The Triplets My Ex Never Knew About

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Nathaniel Sloan Shakes Off Noelle Lockwood

Nathaniel Sloan stopped in his tracks. "Her belongings?"

Rose Lowell’s face was all smiles. "Yes, a diary. The maids were careless before and couldn’t find it."

Nathaniel Sloan’s gaze swept across the group. "Where is it?"

"Oh, what’s the rush? The diary’s not going anywhere." Laura Jennings ignored her son’s indifferent expression and beckoned enthusiastically. "Let’s eat first. Come on, Nathaniel, sit next to Noelle."

Noelle Lockwood rose with a shy smile, vacating the seat next to her. "Nathaniel..."

The next moment, Nathaniel Sloan had already found a random seat and sat down. It wasn’t just not adjacent to Noelle’s seat; it was so far he couldn’t even touch it by reaching out.

Noelle Lockwood’s face paled, and she swayed as if about to fall.

Nathaniel Sloan showed her no courtesy. "There’s no need to eat. As Mother said, the anniversary of Estelle’s death is approaching. Having lunch with Estelle’s sister would inevitably lead to misunderstandings."

Noelle Lockwood’s eyes turned red.

"Nathaniel!" Laura Jennings shot to her feet. "Fine, you want to see the diary? Then I’ll let you see it. Just you see what Estelle Lockwood wrote in it."

A slightly yellowed notebook was tossed in front of Nathaniel Sloan.

Nathaniel Sloan’s gaze softened for a moment as he slowly opened it.

Laura Jennings’s brow was still furrowed. "Estelle Lockwood asked you to take care of Noelle. Did you? You used to have all sorts of excuses for not marrying Noelle. And now? Look at what Estelle herself wanted."

"She stated it clearly in her diary. She felt that marrying you was snatching away Noelle’s engagement, that her conscience was wracked with guilt, and she hoped to return the position of Mrs. Sloan to Noelle in the future."

"Nathaniel, let me ask you this. Estelle Lockwood is dead. Are you really not going to fulfill her dying wish?!"

...

In the next room, Christian pressed himself tightly against the wall, listening to Laura Jennings’s words.

’So Daddy brought Noelle Lockwood into our home because of Mommy’s ’dying wish’?’

’Damn it! Mommy isn’t dead at all! These people are spouting nonsense!’

’Mommy hated Noelle Lockwood so much, how could she have willingly given up her engagement?’

Suddenly, Christian’s little cell phone flashed twice. This was a phone his daddy had given him. His daddy worried he wouldn’t be able to reach him when he was out, so he had specially given him a small phone.

Just then, a voice message came from the old butler: "Young Master, where are you? A lot of reporters have gone to Dewdrop Garden. I’m worried about you."

A glint flashed in Christian’s dark eyes. ’Lots of reporters have come to Dewdrop Garden?’

’What’s happening at Dewdrop Garden today that’s worth reporting?’

Even with his five-year-old brain, he knew that Noelle Lockwood and his evil grandmother had called these reporters.

’But...’ Christian’s eyes lit up. ’This is perfect timing!’

...

In the private room.

Nathaniel Sloan flipped through the diary, page by page, with extreme slowness.

It was Estelle Lockwood’s handwriting. Judging by the way the ink had bled, it must have been written five or six years ago.

The diary didn’t have many pages. It mostly consisted of Estelle Lockwood’s observations from when she had just returned to the Lockwood Family.

...She had indeed written in the diary that she worried marrying him meant she had stolen Noelle Lockwood’s destined match.

It took no more than twenty minutes to finish the entire diary. Nathaniel Sloan gently caressed the words on the pages.

Seeing that he had finished, Rose Lowell secretly shot Laura Jennings a fawning look.

Laura Jennings cleared her throat. "Nathaniel, I can’t control you anymore. I have no objection if you don’t listen to me, but are you going to ignore Estelle Lockwood’s words too?"

