Chapter 50: Do We Have a New Dad? Who Is It?

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Do We Have a New Dad? Who Is It?

Estelle and the two little ones didn’t see Nathaniel Sloan.

After she finished speaking, Mia and Zachery fell silent for a moment before speaking up like little adults.

"Mommy, we aren’t little kids anymore! A dog couldn’t leave a mark like that. That was obviously made by a person!"

Estelle blushed, slowly closing her eyes.

She wondered what on earth her two darlings had been watching lately.

Zachery’s eyes darted around mischievously. "Mommy, could it be that you have a man now? Is it our new daddy? Is the new daddy handsome?"

Estelle almost fainted on the spot.

Forcing herself to calm down, she said, "Darlings, there’s no new daddy. My lips were really bitten by a dog... You know, the one Chapman keeps in the backyard, Whitey. Do you remember? Yesterday, when Mommy was playing with Whitey, I got bitten."

Chapman did, in fact, have a little white dog.

Zachery didn’t buy it at all. "Mia, do a reading. Figure out where the person who bit Mommy’s lips is."

Estelle stiffened. Nathaniel raised an eyebrow slightly, wanting to see how this woman would try to explain herself next.

He wondered if she had just called him a dog.

Mia nodded immediately, pulling out three copper coins to cast a hexagram.

Five minutes later, Mia said dejectedly, "Zachery, there’s a problem. The hexagram says the person who bit Mommy... ah, no, the dog is right here in Imperial Crest! It seems it really was Whitey!"

"In Imperial Crest?" Zachery was greatly disappointed as well. Who in Imperial Crest could have bitten Mommy? It couldn’t be Chapman, it couldn’t be Ms. Riddle, and it couldn’t be the young master. So, it could only be...

"WAAAH! Our new daddy is actually a dog!"

Nathaniel closed his eyes, the veins on his forehead throbbing twice.

After much coaxing, Estelle finally managed to soothe her two darlings and prepared to set off for Rosalind Garden.

As soon as she came downstairs, she saw the doctor from last night eating breakfast in the dining room, but Nathaniel was nowhere to be seen.

Estelle furrowed her brows. She wondered if that dog of a man’s injuries had worsened and if he was bailing on today’s plans.

That wouldn’t do at all. The document signing, the contract, and every single matter concerning Rosalind Garden had to go through Nathaniel. She couldn’t afford any delays.

"Where’s Nathaniel?" Estelle asked Chapman.

Chapman glanced at Zane Grant and lied through his teeth. "Sir is... sick."

Estelle didn’t notice Chapman’s unnatural demeanor. "Sick? Even if he’s sick, he needs to get up. Is he reliable at all? Dropping the ball at such a critical moment."

Zane almost choked to death on a mouthful of steamed bun.

He had deliberately wanted to test this woman. If she were truly Mrs. Sloan, wouldn’t she show some signs of distress upon hearing that Nathaniel was sick?

Moreover, although Zane hadn’t been in the country five years ago, he had still heard a few rumors about Mrs. Sloan—that she was cowardly, docile, and obedient.

How was she even remotely similar to this woman named Yara Lockwood?

"Ahem, Miss Lockwood," Zane couldn’t help but interrupt. "Nathaniel is fine. It’s just that Evernight International has a last-minute multinational conference that requires his decision, so he’s having a meeting upstairs. He’ll be done in ten minutes."

Estelle was relieved.

Zane looked at her with interest. "Miss Lockwood, why aren’t you asking who I am?"

Estelle glanced at him, seemingly puzzled. "Why should I need to know who you are?"

Zane coughed. "Nathaniel and I have been close friends for many years. I know a lot about him. Aren’t you curious at all?"

In the past, whenever Noelle Lockwood wanted to get close to Nathaniel, she would try to curry favor with Zane, attempting to use him as a stepping stone to grow closer to Nathaniel. Zane was already used to it.

Who would have thought that after a long silence, Estelle would suddenly let out a cold sneer. "Curious about Nathaniel Sloan? Heh."

Zane was dumbfounded, wondering what that "heh" meant and whether she was mocking him or mocking Nathaniel.

