Chapter 162: Mr. Sloan Wants to Remarry Me?
Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Mr. Sloan Wants to Remarry Me?
Estelle was speechless.
Everyone: "?"
Liam Sloan was completely stunned. He seemed to think he had misheard. "Huh? Wha...?"
’Zane Grant wasn’t wrong when he called him love-struck. If this isn’t being completely smitten, what is?!’
The manager’s gaze toward Estelle Lockwood shifted from shocked disbelief to concern, and finally to admiration, all in the span of three short seconds.
’She had thought Mrs. Sloan was out of favor, but who would have guessed she had Mr. Sloan wrapped so tightly around her finger!’
After Nathaniel Sloan finished speaking, the entire private room fell into a dead silence. No one dared to utter a word.
As he spoke, he stared at Estelle Lockwood without blinking, his eyes filled with an affection so deep you could drown in it.
Estelle Lockwood suddenly realized that given Nathaniel Sloan’s status and position, he had no need to say such conciliatory, ingratiating words.
When Nathaniel Sloan had arrived, everyone thought she was surely done for.
Her status couldn’t compare to Nathaniel Sloan’s, nor her standing to the Sloan Family’s. Yet she had gone behind his back to party at a club. Caught red-handed by her husband, she was expected to either beg pitifully or break down in tears.
In short, in everyone’s mind, things would definitely not end well for Estelle Lockwood tonight.
But Nathaniel Sloan did none of that. He gave no one the opportunity to mock Estelle Lockwood.
Realizing this, Estelle Lockwood pressed her lips together.
Penelope Sullivan’s eyes darted about. "Manager, put today’s bill on my tab. Let’s all clear out, shall we? It’s just a little spat between husband and wife. Why is everyone standing around gawking?"
Liam Sloan immediately snapped back to his senses. "Right, right! You two have fun!"
The manager, proving how sharp he was, immediately shot a look at the top hosts in the room. In an instant, everyone filed out, leaving only Nathaniel Sloan and Estelle Lockwood behind.
As silence fell, Estelle Lockwood found herself feeling surprisingly uncomfortable being alone with him.
Nathaniel Sloan, however, slowly raised a wine glass. "Mrs. Sloan wishes to drink? I’ll drink with you."
He placed the glass in Estelle Lockwood’s hand.
Estelle Lockwood pursed her lips, remembering Mr. Lynch’s words—to test him, find his limits, and make him back off.
But now, Estelle Lockwood didn’t know what to say.
She pressed her lips together slightly. "I don’t feel like drinking anymore."
Nathaniel Sloan raised an eyebrow, swirling the wine in his glass. "You don’t feel like it anymore? This wine is actually quite good."
Estelle Lockwood looked him straight in the eye. "What are you really doing here?"
’There’s no one else here now. You can tell the truth, can’t you?’
A brief flicker of emotion passed through Nathaniel Sloan’s eyes before he nodded. "I told you. I’m here to learn how to serve people."
Estelle Lockwood’s throat tightened, and she looked away. "Nathaniel Sloan, I’m not joking with you."
"I’m not joking with you, either," Nathaniel Sloan said, his tone calm and unhurried. "Estelle Lockwood, you don’t trust me."
Estelle Lockwood froze.
Nathaniel Sloan’s gaze was gentle, yet it carried an unspoken pressure. "You’re testing me because you don’t trust me."
Estelle Lockwood pressed her lips together tightly and turned her head away. Then, a faint smile touched her lips. "So what if I don’t trust you? Are you making a fuss about this, Mr. Sloan, because you want to remarry me?"
A faint smile on his face, Nathaniel Sloan admitted it frankly. "Yes."
Estelle Lockwood rested her chin on her hand, feigning a thoughtful expression. "Is that so."
Nathaniel Sloan asked, "How was my performance today?"
Estelle Lockwood’s eyes darted. She suddenly stood up, leaving him with a meaningful smile. "You’ll find out in a moment, Mr. Sloan."
Liam Sloan had been standing outside the room, eavesdropping. As he listened, the door suddenly swung open, and he stumbled forward stiffly. "Oof, my bad..."
He watched, wide-eyed, as Estelle Lockwood left, then met his cousin’s unfathomable smile.
Liam Sloan: "..." ’What’s the situation now?’
