Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Nathaniel Sloan Protects His Wife, Questions Noelle Lockwood

Noelle Lockwood’s expression froze.

’Nathaniel saw... How much did he see?!’

Noelle Lockwood felt a cold sweat break out on her back. Nathaniel Sloan’s gaze was like a knife, piercing right through people, and she trembled involuntarily.

She put on a surprised expression and forced the words out through clenched teeth, "Nathaniel... I didn’t understand the whole story just now. I didn’t realize it was actually Vivian’s fault. I was just trying to smooth things over..."

"Miss Lockwood’s idea of ’smoothing things over’ is to push the blame onto me, make me compensate and apologize, while you and Vivian Lowell remain completely innocent?"

Estelle Lockwood interrupted sarcastically and turned to the store manager. "A piece by the designer ’Ken’ worth a hundred million was on display in your store. Now that it’s damaged, shouldn’t there be compensation?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

As if waking from a dream, the store manager’s face went pale. He whirled to face Vivian Lowell. "Yes, compensation! This piece was the culmination of two years of work by designer ’Ken,’ with an auction price of one hundred and five million!"

Estelle Lockwood nodded. "Vivian Lowell, pay up."

When Vivian Lowell heard the amount, she was completely dumbfounded.

Her Lowell Family only managed to get a few small favors by relying on the Lockwood Family; they only owned one modest-sized company.

Coming up with ten million at once was already an astronomical sum for Vivian Lowell, so where was she supposed to get a hundred million? Her legs would be broken!

Vivian Lowell instinctively looked toward Noelle Lockwood. "Noelle, you have to help me..."

In her heart, Noelle Lockwood cursed Estelle Lockwood hundreds of times, but her face remained the picture of delicate weakness, her eyes brimming with tears. "Nathaniel... That’s too much money. How could Vivian possibly afford to pay it all at once? Could you help Vivian? Ask Yara for mercy..."

"Miss Lockwood might have misunderstood something. This is designer ’Ken’s’ work. What’s the use of asking me for mercy?"

Estelle Lockwood sneered, "Don’t tell me you expect me to front the one hundred and five million for you?"

Noelle Lockwood’s face paled slightly. She wept beautifully, as if to show just how unreasonable and unforgiving Estelle Lockwood was being.

"Yara, I was trying to discuss a solution with you properly. Please don’t be so prickly, like a hedgehog. This is a huge amount of money; even if I tried to gather it now, I couldn’t get it together in time. I’m not asking for your sympathy, but Yara, could you please not kick me when I’m down...?"

Estelle Lockwood’s expression darkened.

Before she could speak, Nathaniel Sloan suddenly turned his head, his gaze as sharp as a blade, cold and merciless.

"What are your intentions in begging her?"

Noelle Lockwood froze, tears welling in her eyes, threatening to fall.

Nathaniel Sloan’s voice was icy. "The wedding dress is designer ’Ken’s’ work. Vivian Lowell damaged it. What does that have to do with Yara Lockwood? You cry and beg for her forgiveness, and then what? So what if she forgives you? Will that let you off the hook for the hundred-million-dollar compensation?"

Noelle Lockwood felt things spiraling out of her control. Her voice trembled.

"Nathaniel, that’s not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?" Nathaniel Sloan’s expression was still calm. "First you beg her, wait for her to refuse, and then you cry and say she’s vicious and cruel for not accepting your apology and refusing to forgive you?"

"But from start to finish, what does this have to do with Yara Lockwood?"

Nathaniel Sloan’s tone was so cold that even the guests nearby noticed something was wrong.

’This...’

’Wasn’t Noelle Lockwood supposed to be Nathaniel Sloan’s fiancée?’

’Even if Noelle Lockwood and Vivian Lowell were in the wrong today, surely Mr. Sloan wouldn’t get this angry, right?’

’But Mr. Sloan had a point.’

’Vivian Lowell was the one who suddenly rushed over to insult Yara Lockwood, and Vivian Lowell was the one who tried to hit her and ended up ruining the wedding dress.’

