The Triplets My Ex Never Knew About

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: She’s Drunk, Just Like Five Years Ago

Estelle Lockwood was getting annoyed.

She looked at Nathaniel Sloan, and for a moment, she lost her grip on the present.

It was as if she had gone back seven years, to the early days of her marriage to Nathaniel Sloan. ƒrēewebnovel.com

Back then, she would always wait for Nathaniel Sloan to have dinner with her, but he would never come home. She ended up developing stomach problems from hunger, and after being sent to the hospital, she was even criticized for not eating properly.

’Was it that I didn’t want to eat? The real culprit was clearly someone else!’

As the memories flooded in, Estelle Lockwood grew angrier. "It’s none of your damn business! Leave me alone!"

By now, the nurse had quietly explained the situation to Nathaniel Sloan. He nodded. ’So she’s just refusing the shot.’

’Just like the Estelle Lockwood I remember.’

Nathaniel Sloan had the nurse prepare the needle, and Estelle Lockwood panicked at the sight. "Nathaniel Sloan, what are you doing? I don’t want a shot! I told you, leave me alone!"

Unfortunately, she was too delirious from the fever to muster any strength, and her words came out soft and weak.

The words sounded less like a threat and more like pouting.

Nathaniel Sloan paused for a moment, a faint smile in his eyes. "I’m looking after my future partner. If Miss Lockwood insists I stop, then so be it."

’Future...partner?’

Estelle Lockwood was lost in a daze for three seconds before she finally dredged up last night’s conversation from the depths of her memory.

—"Besides Kingston Group, you can also choose me."

—"I’m not impressed."

Estelle Lockwood nearly choked. ’If I could partner with Evernight International, I would even be willing to set aside my personal grudge against Nathaniel Sloan. That’s a fortune we’re talking about!’

’How could I have turned him down!’

Just as she was about to speak, Nathaniel Sloan, to her surprise, actually told the nurse to pack up and get ready to leave. "In that case, I won’t bother Miss Lockwood. And we can forget about the partnership."

"W-wait!" Estelle Lockwood’s cheeks were flushed and her head was fuzzy, but Nathaniel Sloan had just served himself up on a silver platter. ’How can I not take him for all he’s worth!’

She tried to rally, but between the fever and the alcohol, she couldn’t focus her eyes. "I think... Mr. Sloan is right. We should... cooperate. Cooperation would be better..."

A low chuckle rumbled in Nathaniel Sloan’s chest as he deliberately teased her. "I thought you weren’t impressed?"

Estelle Lockwood had given up on thinking and just said whatever came to mind.

"Are you dense? I was just playing hard to get. If I said you were important, what if you got a big head? I’ve learned from experience. You have to give men the cold shoulder. Take my ex-husband, for example. I doted on him, cooked and cleaned for him, and he was still out all day and night..."

As she spoke, Estelle Lockwood grew even more incensed and said in a huff, "If you don’t want to partner up, then forget it!"

Though her lips said "forget it," her eyes were full of expectation, practically screaming, ’I mean the opposite!’

Nathaniel Sloan hadn’t quite heard her previous mumbling, only catching the part about "getting a big head."

’...So who’s the one pushing their luck now?’

Perhaps it was because Yara Lockwood was just so much like Estelle Lockwood that Nathaniel Sloan couldn’t resist teasing her. "Alright then. We’ll forget it."

Estelle Lockwood’s expression almost cracked. "?"

’Alright then?? He actually agreed! Can’t he tell I’m just being contrary!’

In disbelief, Estelle Lockwood burst out, "Nathaniel Sloan, you’re supposed to persuade me! Don’t you know how these things work?!"

Nathaniel Sloan hadn’t expected this side of Yara Lockwood. ’Estelle used to be like this, too. Is it really just a coincidence?’

He’d never imagined this woman, usually as prickly as a hedgehog, could be so adorable when drunk. He feigned contemplation. "Then what should I say?"

Estelle Lockwood’s eyes lit up. She cleared her throat, a little embarrassed, and fought to suppress a blush.

