Chapter 243: Is That So, Mr. Sloan?

Chapter 243: Chapter 243: Is That So, Mr. Sloan?

Estelle Lockwood fell silent for a moment. "A British prince?"

A British prince was asking her to design jewelry?

"Yes, he specifically asked for you. Rumor has it that he came to Crestfall just to have you design that set of jewelry," Penelope Sullivan replied.

Estelle nodded. "Alright. I’ll head to the company now."

"Uh..." Seeing that Estelle had agreed, Penelope hurried to the office, only to be told by her assistant that the butler who had come to negotiate had already left, leaving behind a few design requirements.

After all, he was a prince, someone they couldn’t afford to offend, but Penelope still muttered a quiet complaint, "Leaving just like that? How rude."

Estelle remained noncommittal. "Send the requirements over so I can take a look."

Upon receiving the design requirements Penelope sent, Estelle was somewhat surprised.

It wasn’t because the request was difficult, but rather because the British prince’s design specifications exclusively featured traditional Innerland elements.

Such as plum blossoms, red-crowned cranes, and sweet osmanthus.

These elements were very common in Innerland, but they didn’t seem to exist in British culture.

Estelle wondered for a few seconds. Perhaps this British prince was simply very interested in Innerland’s culture. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have traveled all the way to Innerland just to have her design the jewelry.

Having accepted the order, Estelle went into her studio.

Two days later.

Penelope pushed open the door to her studio. "Estelle, they want to see your initial design drafts."

Estelle, of course, had no objections.

The person who received them was still the prince’s butler. Perhaps due to working in the British prince’s estate for so long, the first impression the butler gave Estelle was that he was incredibly haughty.

He took her design drafts and merely threw a dismissive glance at her, as if she were nothing but lowly dust, unworthy of a single word from him.

After the butler left, Penelope complained, "If it weren’t for the fact that the prince has some power, I really wouldn’t want to take this order. Even a butler acts so superior; one can only imagine what kind of character the prince himself is."

Estelle never gossiped about buyers behind their backs, but even she felt that the butler’s gaze was strange. Indescribably strange.

"Let’s go, Estelle. Come look at bags with me. I want to get a new one." Ignoring whatever the butler might be thinking, Penelope had a meal with Estelle and then began strolling through a shopping mall.

The two women entered a women’s handbag boutique. Penelope immediately set her eyes on a sapphire blue bag and said to the saleswoman, "Please bring that one down for me to see."

To her surprise, the saleswoman looked troubled. "I’m sorry... Miss, all the products in our store have been reserved by a young lady. We are not open to the public today."

Penelope was stunned. "All of them?"

"Yes. Miss, if you’d like, you can visit our branch store. We can dispatch a private car to take you there."

Penelope was quite surprised. Every bag in this boutique cost at least seven figures. She only planned to buy one after gritting her teeth and mentally preparing for the expense. Who could possibly reserve the entire store at once? Wouldn’t that cost tens of millions, or even over a hundred million?

How incredibly wealthy.

Just as Penelope was about to suggest looking at another store, a mocking laugh suddenly reached her ears.

"A private car? Let me tell you, don’t let them fool you. Can they even afford such expensive bags?"

Estelle narrowed her eyes and turned her head. The woman standing in the corner looked very familiar. It was none other than Sophie Foster, the one who had lost her bracelet at the banquet last time.

Sophie raised her chin arrogantly. "Estelle Lockwood, I was almost manipulated by you last time. Luckily, Thea explained the truth to me in time. I won’t be fooled by you again!"

Last time, she had briefly harbored resentment toward Thea York, but later, Thea had come to apologize to her. Two days after that, she learned from Mrs. York that Estelle was actually a fraud. She wasn’t the designer Star at all. Everything had been a trap set by Estelle to target Thea.

To think she had wrongfully blamed Thea, yet Thea hadn’t held it against her. Thea was simply too kind!

Estelle was speechless. With a brain like that, even if it were cured, she would still be a drooling idiot.

Sophie turned to the saleswoman. "These two are frauds. Forget a one-million-dollar bag—everything on them from head to toe is counterfeit. If you dare let them in, just wait for Thea to leave!"

The saleswoman’s expression instantly changed.

Miss York was their VIP client who had boldly booked the entire store the moment she arrived. Furthermore, the man walking alongside Miss York just now was Mr. Sloan. One look was enough to tell he intended to spend a fortune on her.

Consequently, the saleswoman frowned. "Please leave. You are not welcome here. If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police."

Penelope knitted her brows. "Miss Foster, you really are the type to help count the money after being sold."

Estelle had no money? Estelle was a fraud? This Sophie had already been screwed over by Thea once, yet she still believed her without a shadow of a doubt. How was her brain even wired? Shouldn’t she go see a neurologist?

Sophie immediately blew up, flying into a rage. "Estelle Lockwood, let me tell you! Believing you last time was already a massive injustice to Thea! I will absolutely not believe you again this time!

"Thea said you’re a fraud, and you don’t have any money at all!"

Sophie shouted so loudly that customers outside the store began looking in.

She wished she could let the whole world know. "Estelle Lockwood, what kind of designer are you? You’re just a clinging vine relying on a man! All the money you have belongs to Mr. Sloan. Right now, Mr. Sloan’s darling is Thea. The moment a man stops spending money on you, you’re penniless. You’re nothing like our Thea!"

Penelope caught the key word. "His darling?"

Sophie looked triumphant. "Why do you think Thea reserved this entire store? Because it was Mr. Sloan’s order!

"Mr. Sloan said that the woman he cares about most likes the bags in this store, so he specially booked the whole place! And Thea came here together with Mr. Sloan. Tell me, who do you think Mr. Sloan booked the store for?"

Everyone subconsciously looked at Estelle.

Estelle raised an eyebrow. Catching a glimpse of a figure upstairs, her smile deepened. "So Nathaniel Sloan booked this store for Thea York..."

"Of course!" Sophie placed her hands on her hips. "Just wait to be tossed aside! A loveless marriage never ends well, and the unloved one is the mistress!"

Estelle nodded slowly. "No wonder Mrs. York succeeded so smoothly as the mistress. And Miss York, as an illegitimate daughter, isn’t embarrassed in the slightest and plans to follow in her mother’s footsteps. So this is how you all justify it."

Belatedly realizing that Estelle was mocking Thea, Sophie’s face flushed bright red. She roared furiously, "Stop changing the subject! You’re a fraud to begin with, a cheap slut who can’t survive without a man! Mr. Sloan takes such good care of Thea—you must be dying of jealousy inside!"

"Is that so..."

Estelle waited for Sophie to finish her crazy rant, then raised her eyes with a beaming smile, meeting a certain someone’s gaze.

She smoothed her hair, parted her red lips, and, as Sophie’s expression grew increasingly smug, called out those two words—

"Mr. Sloan?"

Was that so, Mr. Sloan?

...

Mr. Sloan? Who was Estelle calling?!

Sophie turned around. Seeing that tall, slender figure, her body instantly stiffened.