Chapter 378: The Upper Hand is Now with Estelle Lockwood

Chapter 378: Chapter 378: The Upper Hand is Now with Estelle Lockwood

Why was Nathaniel Sloan so confident?

Even if he wagered all his shares, could Estelle Lockwood actually win?

Could it be... could it be...

A jolt went through Evan Yeats’s mind. Did Estelle actually possess exceptional equestrian skills? Was she confident she could beat Claire?

This was the closest Evan ever got to the truth. But then he noticed Liam Sloan’s disapproving expression. Liam looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, finally uttering, "Nathaniel..."

Nathaniel shot him a cold glance, and Liam immediately shut his mouth.

Evan’s eyes lit up. What did this mean? Did Liam disagree? Did he think Estelle would lose? But Mr. Sloan’s behavior was just too bizarre...

"Mr. Sloan, those are shares of Evernight International. Are... are you really treating this like a child’s game just for Estelle?"

Claire’s face was covered in tears. "Estelle, please talk Mr. Sloan out of this. We won’t compete. There’s really no need for this. If others find out that he just gave away seven percent of his shares for nothing just to back you up, your reputation..."

"Mr. Sloan, Estelle definitely understands your good intentions. How about we just drop it?"

Unfortunately, despite her lengthy pleas, neither husband nor wife paid her any mind.

Tears rolled down Claire’s cheeks, making her look like the only person who actually cared about Nathaniel. "Estelle, you really are... acting too recklessly..."

Evan seemed to understand. So Nathaniel was just trying to back Estelle up. It made sense. Their side had kept raising the stakes, and as Estelle’s husband, Nathaniel surely wanted to help her vent her frustration.

It was just a pity that he had severely overestimated Estelle’s actual abilities. That seven percent of shares was definitely going down the drain.

If Evan could obtain shares in Evernight International without shedding a single drop of blood, he would secure an even firmer foothold in the Yeats Group. Those old fogeys would finally realize how much more outstanding he was compared to Quentin.

Evan’s eyes darted around as an idea formed. "Miss Lockwood, if you ride this horse, I’ll add another five percent of shares from the Branch of Yeats Group. How about it?"

Since things had come to this, he might as well go big! Estelle was destined to lose anyway, so why not make himself look generous in the process?

Estelle curled her lips into a smile and glanced at Mrs. Yeats, who was standing not far away.

Mrs. Yeats stood there with her head bowed. No one could see her expression, and naturally, no one knew what she was thinking. Sensing Estelle’s gaze, Mrs. Yeats looked up and gave her a slight nod.

Estelle found the situation even more amusing. If she wasn’t mistaken, Mrs. Yeats knew she could ride, yet she was watching quietly as Estelle set a trap for her "son."

Oh... well, Mrs. Yeats did mention that Evan wasn’t her biological son.

As they spoke, Estelle walked over to the large brown horse.

Claire also picked out a horse and led it over. Hearing Evan’s wager, she seemed eager to offer a few more words of advice to show off her magnanimity. "Estelle... there’s really no need to act out of a moment of anger..."

The wealthy young heirs were all waiting to see Estelle make a fool of herself. Hearing Claire’s words, they burst into mocking laughter.

"Claire, you’re just too kindhearted."

"Exactly. She mocked you herself, so she deserves to end up like this."

"I just feel bad for Mr. Sloan. Marrying such a brainless woman... sigh, how pitiful."

"She’s completely humiliated Mr. Sloan! I just don’t understand what Mr. Sloan sees in her."

Estelle laughed silently. "Yes, everything you all say is absolutely right.

"Even though the person who stole my horse was Claire, the one who mocked my riding skills was Claire, and the one who proposed the race was Claire... it must all be my fault."

Everyone fell silent.

The venue quieted down, descending into a dead silence. The onlookers were seemingly choked by her words. Now that they thought about it... yeah... it was true.

Estelle ignored their stares. Grabbing the reins, she was just about to mount the horse when she suddenly thought of something. "Evan."

Evan furrowed his brows. "What is it?"

"When Nathaniel offered to raise the stakes, did you hesitate for a moment? Did you think that Nathaniel must have been so confident because he knew I could win?"

Evan swallowed hard. "You..."

"But then, after hearing Claire’s words, you thought Nathaniel was merely backing me up to save face. You convinced yourself that I still didn’t know how to ride, and that I wouldn’t even be able to get on this horse.

"You assumed that since Claire couldn’t tame this horse, I wouldn’t be able to either, let alone win the race."

Estelle let out a soft chuckle.

"But what if I told you...

"The reason Claire couldn’t tame it was simply because her mounting technique was wrong? Her posture was incorrect and she hurt the horse, so naturally, the horse threw her off.

"And it’s not just this horse. It’ll be the same for all the others."

Finally, Estelle delivered the killing blow with a leisurely drawl. "So, I don’t even need to be a great rider. As long as I can get on the horse, no matter how slow I go, I’m guaranteed to win.

"After all, Miss Claire can’t even get on a horse."

The moment she finished speaking, a sharp "AH!" from Claire immediately echoed nearby! She had actually fallen off another horse again!

Evan finally seemed to realize that something was terribly wrong. Estelle was far too calm... why was she so composed? His own feigned composure was shredded in an instant. No, this wasn’t right!

At that moment, Estelle had already trotted her horse over to Claire’s side. She sat gracefully, speaking at a leisurely pace. "Why haven’t you mounted your horse yet, Miss Yeats? We still have a race to run... Or should I wait for you?"

The chorus of compliments from moments ago vanished instantly. Everyone stared at Claire in stunned disbelief.

Two minutes ago, when the wealthy young men were still mocking Estelle, Claire had worn a helpless expression as she said, "Don’t be like that, guys. Estelle is just stubborn and wants to save face. Sigh... I’m not really going to do anything to her. Taking those shares is just to teach her a lesson so she remembers it next time."

Two minutes later, Estelle was calmly sitting on her horse nearby, while Claire kept falling off hers over and over again.

This was the true definition of embarrassment.

"I..." Claire’s face turned red, then white. She glared at Estelle with eyes wide enough to split, never having expected that Estelle would actually be able to get on that horse!

She sensed that something was off and instinctively wanted to give up.

"Miss Yeats, are we still racing?" Estelle asked with feigned understanding. "It’s fine if you don’t want to. It’s just that others might say you’re arrogant and a coward who ran away at the last minute. They’ll say you clearly didn’t know how to ride, yet you still looked down on others, and even dragged Evan into losing seven percent of his shares. Not to mention these young masters who threw away tens of millions just for you.

"Oh my, all those funds are resting entirely on your shoulders.

"Of course, you can choose not to compete just to save face. Even though I didn’t want to join this race and you were the ones who forced me into it, it makes perfect sense for you to force me to quit after forcing me to join. After all, as the eldest daughter of the Yeats family, it’s completely acceptable for you to be unreasonable.

"It’s just that there are a lot of people here today. If word of this gets out, I can’t say for sure what the Yeats family will think."

Having said her piece, Estelle smiled radiantly and asked, "So, Miss Yeats, shall we continue the race?"