"You should say, ’Evernight International has waited all these years just to find a partner like Miss Lockwood. To be able to work with Miss Lockwood is the honor of a lifetime for me, Nathaniel Sloan.’"

Nathaniel Sloan thought to himself, ’Good thing I had the nurses leave. If Yara Lockwood wakes up and realizes so many people saw her like this, she’ll probably be mad enough to kill someone.’

Meeting her bright, expectant eyes, Nathaniel Sloan spoke, his voice husky as he recited each word.

"Evernight International has waited all these years just to find a partner like Miss Lockwood. To be able to work with Miss Lockwood..."

Estelle Lockwood nodded. "Keep going."

Nathaniel Sloan paused, then added the final line, "...is the honor of a lifetime for me, Nathaniel Sloan."

He suddenly took a step closer. "Miss Lockwood, I have one more question that I, as your partner, must ask."

The man’s voice seemed to hold a bewitching quality.

Estelle Lockwood was a little confused. ’Why is there another question? Didn’t I make everything perfectly clear?’

The next moment, she heard Nathaniel Sloan whisper in her ear:

"Miss Lockwood, may I ask your name?"

’My name...’ Estelle Lockwood’s mind was a complete fog. Not realizing the question was a trap, she subconsciously opened her mouth. "My name is..."

As she subconsciously uttered those three words, a violent wave of dizziness washed over her. Estelle Lockwood’s eyes fluttered shut, and she collapsed into Nathaniel Sloan’s arms.

Nathaniel Sloan frowned. ’What a coincidence.’

’Is it a coincidence, or...’

Yara Lockwood’s internal defense mechanism had made her pass out before she could say the name.

Nathaniel Sloan’s gaze flickered. Just then, Luke White knocked on the door. "Sir, a call from Mrs. Sloan."

A flicker of impatience crossed the man’s eyes as Laura Jennings’s nagging voice immediately came through the phone.

"Nathaniel, come to Dewdrop Garden for lunch... Of course it’s about something important. You’ll know when you get here..."

...

「Noon.」

Estelle Lockwood slowly drifted back to consciousness.

On the bedside table was a note from Nathaniel Sloan, telling her to rest well.

Estelle Lockwood stared at the hospital ceiling for a long time as her memories slowly trickled back.

’Was I insane? Did I really just act all cutesy with Nathaniel Sloan?’

’And...’

’Nathaniel Sloan must be insane, too. He actually brought me to the hospital and even coaxed me into getting a shot.’

’Before, Nathaniel Sloan had never once accompanied me to the hospital. Even in the days right before I gave birth, I was all alone...’

"Have you seen the news? It’s huge!"

"What news?"

"The Sloan Group announced that Mr. Sloan is getting engaged to Noelle Lockwood! He’s probably having lunch with her right now."

"Huh? But didn’t Mr. Sloan just bring some woman to the hospital in the middle of the night? What’s the deal...?"

"If Mr. Sloan really cared about this woman, he’d be here with her, not out to lunch with Noelle Lockwood."

"That’s true..."

As the voices faded, Estelle Lockwood’s gaze grew colder and colder.

Memories from five years ago came rushing back. It had been in a hospital then, too, and she had heard the same kinds of words—

’So Nathaniel Sloan is finally getting engaged to Noelle Lockwood, making it all official?’

’Heh. And to think I’d actually softened for a moment. Men are all garbage.’

Expressionless, Estelle Lockwood crumpled the note into a ball and tossed it into the trash can.

’I may have been blind five years ago, but do they think I’m still blind now?’

...

「Meanwhile, at Dewdrop Garden Restaurant.」

Christian quietly followed Nathaniel Sloan, avoiding the crowds and ducking into the lounge next to the private dining room.

Nathaniel Sloan pushed open the door to the private room. Upon seeing Rose Lowell and Noelle Lockwood, his expression instantly darkened, and he turned to leave.

"Nathaniel! Wait!"

Laura Jennings hurriedly called out to her son and shot Rose Lowell a meaningful look. Rose Lowell quickly said, "Nathaniel, Noelle found some of Estelle Lockwood’s belongings."