Chapter 488: Not Giving Her Face, Old Mr. Yeats Is Acting Very Strange

Chapter 488: Chapter 488: Not Giving Her Face, Old Mr. Yeats Is Acting Very Strange

Estelle Lockwood lazily raised her eyes. The coldness in her gaze made Evan Yeats snap his mouth shut.

Nathaniel Sloan spoke in a mild tone. "What did you just say, Mr. Yeats?"

"I-I..." Evan desperately wanted to say that Estelle had brought this on herself. She had offended someone and was getting her just desserts. It was her own problem, so why should her tardiness cause Claire to go hungry? However, meeting Nathaniel’s eyes, he inexplicably lost his nerve. He swallowed hard, not daring to repeat his thoughts, and instead said, "E-Estelle, you took so long to get here, and you didn’t even bother to call us. You made Claire wait for you for no reason. Don’t you know she’s in poor health?!"

Nathaniel casually asked, "Have you all been waiting here for a long time?"

"Of course..."

"How long?" Nathaniel turned to ask Zane.

Zane had been watching the show from the sidelines, thinking he finally had the chance to mock this idiotic young master. "Our three esteemed guests from the Yeats family have been at the Veridian Retreat for an hour now."

Evan felt a surge of joy. "Right, an—"

"Then they ordered food, chatted for a while, and waited until all the dishes were served before calling Estelle," Zane continued. He glanced at his watch, confirming, "Up to now, it’s been exactly twenty-five minutes. Subtract the two minutes it took for Estelle to walk in just now, and that makes it twenty-three minutes.

"From the time they invited Estelle to eat to the time she arrived at the restaurant, it took a whole twenty-three minutes! That means the three esteemed guests of the Yeats family were kept waiting for twenty-three minutes!"

The onlookers were speechless.

They thought these people were crazy. When making a last-minute invitation, one should expect to wait. Inviting someone only after all the dishes were served was like locking the stable door after the horse had bolted. Who were they putting on a show for? Twenty-three minutes on the road was already fast enough. Not to mention, her car was smashed and she was injured! Yet they were haggling over such a short amount of time? If they were truly that bothered by it, why hadn’t they invited Miss Lockwood to dine earlier?

It was laughable. It was the first time anyone had seen a "host" wait until all the food was served before calling their guest. Was this hosting a dinner? It was more like an emperor issuing a decree. They were simply notifying Estelle to drop whatever she was doing and teleport to the scene immediately because the emperors of the Yeats family wanted to treat her to a meal.

"HAHAHA..." The crowd couldn’t hold back their laughter.

Evan’s face flushed red, and Zion Yeats also pressed his lips together slightly.

Evan gritted his teeth. "I was only... so anxious because of Claire’s health!"

"Oh? Miss Yeats is in poor health?" Nathaniel asked mildly.

Zane nodded, looking as solemn as if someone had died. "Yes, Miss Yeats has a stomach condition."

Nathaniel chuckled. "And?"

Zane maintained his solemn expression, playing along perfectly. "According to Mr. Yeats, this stomach condition requires eating on time; she can’t wait a single minute or second. Originally, the moment the dishes were all served was the critical point for Miss Yeats’s stomach condition. If she didn’t eat then, her stomach would act up.

"Therefore, Miss Yeats endured her stomach condition for a full twenty-three minutes! How touching!"

Claire was at a loss for words.

Nathaniel’s tone was meaningful. "I see... Since Miss Yeats has a stomach condition, why didn’t she eat first? Old Mr. Yeats is the host, and Estelle is the guest for this meal. We understand the principle of guests following the host’s convenience."

Zane shook his head and sighed. "Ah, that’s a long story. Miss Claire said that if she ate first, Estelle would definitely be angry. I don’t know if Estelle would be angry, but Old Mr. Yeats and Mr. Yeats are certainly quite angry. Look at this—Estelle arrives and hasn’t said a word, yet instead of asking how she got injured, they immediately interrogate her, asking if she didn’t know Claire had a stomach condition."

"PFFT..." The crowd stifled their snickers.

Who couldn’t hear the implication?

"Claire must have done it on purpose..."

"Yeah, who knows if her stomach condition is even real, but Old Mr. Yeats sure got mad about it."

"Who knows if her stomach actually hurts? It’s so easy to fake. I could say my stomach hurts right now too."

Zion’s face turned from red to white. "Estelle, no matter what, Claire is your older sister. It’s truly too much for you to let others mock her like this.

"Claire is afraid of you, and that’s because you’ve subjected her to too many grievances in the past. To think you’d even blame her for not eating first and causing you trouble. If you had just arrived a bit earlier..."

"Old Mr. Yeats." Estelle tilted her head and waved her hand, making the white bandages especially prominent. "This was bandaged up at the police station."

Zion choked on his words. "But—"

"Old Mr. Yeats blames me for arriving too late, which caused Claire’s stomach condition to act up," Estelle interrupted. "Zane suggested that she could have eaten first, but she refused, forcing herself to endure the pain. And then you blame her refusal to eat on me.

"May I ask what my role in this situation is? Is it to be the scapegoat?" Estelle asked curiously. "The mouth is on her body. If she chooses not to eat, how is that my fault? Besides... it seems Old Mr. Yeats hasn’t noticed my injuries."

She sighed. "What Old Mr. Yeats means is that since you invited me to dinner, I must arrive quickly even if I’m dead or crippled, lest I delay Miss Claire’s mealtime. So what if I’m injured? I can’t call the police or go to the hospital. After all, if I do, I become the main culprit for Miss Yeats’s stomach condition acting up.

"Miss Yeats just has to say her stomach hurts, and I have to take responsibility..." Estelle slowly stood up. "Nathaniel, let’s go."

"That’s not what I meant!" Zion immediately wanted to chase after her. If he let Estelle leave now, who knew how others would mock the Yeats family behind their backs!

"Is that not what you meant, Old Mr. Yeats?"

Estelle’s eyes held not a trace of fear toward the Head of the Yeats. She only felt that this Head of the Yeats was acting eccentric, completely lacking the bearing of a family head.

"Then what do you mean? Were you not blaming me for being late and causing Claire’s stomach condition to act up? Not to mention that I wasn’t even late, but even if I were, what’s the reason for blaming me when Claire refused to eat despite her stomach acting up? Was it to highlight my pettiness and her magnanimous tolerance?"

The onlookers paused for a moment before realization dawned on them. It really was so. Why did Claire first claim her stomach condition was acting up, and then insist on not eating first?

It was to show that she "kept Estelle in her heart," to tell everyone that she "waited for Estelle until her stomach condition acted up." She was being gentle, magnanimous, and tolerant, while Estelle became the main culprit who caused all of this.

But in reality... what did this have to do with Estelle? Old Mr. Yeats was the one who insisted on inviting Estelle only when Claire was about to eat. Claire’s mouth was on her own body; no one stopped her, yet she insisted on not eating. Did this have anything to do with Estelle from start to finish? None whatsoever.

Liam Sloan clicked his tongue in amazement. "I’ve really seen the Yeats family’s style today. If it weren’t for the crowd here, word would spread that Estelle is throwing her weight around, bullying Claire, and causing her stomach condition to act up. You’ve really mastered the art of spinning a narrative."