Chapter 430: Chapter 430: Remembering the First Meeting with Nathaniel Sloan
Meanwhile, Estelle Lockwood followed Old Mr. Sloan into the study.
Old Mr. Sloan’s eyes were genial. He pointed to a chair with a smile. "Estelle, have a seat."
Estelle raised an eyebrow. "If you have something to say, just say it."
"Do you not even have the time to exchange a few words with an old man like me anymore?" Old Mr. Sloan let out a feigned sigh.
"It’s not that I don’t have the time." Estelle shook her head, a smile in her eyes. "It’s just that you are a smart man, Grandpa Sloan, and I’m not stupid either. There’s no need to keep up this act. Don’t you agree?"
Old Mr. Sloan’s gaze shifted, suddenly turning sharp. "Estelle, I thought highly of you back then, and sure enough, you’re just as clever as ever."
Estelle didn’t consider that compliment to be a good thing.
"Do you know why I insisted you marry Nathaniel back then?" Old Mr. Sloan asked slowly.
Estelle narrowed her eyes.
"Speaking of which, you ought to thank me," he continued. "If it weren’t for me, how could you have possibly married Nathaniel?
"Although there was an engagement between the Sloan Family and the Lockwood Family, it was merely verbal. Furthermore, the disparity in status between the Lockwoods and our Sloan Family is immense. If the Sloan Family refused to acknowledge this engagement, no one would dare say a word.
"However, I still chose you. I didn’t even choose Noelle Lockwood. Estelle, why don’t you think about the reason?"
Estelle found a seat and rested her chin on one hand. Her eyes held a smile that didn’t quite reach them. "Everyone said you were crazy, Grandpa Sloan, for finding Nathaniel a wife who was so ill-matched in social standing. Although the Lockwood Family can be considered wealthy, there is a world of difference between them and a top-tier powerhouse like the Sloan Group. The Lockwoods have certainly prospered a lot since latching onto the Sloan Family.
"Moreover, this engagement didn’t come early or late; it came precisely after I ’returned’ to the Lockwood Family.
"If you insisted on Nathaniel marrying a daughter of the Lockwood Family, wouldn’t the former Noelle Lockwood have sufficed? You have to understand, before I returned home, people didn’t even know Noelle was a fake heiress. Yet, at that time, you showed absolutely no intention of having them get engaged."
She paused before continuing, "I’m afraid it was because you thought Nathaniel Sloan ’liked’ Noelle Lockwood at the time."
The study fell silent for a moment.
Old Mr. Sloan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Go on, Estelle."
"It seems I guessed right." Estelle spoke leisurely. "Perhaps it couldn’t be said that he ’liked’ Noelle Lockwood, but rather that Nathaniel’s attitude toward all women was the same, with the sole exception of me."
Estelle recalled her first meeting with Nathaniel Sloan.
Eighteen-year-old Estelle had just returned to the Lockwood Family. She was dressed in ordinary clothes that completely clashed with the family’s opulence, looking entirely disheveled and travel-worn.
The person who came out to "welcome" her was Noelle Lockwood. Dressed in luxurious silk and adorned with various jewelry, Noelle stood high and mighty, looking more like the true heiress than Estelle did.
Her tone was soft and gentle, but her words were grating.
"Oh, it’s you, Sister. I’m so sorry, Sister, but Mom and Dad went out to run some errands today. They might have forgotten that you were coming back today... Hurry and come inside, Sister. Ms. Miller, aren’t you going to serve my sister some tea?"
Estelle pursed her lips, feeling somewhat out of place. At the time, she didn’t know this was called insinuation; she only felt very uncomfortable.
"Sister, I’m really so sorry. Because your return was so sudden, we don’t have any spare rooms in the house right now. I’ve temporarily arranged for you to stay in the servant’s quarters. You wouldn’t mind, would you?"
After saying that, Noelle covered her lips and giggled. "Oh, I’m sure you won’t mind, Sister! You never lived in such a nice house back in the countryside, did you?"
