Chapter 82: Setting Up Daddy and Mommy

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Setting Up Daddy and Mommy

Estelle Lockwood froze, remaining completely motionless.

She stared at Nathaniel Sloan in disbelief, thinking she had misheard him.

Nathaniel said... he believed the aromatherapy formula from five years ago was hers, and that Noelle Lockwood was the real plagiarist.

Back then, Nathaniel had indeed told her that he believed her. He had told her not to be afraid or worried, that he knew she was a good girl who would never steal someone else’s work. But Estelle also remembered exactly what happened afterward—a nightmare that took her years to escape.

She wondered why Nathaniel had started believing her again, right after causing her so much pain.

Noelle trembled. Utterly terrified, she could no longer suppress the fear surfacing on her face. "N-Nathaniel, no, it’s not like that..."

Rose Lowell hastily tried to explain. "How is that possible? Nathaniel, did someone say something to you?"

Austin Lockwood remained slightly more composed. "Nathaniel, I know today’s events reminded you of what happened back then, but we investigated it thoroughly at the time. Besides, Estelle confessed to it herself. So I think..."

"You should all be glad that I don’t currently have the evidence in my hands," Nathaniel interrupted calmly. His icy gaze seemed capable of piercing right through the three members of the Lockwood family.

Noelle wept piteously, tears streaming down her delicate face. "Nathaniel, you don’t believe me... I saved your life back then, yet you don’t believe me! *Sob*... What’s the point of even living..."

"Noelle!!"

"My precious daughter!"

Austin and Rose’s voices rang out in unison as Noelle went limp and "fainted."

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, completely unsure of what to make of the situation. The live-streaming reporters scratched their heads, caught in a dilemma over whether to cut the feed or keep filming. Although Noelle had fainted, barely anyone besides her die-hard fans was speaking up for her anymore.

Luke White had security escort Rose and the rest of her family out. Only after their wailing faded away did Estelle finally snap out of her daze. She felt she needed some time alone to calm down.

As this Chapter of the plagiarism scandal drew to a close, Estelle was just about to turn and leave when Nathaniel suddenly spoke. "Don’t you have anything to ask me?"

Estelle froze. What was there to ask? About the incident from five years ago? There was nothing left to ask. Nathaniel might be defending her now, but the pain he inflicted on her back then was just as real.

She lowered her gaze. "I have nothing to ask. Henry, let’s go."

Nathaniel took a long stride forward, intending to chase after her, but Henry blocked his path. "Mr. Sloan, Yara doesn’t want to see you. Can’t you understand that? She’s in a bad mood, and you chasing after her is only going to make it worse."

Nathaniel forced himself to halt at those words.

Meanwhile.

Zachery and Mia, who had been watching the live stream, fell into silence.

After two minutes, Zachery whispered, "What’s going on? Scumbag Daddy believes Mommy instead of Noelle?"

Mia scoffed. "But the plagiarism label is still pinned on Mommy. He didn’t help her back then, so what’s the point of acting all fake and nice now?"

"Could there be some sort of misunderstanding?" Zachery asked.

Mia wanted to say that was impossible, but then she reconsidered, feeling she shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Old Mr. Kendrick always cast a divination whenever he faced a dilemma. Having grown up with him, Mia had also picked up the habit of tossing coins to read fortunes when she was bored.

She immediately tossed three coins into the air, but then hesitated when she saw the result.

"Mia, what do the trigrams say?"

Mia’s expression shifted from hesitation to conflict, finally settling into an indescribable struggle. "The reading says... we can try to get them together..."

"If true lovers are meant to be, all misunderstandings will naturally fade."

Elsewhere.

Christian was also watching the broadcast. He wondered if there had been some misunderstanding between his mommy and daddy five years ago.

Even though his grandmother had told him that Daddy loved Noelle, he wasn’t stupid. He could tell whether Daddy actually cared about Noelle or not. Now that his father was interrogating Noelle over the events from five years ago, Christian thought that if they cleared up the misunderstanding, maybe his parents could get back together.

