Chapter 58: "Estelle’s Injuries Can’t Be Let Go, Either.

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: "Estelle’s Injuries Can’t Be Let Go, Either.

Noelle’s decision to ride a horse naturally drew a sizable crowd of onlookers.

A surge of thrill and vanity swelled within her, leaving her utterly elated.

She had thought Yara was so impressive, but the woman didn’t even know how to ride a horse—just like that country bumpkin, Estelle.

Since she had been able to step on Estelle to climb the social ladder, she could do the exact same to Yara now.

Thinking back to how Estelle had been thrown from the horse time and time again all those years ago, Noelle felt a profound sense of satisfaction.

Later, when it was Yara’s turn to ride, she could pull a few tricks and make her suffer!

Noelle’s smile widened. She grabbed the reins and vaulted onto the horse. However, at that exact moment—

The originally docile little white horse suddenly thrashed, violently bucking Noelle off before she could even settle into the saddle!

THUD!

Pain instantly shot through Noelle as she hit the ground flat on her back, limbs sprawling in the air.

A dead silence instantly descended upon the surroundings. The crowd’s eyes widened in disbelief.

They wondered if Noelle wasn’t supposed to be a top-tier equestrian. What on earth had just happened?

Perhaps too stunned by the turn of events, no one spoke. The arena remained steeped in heavy silence.

After a long while, a woman’s voice abruptly broke the quiet. Yara raised an eyebrow. "I think I finally understand why Estelle kept falling off her horse seven years ago.

"It turns out Miss Lockwood set such a stellar example," she added meaningfully.

The silence grew even more deafening.

Noelle nearly screamed, her entire body trembling with rage.

Rose hurriedly helped Noelle up, her heart aching for her daughter. Then, she turned to the horse, her face contorting with malice as she hurled a string of curses. "You little beast! How dare you hurt Noelle! You’re dead meat! Someone come here and slaughter this horse right now!"

Someone eager to curry favor chimed in, "It’s all this beast’s fault. It was an honor for Miss Noelle to choose it, yet it doesn’t know what’s good for it."

"Please calm down, Mrs. Lockwood. This is Young Mr. Kendrick’s equestrian club. I’m sure Young Mr. Kendrick wouldn’t disrespect you over a mere animal."

Now back on her feet, Noelle’s cheeks burned crimson with embarrassment. She wanted nothing more than to chop the horse into pieces, but she had to keep up appearances.

"Yes, this horse has too wild of a temperament. It shouldn’t be kept at the club. It’s fine that it hurt me, but it would be terrible if it injured someone else in the future," she said pretentiously.

The bystanders nodded in agreement, which finally brought some color back to Noelle’s face.

Just as she was about to stand properly, she suddenly heard Yara chuckle. "Miss Lockwood, if you lack the skill, you shouldn’t blame the horse. If you demand it be killed just because you couldn’t mount it, does that mean you’ll slaughter every horse in this club if you fail to mount the next one too?

"Leave at least a couple for Henry Kendrick. This is his property, after all. It hasn’t even officially opened yet, and he’s already losing horses because of you. What a massive loss."

The crowd stared at Yara in dumbfounded shock.

Noelle’s fingers trembled with rage as she struggled to maintain her smile. "Yara..."

Rose shrieked, "What do you mean by that?! It hurt my daughter, so it deserves to die! How dare you take the side of that little beast! What are your intentions?!"

Yara, completely unfazed by this shrewish display, replied flatly, "Do you not understand human speech?"

Heartbroken for her daughter and furious at the insult, Rose completely lost the grace of a wealthy socialite. "Shut your mouth! Ahhh!"

"Mom!" Noelle hurriedly grabbed Rose’s hand before putting on a desolate, mournful smile. "Nathaniel, you’re here."

Rose immediately stopped her screaming and put on an expression of extreme grievance. "Nathaniel, you have to stand up for Noelle! This Yara has repeatedly mocked her, and even when she saw Noelle fall off the horse, she still made cynical, sarcastic remarks! My poor Noelle is already in so much pain, boohoo..."

Noelle wept silently, looking the picture of meek submission. "Nathaniel, I’m fine."

