Chapter 407: You’re Right About One Thing

Chapter 407: Chapter 407: You’re Right About One Thing

Everyone subconsciously turned around. Sure enough, it was Mr. Sloan!

Nathaniel stood behind Estelle, his eyes devoid of any emotion. The way he looked at Thea was as if he were looking at a dead person.

Then, he calmly shifted his gaze to the gown and asked evenly, "When the custom order was placed, it was explicitly stated that the gown was for Mrs. Sloan. Who took it upon themselves to decide otherwise?"

The sales assistant was so terrified that her legs gave out, and she fell to the ground with a THUD. She couldn’t help but look at Thea. "Miss... Miss York..."

Thea gritted her teeth, her heart in a state of utter panic. She didn’t understand what was going on with Nathaniel! Didn’t Chairman Sloan say he could persuade Nathaniel, and that Nathaniel had already agreed to divorce Estelle?

She wondered why everything was completely different from what she had imagined.

Nathaniel cast a glance at Thea, a faint, mocking smile on his lips. He finally understood where her so-called "confidence" came from.

Half an hour ago.

Nathaniel had notified Estelle to come and try on the gown, and then he fetched a set of jewelry for her to try on with it. But Evernight International received an uninvited guest.

After all, Ethan was still nominally his "father," so the receptionist didn’t dare stop him.

"Do you need something?" Nathaniel didn’t even look up.

Ethan was furious, nearly falling over backward from anger. "Is this how you treat your father?!"

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. "Did Chairman Sloan come here today just to remind me of your identity? Well, there’s no need. I don’t have dementia yet. I don’t call you ’father’ simply because I don’t want to."

Ethan grew even angrier. However, thinking of his purpose for coming today, he suppressed his rage.

"Nathaniel, we are father and son, after all. There is no lingering animosity between us. Everything I do is for your own good!" Ethan tried to persuade him earnestly. "Look at what Estelle has done! She schemed against the Yeats family for her own selfish gains. What if Old Mr. Yeats comes looking for her to settle the score? Wouldn’t that drag you down with her? Even though you’re just my illegitimate son, I still can’t bear to see you held back by a woman like Estelle!"

"If you’re just here to spout nonsense, get out," Nathaniel said calmly.

"You..." Ethan choked on his words, then cut straight to the chase. "I came to advise you that Estelle is a restless troublemaker! You liked her before, and we tolerated it, but now you need to focus on the big picture! Estelle really isn’t suitable for you!"

Nathaniel looked up with a half-smile. "Then who is?"

"Naturally, only Thea is fit to be Mrs. Sloan!" Ethan raised his chin high. "She comes from a wealthy family and won’t embarrass you. She’s also highly capable and can be a great help to you. Most importantly, she knows her place and won’t go around offending people. Only someone like her is qualified to be Mrs. Sloan!"

"Is that so... Since you think she’s so wonderful..." Nathaniel pondered for a moment, making Ethan feel a glimmer of hope. Then, he heard Nathaniel add, "Then you have my blessing.

"Even though you’ve married one woman after another, Chairman Sloan, it’s not entirely incomprehensible if you’ve taken a fancy to Thea York. I just wonder if Ms. Jennings will be able to accept it?"

Ethan was completely stunned. He thought about it for two seconds before he finally reacted, almost choking on his own breath. "You... you unfilial son! Not me! You! You are the one who should marry Thea!"

"Seeing how much you care, I thought you had your eye on her." Nathaniel didn’t even bat an eyelid. "I didn’t expect Chairman Sloan to stoop to pimping for his own son."

"You... what kind of nonsense is that?! Thea is sincere toward you! Anyway, I don’t care. I’ve already announced to the public that Thea will be your date at the Evernight International annual gala. If you don’t show her some respect, just wait and see!"

Nathaniel smiled faintly, his light gray eyes as cold as a deep, freezing pool. "Chairman Sloan, you seem to be afraid. Why are you so afraid of me being with Estelle?"

Ethan shuddered involuntarily. He seemed to finally remember a saying—the more you speak, the more mistakes you make. Thus, he immediately shut his mouth and brought over an insulated food container.

"If you don’t listen to me, you’ll pay the price sooner or later! Forget it, forget it. You won’t listen to anything I say anyway. This is... I specifically had someone brew this health-nourishing soup for you. Just appreciate my good intentions and have a few sips."

Ethan personally took out the bowl and spoon, looking as though he wouldn’t leave until he watched Nathaniel drink it with his own eyes.

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. Did Ethan think he was a fool? The man’s intentions were so glaringly obvious that he naturally wouldn’t drink a drop. Nathaniel merely put on an act, using a simple sleight of hand to deceive Ethan. Once the man left, his expression instantly turned ice-cold.

"Luke, have Zane check this soup."

"Yes, sir."

Back in the present.

Ethan’s behavior had been abnormal, but Thea’s behavior was even more so. Both of them assumed he would choose to abandon Estelle and pick Thea instead. Ethan had been somewhat tactful about it, but Thea practically had ’successfully usurped the position’ written all over her face.

Therefore, Nathaniel could only conclude that there was a problem with the soup. Or perhaps, someone else had given Thea and Ethan this kind of confidence?

Mr. Carter, the store manager, hurried over upon hearing the news. Their studio was a subsidiary of Evernight International, so under Nathaniel’s questioning, he didn’t even dare to raise his head. He was in a complete panic, blinking frantically at Thea.

"Mr. Sloan, we... we... we were just...

"It might... it might have been a mistake. We didn’t hear your instructions clearly at the time, which is why... why we neglected Mrs. Sloan. This... we really didn’t do it on purpose!"

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. "You didn’t hear clearly? Neglected? I recall stating quite clearly that the gown was for Mrs. Sloan. Tell me, Mr. Carter, how many Mrs. Sloans do you think I have?"

"Well, I..." Mr. Carter’s eyes darted around shiftily, feeling bewildered inwardly. He wondered why Nathaniel was questioning him. Thea had spoken with such absolute certainty. Chairman Sloan and Mrs. Sloan had also insisted that the woman Mr. Sloan truly loved was Miss York, and that he would do anything for her. They claimed his current relationship with Estelle was nothing but a sham—just putting on a show for the public. So why was Mr. Sloan grilling him like this?

Suddenly, Mr. Carter thought he had it all figured out. It must be because Estelle was still here, so Mr. Sloan couldn’t afford to show too much favoritism!

"Mrs. Sloan, please forgive us, please forgive us," Mr. Carter pleaded with Estelle. "We didn’t think too much of it at the time, and we misheard the instructions. You are a magnanimous person, so surely you won’t make things difficult for us, right?"

Thea also shook her head tearfully. "So it was just a misunderstanding. I’m sorry, Estelle, I didn’t know this was your gown. Everyone said it was a gift from Nathaniel to me, so I... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I was just being overly presumptuous."

Seeing that Thea had spoken up, Mr. Carter figured the matter was settled and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Now that the item has been returned to its rightful owner, isn’t everything fine? Mrs. Sloan, we... we still have a business to run here. Wouldn’t it look bad if you blew such a trivial matter out of proportion?"

Estelle couldn’t help but laugh. Did they think she couldn’t understand what they were implying? It was glaringly obvious that Thea had stolen her gown, yet somehow, after Thea spun her little tale, Estelle was the one who looked petty and vindictive.

She was just about to speak when she saw Nathaniel suddenly look up. He stared intently at Thea and gave a slow nod.

"There is one thing you said that is absolutely correct."