Chapter 226: A Wealthy Lady Is Completely Shut Down by Old Mrs Sloan

Chapter 226: Chapter 226: A Wealthy Lady Is Completely Shut Down by Old Mrs Sloan

Thea York’s face turned pale.

Estelle murmured in agreement and opened the door for Nathaniel.

The man wore a crisp, perfectly tailored suit. His clear eyes didn’t even spare a glance at Thea inside the room. Taking Estelle’s hand, he led her out. "Mia says she misses you."

Estelle’s smile deepened. "Alright, let’s go see her now."

At the door, Nathaniel suddenly paused. "Miss York."

Thea hastily put on a gentle smile. "Nathaniel."

"Being born into a feudal-minded family like the Yorks is not your fault. However, since you’ve studied abroad for a few years, you should really update your mindset."

He didn’t explicitly mention what had just happened, yet every word dripped with sarcasm directed at her.

How could Thea not understand his meaning? Her face cycled between green and pale white, and she looked ready to cough up blood. "Right, Nathaniel, I..."

But Nathaniel didn’t stick around to listen. He walked straight away.

After walking a few steps, Nathaniel looked Estelle up and down, a slight frown creasing his forehead. "If she blocked your way, why didn’t you call me to come get you?"

Estelle brushed a strand of hair aside nonchalantly. "I just didn’t react in time. For a second there, I thought I had time-traveled. I was practically checking the calendar to see what century we were in."

Nathaniel let out a soft chuckle.

Estelle then asked in a slow, casual tone, "If others heard what you just said, they’d probably say you don’t know how to treat a lady. Aren’t you worried it lowers your status to bicker with Thea over such a trivial matter?"

She hadn’t taken it to heart at all. Whether Thea’s words were sincere or fake, her original intention was simply to belittle her. Why should she care about words meant to demean her? But to her surprise, Nathaniel had clapped back so harshly.

Nathaniel was unfazed. "People can say whatever they want. It has nothing to do with me."

But if Estelle was being bullied by Thea, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Estelle’s lips curled up slightly. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Mrs. York hurrying toward the women’s area. "Mhm, let’s go."

The banquet continued.

At one point, Estelle went to the restroom and bumped into another socialite. The woman seemed to be a friend of Thea’s; upon seeing Estelle, she rolled her eyes in sheer disgust. The woman then took off her bracelet, placed it on a nearby tray, and began washing her hands. Estelle found the bracelet somewhat familiar; it looked like one of her own designs.

Right at that moment, Thea walked in as well. She didn’t say anything, but a calculating glint flashed in her eyes.

When Estelle returned to the banquet hall, Nathaniel gently grasped her hand. "What took you so long?"

Estelle checked the time. "It wasn’t that long."

Old Mrs. Sloan chuckled. "As soon as you left, Nathaniel kept staring in that direction. You young people are just too attached; you can’t even stand being apart for five minutes."

There was a massive turnout for the banquet. Many of the guests were people Estelle hadn’t met before. However, just because she didn’t know them didn’t mean they were unaware of her identity. After all, this banquet was hosted by Nathaniel, and Old Mrs. Sloan had grandly introduced Estelle and the three children. These guests, eager to curry favor with Nathaniel, had undoubtedly dug up eighteen generations of his family history. How could they not know the background of his wife, Estelle?

Besides, Noelle and the Lockwood family had been anything but quiet in Crestfall’s high society. With so much drama unfolding recently, Estelle highly doubted that anyone paying the slightest attention wouldn’t know who she was.

Yet, some of the ladies still decided to feign innocence and ask.

"Old Mrs. Sloan, which family does your granddaughter-in-law belong to? I don’t believe we’ve met."

The woman speaking was in her early forties but looked much younger. She wore an endearingly naive expression, as if she had been perfectly sheltered by her family and knew nothing of the world’s sinister ways. However, her question was intentionally meant to sting.

Estelle lightly raised an eyebrow. "I’m not a socialite from any notable family. I don’t have any grand background."

The wealthy woman immediately gasped. "You don’t have a family backing you? Oh my, that’s not good. Being so helpless and marrying into a prominent family like the Sloans... People are bound to gossip about you."

Estelle took a sip of her tea. "Mhm, exactly. There are people gossiping right now. I’m quite used to it."

It took a second for the wealthy woman to realize Estelle was mocking her. Her face flushed red with anger.

"Though it didn’t matter if people said a few things in the past, everyone now knows I am Nathaniel’s wife. Before gossiping, one should really weigh the consequences," Estelle added.

Feeling thoroughly humiliated at being told off by a junior, the woman dropped her naive act. Her voice dripped with malice. "Even if no one says it to your face, behind closed doors..."

"You try to control everything under the sun, and now you want to control what people do and say in private?" Estelle raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. "I certainly don’t have the free time to meddle in other people’s business."

The implication was clear: she should mind her own business.

The wealthy woman choked on her words. What did Estelle mean? Was she accusing her of being a busybody prying into a couple’s private affairs?!

At that moment, a few other wealthy ladies who were close to Mrs. York quickly chimed in. "Mrs. Sloan, please don’t be mad. She just speaks without thinking."

"We haven’t even congratulated you on your marriage yet," another added.

"Yes! When did Nathaniel get married? And to think the children are already so big! We all thought he was going to end up with Thea."

Estelle almost laughed. Happy marriage? That was a very interesting choice of words.

How could Old Mrs. Sloan not hear the malice in their words? Her face turned cold, and she spoke up before Nathaniel could. "You didn’t know?"

The woman feigned innocence. "I really didn’t. After all, the last time I saw Nathaniel, he was still with Thea..."

"Well, that makes sense. With your family’s standing, it’s perfectly normal for you not to know about Nathaniel," Old Mrs. Sloan said slowly. "After all, our Nathaniel doesn’t just meet with anyone, nor does he parade his private life around. However, in high society, all of his business partners know the situation perfectly well. If you don’t know, it just proves your family isn’t at that level yet. Go tell your husband and parents to work harder; maybe one day they’ll earn the chance to collaborate with him."

Nathaniel was speechless.

Estelle was equally speechless.

The wealthy woman was so thoroughly roasted by Old Mrs. Sloan that her mouth opened and closed for a long time, unable to squeeze out a single word.

"Ah, I remember now! I know who Mrs. Sloan is," a woman from another group chimed in.

They weren’t all friends with Thea and Mrs. York, but they were definitely unhappy with Estelle. On what grounds did this woman get to claim the title of Mrs. Sloan? In what way were their own daughters inferior to Estelle? Why could she have him, but not their daughters?

They felt that Estelle had simply gotten lucky and taken advantage of the situation.

"Mrs. Sloan seems to be a jewelry designer. She’s won many awards and is quite impressive," the woman said loudly. "Oh, right! Mrs. Sloan is a daughter of the Lockwood family, isn’t she? All that drama with the Lockwoods recently caused quite a stir—it gave us so much to laugh about over tea. Mrs. Sloan, have you returned to the Lockwood family now?"

They treated Estelle like a source of entertainment, casually prying for gossip.

Look at this background of hers—a fake heiress ostracized by an insignificant family, whose only saving grace was being a designer. How could someone like that possibly be a match for the man at the helm of the Evernight Group?