’What did it have to do with Yara Lockwood? And if it had nothing to do with her, why beg her for anything?’

Henry Kendrick’s gaze darted back and forth between Nathaniel Sloan and Noelle Lockwood. He clicked his tongue.

Noelle Lockwood noticed the strange looks from the people around them. With a trembling voice and a deathly pale face, she hurriedly tried to explain.

"Nathaniel, it’s not... I just heard that designer ’Ken’ is also one of the Kendricks, and Yara has a close relationship with the Kendrick Family, so-so I was hoping to ask Yara to do it for my sake..."

Nathaniel Sloan cut her off coolly. "And why should she do it for your sake? Is your ’sake’ so valuable? Can it cancel out a hundred-million-dollar compensation?"

"Even if she does have a close relationship with the Kendrick Family, why would she put in a good word for you? You and Vivian Lowell have been targeting her at every turn, yet you expect her to use up her own social capital to get you out of that hundred-million-dollar payment."

Showing no mercy whatsoever, Nathaniel Sloan lifted his eyes and challenged, "Do you take her for a living saint?"

Noelle Lockwood’s nails dug into her flesh!

Estelle Lockwood was a little surprised. She hadn’t expected Nathaniel Sloan to say that.

’Five years ago, this man would have defended Noelle Lockwood in everything. If this had happened back then, Nathaniel Sloan would have probably smoothed things over, or even asked me to plead with the Kendrick Family on their behalf!’

’Come to think of it, she really had done that sort of thing many times before.’

’Once, the matriarch of a prominent family had been very fond of her perfume, but then Noelle Lockwood offended the old woman, and the Lockwood Family had made her go and plead for forgiveness.’

’She had used her own connections to win forgiveness for Noelle Lockwood, yet everyone acted as if it was her duty, even praising Noelle for being lucky enough to turn a crisis into a minor issue.’

’Heh... Back then, wasn’t she just a living saint!’

’Now, she no longer wanted to be a living saint. She didn’t want to sacrifice herself for others, didn’t want to devote herself selflessly to the Lockwood Family, only to be bled dry by Noelle Lockwood.’

’And now that she’d stopped, every single one of them was unhappy about it.’

Noelle Lockwood was about to faint, her smile on the verge of collapsing.

"That’s not what I meant. I just think that if this blows up, it won’t do Yara any good either. What if word gets out that Yara is unreasonable even when she’s in the right..."

"Since she is in the right, what does it matter if she’s unreasonable?"

After saying this, Nathaniel Sloan made a ’go ahead’ gesture toward Henry Kendrick, indicating that he could proceed with collecting the compensation and that he would not interfere.

Henry Kendrick nearly applauded the ex-husband.

’That was just too satisfying!’

Estelle Lockwood pressed her lips together, her feelings a complicated mix.

’Nathaniel Sloan really has changed so much. The man he used to be would never...’

’No, why am I thinking so much about this? Even if Nathaniel Sloan has changed, it has nothing to do with me.’

Henry Kendrick had already stepped forward, asking leisurely, "Miss Lowell, one hundred and five million. Card or check?"

Vivian Lowell finally snapped out of her shock, trembling in disbelief. "No... no! It’s just a wedding dress! Yara, you could obviously help me! Why won’t you? How can you be so heartless!"

Henry Kendrick couldn’t be bothered with nonsense. "No money to compensate, is that it? Call the police. One hundred and five million. Vivian Lowell, get ready for prison. You can get out when you pay up."

"AH, NO!!" Vivian Lowell completely panicked. "Noelle, Noelle, help me! I did all of this for you!"

Noelle Lockwood kept her head down, hiding behind a bodyguard as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

’Idiot! She messes up and now she’s trying to drag me down with her! What a useless thing!’

After Vivian Lowell was dragged away, Nathaniel Sloan walked up to Estelle Lockwood and asked in a hoarse voice:

"Still mad? Can you take me off your blocklist now?"