Chapter 114: Estelle Lockwood Is Different from Her Childhood Self?

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Estelle Lockwood Is Different from Her Childhood Self?

Mr. Morgan, naturally, was well aware of Nathaniel Sloan’s reputation.

He had also heard about Nathaniel and Noelle Lockwood’s so-called engagement. He frowned in displeasure. He was a man who believed in judging matters objectively, favoring reason over relationships. Today’s farce was clearly Noelle stirring up trouble, but if Nathaniel decided to intervene...

"Would you like to step in and help, Mr. Sloan?" Estelle Lockwood brushed a strand of hair back, a half-smile playing on her lips. "If you beg me, I can excuse Noelle from apologizing."

GASP. The bystanders were shocked. Yara Lockwood was far too audacious!

Seeing Estelle’s attitude, Laura Jennings was instantly consumed by rage. However, in her mind, Yara was nothing more than an orphan with no background—someone she could manipulate at will. Even with the backing of the Kendrick family, would they really offend the dignified mistress of the Sloan family over an adopted daughter?

Emboldened by this thought, she fired back. "Stop flattering yourself. Let me tell you—"

"The *Purple Sun Mountain Residence Painting* was purchased by a wealthy tycoon a few years ago for 195.1 million, whereas the piece from Jade Pavilion was priced at 30 million." Nathaniel Sloan’s tone was flat. "Anyone with a brain can figure out that the piece at Jade Pavilion was problematic. Noelle made a fool of herself by being greedy for a cheap bargain. That has nothing to do with me. Mr. Morgan, please handle this as you see fit."

Hearing the massive price discrepancy, everyone fell silent.

Just moments ago, Laura and Noelle had been so incredibly arrogant, standing on the moral high ground and accusing Yara of being greedy for cheap thrills. Now, who was the one truly guilty of that?

The authentic painting had fetched nearly two hundred million a few years ago; its value would only be higher now. Meanwhile, the counterfeit had sold for thirty million. To be fair, if the piece had been properly preserved and explicitly labeled as a replica of the *Purple Sun Mountain Residence Painting*, it might have been worth even more than that. But to buy a fake at a replica’s price, insist it was authentic, and then haughtily look down on Miss Yara Lockwood who had brought the genuine article...

It was utterly humiliating! Noelle and Laura had completely disgraced themselves at the banquet today!

Noelle’s face turned another shade paler as tears streamed down her cheeks. She could not believe that Nathaniel had refused to save her even a shred of dignity.

Estelle curled her lips in satisfaction. "Since Mr. Sloan has made his stance clear... Miss Lockwood, you may apologize now."

Noelle’s face was drenched in tears. After a long moment of looking as though she had suffered some monumental injustice, she finally sobbed out an apology.

Thus, the farce came to an end. Shortly after, Noelle used the excuse of feeling unwell to leave early.

Iris Sloan shot Nathaniel a disgruntled glare. How was this any way to win back a wife? He had waited until the whole ordeal was practically over before speaking up. If it had been Liam Sloan, he would have been shielding his wife from the very beginning! Furthermore, Jasper Kingston had also wanted to intervene earlier, but he seemed to have been delayed by something else. If Jasper had managed to step in and play the hero, she wondered what Nathaniel would have done then!

Nathaniel’s gaze remained calm, and he offered no explanation.

"Miss Lockwood, could I have a word with you in private?" Mr. Morgan suddenly asked.

No one found this request strange. After all, Mr. Morgan was fiercely obsessed with antiques. He probably wanted to ask Yara where she had acquired the *Purple Sun Mountain Residence Painting*.

Estelle assumed the same, but to her surprise, Mr. Morgan smiled and said, "It has been a long time. You’ve grown up."

Estelle froze in stunned silence. She instinctively scrutinized Mr. Morgan, certain that she did not know this man. "Have we... met before?"

Mr. Morgan nodded. "We have, indeed, though you certainly wouldn’t remember. You were only three or four years old at the time, and I was in my early twenties. Your grandfather brought you to the Morgan family."

