Chapter 432: Chapter 432: Making a Deal
"Huh?"
This was an answer Estelle Lockwood hadn’t expected at all. She froze for a couple of seconds, falling silent for a long moment before asking, "...Are you serious?"
"Of course I am."
Nathaniel Sloan didn’t feel there was anything to hide. "The moment I got out of the car, a servant rushed out to tell me that you had forced Noelle Lockwood to commit suicide, and begged me to hurry up and save her.
"At the time, I thought... she’s already committed suicide, so what’s the use of finding me? I immediately dialed emergency services."
"..." Estelle genuinely didn’t know this had happened. No wonder Noelle had been scolded for wasting medical resources that day; it turned out Nathaniel had called for an ambulance.
She felt her mood brighten significantly. The inferiority complex from eight years ago had completely vanished, replaced by genuine amusement. "And then?"
"The servant saw me dialing emergency services and was completely dumbfounded," Nathaniel said. "They rushed up to grab my phone, but Luke White stopped them.
"The servant stammered that it wasn’t that kind of suicide, which confused me... Since when are there different types of suicide? What’s wrong with calling for an ambulance when someone commits suicide?"
Estelle couldn’t stop laughing. "Keep going."
"After entering the villa, I found out it really wasn’t that kind of suicide. After all, she didn’t have a single scratch on her. She just shed a couple of tears and called it a suicide attempt.
"So I asked the butler, ’Didn’t you say Estelle had bullied Noelle into committing suicide?’
"The butler told me with righteous indignation, ’Miss Noelle was stopped by us when she tried to commit suicide! I didn’t expect Miss Estelle to be so petty and intolerant!’
"Right after he said that, I saw you."
Although Estelle no longer cared about the Lockwood Family and could treat the grievances she suffered back then as a joke, hearing those words still made her fingertips curl inward.
Then, she heard Nathaniel’s smiling voice. "I thought, how could a pitiful little thing like you force Noelle to commit suicide? It was much more likely that Noelle was the one bullying you.
"My impression of you when we first met wasn’t that I hated you, like Old Mr. Sloan claimed. Instead, I thought, how could someone be so weak? You were clearly the true daughter, yet you didn’t dare fight back when the fake daughter stepped all over you. I thought Noelle was both malicious and stupid, and I decided right then that I couldn’t associate with such foolish parents of the Lockwood Family anymore, let alone do business with them."
Estelle couldn’t help but laugh. "Oh... really? So you weren’t opposed to the engagement either?"
Nathaniel held her hand. "I’m sorry. I didn’t see my own heart clearly in the past."
Or rather, he had seen it clearly. He knew the person he loved was Estelle, but he always felt there was plenty of time. He thought the years were long, and that she would eventually adapt to high society and life in the Sloan Family on her own.
He had paid the price for that assumption. Nathaniel’s voice was hoarse. "I wasn’t a good husband. I put you through too much suffering."
Estelle clicked her tongue.
It was hard to say who was right and who was wrong back then.
Her low self-esteem and cowardice had also been a major issue. For many things, if she had just been brave enough to speak up, they wouldn’t have escalated. Because she was so insecure back then, she always acted in a "victim mode," believing that even if she spoke up, no one would take her seriously.
But thinking back on it now, aside from those few meals, Nathaniel had fulfilled every other request Estelle had made.
And Nathaniel had never loved anyone before; he hadn’t known how to be in a relationship.
He had been busy with work and neglected his home, thinking there would be plenty of time to make up for it later. Little did he know that once a moment was missed, it was gone forever. Eight years ago, Estelle had cooked for him with a heart full of love. Eight years later, Estelle still loved him, but it was impossible to go back to the way things were.
At the very least, the current Estelle would never humble herself, attempting to keep her husband around with a home-cooked meal.
Everyone had made mistakes, though none were unforgivable crimes. But combined, they had nearly caused irreversible consequences.
Nathaniel touched her forehead. "I think you’re doing great now. You’re getting better and better."
He loved Estelle no matter what she was like, but seeing her fully confident made Nathaniel even happier.
The annual gala was still ongoing and would last until the next day. Tonight, everyone would be resting in the guest rooms.
Estelle and Nathaniel also had a guest room, located right next door to Ethan Sloan and Laura Jennings’s room.
As they returned to their room, Estelle rolled her eyes slightly. "Being next door to them is so annoying."
"It’s fine. The room is a suite, so we can sleep in the bedroom furthest away from them."
Nathaniel smiled and nodded. "Besides, there’s an advantage to having his room next to ours."
Estelle was curious. "What advantage?"
Nathaniel spoke at a leisurely pace. "I received a call from Stella York just now. She asked if I was interested in making a deal with her. Although I’m not interested in the contents of the deal itself, I am very interested in the person she’s targeting, so I agreed."
Estelle was surprised. "When did she contact you?"
"When I was waiting for you at the door of the lounge."
Estelle was astonished. "But wasn’t Ethan standing right next to you? How did you make a deal with Stella?"
Nathaniel chuckled softly. "Because Ethan’s attention wasn’t on me. Besides, who told you Ethan was at the door the whole time?"
Estelle was speechless.
Old Mr. Sloan had told Ethan to wait at the door, yet he had actually sneaked off?
Nathaniel offered a subtle hint. "He ran into a few young, beautiful ladies. They asked Ethan for help, and unable to resist, he went with them."
Estelle clicked her tongue. "At his age, he’s still lusting after pretty young girls."
"Those women were sent by Stella."
Estelle nearly choked, spitting out the water she was drinking. "What? Did Stella intentionally send people to lure Ethan away just so she could make a deal with you? There was no need for that, right? She could have just contacted you at a different time."
"Of course not." Nathaniel felt a bit helpless at her train of thought. "She was just running an experiment."
Estelle understood. "She wanted to see if Ethan was the kind of man who lusted after beauty?"
"Yes. And after Ethan went over, I noticed that Thea York was also among those ladies."
Hearing this, Estelle felt a bit confused. "...What do you mean?"
Nathaniel smiled and nodded. "You know, there are many men and women at the banquet who don’t have official invitations. They were brought in as someone’s plus-one."
Although Estelle despised this sort of thing, it was indeed the norm in high society.
Even if they had a husband or wife at home, most people in arranged business marriages played the field separately after tying the knot.
Wealthy madams would bring along a few handsome young men, while middle-aged CEOs would bring a few pretty young women.
And the women Nathaniel was referring to were exactly the type who had been brought in this way.
"Stella said that the people she found aren’t tied to one specific man; they will cozy up to whoever offers the best terms. And since Thea was among them, Stella drew a conclusion—Thea is looking for a backer."
Estelle suddenly realized the truth. "With Chairman York’s downfall, Thea knows Stella won’t leave her any way out, so she’s trying to find herself a ’backer’."