Chapter 20 Stop Looking for Me
Estella pulled Jonathan outside.
Finished
By coincidence, there was a display case in front of the store, showcasing several handcrafted artworks designed by a master.
Naomi headed straight toward Estella, crashing into her.
Jonathan moved quickly and pulled her aside, preventing Naomi from colliding with her.
But Naomi wasn’t as lucky.
She slammed into the display case.
The artworks on top immediately toppled over and shattered into pieces.
She also bumped her forehead, leaving a large bump.
Naomi’s best friend rushed over to help her up. “Naomi, are you okay?”
A staff member hurried out, looking anxious. A staff member rushed out, her face filled with anxiety. “These are all extremely valuable artworks!”
Afraid of paying for the damage, Naomi pointed at Estella. “She pushed me, and that’s why I accidentally crashed into the display. She should pay for it!”
Nathaniel happened to walk by at that moment.
He saw Naomi fall and heard her accusation. Without hesitation, he scolded Estella. “Look at what you’ve done! How could you hurt Naomi? Apologize to her!”
Estella didn’t even glance at him, pointing at the security camera at the door. “Mr. Hartwell, if you’re not blind, we can check the footage.”
The staff member retrieved the footage, showing that Naomi had deliberately crashed into the display.
Nathaniel was left speechless.
The staff member spoke up at the right moment. “The total value of these artworks is 700,000 dollars. Ms. Naomi, will you be paying with a card?”
Naomi looked at Nathaniel with a wronged expression.
Nathaniel could only pull out his card and hand it to the staff.
Seeing Nathaniel lose so much money made Estella feel quite pleased. She pulled Jonathan away.
Jonathan glanced at Nathaniel, his dark eyes flashing with something unreadable, before following Estella out.
Estella said to Jonathan, “I didn’t find anything I liked in this store. Let’s check other stores.”
Jonathan replied, “We don’t need to buy a dress. I have a friend in Parsille. I’ll have him airlift a dress over.”
Estella was surprised by his connections and wealth. “Mr. Bennett, you really don’t need to go through all that trouble.”
Jonathan, however, insisted, “You promised to accompany me to the banquet. This is something I should do. Let’s go look at shoes and jewelry.”
After Nathaniel paid the bill and scolded Naomi, he came out looking for Estella.
He searched around and finally found her in a shoe store.
He saw the man who had been with Estella earlier, bending down to help her try on shoes, their interaction quite intimate.
Nathaniel immediately felt as if everything that belonged to him was being taken away.
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Chapter 20 Stop Looking for Me
He was furious and rushed toward Jonathan, attempting to push him aside.
But before he could touch Jonathan, Jonathan had already noticed his movement.
Finished
He stood up and sidestepped, causing Nathaniel to stumble and nearly fall. When he turned around, he saw Jonathan’s cold, dark gaze, and a chill ran down his spine.
Jonathan coldly spoke, “Mr. Hartwell, if you’re legally ignorant, I don’t mind enlightening you. Article 231 of the Criminal Code states that intentional harm to another person’s body can result in imprisonment for up to three years, detention, or supervision. While your sister’s and your actions were an attempted crime, you still bear criminal responsibility.”
Nathaniel hadn’t expected Estella’s boyfriend to be so eloquent.
Seeing Estella’s indifferent expression, showing no intention of speaking up for him, he angrily said. “He slanders me, and you won’t speak up for me?”
The Estella from before wasn’t like this.
When his legs were still healing, if a servant at Hartwell Mansion said anything unpleasant, Estella would immediately defend him him without hesitation.
Back then. Estella couldn’t bear to see him suffer even the slightest injustice.
Now, she had changed.
Estella gave him a confused look. “Mr. Bennett is stating the facts. What’s the problem?”
Nathaniel was taken aback and immediately couldn’t find anything to say.
He glared at Estella, his eyes burning with frustration. “I have something to say to you.”
Estella knew that if she didn’t clarify things with him today, he would continue to pester her.
She turned to Jonathan. “I’ll talk to him alone. Please wait for me here.”
Jonathan gave Nathaniel a cold, lingering glance but didn’t speak, silently agreeing.
Estella and Jonathan exited the shoe store and stood by the door.
“Say what you need to say,” Estella said, her tone somewhat impatient.
Nathaniel looked at her, cold and indifferent, and for some reason, a tight, uncomfortable feeling filled his chest.
He thought Estella was just throwing a tantrum, that once she calmed down, she would eventually return to his side.
He never imagined that Estella was truly planning to leave. But he still couldn’t accept this reality.
He ruffled his hair and softened his tone. “Estella, during the time you’ve been gone, I’ve realized I can’t live without you…”
Estella interrupted him. “Mr. Hartwell, don’t tell me you suddenly discovered that you love me and can’t live without me. Don’t say things even you don’t believe. You don’t care about me. You care about having me as a hardworking, cheap, and obedient maid.”
“Estella, do you have to talk to me like this? In these three years, aside from not being romantic, what have I done wrong to you?”
His bluntness made Estella laugh in anger.
She looked at him with the detached gaze she reserved for strangers. “You care about me? Well, let me ask you some questions, Nathaniel. Do you remember when my birthday is? What do I like to eat? What am I allergic to? Do you know any of these things? Have you ever cared?”
Faced with Estella’s questioning, Nathaniel couldn’t speak. It felt as though his heart was being tightly gripped by a large hand, making it hard to breathe.
Estella’s tone grew colder. “You’ve never given anything for me, so how can you say you care? Nathaniel, don’t come looking
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Chapter 20 Stop Looking for Me
for me again. I don’t want to see you anymore.”
Finished
She tried to leave, but Nathaniel grabbed her hand. “If you want me to care about you, why didn’t you say so? If you had, I would have tried to care…”
Estella almost instinctively pulled her hand away from him.
She took a wet wipe from her bag and carefully wiped her hand, which he had held, clean, then threw the wipe into the nearby trash can.
The sight of this stung Nathaniel’s eyes.
Does Estella really hate and despise me this much? No, that can’t be right. She wasn’t like this before.
“Does it matter if I said it? Did you ever care? You only love yourself, Nathaniel. You and Isabelle make a perfect match. Please, tie the knot, and stop ruining my life, okay?”
“Estella, you’ve misunderstood. I never thought about marrying Isabelle. Estella, the position of Mrs. Hartwell will always be
yours.”
Estella felt like it was impossible to communicate with him.
“Whether you want to marry Isabelle or not, it’s none of my concern. I won’t go back to being your wife. I just want to live a peaceful life. I hope you won’t bother me again.”
Estella wanted to leave. Even speaking one more word to Nathaniel felt disgusting to her.
At that moment, Nathaniel’s phone rang.
Nathaniel answered. It was Isabelle.
Her voice sounded helpless. “Nate, I came to visit Madam Madeline, but she’s been really cold toward me and even spilled the soup I made. I honestly don’t know what to do.”
Nathaniel, who would usually feel sorry for Isabelle’s tears, now felt irritated.
“My mom doesn’t want to see you, so don’t go. Just head back for now.”
Isabelle sensed his impatience. Though she felt uncomfortable, she obediently replied, “I understand. I’ll head back now,
Nate.”
After hanging up with Isabelle, Nathaniel wearily turned to Estella. “Mom’s sick. She used to treat you so well. Could you go visit her? I remember she used to love the fish chowder you made. Could you…”
“No.”
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