The Estelle of that time was a very sensitive teenage girl. After her grandfather died, no one treated her well anymore. Returning to the Lockwood Family, she was deeply worried about causing them trouble and feared her parents wouldn’t like her.
Meanwhile, Noelle appeared gentle, but every word she spoke emphasized a clear underlying message. She was subtly telling Estelle that she was an ignorant country bumpkin whom their parents didn’t care about, destined for the servant’s quarters. She was flaunting that she was the only true young lady of the house and mocking how embarrassing Estelle looked.
How could Estelle not feel terrified in her heart?
At that moment, Noelle brought over a plate of sliced mangoes. Estelle explained she was allergic to mangoes and politely declined.
Noelle immediately burst into tears.
"Sister, I know you hate me. You think I stole your identity. I can leave...
"It’s just that Mom and Dad would be heartbroken, which is why I stayed...
"I didn’t expect you to despise me so much, Sister, that you won’t even eat the mangoes I gave you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault. I should just go die..."
With that, Noelle made a show of trying to ram her head into the wall.
The servants hurriedly stopped her, immediately turning their blame onto Estelle.
"Miss Estelle, you’re really something else! Miss Noelle has lived in this family for so many years. Do you really have to drive her away the moment you get back?!"
"She was innocent when the babies were swapped back then. Why must you be so petty?!"
"You’re perfectly fine, aren’t you? Noelle meant well. Her good intentions were completely wasted on you!"
"If you ask me, they never should have brought you back in the first place!"
Estelle was entirely at a loss, while Noelle sobbed uncontrollably.
It was right at that moment that Nathaniel arrived.
Estelle’s recollection ended. Her first meeting with Nathaniel Sloan hadn’t been pleasant at all. At the time, Nathaniel’s face was expressionless. He hadn’t interfered in the feud between the real and fake heiresses of another family; he simply delivered his gift calmly and left.
After that, Old Mr. Sloan declared that he wanted her and Nathaniel to get engaged.
Estelle gave a half-smile. "Oh... so what you’re saying, Grandpa Sloan, is that Nathaniel thought I bullied Noelle Lockwood back then and was deeply disgusted by me. You saw this and decided to play matchmaker, forcing Nathaniel and me into an engagement just to sicken him?"
These words were spoken without any regard for saving face. Phrases like "just to sicken him" were things no one would ever dare say to Old Mr. Sloan under normal circumstances.
Surprisingly, Old Mr. Sloan didn’t mind at all. Instead, he revealed a look of appreciation.
"Estelle, you truly are far too clever—even more clever than I imagined." Old Mr. Sloan curled his lips in a smug smile, making no attempt to conceal the darkness in his heart. "Everyone said Nathaniel despised you and felt it was unfair to Noelle, so I decided to arrange your engagement.
"Sure enough, your marriage turned out exactly as I envisioned. Nathaniel Sloan was absolutely miserable, and I couldn’t be more satisfied."
Estelle narrowed her eyes, finding it a bit strange. If Nathaniel was merely Miranda Lancaster’s son, would Old Mr. Sloan really hate him this much? Right now, Old Mr. Sloan was practically treating Nathaniel like a mortal enemy.
Miranda’s son was also Ethan Sloan’s son, which still made him Old Mr. Sloan’s grandson.
However, this wasn’t the time to dwell on such things.
Estelle smiled. "So you feel that you succeeded eight years ago, Grandpa Sloan?
"You arranged for me to get engaged to Nathaniel Sloan just to sicken him, and you think you succeeded?"
Old Mr. Sloan’s lips curled in triumph.
"But..." Estelle frowned, acting as if she were deeply confused. "Have you never heard the phrase ’enemies to lovers’? Who told you our marriage was inharmonious?"
She flashed a sweet smile. "We were incredibly harmonious. Even back then, we were thinking about how we must properly thank you in the future."