Nathaniel furrowed his brows deeply.

Refusing to give the mother-daughter duo the chance to play the victims, Yara scoffed. "Mr. Sloan, don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for her?

"Noelle has only fallen once. Years ago, your wife fell over and over again until she couldn’t even stand. She was covered in blood, yet Noelle forced her onto the horse’s back time after time. Why didn’t anyone feel sorry for her back then?"

Noelle’s weeping expression instantly froze as the color violently drained from her face.

Rose was also startled. She never expected an incident from so long ago to be dug up again. She hurriedly tried to explain. "N-No, Noelle only did that for Estelle..."

Before she could finish, she was shocked into silence by the intense murderous intent swimming in Nathaniel’s dark eyes. She could only shut her mouth sheepishly.

Biting her lower lip, Noelle spoke in a fragile voice. "Nathaniel, Ms. Yara must have heard some baseless rumors from somewhere and misunderstood me. But you, of all people, should know best whether I was earnestly teaching my sister back then... I don’t know why Yara is targeting me like this, I..."

"Noelle, I saw everything," Nathaniel said, his dark eyes lowering, deep and unfathomable.

Noelle’s heart skipped a beat. "W-What?"

"Aunt Noelle, Daddy and I arrived even before you insisted on teaching Aunt Yara how to ride."

Zachery unceremoniously exposed her lies. "So, we saw every bit of how you mocked Aunt Yara just now and how you brought this entirely upon yourself."

Noelle’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in horror!

Yara was actually a little surprised. Why was Young Master Christian here? Furthermore, Christian’s tone of voice sounded remarkably like her precious Zachery.

Perhaps this was a case of being influenced by one’s surroundings. Even the young master had started speaking with such cynical sarcasm.

Rose had not expected Nathaniel to have witnessed the whole ordeal either. She instantly panicked. "Nathaniel, listen to me. What happened just now... it was all a misunderstanding..."

"Old Mr. Lockwood brought out that old token and begged me for a long time before I agreed to give the Lockwood Group a chance to collaborate." Nathaniel’s tone was indifferent. "But from the looks of it, neither of you seems to cherish this opportunity. Forget it then. Luke, go inform Old Mr. Lockwood that Mrs. Lockwood looks down on this collaboration."

Rose was fraught with panic. "Nathaniel, we don’t look down on it! Not at all! Noelle, say something, hurry up and beg him..."

Rose knew full well just how desperately the Lockwood Family needed this partnership—how much they needed to build a relationship with Star in order to secure their standing in the fragrance industry.

That was why she was genuinely panicking now.

Noelle looked at him through a veil of tears. "Nathaniel, I pulled all-nighters for two days straight for this collaboration. How could we possibly look down on it? If you’re removing us from the project because of Ms. Yara, I..."

Nathaniel cut her off. "If the two of you truly valued this partnership, you wouldn’t have mocked and belittled Star’s chief director, accused her of harboring malicious intentions, demanded she apologize, and then ordered the slaughter of a horse at Vice President Kendrick’s equestrian club.

"Mrs. Lockwood, you’ve offended the two most crucial directors of this collaboration. Do you still expect me to believe you value it?"

Noelle and Rose’s faces drained of all color as a terrifying realization suddenly dawned on them—

Yara was the chief director of this collaboration!

Yara was not Estelle. Estelle was someone they could beat, scold, and humiliate at will. But Yara... uttering even a single bad word against her could drag the entire Lockwood Group down with them!

Rose’s voice trembled as she spoke. "B-But even if we were in the wrong, Noelle is injured. We can’t... we can’t just let this go..."

Since this was Henry Kendrick’s equestrian club and Noelle had been injured on his property, it was only natural that Henry should bear the responsibility!

Noelle lowered her eyes and remained silent, clearly harboring the exact same thought.

Nathaniel, however, glanced back with eyes entirely devoid of warmth. "You’re right. We certainly can’t just let this go."

A spark of joy leaped in Rose’s heart.

The very next moment, Nathaniel’s icy voice shattered her hopes. "Therefore, the injuries Estelle sustained at the equestrian club seven years ago cannot just be let go of, either."