Chapter 83: Mr. Sloan Is Still My Servant

Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Mr. Sloan Is Still My Servant

Estelle Lockwood sat in her seat inside the screening room. Before she could dwell on her confusion for too long, the movie began.

Just then, she sensed someone approaching her.

Were there other viewers for this movie? Estelle was about to turn sideways to make way, but the person suddenly stopped. Puzzled, she looked up, her eyes instantly going wide. "Why is it you?!"

Nathaniel Sloan raised a brow. He wanted to ask the same thing: why was it her?

After Christian pushed him into the screening room, the boy had run off with Zane Grant. Not wanting to waste Christian’s good intentions, Nathaniel had followed his ticket’s seat numbers, only to unexpectedly run into someone.

Taking a long stride, he sat down right next to her.

Estelle was so shocked she nearly jumped out of her seat. She pinched herself, then glanced at the horror movie playing on the screen. Closing her eyes, she muttered to herself, "I must be seeing things. There are ghosts in this movie... It’s perfectly normal to see a ghost while watching a horror movie."

Nathaniel was left speechless. He nearly laughed out of sheer annoyance. He wondered if this woman’s imagination was a bit too wild—did she really prefer to treat him like a ghost rather than open her eyes and look at him?

"Miss Lockwood. What a coincidence," Nathaniel spoke, shattering Estelle’s self-deception.

Estelle opened her eyes and found him still sitting right in front of her. Frowning, she accepted reality. "Why are you here?"

"This is a movie theater. That’s a rather pointless question, Miss Lockwood."

Nathaniel’s tone was flat. The implication was obvious: he was at a movie theater. If not to watch a movie, what else could he be doing here?

Estelle choked up for a second. She only asked because seeing Nathaniel Sloan at a movie theater felt incredibly out of place! Was he really the type of person who had the time and mood to watch a movie? Not to mention, the reviews for this horror film were absolutely terrible...

After racking her brain, Estelle could only come up with one possibility. "Are you stalking me?"

Nathaniel genuinely laughed in exasperation. "Hah. I accompanied Christian here to watch a movie. What kind of person do you take me for, Miss Lockwood?"

Ever since the press conference ended that day, Estelle hadn’t seen him once. It was obvious she was intentionally avoiding him. He had clearly helped prove her innocence, yet he hadn’t received a single word of thanks. Instead, he was being dodged like the plague. Anyone would be in a bad mood over that.

Hiding in the corner of the screening room, the three little ones were speechless.

They had talked Penelope and Zane into leaving, then quietly slipped inside just to see what their Daddy and Mommy would do alone in an empty theater.

Then, Christian heard his father’s cold, indifferent voice.

The boy gave a slight pout, wringing his hands in frustration over his father’s ineptitude. He thought, "Daddy! I created an opportunity for you, but you need to put in some effort yourself! What kind of nonsense are you saying? What girl would be happy to hear such ice-cold words?"

Zachery and Mia scoffed internally. They just knew their scumbag father was no good. He was acting so cold; his previous warmth must have been entirely faked.

The next moment, they heard Estelle say coolly, "I can’t help it. If it were anyone else today, I wouldn’t think that way. But with someone like you, Mr. Sloan, I can’t be sure. After all, looks can be deceiving. Who knows what you’re plotting."

Zachery and Mia exchanged glances, realizing that Mommy wasn’t doing much better either.

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain? What kind of person am I?"

Did this woman take the wrong medicine today? She definitely hadn’t acted like this a few days ago when he helped prove her innocence.

Estelle looked away.

Noelle Lockwood had apologized, but only to Yara Lockwood. The dirty water splashed onto Estelle had yet to be washed away. And at a time like that, Nathaniel had said... he believed she hadn’t plagiarized five years ago.

Estelle didn’t know how to feel about that. If he had said those words earlier, she would have been ecstatic. But hearing them now only felt a bit ironic. She had promised herself she wouldn’t care about Nathaniel anymore, yet when she heard him say that, an uncontrollable wave of grievance washed over her.

Only when you loved someone would their actions make you feel pained, worried, or wronged. If she didn’t love him anymore, then no matter what Nathaniel said or did, it shouldn’t affect her.

But right now, her emotions were being swayed by his words.

Estelle didn’t dare think too deeply into it, opting to avoid him for the time being. She never expected Nathaniel to bump right into her today!

Taking a deep breath, Estelle feigned composure, attempting to drive the man away with passive-aggressive sarcasm. "What other kind of person could you be? The very first time we met, Mr. Sloan, you accused me of deliberately trying to scam you. If you assume the worst in others, don’t blame them for assuming the worst in you."

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes, catching the trace of forced calm on her face, and suddenly smiled. "I see. Then it is indeed my fault. I apologize, Miss Lockwood."

With that, he settled comfortably into the seat beside her. "The movie has started. Let’s watch."

Estelle nearly choked on her own breath. How could he be so thick-skinned?!

She abruptly stood up, intending to walk out. If Nathaniel wouldn’t leave, then she would!

But halfway down the aisle, she stopped in her tracks. Wait a minute. She was here first; why should she be the one to leave? For some reason, walking away now made it feel like she was admitting defeat.

However, staying behind to watch a movie with Nathaniel felt incredibly strange.

Watching her small face shift between red and pale, the amusement in Nathaniel’s heart grew, and his mood improved significantly. Sometimes, teasing her was quite fun. She was rather cute.

"Are you leaving, Miss Lockwood? Very well, I won’t see you out."

Those words instantly provoked Estelle’s rebellious streak. The person who had been hesitating just a moment ago immediately sat back down, putting up a stubborn front. "I already bought the ticket. Why should I leave?"

Nathaniel’s lips curved in a silent smirk. "Then why were you walking away just now, Miss Lockwood?"

Estelle scoffed. "Who said I was leaving? I wanted to go buy bubble tea."

Nathaniel didn’t expose her lie. "And you don’t want to buy it anymore?"

"Not exactly." An idea seemed to strike Estelle. She smoothed her hair, shot him a sideways glance, and parted her red lips. "It just suddenly occurred to me that you’re currently still my servant, Mr. Sloan. Shouldn’t you be the one running errands like buying bubble tea?"

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. He seemed to be studying her face, trying to discern whether she genuinely wanted bubble tea or just wanted to get rid of him.

Half a minute later, though, his voice dropped to a husky pitch. "What flavor do you want?"

"Mango, I guess," Estelle replied casually.

Nathaniel’s eyes darkened slightly. He had once tested Yara Lockwood using a mango allergy. Thinking back on it now, an inexplicable suspicion arose in his mind—perhaps Estelle wasn’t allergic to mangoes at all.

The only reason he thought she was allergic was because the Lockwoods had said so, and Estelle had indeed never eaten mangoes afterward. But what if the Lockwoods had lied to him?

"Alright." Nathaniel pulled himself from his thoughts and rose from his seat. "I’ll go buy it."

Estelle curled her lips. She kind of wanted to leave, but for some inexplicable reason, she found herself staying put.

Buying a cup of bubble tea should have taken ten minutes at most. Yet, half an hour passed, and Nathaniel had still not returned.

A single thought instantly surfaced in Estelle’s mind: Nathaniel had left.