Free Web NovelChapter 20: Thinking About Ex At Night
Editor: Henyee Translations
Under the hopeful gaze of three pairs of eyes, Nathaniel found himself nodding before he could stop himself.
Half an hour later...
"Mr. Sloan, could you move a little closer? Don’t stand so far away."
"Look at Mrs. Sloan with some feeling!"
"Put your arm around Mrs. Sloan. There’s no need to be shy between husband and wife..."
Estelle leaned into his embrace, and Nathaniel’s entire body stiffened. At last, the photographer seemed satisfied. "That’s it! Perfect!"
The moment the photographer left, Nathaniel gritted his teeth. "Did you drag this out for half an hour on purpose, Dr. Lockwood, just so you could get into my arms?"
When other people took pictures, it was a single click and done. With them, however, the photographer was never satisfied and kept insisting he hold this woman.
Estelle looked at him as though he were an idiot. "Who’s the one dragging this out? If anyone was taking advantage of someone, it was you. The photographer told you to smile, and what did you do? Show off your poker face?"
"You..." Nathaniel clenched his jaw. ’What a sharp-tongued woman!’
As the crowd dispersed, Nathaniel suddenly felt a shove. His hand, which had been resting around the woman’s slim waist, loosened instinctively.
He glanced down and saw that Mia had already wiped the sweet, obedient smile from her face. As though shooing away a piece of trash, she said expressionlessly, "Mr. Sloan, move along. An unmarried man and an unmarried woman shouldn’t be hugging so much."
Nathaniel almost laughed from sheer irritation.
Just moments ago, this little brat had been calling him "Daddy" over and over to provoke Noelle, and now it was "Mr. Sloan." She changed her tune faster than anyone he had ever met. Who did she get that from? frёewebηovel.cѳm
"You little actress. You said your mommy was sick, so why did you come to the kindergarten with Yara? You cling to me, calling me ’Daddy,’ and then look at me with disgust. Who gave you the nerve, hmm?"
Zachery screamed internally, ’Oh no, oh no! Are we about to be exposed?!’
Mia merely pursed her lips, completely unfazed. "Miss Yara and Mommy are friends. Mommy asked her to look after us, so what’s strange about that?
"And don’t be so mean. ’Cling to you’? You should be secretly thrilled that an incredibly cute little ray of sunshine like me is willing to be your daughter."
Nathaniel instinctively looked up at Estelle and let out a silent, cold laugh. ’Same sharp tongue. Same way of tearing people down with her words. And they claim they aren’t mother and daughter?’
He was becoming more and more curious about Yara Lockwood. It was one thing for her to use every trick in the book to get close to him, but now her two children were also scheming to get near him.
’Who exactly is she...?’
Nathaniel looked at the photo on the wall, his fingertips curling slightly.
Yara and Estelle were far too similar. Looking at the photograph, it almost seemed as though the person standing beside him had always been Estelle.
...
The three children remained at the kindergarten.
Ignoring Nathaniel, Estelle headed straight to the Star Group.
Henry looked at her curiously. "What’s wrong? Bad mood?"
Estelle nodded. "Mia and Zachery insisted I take a picture with Nathaniel. It was so aggravating."
Henry wasted no time stirring the pot. "That does sound aggravating. Where’s the photo? Want me to have someone take it down?"
Estelle frowned. "Forget it. The kids were the ones who insisted."
Knowing better than to push his luck, Henry changed the subject. "I heard something interesting. Want to hear it?"
Estelle’s interest was immediately piqued. "What?"
"I don’t know what’s gotten into the Lockwood family, but your dear biological father approached me about a collaboration. He actually recommended Noelle, claiming she has countless perfume creations to her name."
Henry’s tone turned meaningful. "But after I looked into it, I found out those perfumes were painstakingly developed by other people. They simply slapped Noelle’s name on them, and suddenly they became her achievements. And now the Lockwoods are actually comparing Noelle to you. The audacity."
Estelle was long accustomed to the Lockwoods’ selective blindness. "Why wouldn’t they?"
Five years later, the family was still so biased toward Noelle that they refused to see reality. Some things truly never changed.
...
At 11:00 p.m. that night, Estelle finally finished working.
Feeling a little hungry, she decided to go downstairs to make pasta. Halfway there, she stopped when she saw a man’s silhouette against the living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows.
Nathaniel stood there holding a photograph in his hand: the only picture he had ever taken with Estelle.
Estelle recognized it immediately and frowned. ’Why does he still have that?’
"Can’t sleep, Mr. Sloan? Standing here in the middle of the night, reminiscing about your ex-wife?"
Nathaniel turned toward her, his gaze heavy. "What exactly is your relationship with her?"
Estelle smiled. "What relationship? I’m afraid I don’t understand." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Nathaniel enunciated every word. "What is your relationship... with Estelle?"
The air seemed to freeze.
Estelle’s smile turned icy. "You’ve asked this many times, and I’ve already told you. There is no relationship."
"Dr. Lockwood, you pushed Noelle into the water at the banquet, and today you called me ’husband’ right in front of her. There are some things..." Nathaniel paused. "That only Estelle would know. So how do you know them so well?"
Estelle brushed her hair back. "Didn’t you say it yourself, Mr. Sloan? That I’d stop at nothing to get close to you? I’m not an idiot like Noelle. If I want to get close to someone, of course I’ll do my homework."
’No. She’s lying.’ Nathaniel swallowed. ’Yara is different from all those other gold-diggers. She isn’t after me. She... doesn’t want to be Mrs. Sloan.’
Why did it make him feel a little sad that her eyes hold no affection for him?
Estelle had completely lost her appetite for pasta. She turned toward the stairs. "You asked why I’d stand up for Estelle, Mr. Sloan. It’s simple. I can’t stand the sight of Noelle."
Nathaniel suddenly closed his eyes and tightened his grip on the photograph.
He had considered the possibility that Estelle was still alive. Perhaps she had hidden herself away and returned years later to take revenge on him.
However, whether she forgave him or not, there should still be love in her eyes, not the mocking indifference he saw in Yara’s.
And yet, at that very moment, he desperately wished Yara were Estelle. At least then she would still be alive.
’As long as she is alive...’ A thought suddenly struck Nathaniel, and he placed an internal call to Chapman.
...
The next morning, Estelle was surprised to find dessert on the breakfast table.
The sweet aroma of strawberries drifted through the air, and she couldn’t help swallowing.
Nathaniel sat at the opposite end of the table, his dark eyes fixed on her.
’Estelle has a severe strawberry allergy and never eats strawberries. If Yara is Estelle, she’ll naturally stay away from this strawberry cake. Is she... or isn’t she?’
For a moment, Nathaniel felt as though the universe itself was passing judgment on him. Nonetheless, if she could come back to him, he was willing to accept any verdict.
Estelle reached for the slice of cake when a realization suddenly flashed through her mind.
Now she understood. She knew exactly why Nathaniel had arranged for strawberry cake at breakfast. ’He’s testing me...’
Without the slightest hesitation, Estelle picked up the cake and raised it toward her lips.
Nathaniel’s pupils contracted. He shot to his feet and knocked the cake from her hand. Fury flashed across his face.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" he bellowed.
