Chapter 168: Who Was Nathaniel Sloan Cooking For?

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Who Was Nathaniel Sloan Cooking For?

Liam Sloan hurried over, his puppy-dog eyes full of joy. "Yeah, yeah! Thea grew up with us. We’re great buddies."

Thea York immediately laughed, adopting a playful manner with Liam. "Alright, little bro, how many times are you going to say we’re great buddies?" She then looked at Estelle Lockwood. "If Nathaniel bullies you, just tell me, and I’ll teach him a lesson! As his buddy, I’ll take good care of you in the future too."

It sounded incredibly heroic and loyal, but hearing it out loud just felt weird.

Estelle narrowed her eyes meaningfully. Good bros, great buddies... Telling Nathaniel Sloan’s wife that if he bullied her, she would help beat him up. Those words gave Estelle the distinct impression that Thea and Nathaniel were the actual family here, while she was just an outsider.

But Thea had just helped her earlier, so perhaps it was merely an illusion. She figured she shouldn’t think the worst of people. Maybe it was because Thea came from a good background and was naturally pampered; everyone around her spoiled and accommodated her, leading to this unintentional pick-me behavior without her even realizing it.

Estelle nodded. "Okay."

Zane Grant stood off to the side, his arms crossed over his chest, and let out a quiet "tsk."

At that moment, Nathaniel emerged from the kitchen. He wore a black silk shirt and a pair of rimless gold spectacles. He looked exceedingly aloof, yet those gold-rimmed glasses added a touch of gentleness to his cold demeanor.

Before Estelle could say a word, Thea stepped forward. "Nathaniel, you must be tired. I told you I’d help, but you insisted on cooking by yourself. How are we ever going to finish all this food... Oh, right."

As if suddenly remembering there was someone else present, Thea turned her head. "Miss Lockwood, will you be joining us for dinner? At this hour, you’ve probably already eaten, haven’t you? Still, it’s rare for Nathaniel to cook, so you should stay and have a little. Nathaniel, I’ll go get an extra set of bowls and chopsticks."

With that, she headed toward the kitchen as if she owned the place.

Even Liam could tell something was off about this scene. Though he wasn’t very well-versed in social nuances, he knew that Estelle was the actual hostess of Imperial Crest. Why was Thea acting as if Estelle was the outsider?

"Miss York, there’s no need," Estelle said. She realized her earlier suspicions were correct; she hadn’t wronged the woman. This Miss York was indeed harboring hostility toward her.

Thea smiled gently, looking a little anxious, like a host eagerly and warmly entertaining a guest. "It’s fine, Miss Lockwood. There’s so much food anyway, we won’t be able to finish it all. You haven’t tasted Nathaniel’s cooking before, have you?

"I’ll let you in on a secret: his cooking is amazing. It’d be a pity if you didn’t try a few bites. Even if you’ve already eaten, a few more bites won’t hurt. So it’s settled. Have a seat, and I’ll fetch some tableware for you."

With that, she turned to head into the kitchen.

The kitchen at Imperial Crest had an open-concept design. All the utensils were hidden away inside the inner cabinets. A mere guest would never know where to find them. Yet Thea walked straight to the second cabinet and opened it with a smile. "Just sit and relax, Miss Lockwood. I’ve been here many times..."

However, when the cabinet opened, it wasn’t filled with bowls and chopsticks. Thea’s gentle, poised, and confident smile froze.

"Miss York," Estelle said slowly. "I said there was no need because I figured you wouldn’t know where the tableware was kept."

Thea took a deep breath and flashed a bright smile. "So that’s it... I thought... I’m sorry, Miss Lockwood. I came to Imperial Crest many times before I went abroad, so I’m very familiar with it. It feels just like my own home, so I..."

"The number of times you’ve visited Imperial Crest shouldn’t be enough for you to treat it as your own home, Miss York."

This time, the one speaking wasn’t Estelle, but surprisingly, Nathaniel. His gaze was indifferent as he slightly lifted his eyelids, exuding the oppressive aura of an absolute authority.

Estelle nodded with a smile. "Even if you were familiar with it in the past, things change after so many years. Since you’re a guest, Miss York, you should just take a seat."

Thea’s smile grew stiff, but fortunately, she quickly recovered. "I overstepped. I’m just a bit unaccustomed to it. I didn’t expect Nathaniel to be so completely different after getting married. You even kept your marriage a secret! Do you still see me as a buddy at all?

"Alright, alright, everyone’s here. Let’s eat."

Liam and Zane exchanged a glance. Sensing the subtle tension in the air, Liam whispered, "Do you feel like... something’s a bit off?"

Zane was actually Nathaniel’s friend. While he had indeed known Thea since childhood, they couldn’t exactly be considered childhood buddies. Because of this, Zane saw the situation much more clearly. He replied cryptically, "Do you smell that scent in the air?"

Liam looked confused. "What smell?"

Zane turned his head away. He felt the air was reeking of pick-me energy. There was a specific breed of people known as "tomboyish pick-mes," but he wasn’t entirely sure. After all, he wasn’t that close to Thea and didn’t know if she was genuinely putting on an act or if this was just her actual personality. As such, he couldn’t spout nonsense in front of her friends.

On the other side, Thea took her seat and asked with a teasing, playful smile, "So much food! Are you in a really good mood today, Nathaniel? Did something good happen?"

Zane instantly sensed that something was amiss. Today was just an ordinary day. The only difference was that Thea had returned. So, what kind of "good thing" could Nathaniel have possibly encountered today? Hearing Thea ask this, Zane suddenly realized she must be insinuating that the "good thing" was her return to the country!

She came back, which was a good thing, so Nathaniel was happy. And because he was happy, he cooked all these dishes, which meant the rest of them were just riding on her coattails?

Nathaniel gave a calm hum of acknowledgment. "Something good did happen."

Thea’s breathing grew tense. "Nathaniel..."

"Estelle is finally willing to eat my cooking today. That’s something to be very happy about." He used serving chopsticks to place some food onto Estelle’s plate. "This spread is exactly the same as the one from that night. Why don’t you have a taste, Mrs. Sloan, and tell me how many points you’d give it today?"

Estelle widened her eyes. Looking closely, she realized that it was indeed exactly the same. That night, Estelle had secretly taken a few bites and subsequently rated the meal a mere six out of ten. Now, Nathaniel had made an identical feast and was asking her to score it again.

Catching the underlying implication, Thea clenched her hands into fists. "You’ve cooked before, Nathaniel?"

Nathaniel didn’t reply. Zane had already clicked his tongue. "Yeah, you might not know this, but now, whenever Estelle wants to eat, Nathaniel personally cooks for her. His culinary skills have improved by leaps and bounds—way better than before. We’re all just riding on Estelle’s coattails to get a taste of Nathaniel’s cooking. Don’t you agree, Thea?"

Thea’s expression stiffened, but her smile didn’t falter in the slightest. Feigning surprise, she said, "So that’s how it is. Then I was just flattering myself earlier. I thought Nathaniel cooked all this for me... My bad, my bad!"

Estelle raised an eyebrow. What was this? A tactical retreat?

"By the way, Nathaniel, there’s something I haven’t told you yet. Today, Miss Lockwood was targeted by an extortion scammer..."