If that happened... he could finally, rightfully, become his mommy’s child in the eyes of the world.

Following the live stream, the Lockwood Group gritted their teeth and paid out two hundred million in compensation, desperately trying to minimize the public relations fallout.

Noelle laid low for quite a while because of the scandal. Although her hardcore fans were still fighting tooth and nail in her defense, her current reputation was completely in the gutter. Even though she shoved all the blame onto her manager, the public still branded her a plagiarist whenever her name was brought up.

Noelle could barely sleep at night! She fumed over how this label, which used to belong solely to Estelle, was now firmly pinned on her. Damn Yara! Damn her!

Furthermore, due to Nathaniel’s strict orders, she was barred from both Imperial Crest and Evernight International. Many people were already starting to doubt if she was actually Nathaniel’s fiancée. The public persona she had painstakingly cultivated for years was on the verge of collapsing.

She had to think of a way out of this...

Two days later.

The perfume was re-released to the market. In a blessing in disguise, sales skyrocketed.

On Saturday, a sudden KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK sounded on Estelle’s bedroom door. The two little ones were outside.

Mia and Zachery exchanged a meaningful glance, recalling their master plan. The three kids had discussed it: if there really was a misunderstanding, they would do everything in their power to get their parents back together.

With this in mind, Mia cleared her throat. "Mommy, can we go to the movies?"

Estelle was surprised but didn’t refuse. "Sure. What do you want to watch?"

Mia’s eyes darted around mischievously before she selected a horror movie and flashed a sweet smile. "Mommy, I want to watch this one. Let’s go this afternoon!"

When the time came, they would have the little young master bring Scumbag Daddy to the theater, and then the kids would sneak away! Mia giggled internally. A horror movie, corner seats, a man and a woman all alone... hehe...

Meanwhile.

Christian sat obediently in Nathaniel’s office. "Daddy, I want to go to the movies."

Nathaniel’s hand paused mid-signature, slightly taken aback. Due to his health condition, Christian rarely went out, let alone watched movies. In fact, he had never even been to a movie theater.

Naturally, Nathaniel couldn’t refuse. He gave a gentle smile. "Whatever movie you want to see, Daddy will go with you."

"I want to watch a horror movie," Christian replied. "Uncle Zane said I could watch a little bit of horror to stimulate my senses. There’s a screening this afternoon. Daddy, let’s go watch it, okay?"

Nathaniel couldn’t shake the feeling that Christian’s way of speaking today was quite different from a few days ago. The Christian from a few days prior had been lively and energetic, whereas today, he seemed to have reverted to his usual quiet self.

However, it was a good thing that his son was willing to leave the house. But a horror movie... Since when did Christian like watching things like this?

At one o’clock in the afternoon, at the movie theater.

As soon as they entered the screening room, Mia pushed Estelle down into her seat. "Mommy, Zachery and I need to go to the restroom. You wait here for a bit!"

Estelle instinctively tried to stand up. "I’ll go with you."

"No need, Mommy! Zachery and I aren’t little kids anymore!"

With that, the two dashed off and vanished from sight. Estelle shook her head. And they claimed they weren’t kids.

Five minutes later, Mia called her. "Mommy, we ran into Aunt Penelope at the entrance! She said she’s taking us to eat cake. You watch the movie first; we’ll be back later!"

Estelle called Penelope Sullivan to confirm. The two little ones were indeed with her, which put Estelle’s mind at ease.

However, Estelle was a bit baffled. The screening room was enormous, and there was absolutely no one else in the audience for this showing. So why had Mia specifically chosen seats in the very corner?

At the same time, Christian was telling Nathaniel, "Daddy, I have something to tell Uncle Zane. Your seat is Row 15, Seat 28. Go on in first."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. Wasn’t that seat a little too isolated?