Chapter 167: Miss Lockwood, I’m Sorry, I Didn’t Know Nathaniel Was Married

Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Miss Lockwood, I’m Sorry, I Didn’t Know Nathaniel Was Married

Estelle Lockwood heard the voice and instinctively looked up.

The woman who had spoken was wearing an elegant V-neck maxi dress and holding up her phone. Noticing Estelle’s gaze, she smiled at her. "Don’t be afraid."

The old scammer immediately panicked, looking both angry and exasperated. He scrambled up from the ground with surprising agility. "W-why are you recording? Fine, consider it my bad luck. I won’t bicker with you two!"

With that, he scurried away.

How could the onlookers not understand what had just happened?

"It was actually a scam!"

"And to think I actually felt sorry for him a moment ago."

"Thank goodness this lady stepped in to help. What a kind soul!"

Estelle nodded in thanks, but the woman just shook her head gently. "It’s nothing. I just happened to be recording a video. Since I saw it, I figured I’d lend a hand. Don’t worry about it."

Estelle handed her a business card. "Thank you so much. If you ever need my help with anything in the future, feel free to contact me anytime."

The woman looked pleasantly surprised. "Really? Actually, I do have a question right now. I’ve been abroad for many years and just returned. Crestfall has changed so much that I barely recognize it. Do you know how to get to the Aethelgard Villa District?"

The Aethelgard Villa District was a famous residential area in Crestfall, encompassing two massive plots of land. Within it, Imperial Crest occupied the prime location.

To think she also lived there?

Estelle didn’t suspect a thing. "You can download a navigation app."

The woman looked surprised. "Is that so? I didn’t know about these things while I was abroad."

Estelle didn’t overthink it. Many foreign apps didn’t work domestically. However, anyone living in the Aethelgard Villa District should have a chauffeur.

Perhaps reading Estelle’s mind, a hint of embarrassment appeared on the woman’s cheeks. "A friend of mine found out I was back and insisted on inviting me over to his place. He originally wanted to pick me up, but I didn’t want to trouble him, so I said I’d go by myself. I didn’t expect to get lost..."

So that was it.

Estelle had no intention of prying into others’ privacy. Seeing the woman get into a car, she took her leave.

She failed to notice the car window slowly rolling down. As the woman watched Estelle’s retreating figure, the gentle smile from earlier gradually vanished.

Mrs. Kendrick missed Zachery and Mia, and since Christian was also full of curiosity about the Kendrick family, Estelle sent the three little ones to stay at the Kendrick residence for a few days.

By the time she returned to Imperial Crest, it was already past eight in the evening.

Usually at this hour, Imperial Crest would be completely quiet. But today, it was bustling with activity. Standing at the courtyard gate, Estelle could already hear the sounds of laughter and smell the aroma of food coming from inside.

"Liam Sloan, are you asking for a beating? Nathaniel is in the kitchen preparing dinner. What are you doing?"

"I’m just checking on my brother... Don’t you find it terrifying that he’s cooking personally?"

Zane Grant’s voice reached Estelle’s ears. "If you’re so tough, don’t eat it."

"I’m not tough, I’m not tough at all! Everyone knows my brother rarely cooks, but his culinary skills are top-notch."

Zane also sighed in amazement. "To think a man as busy as Nathaniel actually knows how to cook. It’s just a pity he never usually steps into the kitchen. If we weren’t riding on Thea’s coattails today, I doubt I’d ever get to taste his cooking."

Estelle pondered for a moment before realizing that "Thea" was a person’s name.

Then, a woman’s soft chuckle rang out. "What are you guys talking about? Hurry up and help bring out the dishes. I specifically told Ms. Riddle not to help out today."

Estelle froze. This woman’s voice sounded incredibly familiar. Lost in thought, she opened the front door.

"Nathaniel, it’s just the four of us tonight. You’ve cooked so many dishes, I’m almost not used to it—"

Her words came to an abrupt halt at the sound of the door opening. The cheerful laughter seemed to have hit a pause button.

Liam’s eyes lit up when he saw Estelle. Before he could speak, the woman spoke up hesitantly, "It’s you..."

Hearing that the four of them were having dinner, Estelle couldn’t help but feel she had returned at a bad time. However, a second later, she also paused in surprise. "It’s you? What a coincidence."

The words on the tip of Liam’s tongue rolled around a couple of times before he swallowed them back down. He looked back and forth between the two. "You guys know each other?"

Estelle nodded. Just as she was about to explain, the woman laughed.

"Yes, what a coincidence. I saw this lady getting scammed on the street earlier, so I lent her a hand. I never expected to run into her again here at Nathaniel’s house."

Estelle hadn’t expected such a coincidence either. She tried to speak, but was interrupted once more.

The woman sat down on the sofa in Imperial Crest as if she owned the place. She teased, "Liam, is she your girlfriend? Wow, you sneaky kid. You didn’t even tell me you had such a beautiful girlfriend."

With that, she greeted Estelle like she was the hostess of the house. "Miss, please come in. The slippers are by the door. Feel free to grab whatever you’d like to drink. Any friend of Liam’s is a friend of mine."

Estelle was speechless.

Having her words cut off twice, Estelle felt that something was off, but upon closer thought, she couldn’t pinpoint anything explicitly wrong.

Zane choked on his own saliva. Liam’s eyes went wide, and he scrambled forward in a panic, looking as if he was about to drop to his knees.

"No, no! My dear sister, please don’t spout nonsense. Are you trying to get me killed?"

Liam hastily made the introductions. "Thea, this is Nathaniel’s wife, Estelle Lockwood! Estelle, this is the eldest daughter of the York family, Thea York. She grew up with us and is one of our best bros!"

Estelle instantly understood who this person was.

Thea York—the eldest daughter of the York family, whom Ethan Sloan had mentioned countless times as the one about to enter a marriage alliance with the Sloan family.

Thea instinctively gasped. "Nathaniel’s wife? But didn’t he divorce his wife a long time ago... Sorry, sorry, I spoke out of turn."

Thea playfully slapped her own mouth with a smile, then hurriedly explained, "Miss Lockwood, I’m so sorry. I just didn’t know when Nathaniel had gotten married again, so it didn’t cross my mind."

With that, she gave Liam’s arm a reproachful smack and muttered under her breath, "You didn’t even tell me when Nathaniel took another wife. You made me embarrass myself!"

Zane furrowed his brows, sensing a strange shift in the atmosphere.

The silly pup that was Liam still thought it was his own fault. "No, Thea, she is his original wife! My brother has only ever had one wife. What are you thinking?"

Only then did Thea react with "innocent confusion," her cheeks flushing red. "Ah... you... so you’re Nathaniel’s ex-wife... No, no, Nathaniel’s wife! I’m so sorry. I’ve been abroad for too long and haven’t kept up with things back home. Nathaniel rarely mentions you either, so I got it mixed up. I’m truly sorry."

Her apology was incredibly sincere, and her words sounded perfectly fine. Paired with her embarrassed expression and flushed cheeks, one truly couldn’t find any fault with her behavior at first glance.

However, upon closer inspection, those words were quite intriguing. Estelle curled her lips in amusement. Thea’s words seemed to be hinting at something.

For example, that Nathaniel had kept in frequent contact with her over the years but never mentioned his wife, leading her to believe he was long divorced or simply didn’t care about his spouse.

It wouldn’t have meant much if she had said this to an outsider, but for Thea to say it right to her face—the actual Mrs. Sloan...

"It’s alright. Let’s reintroduce ourselves now. Hello, Miss Lockwood. I’m Nathaniel’s good bro who grew up with him."