The Triplets My Ex Never Knew About

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: She’s Helping Someone Else Change Clothes?

Nathaniel Sloan’s eyelids lifted slightly. His presence was commanding, but he said nothing.

Noelle Lockwood looked as if she were about to faint. Henry Kendrick had seen right through her little scheme, and she trembled with rage, yet she had no choice but to explain herself:

"Young Mr. Kendrick, you’ve misunderstood me. That’s not what I meant..."

"Why are you explaining yourself to me, Miss Lockwood?" Henry Kendrick feigned confusion. "It doesn’t matter whether I misunderstand you or not. As long as your precious Nathaniel believes you, you’ll be fine."

He then turned to Estelle Lockwood. "Yara, let’s go."

Estelle Lockwood’s lips curled into a smirk as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "While I’d hate to interrupt Miss Lockwood’s performance, I should remind you that Rosalind Garden has security cameras. A quick check will show whether or not I pushed you."

"I’m not some pushover who will just stand here and cry after you’ve slung mud at me. I have the Star Group behind me, understand?"

She finished and looked at Nathaniel Sloan. "Either you apologize, or this partnership is over and you can expect a letter from our lawyers. Slandering the head of Star is not a good habit to pick up."

After the two left, the way the crowd looked at Noelle Lockwood became even more complicated.

’Does Noelle Lockwood spend all day thinking about how to curry favor? Does she scheme to drive away any woman she sees near Nathaniel Sloan?’

’But does Noelle even know who Yara Lockwood is or how important this partnership is?’

’Now that she’s offended Yara Lockwood, can this collaboration even proceed smoothly?’

Noelle Lockwood’s eyes were red-rimmed as if she had been terribly wronged. She shook her head, looking utterly pitiful.

"Nathaniel, I didn’t... I was honestly mistaken. Because Yara Lockwood was the only one standing next to me, and my knees gave out for a second, so I thought... I just thought..."

Nathaniel Sloan’s gaze was as sharp as a knife, devoid of any warmth as he questioned her directly, "You thought? How many times have ’you thought’ something since Estelle Lockwood returned to the Lockwood Family?"

Noelle Lockwood froze! ’How did he bring up Estelle Lockwood again!’

Fearing Nathaniel Sloan would dig into what happened back then, she quickly cried, "Nathaniel, it’s my fault. I’ll go apologize to Yara Lockwood right now... Nathaniel, Nathaniel..."

But Nathaniel Sloan had already turned and walked away coldly.

Noelle Lockwood was fuming. ’Everything today was perfectly calculated. Where did it all go wrong!’

...

Nathaniel Sloan walked into Rosalind Garden but didn’t see Estelle Lockwood. He frowned slightly.

An assistant immediately came forward. "President Sloan, President Lockwood has gone to a guest room with Vice President Kendrick. Vice President Kendrick said we don’t need to worry about it, that he would take care of President Lockwood. Oh, and President Lockwood also said she was going to help Vice President Kendrick change his clothes..."

Nathaniel Sloan stopped in his tracks. ’Change his clothes?’ fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

’Yara Lockwood is going to change Henry Kendrick’s clothes?!’

’If he’s changing, wouldn’t Henry have to take off his own clothes first? Then Yara would see Henry’s...’

For some reason, a fire surged within him, though he couldn’t quite explain why.

Nathaniel Sloan’s lips tightened into a thin line. He immediately spun around and strode quickly toward the guest rooms.

... freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Holding a clean set of clothes, Henry Kendrick sighed mournfully. "I’m tainted. I actually caught Noelle Lockwood with my bare hands. I’m so tainted."

Estelle Lockwood rolled her eyes at him. "I got you the clothes. Hurry up and change."

The moment they entered the room, Henry had started sighing dramatically, repeating "I’m tainted" dozens of times. He insisted on changing, saying the clothes he was wearing were jinxed from touching Noelle Lockwood.

Estelle Lockwood had no choice but to ask an assistant for a new shirt and jacket.

For some reason, however, the construction of this shirt was different from others. Henry Kendrick studied it for a long time but couldn’t figure out how the buttons were supposed to work.

Estelle Lockwood was starting to question Henry Kendrick’s intelligence. "Give me the shirt, let me see."

She looked down and fiddled with it for a moment. "This button goes here, and this one... Ugh, forget it. I’ll help you put it on..."

BANG!

