd instinctively remembered something.