Free Web NovelChapter 13: A Sweet Misunderstanding
Editor: Henyee Translations
Was she that genius perfumer? The very perfume Noelle had been desperately trying to obtain had been created by her?
The faces of everyone who had been mocking Estelle moments ago turned deathly pale.
Everyone knew Star was looking for a partner, which was precisely why they had come tonight on behalf of their companies and families, yet they had managed to offend the Chief Perfumer of Star before the gala had even properly begun.
Noelle’s eyes widened with disbelief and fury. How was this possible? How could she be that mysterious perfumer? Didn’t that mean she had outshined her yet again?
"My apologies, everyone. Yara isn’t in a good mood, so we will go to the lounge for a break. We can discuss a potential partnership later." Henry waved a hand and a waiter immediately stepped forward to clear a path for them.
As they watched Estelle leave, the representatives of each company grew increasingly more anxious. At the same time, resentment toward Noelle began to simmer inside them.
Why hadn’t she explained anything when everyone had been calling Yara a mistress? She’d practically led them straight into this disaster.
Nathaniel’s gaze remained cold. After a brief pause, he turned and followed Estelle upstairs.
Noelle clenched her teeth and thought, ’No. I can’t let Nathaniel be alone with that woman!’ freewebnøvel.com
Not caring whether she would get humiliated or not, she hurried after them.
In the lounge, Estelle was sitting with her eyes half-closed when there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?"
"Me." This cold male voice immediately made her frown.
What was Nathaniel Sloan doing here? Had he come to stand up for his precious sweetheart?
"What do you want?"
Nathaniel’s tone was unreadable. "Open the door."
Estelle’s expression darkened. Who did he think he was to order her around?
Unfortunately, guests were constantly passing through the corridor, and she had no interest in creating unnecessary gossip. With a blank expression, she rose and opened the door. "Just spit it out."
"Dr. Lockwood, I’m so sorry." The moment the door opened, Noelle appeared before her, tears streaming down her face. "Nathaniel and I came to apologize. Please don’t take what happened earlier to heart..."
Estelle found the sight almost amusing. A smile tugged at her lips. "Mr. Sloan, did you ask her to apologize to me?"
Nathaniel met her gaze. "Yes."
"Oh? And what if I don’t accept her apology?"
Nathaniel’s expression didn’t change. "You can name your terms."
Estelle considered this for a moment before a mischievous idea popped into her mind. "In that case... why don’t you come into my lounge to have a private chat with me, Mr. Sloan?"
She deliberately emphasized the words "private chat".
Noelle’s expression changed immediately. "Dr. Lockwood, what do you mean by that...?"
Estelle cut her off with a bright smile. "I don’t mean anything by it, but you just accused me of being a mistress. If I didn’t do at least one thing a mistress would do, wouldn’t all those insults go to waste?"
The moment she finished speaking, Estelle suddenly tilted her body forward and Nathaniel instinctively reached out and caught her.
Noelle’s eyes nearly turned red with rage. That bitch! How dare she throw herself into Nathaniel’s arms!
A glimmer flashed through Estelle’s eyes.
In the past, when these two had flirted, hugged, and acted intimately right in front of her, she had endured it all.
Now, Noelle, who wasn’t even officially his wife, couldn’t stand to see a simple embrace? What kind of logic was that?
Nathaniel himself didn’t understand his reaction either. The moment he had seen her stumble, his only thought had been that he shouldn’t let her fall. Almost instinctively, he had pulled her into his arms.
The woman’s body was soft and warm and gave off a faint fragrance. For a brief moment, he froze.
Then, Estelle leaned closer and whispered next to his ear in a deliberately sweet voice, "Mr. Sloan, your little sweetheart just saw you holding me. She won’t get the wrong idea about us, will she?"
Nathaniel’s grip tightened slightly around her waist. "Miss Yara, our agreement clearly states that you are not to throw yourself at me..."
Before he could finish, a loud bang was heard.
The lounge door had slammed shut, leaving Noelle standing outside.
The smile vanished from Estelle’s face instantly. She shoved Nathaniel away without hesitation and stepped back as though she had touched something filthy. If she hadn’t wanted to annoy Noelle, she would not have tried to get close to this bastard.
Nathaniel suddenly found his arms empty, and the lingering warmth disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived.