The guest room door was violently thrown open, and Nathaniel Sloan’s face—usually stoic enough to remain unchanged even if a mountain collapsed before him—was tinged with anxiety.

When he heard Estelle Lockwood say, "I’ll help you put it on," his body had moved faster than his brain, and he’d already pushed the door open.

Estelle Lockwood and Henry Kendrick turned their heads at the same time.

Nathaniel Sloan realized he had been impulsive. His throat felt dry. "Miss Lockwood, the meeting is about to start. What are you still doing in here?"

Estelle Lockwood didn’t notice anything unusual. "Then I’ll go get ready."

With that, she was about to shove the clothes back into Henry Kendrick’s hands.

Nathaniel Sloan let out an imperceptible sigh of relief.

...Even he wasn’t sure what he had been so nervous about.

Henry Kendrick’s eyes darted as he suddenly understood what the ex-husband was thinking.

’Ooh, he’s nervous. He cares. But so what? Estelle Lockwood cared about him so much back then, and did he ever reciprocate? No, he was too busy enjoying the company of that green tea bitch, wasn’t he?’

Henry Kendrick didn’t take the clothes. He cleared his throat, then suddenly sidled up to Estelle Lockwood like a puppy, his voice taking on a pathetic whimper.

"Yara, please just help me. I really can’t figure it out."

Before Estelle Lockwood could even speak, Nathaniel Sloan’s brow furrowed deeply.

Henry Kendrick pressed on. "President Sloan, doesn’t the meeting start in fifteen minutes? That’s plenty of time. I know my priorities; I won’t cause any delays. Could you please step out for a moment? Yara is helping me change my clothes. You’re not planning on watching, are you?"

Estelle Lockwood: "..."

Nathaniel Sloan’s lips pressed into a tight, hard line.

Henry Kendrick clicked his tongue, then suddenly raised his hands and began unbuttoning his own shirt. "Yara, if President Sloan won’t leave, then fine. I’ll just take my shirt off first, and then we can..."

"Young Mr. Kendrick!" Nathaniel Sloan snapped, cutting him off.

Henry Kendrick grinned. "Is something wrong, President Sloan?"

Nathaniel Sloan knew perfectly well that Henry Kendrick was just acting, but he took the bait anyway. "You need help changing, is that it?" he said, enunciating each word. "I’ll help you."

The last three words were spoken through gritted teeth.

Henry Kendrick was laughing his head off on the inside. He turned to Estelle Lockwood and said, "Yara, since President Sloan wants to wait on me, we should let him. An opportunity like this is rare, after all. I want to see what it feels like to be served by President Sloan."

With that, Henry Kendrick had already shoved the shirt into Nathaniel Sloan’s hands.

’I knew you were a sucker for the green tea routine, my dear... ex-husband.’

...

「At the gates of Rosalind Manor.」

After everyone else had gone inside, Noelle Lockwood was left locked out, looking utterly pitiful.

She dialed Laura Jennings’s number, her beautiful face streaked with tears. "Auntie..."

...

「Imperial Crest.」

Mia, who had been napping, suddenly opened her eyes. "Zachery, you little dummy, a bad person is trying to bully Mommy."

Zachery immediately shot up. "What?!"

Mia performed a divination every day. The results were always unpredictable, but when it came to anything concerning Estelle Lockwood, the two little ones paid close attention.

Zachery’s mind raced. "Mommy’s at Rosalind Garden. Does that mean someone there is bullying her? But we can’t get to Rosalind Garden."

Christian suddenly spoke up. "I can go to Rosalind Garden. Everyone there knows me, so they won’t stop me."

Mia immediately shot him down. "No. You’re staying home and resting."

For some unknown reason, Christian had suddenly come down with a fever around noon.

Even now, Christian’s cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were glazed over. A single glance was enough to tell his fever hadn’t broken.

Going to Rosalind Garden in this state—would he be helping Mommy, or just feeding the enemy?

"Actually, I have another idea."

A spark of inspiration hit Zachery as a brilliant idea came to him. He gulped. "I learned the art of disguise from Great-Grandpa. Maybe I could..."

An hour later, two identical Christians appeared before Mia.

One was running a fever, his little face flushed red; the other was bouncing around, full of excitement.

Zachery was very pleased. Who could possibly tell him and Christian Sloan apart now?

He puffed out his chest. "Young Master, I will go to Rosalind Garden in your place!"