However, Zane didn’t dwell on it. Nathaniel had mentioned that Yara was Christian’s personal doctor, and Christian’s health had indeed improved significantly recently.

But since they were heading to Rosalind Garden, it would be up to him to take care of Christian for the next few days.

Half an hour later, Estelle and Nathaniel set off for Rosalind Garden on time.

In the car, Nathaniel’s gaze swept over her.

Estelle kept her lips tightly pursed and her eyes closed, resting. Perhaps due to a lack of sleep last night, she was feeling a bit carsick.

Rosalind Garden was located in the suburbs of Crestfall, meaning the drive would take over two hours. Estelle clutched her stomach, her face turning pale.

Nathaniel furrowed his brows. "Are you feeling unwell?"

After what happened last night, Estelle didn’t want to talk to him at all, nor did she want to show any vulnerability in front of him. "Mind your own business."

Despite her dismissive words, her face grew paler by the minute.

"Miss Lockwood, we have a packed schedule today. If you act tough now and your body gives out later, as your business partner, I will have to question your sense of responsibility towards our cooperation."

Estelle’s lips pressed into a tight line.

"Pull over," Nathaniel ordered the driver.

The car came to a stop by the side of the road. Estelle rolled down the window, clutching her chest in silence.

She didn’t speak—firstly, because she didn’t want to engage with Nathaniel, and secondly, because the motion sickness was truly unbearable, leaving her with no energy to talk.

Estelle looked listless. Suddenly, she heard the car door open. She instinctively turned her head and saw that Nathaniel had stepped out.

She wondered why he was getting out of the car when they hadn’t yet reached Rosalind Garden.

Watching Nathaniel walk further away, Estelle’s mind was a muddled mess, and she couldn’t be bothered to overthink it.

Suddenly, something ice-cold was pressed against her cheek.

Estelle looked up blankly.

The man’s distinct, well-defined fingers were holding a cup of iced lemonade and a blister pack of pills.

"Motion sickness medicine. Take some and rest for a bit before we hit the road."

Estelle tried hard to focus her vision, attempting to process what he was saying about the motion sickness medicine and lemonade.

Her brain hadn’t fully caught up, but she subconsciously accepted the items and took a sip.

She had always suffered from motion sickness, a condition that hadn’t improved over the years. In the past, she always liked to take a few sips of iced lemonade whenever she felt carsick.

She wondered how Nathaniel could possibly know.

Estelle shook her head vigorously, convincing herself that it had to be a coincidence!

"I’m fine now. Let’s go."

Nathaniel’s gaze was profound. He stared at her for a long time before looking away and calmly instructing the driver, "Drive."

He knew that Estelle suffered from motion sickness and that she liked to drink lemonade whenever it hit.

His gaze landed on her red, swollen lips. By tacit mutual agreement, neither of them brought up what happened last night.

He scoffed inwardly at her refusal to admit it.

An hour later, they finally arrived at Rosalind Garden.

Having taken the motion sickness medicine, Estelle wasn’t feeling as miserable anymore, but her mood remained low.

Nathaniel got out of the car first, then walked around to the other side to open the door for her.

Waiting at the entrance of Rosalind Garden, Noelle Lockwood took in this scene at a glance. Her expression turned ferocious as she gritted her teeth.

She knew that many business elites would be visiting Rosalind Garden today. She had purposefully shown up as Nathaniel’s fiancée so that no one would dare say a word against her, even allowing her to stand front and center to welcome him.

Yet, to her dismay, she was now watching Estelle and Nathaniel step out of the exact same car!

Putting on a smile, Noelle stepped forward, preparing to link her arm through Nathaniel’s. "Nathaniel, you’re here. You must be tired, hurry and come inside."

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here?"

Before Noelle could answer, a pot-bellied executive stepped up from behind her. "President Sloan, Mrs. Sloan came specifically to deliver some documents."

Estelle slightly raised her head and arched an eyebrow, silently questioning the title of "Mrs. Sloan."

Noelle’s expression was gentle and refined as she gave a coy smile, as if asserting her dominance.