His eyes narrowed, and he said in a hoarse, dangerous voice, "You used me?"
Estelle answered without the slightest trace of guilt, "What do you think? Did you actually think I was interested in you? I’m not blind."
Nathaniel’s face stiffened slightly, and an inexplicable sense of irritation surged in his chest.
What exactly was that supposed to mean? Would only a blind woman fall for him?
Suppressing the thought, he got straight to the point. "Star Group is looking for a domestic partner, and I think Evernight International is the best candidate."
Estelle raised an eyebrow when business was mentioned. "As far as I know, Evernight International doesn’t even have a perfume department. The Lockwood family, however, built its reputation on perfume. So tell me, Mr. Sloan. Are you negotiating this deal for yourself or for Noelle Lockwood?"
Nathaniel ignored the sarcasm in her voice. "I’m negotiating on behalf of my wife."
Estelle nearly laughed in his face. When she had first been brought back to the Lockwood family, she had desperately wanted to prove herself, so she had worked hard to secure business opportunities for her family.
Her biological parents had told her repeatedly that the Lockwood family needed a perfume partnership most of all and that a bumpkin girl like her knew nothing about perfume, so she should just drop the idea.
Back then, she had dreamed of opening a business in the perfume industry. Where had Nathaniel’s support been then?
Now, five years after her death, he suddenly wanted to play the role of the devoted husband? Wasn’t that a little too late?
"Mr. Sloan, if your ex-wife were still alive, she would not want Star to partner up with the Lockwood family."
The faint warmth in Nathaniel’s eyes vanished. He looked at her coldly and thought, ’No matter how much Yara looks like Estelle, she isn’t her.’
He just needed to bear that in mind.
Therefore, he said, "Dr. Lockwood, the Lockwoods was my wife’s family. They were the people she cared about the most, so I intend to fulfill her wishes."
He remembered how deeply Estelle had valued her family. That was why, when Rose and Noelle approached him for help, he never refused.
Estelle suddenly felt that this business opportunity wasn’t worth another second of her time, so she said, "The door is right there. Get out."
A storm gathered in Nathaniel’s eyes. "I will not give up on this partnership."
"Don’t you speak English? I told you to get out."
Only after Nathaniel and Noelle finally left did Estelle take several deep breaths, calming herself down.
She had cared about the Lockwood family because she had been stupid. The Lockwoods had despised her, and Noelle had framed her at every turn. Even then, they had still tried to make her look cruel and heartless.
If Nathaniel had truly cared about her, how could he have failed to see that every bit of affection the Lockwood family had shown her had been false?
If he wanted to help Noelle, he should simply admit it. Using a dead woman as an excuse was simply disgusting. She would never give him what he wanted.
Half an hour later, as dusk settled over the hotel grounds, guests gradually moved from the main hall into the garden.
Those who had offended Estelle earlier remained uneasy, but after seeing her arrive alongside Henry, they finally relaxed slightly.
Not far away, Noelle’s eyes burned with resentment. She couldn’t help but wonder what this woman had done with Nathaniel in the lounge. She was not going to swallow down this humiliation!
If the Lockwood family could secure the partnership with Star, Noelle would certainly gain the full respect of the socialite circle. But why did the Chief Perfumer of Star have to be Yara Lockwood?
There had to be a way out of this!
At that moment, she heard a nearby conversation.
"Hey, look at that pool."
"It’s just a pool. What’s so special about it?"
"You don’t know? Something interesting happened there. The Lockwood family adopted a girl to keep Noelle company when she was younger, and during a banquet here, the adopted daughter, Estelle, apparently got jealous of Noelle and jumped into the pool herself before claiming that Noelle pushed her."
The crowd instantly became interested. "What happened next? Mr. Lockwood and Mrs. Lockwood believed her?"
"Noelle was the treasured daughter of a wealthy family. Estelle was just an adopted girl nobody wanted to accept. I heard she was so poor that she had barely been able to afford food before getting adopted. Why would Noelle push off a girl like her? Mrs. Lockwood scolded Estelle for trying to frame her own sister at such a young age. Afterward, Noelle even spoke up on Estelle’s behalf. Oh, hey, Mr. Sloan..."
Everyone turned around and saw Nathaniel standing a short distance away, his expression calm and hard to understand.