"Five years ago, she wanted you to marry Noelle, and you refused. Now, her diary has been found. You’ve already disappointed her for five years. Are you going to keep disappointing her?"

Laura Jennings pressed on. "Besides, you and Noelle have known each other since you were children. You know each other inside and out. Her whole heart is devoted to you, and she’s obedient and gentle. Let’s use today to set an engagement date. It’ll be a good way to give Estelle some closure on the anniversary of her death."

Noelle Lockwood smiled faintly, her lips pressed together.

’Yes, announcing her engagement to Nathaniel on that bitch Estelle Lockwood’s death anniversary would be excellent closure indeed.’

’I must marry Nathaniel Sloan!’

Rose Lowell added regretfully, "This was my daughter’s final wish. Nathaniel, in order to fulfill her sister’s wish, Noelle hasn’t even thought about marrying anyone else for the past five years. Can you really... can you really bear for Estelle to be unable to rest in peace?"

Nathaniel Sloan let out a soft sneer, his cold gaze landing on Rose Lowell.

"Fulfill Estelle Lockwood’s wish?" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

For some reason, his gaze sent a chill down Rose Lowell’s spine. "Yes, yes..."

"Mrs. Lockwood, you truly are something. When Estelle was alive, she never enjoyed a single bit of motherly love. The one you doted on and pampered was Noelle Lockwood, the fake heiress. Now that she’s dead, you’re suddenly so concerned with ’fulfilling her last wish’ every day."

Noelle Lockwood and Rose Lowell instantly stiffened!

Rose Lowell almost couldn’t maintain her composure, forcing a few awkward laughs. "That... that was indeed our fault. That child, Estelle, was naturally insecure and didn’t get close to us. So we... we ended up neglecting her..."

"But she’s passed away now. As her mother, how could I not be heartbroken? That’s precisely why I want to make it up to her doubly now!"

Nathaniel Sloan shot her a cold glance, then looked directly at Laura Jennings. "Mother, I’ve told you before that I don’t need you meddling in my affairs. It seems you haven’t taken my last two reminders to heart."

Rose Lowell was completely ignored, her expression both stiff and mortified.

Laura Jennings couldn’t hide her embarrassment either. This was her son, yet he was telling her she had no right to interfere in his life. When others talked about her, they all called her a failed mother, but she was clearly just trying to do what was best for him!

"Nathaniel, even if you don’t consider Estelle Lockwood, you have to think about Christian! Can you bear to let people keep saying that Christian is a motherless child?"

"Look at Noelle. All these years, she has treated Christian as her own. She’s also Christian’s aunt. Only she would be so good to Christian. What if you marry someone else and she despises Christian?"

’Someone who is good to Christian, treats him as their own, and who Christian likes...’

For some reason, Nathaniel Sloan’s thoughts drifted to Yara Lockwood.

He frowned sharply, forcing Yara Lockwood from his mind.

Noelle Lockwood bit her lip. She couldn’t let today’s opportunity slip away. Thinking this, she steeled herself, stood up, and walked over to Nathaniel Sloan.

"Nathaniel, I know you’ve always misunderstood my parents and me. You think that my very existence is what made my sister disappointed in our parents and our family, leading her to pass away so early..."

"But my sister’s death was unavoidable. That’s why, Nathaniel, Christian deserves a complete family. Do you want Christian to follow in our sister’s footsteps?"

Nathaniel Sloan’s eyes darkened abruptly. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Noelle Lockwood’s eyes flickered. "Nathaniel, Christian is only resisting me now because he’s sick. Once he gets better and wants a mother, he’ll naturally grow close to me..."

"Daddy!"

Before Noelle Lockwood could finish, she was suddenly cut off by a child’s voice. Everyone instinctively looked over.

Christian pushed the door open, ran into Nathaniel Sloan’s arms as if he hadn’t heard a thing, and asked, "Daddy, what are you guys talking about?"