He swallowed and asked tentatively, "Is it... is it over? Estelle came here to find another man. Aren’t you angry?"
Nathaniel Sloan gave him a casual glance but didn’t answer. Instead, he asked an unrelated question. "Is Ms. Jennings out?"
Liam Sloan’s expression immediately turned serious. As a lawyer, he knew that even if Laura Jennings were innocent, it would be impossible for her to be released so quickly.
It hadn’t even been 24 hours since she was taken to the police station. It was obvious the Sloan Family had been pulling strings.
Liam Sloan nodded. "Grandma, Grandpa, and Dad are all furious, but..."
"...but their anger isn’t directed at Laura Jennings. It’s directed at me."
Nathaniel Sloan coolly finished the thought with a sneer. "Ms. Jennings going to the police station made them lose face. And since I’m the main culprit who sent her there... what is Father’s take on it?"
Liam Sloan couldn’t wrap his head around it. ’The Sloan Family is certifiably insane,’ he thought. "Dad’s point is that you need to get the public opinion under control as soon as possible. Everyone is talking."
’Get the public opinion under control?’ Nathaniel Sloan laughed.
’How could public opinion be controlled now? Why was Laura Jennings so intent on targeting her daughter-in-law? To fix this, the only way would be to smear Estelle Lockwood’s name.’
’For example, they could claim Estelle Lockwood was disrespectful to her elders, that she wasn’t worthy of the Sloan Family, and that’s why Laura Jennings was so enraged.’
’But what did any of this have to do with Estelle Lockwood? The Sloan Family had made its own mess, yet they expected an outsider to take the fall.’
Nathaniel Sloan’s tone was light and nonchalant. "Once something even more humiliating happens, this current embarrassment will seem like nothing."
Liam Sloan’s back stiffened, and he said a silent prayer for Laura Jennings.
’What the hell was his mother even after? She had painstakingly used her son to secure her status and rise up from being the mistress. But even after succeeding, she never learned to rein herself in. When Nathaniel Sloan was a child, Laura Jennings’s hatred for him was palpable. Locking him in the basement and denying him food and water were just her standard operating procedure.’
’Even when Old Mr. Sloan announced that Nathaniel Sloan would one day inherit the Sloan Group, Laura Jennings was the first to leap up in opposition. With her hands on her hips, she shrieked and roared, accusing Nathaniel of being an ’illegitimate son’ who was unworthy of the Sloan family inheritance.’
’...But the only reason Nathaniel was an ’illegitimate son’ was because you, his own mother, were the mistress, wasn’t it?’
’Liam Sloan truly couldn’t understand. Since Laura Jennings had relied on Nathaniel, this ’illegitimate son,’ to secure her position, why wouldn’t she treat him better? Why did she insist on publicizing his status as an illegitimate child to everyone?’
’It made Liam Sloan feel as if Nathaniel wasn’t really an illegitimate child at all, but that his mother was just determined to brand him with that label.’
’But wasn’t she his birth mother? What was her angle?’
...
After returning to Imperial Crest, Estelle Lockwood went to the dining room.
The dishes were still on the table. Estelle Lockwood took a few bites, raising an eyebrow.
She glanced around, found a pen and a notepad on the coffee table, and wrote a large "6/10" on it.
When Nathaniel Sloan returned to Imperial Crest, he saw that the meal had been touched.
He leaned over slightly and immediately saw the notepad.
"It seems my performance today just barely met the passing mark." Nathaniel Sloan suddenly smiled and slowly wrote a sentence on the paper.
Liam Sloan’s mind was consumed with how good the food smelled and how hungry he was. Hearing Nathaniel Sloan’s words, he turned to look. "?" ’6/10? A passing grade?’
’But Nathaniel,’ he thought, ’how do you know Estelle was grading you out of ten, and not a hundred?’
...
「The next morning.」
After dropping her three children off at kindergarten, Estelle Lockwood returned to Star Group to begin work on the acquisition of the Lockwood Group.
At ten in the morning, however, Estelle Lockwood received a call from the kindergarten on her cell phone.
"Mrs. Sloan, someone from the Sloan Family just came and picked up your three children. Mia asked us to call you!"
Estelle Lockwood’s eyes darkened. ’The Sloan Family?!’