After Estelle had been deliberately abandoned by Rose Lowell, she had been found and taken in by an old man. The old man was not wealthy, but he earned enough to keep them warm and fed. However, with an extra mouth to feed, he had to take on a second job. Estelle had once asked him about it, and Grandpa Lockwood had explained that he worked as a chef for a wealthy family. The pay was decent, and occasionally, he would bring Estelle along to play, sneaking her delicious treats from the kitchen.

It turned out that the wealthy household was the Morgan family. She wondered why the arrogant Young Mr. Morgan of that time still remembered her.

Knowing that Grandpa Lockwood had already passed away, Mr. Morgan did not dwell on the past. "I heard your grandfather entrusted you to the Kendrick family. The Kendrick family is a solid choice; your grandfather must be resting in peace."

Estelle blinked, completely baffled. She wondered what Mr. Morgan was talking about. When had her grandfather ever entrusted her to the Kendrick family? For starters, her grandfather and Grandpa Kendrick did not even know each other. Even if they had, their social standings were worlds apart. How could her grandfather possibly have entrusted her to them? And even if he had tried, the Kendrick family wouldn’t have necessarily agreed.

Besides, it was entirely by accident that Henry Kendrick had saved her and brought her into the Kendrick family.

Estelle wanted to ask for clarification, but someone called out to Mr. Morgan. He gave her a polite nod and took his leave.

What Mr. Morgan chose not to mention was the real reason he remembered Estelle. Back when she was just three or four years old, she had been incredibly domineering and prone to violent temper tantrums, often kicking and hitting the poor old man. Consequently, Young Mr. Morgan had harbored a deep disgust for her at the time. Seeing her now, however, she bore absolutely no resemblance to her childhood self. He supposed that as people grew up, their personalities naturally evolved.

It was an old matter from over two decades ago; there was no point in bringing it up now.

Out on the balcony, Liam Sloan found Nathaniel standing by himself. "Nathaniel, what’s the deal with Mr. Morgan and Estelle? They seem to know each other."

Nathaniel remained silent.

"Also, why didn’t you step in when Noelle was going after Estelle just now? I was so mad!"

Nathaniel’s gaze flickered.

When Iris had asked him this very question, he had given her a logical answer: he believed Estelle was fully capable of handling it herself. She wanted revenge, which meant she certainly wouldn’t have wanted him interfering. However, as Liam asked the same question, Nathaniel slowly closed his eyes. Beyond his earlier reasoning, there was perhaps a much deeper, more painful truth.

Estelle didn’t need him.

Even while being targeted and harassed by Noelle and Laura, from beginning to end, it had never once crossed Estelle’s mind to look to him for help. Nathaniel didn’t know how to articulate his current state of mind. His heart felt as if it were simultaneously boiling in scorching magma and plummeting into an endless, hollow abyss.

He realized that Estelle truly didn’t need him. During the five years she had been gone, she had met new people and lived a life that was completely blank to him. Perhaps... she had even found someone new to rely on.

Closing his eyes, Nathaniel forced down the complex surge of emotions within him. When he opened them again, his gaze was once more noble and indifferent. "What are you trying to say?" he asked.

Liam quickly leaned in. "I was eavesdropping on Estelle and Mr. Morgan’s conversation just now. It sounds like they knew each other from over twenty years ago! But wasn’t Estelle only three or four back then, having just been abandoned by the Lockwood family? How on earth would she have known Young Mr. Morgan?"

The whole reason the Lockwood family despised Estelle was that they had investigated her background and found out she had spent the first eighteen years of her life growing up in the countryside. If she was just a "country bumpkin," how could she possibly have crossed paths with the vastly wealthy Morgan family, let alone leave a lasting impression on Mr. Morgan for more than two decades?

Standing off to the side, Zane Grant nodded in agreement. However, his thoughts went in a different direction than Liam’s; he had considered an additional angle. Mr. Morgan had recognized Yara, which meant that Yara had always been Yara. In that case, was Estelle—the country bumpkin who had returned to the Lockwood family seven years ago and gotten divorced five years ago—truly the exact same person as Yara?

He wondered if Nathaniel had genuinely made a mistake.