Chapter 108: She Refuses! Nathaniel Sloan Seethes with Jealousy

Chapter 108: Chapter 108: She Refuses! Nathaniel Sloan Seethes with Jealousy

Jasper Kingston suddenly realized why Miss Yara had insisted he attend the ball.

He smiled gently. "Miss Lockwood, you’re putting me on the spot here. Just look at Nathaniel’s eyes."

Estelle didn’t even turn her head. "Are you worried about that, Mr. Kingston?" she replied nonchalantly.

Jasper chuckled softly. "You’re right, Miss Lockwood. I’m really not." He leaned forward slightly, offering a gentlemanly bow. "Then I shall gladly accept your invitation."

Estelle lifted her chin and gave a lazy hum of acknowledgment. She then glanced back at Nathaniel Sloan and drawled, "The first dance must be opened by Mr. Sloan. Mr. Kingston and I won’t steal your thunder. Please, Mr. Sloan, choose another partner."

The entire hall fell silent. No one dared to speak; they all felt that this was a situation far beyond the pay grade of ordinary guests like themselves. Everyone wondered if Yara was going crazy. Mr. Sloan had rejected Noelle Lockwood for her, completely disregarding Mrs. Sloan’s pride, yet she had actually refused him! Was she not afraid of offending Nathaniel?

As if reading their minds, Estelle voiced their exact thoughts. She smiled meaningfully. "Mr. Kingston, do you think Mr. Sloan will get angry and blacklist me because I rejected him?"

Nathaniel’s eyes grew dark and profound.

Standing to the side, Liam Sloan furiously pinched the bridge of his nose. No, no, wait a minute. What on earth was going on here? Estelle had just rejected Nathaniel, chosen some random man, and even provoked Nathaniel with that sarcastic tone! She really wasn’t afraid of death!

Estelle’s smile grew increasingly radiant and audacious. With so many people watching, would the dignified helmsman of the Sloan Group feel humiliated to be rejected by a woman? But so what? When Nathaniel had abandoned her to invite Noelle, did he ever stop to think about how humiliated she would feel?

There had been hundreds of people present—guests of the Sloan family, alongside employees of the Sloan Group and Evernight International. Hundreds of pairs of eyes had watched her, the legitimate Mrs. Sloan, show up dressed to the nines, only to receive not a single glance from her husband. Her husband had danced gracefully with Noelle, leaving her looking like an abandoned wife.

Nathaniel was the one who humiliated her first, leaving her open to mockery and gossip. So, he couldn’t really blame her for putting on this show today, could he?

Nathaniel’s expression remained calm, but his emotions were churning violently. He didn’t mind Estelle rejecting him, but he did mind her choosing another man! A cold gleam flashed in his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses as he closed the distance step by step.

Estelle met his gaze head-on without backing down. "What? Is Mr. Sloan planning to take me by force just because I’m unwilling?"

Jasper offered a gentle smile and stepped in front of Estelle to block Nathaniel’s path. "Nathaniel, dancing requires mutual consent. Since Miss Yara isn’t willing, what’s the point of forcing her?"

Liam watched with his heart pounding in his chest. What a terrifying romantic battlefield this was!

The entire hall fell dead silent. Even the air seemed to freeze. Iris Sloan was just about to say something to ease the tension when, suddenly, everyone watched Nathaniel lunge forward and pull Estelle into his arms!

Liam’s jaw dropped. Holy crap! Nathaniel, you really are something else!

After Jasper spoke, Estelle curled her lips into a smile. She was just about to say something when she suddenly heard a faint SNAP. Before she could even register what was happening, a sudden chill swept across her bare back.

Estelle’s face instantly drained of color. The straps of her evening gown had broken!

She was wearing a form-fitting mermaid dress today that exposed a large swath of her fair back. The entire upper half of the dress was held up by just two thin straps designed to look like fish scales. Normally, a gown of this caliber would never malfunction like this. However, Estelle suddenly remembered that Laura Jennings had sent someone to bump into her earlier. That must have been when Laura tampered with her dress!

Laura wanted to expose her in front of everyone and utterly humiliate her!

Estelle instinctively raised her hands, trying to cover her chest. But with the straps broken, the gown was slipping down uncontrollably. She wouldn’t be able to hold it up for long. There was absolutely no way she could dance now.

"Ah—" Estelle let out a soft gasp.

Before she could react, Nathaniel suddenly stepped forward, bypassed Jasper, and pulled her straight into his arms.

Enveloped in his warm, solid embrace, Estelle froze for a moment. "Nathaniel, you... what are you doing!"

Nathaniel simply gave her a steady look before suddenly bending down and sweeping her into a bridal carry.

"Huh? Mr. Sloan, what about the dance?"

"Mr. Sloan just picked up Yara... That’s the direction of the lounge. What is he trying to do?"

"What about the opening dance?"

"Why would Mr. Sloan just carry her off out of nowhere? Hiss... Could it be that Yara’s rejection was too harsh, so Mr. Sloan’s love turned to hate and he wants to teach her a lesson?"

Liam was thinking the exact same thing. Liam, the self-proclaimed Guardian of Love, thought, "I absolutely cannot let this happen. The Guardian of Love is moving out!"

Seeing that Iris had already stepped up to pacify the crowd, he hurriedly slipped over to the door of the lounge. He planned to wait there, ready to bust in if Nathaniel got too violent with Estelle.

However, he waited and waited. After ten minutes, Liam suddenly heard a stifled whimper.

"Mmph!"

Ambiguous sounds drifted out intermittently from inside.

"Nathaniel, don’t... Mmm..."

"Yara, rejecting me, hmm?"

"Let me go first, it’s uncomfortable... Ah..."

Liam froze. His face burned beet-red as he stood there, completely at a loss for what to do. He thought, "Holy shit, Nathaniel! You... you carried her off just to do this? There are so many eyes watching! Doesn’t Estelle care about her dignity?"

Blushing furiously, Liam finally cleared his throat and instructed the waiters nearby, "Do not let anyone near this lounge. You guys leave too. Go stand guard outside."

Ah, he truly sacrificed too much for Nathaniel’s happiness.

Meanwhile, inside the lounge.

Estelle sat stiffly in Nathaniel’s arms. Her gown had practically no fabric on the back to begin with. Nathaniel’s scorching hand rested on her waist, half touching her bare skin and half resting against the precarious fabric that threatened to fall at any second.

Estelle felt that the current atmosphere was incredibly strange. Unable to help herself, she bit her lower lip. "Let me go!"

Nathaniel held her, originally intending to set her down on the sofa before going to find her some clothes. But before they even reached the sofa—right after entering the lounge—Estelle demanded that he let her go.

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes, suddenly recalling her every smile and frown when she invited Jasper just moments ago. No one knew it, but he was fiercely jealous. The jealousy churned violently within him. He wished he could just hide Estelle away where no one else could see her.

It took every ounce of his restraint not to show the slightest hint of it in public, and now she wanted him to let go?

Nathaniel’s lips curled into a playful smirk. "Are you sure?"

Estelle felt increasingly flustered. Her head was growing hot and dizzy. That hand of his slowly moved upward, pressing intimately against her bare skin. Gritting her teeth, she snapped, "I’m sure!"

Nathaniel gave a faint nod and let her go.

Before Estelle could even find her footing, she suddenly felt the gown on her body slipping down entirely out of control. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath the gown. If the dress fell off, wouldn’t she be completely exposed?

In a split second, Estelle’s body moved faster than her brain, and she threw herself right back into Nathaniel’s arms.