Chapter 7

Nicole was absolutely certain of it. After all, during the past few years, Estelle would avoid pretty much anything they told her that Nathaniel didn't like, no matter how trivial or insignificant it might be.

"Then, you should—"

Nicole cut her off impatiently when Estelle had only said a few words. "Enough. I shouldn't be wasting my time talking to you here. My friend is waiting for me."

Estelle followed her gaze and spotted a lady, around the same age as Nicole, sitting at a table not too far away. She was gazing in their direction.

Before she walked over to that table, Nicole lowered her voice and said, "You have three days to hand over the design sketches. Otherwise, I'll tell Nate about what happened today."

After saying that, Nicole headed to where her friend was without even pausing to hear Estelle's response.

After Nicole sat down, the lady glanced at Estelle and asked, "Nicole, do you know that person? Why didn't you invite her to join us?"

"I know her, but she's just an acquaintance. It's alright since we've already greeted each other."

Estelle paused as she was reaching for her bag.

They were just acquaintances?

She was brazen enough to say something like that after having taken countless design sketches from Estelle ever since her final year in college.

On second thought, it was understandable why Nicole said that. There was no way Nicole would acknowledge Estelle as her sister-in-law when Nathaniel did not even acknowledge Estelle as his wife.

The old her might have gotten really upset because of an incident like this. However, Estelle remained completely unfazed by what had just happened.

She had decided to stop trying to earn the favors of those who clearly treated her with scorn.

Estelle eventually left the coffee shop without the slightest hint of hesitation. On the other hand, the lady sitting opposite Nicole was still staring in the direction Estelle had walked off to.

"Jenny, what's wrong?"

Nicole felt a little uneasy. Could it be that Estelle had accidentally revealed to others that she was Nathaniel's wife?

Suppose people were to find out that Nathaniel's wife was an ordinary housewife and a fool who only cared about winning her husband's favor. In that case, the Lockhart family's reputation might be tarnished.

Jenny Unsworth snapped out of her daze. "It's nothing. I just thought that the man who was with her earlier looked a lot like Julian Ford, the CEO of Lumiere Aster."

Nicole felt a sense of relief when what Jenny just shared was completely different from what she feared might have happened.

"Lumiere Aster? The Lumiere Aster?"

She had heard of that company before. They had already made a name for themselves, even though it had only been a few years since they were established. The company had also earned recognition from the jewelry design industry for the unique styles in its work.

There was no way Estelle was having coffee with the CEO of Lumiere Aster. Someone like her couldn't possibly be acquainted with a man like that.

"That's impossible. Jenny, you must have seen it wrongly."

Nicole added in a firm voice, "The lady and I are just acquaintances. However, I know that she's just an ordinary, unremarkable housewife who relies on her husband for financial support.

"Whether it's Lumiere Aster's CEO or a beggar from the streets, I bet they'll all look down on her."

The beggars on the streets would at least move around asking people for some money.

As for Estelle, she had the housekeeper help her with the housework. She could enjoy all kinds of luxuries in life without lifting a finger. It would be a waste to give her any money when she already had everything she needed.

Jenny didn't say anything else since Nicole seemed so certain of it. Perhaps she had mistaken the man for Lumiere Aster's CEO.

…

On the way home, Estelle bought some food ingredients.

Once she returned, she went into the kitchen and boiled some water. She also cleaned and cut up the vegetables.

Just as she was about to start cooking, Estelle suddenly noticed the ingredients were food that either Nathaniel or Kathleen liked. None of them was what Estelle enjoyed eating.

Estelle held a knife in her hand and stood there, staring at the food ingredients on the cutting board for a brief moment. Suddenly, she pushed those ingredients to the side. Then, she took some hot peppers out of the fridge.

…

In the Empire Gardens residential area, where Nathaniel's villa was, Nathaniel and Kathleen arrived home at 9:00 pm.

The nightlight in the entryway that shone with a warm light wasn't left on like it usually was. It was so quiet in the living room that they could only hear the ticking sound of the clock on the wall.

Nathaniel furrowed his brows. "Jodie, is Estelle still not home yet?"

Jodie, who just came out to welcome them home, looked a little flustered as she gripped her apron. "No…"

Kathleen tightened her grip on her bag handle.

Normally, Estelle would stand by the front door and welcome them home. She would also ask Kathleen, who came home from kindergarten, if she had missed her.

It had been two days since Estelle declared that she was getting a job. With her away, no one could make Kathleen's favorite strawberry cake for her.

Kathleen pursed her lips. Her emotions were a mess.

"I don't get it. Why did Mommy insist on getting a job when she could just stay at home and rest? She's not like Lynette, who's good at a lot of things. Why must she compete with Lynette over every little thing?"

Initially, Kathleen was overjoyed that Estelle wasn't around, since it meant no one would try to tell her what to do or not do.

Kathleen could eat whatever she liked and go to bed when she felt like it. This was the first time she had so much freedom.

However, Kathleen had been eating a lot of oily, salty food over the past few days, and she was craving Estelle's soup right now.

Previously, Estelle's soup was something that was served to Kathleen even when she hadn't said anything. Now, Kathleen couldn't have the soup even if she was craving it.

There was such a massive difference in the treatment she received before and after Estelle found a job.

Kathleen wanted to call Estelle, but felt like she would be embarrassed if she did that now. She also worried that making the phone call might make Estelle misunderstand that Kathleen needed her and end up disciplining her even more.

After a moment's consideration, Kathleen decided to put her hopes in Nathaniel. "Daddy, can you call Mommy and tell her to come home and make some soup for me?"

Estelle had always followed Nathaniel's words obediently. She would definitely come home if that was what he asked of her.

"You should call her yourself!" Nathaniel said before going upstairs.

Kathleen pouted. She really missed the soup and the dishes Estelle made.

Her gaze fell on Jodie, who was cleaning up a particular corner not too far away from her. As her eyes lit up, Kathleen darted toward Jodie.

"Jodie, call my mom right now and tell her that Daddy wants her to come home and prepare dinner."

Jodie's hands trembled slightly as she looked at Kathleen, who stood on tiptoes and pleaded to her.

The girl with slightly curly hair had a strawberry hair clip fixed to the side of her head, and her bright eyes reminded Jodie of sparkly gems.

Anyone would say Kathleen was an adorable child after seeing her long eyelashes and rosy cheeks.

Yet, the way she placed her hands on her waist and ordered Jodie rudely had completely crushed the cute image she had.

"Jodie, are you deaf?"

Kathleen stamped her foot in frustration. The decorative pearls on her dress knocked against each other, making soft noises.

Kathleen's voice was tinged with arrogance as she demanded, "I'll ask Daddy to fire you if you don't call her now!"

Jodie let out a soft sigh. Eventually, she took out her phone and dialed Estelle's number.

Estelle was looking at the designs their company had come up with in the last few years that Julian had sent her when her phone rang. She paused momentarily when she saw that it was a call from Jodie.

"Mrs. Lockhart…"

Estelle could hear the hesitation in Jodie's voice when she answered the phone. "Ms. Kathleen wishes to have the soup you make. Are you free… to come home right now?"