Chapter 4

Sam was one of the very few people who was aware of Estelle and Nathaniel's relationship, and Nathaniel trusted him a lot.

Even the sapphire tie clip fixed on Sam's tie was actually the birthday gift Estelle had carefully picked out and given Nathaniel recently.

The sapphire's smooth surface reflected the news that was shown on the huge TV screen behind Estelle at the moment.

"The up-and-coming jewelry designer, Lynette Jefferson, will be attending a jewelry show next month with Nathaniel Lockhart, the CEO of Lockhart Group. Some say the two may be tying the knot soon."

"Estelle!"

While Estelle was momentarily distracted, Nicole, who finally caught up with her, snatched away the envelope she was holding.

"What is it you're trying to do? Are you going to trick Nate and claim that you came up with the designs by showing him your childish, silly doodles? Do you think he'll buy it?"

Estelle regained her composure as she took in the flustered look on Nicole's face. "Why do you look so anxious if you think he's not going to buy it?"

"Who are you calling anxious? You're just doing this to gain Nate's attention. Do you seriously think Nate will believe what you tell him?"

"About that, won't you know once you've seen what's in the envelope?"

Nicole felt that something was off when she noticed how Estelle remained calm and composed. She opened the envelope and took a look inside.

She froze the next instant.

"A divorce agreement? Am I seeing this right? There's no way Estelle would ask Nate for a divorce…" Nicole pondered.

Anyhow, it didn't really matter to her what was inside the envelope as long as they weren't Estelle's design sketches.

Nicole shoved the envelope into Sam's hands and gazed at Estelle with a smirk on her face.

"Is this a new trick you're pulling? I'm warning you. Don't waste your time doing something like this. You're only going to regret it if Nate finds you annoying and decides not to go home."

"Say whatever you want." Estelle had no desire to quarrel with Nicole.

She directed her gaze at Sam. "Tell him to sign the document as soon as possible. I'll be waiting for the news from him."

After saying that, she turned around and walked away.

Nicole was livid. "What? Are you trying to involve Sam in your stupid trick as well? Sam will be the one who gets a harsh scolding if Nate gets upset over what you did. How could you be so mean!"

Estelle didn't spare her another glance, no matter how loudly Nicole shouted.

Nicole stamped her foot in frustration and quickly hurried after Estelle.

Sam looked at the envelope in his hand and recalled what Nicole said earlier.

In the past few years, Estelle had pulled various stunts trying to catch Nathaniel's attention.

Nathaniel had been a little busy these days helping out with Lynette's affairs. Sam might risk losing his job if he were to bother Nathaniel over Estelle's flimsy attempt to gain his attention.

Eventually, Sam snickered and tossed the envelope into one of his desk drawers.

Sam reckoned he should give Nathaniel the envelope once the latter was done handling matters related to Lynette and when he was in a good mood.

Even if he didn't pass the envelope to Nathaniel, Sam was certain Estelle would surely come up with a new approach when she didn't receive any response from Nathaniel. He was absolutely positive the document in the envelope didn't really matter that much.

After exiting Lockhart Group's building, Estelle was about to hail a cab when an impatient Nicole grabbed onto Estelle's arm tightly.

"Give me the design sketches, and I'll help say some nice things about you when I see Nate."

Her long, diamond-studded nails dug into Estelle's arm, where one of her wounds was. Estelle had a flashback to the day after she got married.

Back then, Nicole had clung to her arm and pleaded for Estelle's help with fixing the sketches she had drawn for her graduation project.

She would call her name endearingly at the time. Yet, now…

"I don't need your help with that anymore."

Estelle pried Nicole's hand off, showing the latter a faint mark around the base of her ring finger.

"Once Nathaniel has signed the divorce agreement, I will no longer be related to anyone from the Lockhart family."

Nicole never imagined she would hear those words coming out of Estelle's mouth. Her face grew pale as she thought about how the deadline for the competition was drawing near.

"Estelle, you really need to know when to stop. I'm going to ask Nate to divorce you right away if you become the reason why I can't make it to join the competition!"

Nicole wasn't convinced in the slightest that Estelle would have the guts to request a divorce.

There was still time left before they closed submissions for the competition. Nicole believed that Estelle would definitely deliver the completed design sketches to her by tonight after hearing what she just said.

Similar situations had happened before. Whenever Nathaniel gave her the cold shoulder, Estelle would grovel and try her best to please Nathaniel's family members, hoping that they would help her regain his favor.

However, none of those people actually said anything to Nathaniel. Nathaniel couldn't be bothered with things like that either.

Still, the divorce agreement Estelle had prepared reminded Nicole of something else.

Nathaniel might actually divorce Estelle and marry Lynette in the near future. In that case, Nicole wondered whether she should ask Estelle for more design sketches now, in preparation for that scenario.

Nicole knew for a fact that Estelle would never agree to the divorce so easily. Even if she and Nathaniel really got divorced, Nicole was certain Estelle would be willing to provide her with the design sketches if she needed them.

Still, Nicole reckoned it would be safer for her to save up some sketches first, just in case Estelle started making a fuss because of the divorce.

She just needed to have at least one of those sketches as a spare during the first three days after Estelle and Nathaniel's divorce.

It was very likely that Estelle would come to Nicole for help on the first day. At that time, Estelle would have no choice but to swallow her pride and draw as many design sketches as Nicole wanted.

Nicole felt much more reassured at the thought of that. She turned around and walked away as she decided to just wait for Estelle to come and beg for her help.

After leaving Lockhart Group's building, Estelle went shopping for daily necessities and items she might need for her designer work.

When she reached home and put everything away, Estelle started going through her creations from recent years.

She could hardly believe that she had come up with those designs, which looked rather dull and lifeless.

Most of these works were made so that Nicole could use them for her work. Moreover, Estelle had to manage the household, so she didn't really put much effort into drawing these design sketches.

Even though there was nothing wrong with these designs, there was also nothing particularly interesting or fascinating about them.

Estelle hadn't realized it before. Upon a closer look, she noticed that her creativity was gradually depleting.

She put down those design sketches and dialed a number.

"I want an invitation to the jewelry show happening next month."

After a short pause, a man's emotionless voice came down the line.

"Are you sure about it? You wouldn't listen to me, no matter how many times I tried to persuade you previously. What made you change your mind?"

In Bruniera, jewelry shows were held every year. Due to rapid economic development in their country over the past two decades, more and more parties have been joining the jewelry show.

The number of booths had increased from the hundreds to thousands, earning Bruniera jewelry shows global recognition.

That was also why numerous famous jewelry designers would try to submit their best work in hopes of having it exhibited at jewelry shows.

As for budding designers, even if their work wasn't included in the exhibition, they would still want to attend the event to find new inspiration.

Estelle was completely different from those designers. During the past few years, she would claim she was busy taking care of her husband and daughter. She refused to meet up, even after the invitations to these jewelry shows were delivered to her house.

Yet suddenly, she was saying she wanted to attend the event?

"Back then, my mind wasn't working properly. Now, it's finally returned to normal. It's time I come to my senses."

There was no reply from the other person. After a while, that person ended the call.

Still, Estelle could tell that he had agreed to her request. She smiled faintly and put down her phone.

Actually, Estelle hadn't told that person about her decision, but she had made up her mind to return to the industry.