Claire Yeats’ face darkened. Her lackey immediately shouted, "What do you mean by that? You’re obviously the shameless one, yet you have the audacity to play the victim! Our Claire is the eldest daughter of the Yeats Family! Trash like you better stop trying to leech off her!"
Hearing her lackey’s flattery, Claire’s expression finally softened a bit.
"Is that so? Since she’s the pure and flawless eldest daughter of the Yeats Family, then that’s quite strange." Estelle Lockwood tilted her head. "Why would you two make such assumptions?"
The lackey scolded angrily, "Because you’re a tramp, obviously! If you hadn’t gone looking for some wild man and humiliated all women, why would our Claire—"
"Did it never cross your minds that this is my husband?" Estelle interrupted faintly.
The air seemed to still for a moment. It was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop; even the chirping of birds outside the window was crystal clear.
Claire’s face instantly turned ugly.
If this was Estelle’s husband, didn’t she just make a massive fool of herself? No wonder those wealthy ladies and socialites had remained completely unmoved! But since this man was Estelle’s husband, why didn’t she say so earlier? Instead, she deliberately kept things ambiguous just to make them misunderstand.
In a flash of realization, Claire figured it out—Estelle was playing her!
This man... Hah, he might be handsome, but so what? He was just a driver.
The lackey also quickly caught on. "Haha, your husband? Oh my god, I really didn’t expect that you’d find a driver to be your husband, Miss Lockwood.
"By the way, who is your husband driving for right now? Is his employer reliable? Although our Claire knows how to drive, the Yeats Family dotes on her, so she always travels in luxury cars with a chauffeur. Her last driver resigned, and she’s looking for a dependable replacement. Your husband is reliable, right?"
The lackey thought her words were incredibly insulting. Having Estelle’s husband serve Claire—there was no way Estelle would be able to tolerate that.
Liam Sloan was speechless. He was already thinking about picking out a burial plot for this woman.
"Sure, Miss Yeats," Estelle nodded. "I’ll go find Quentin later and tell him you specifically requested my husband to be your driver."
Claire felt that something was off about that statement, but it also seemed fine. After all, her eldest brother doted on her. He definitely wouldn’t object to a driver she had her eye on.
"Right, Miss Lockwood, what are you two doing here?" Catching Claire’s eye, the lackey asked on her behalf, her tone dripping with malice. "This hotel is very high-end; ordinary people can’t afford to eat here. You might be wealthy, Miss Lockwood, but since your husband is just a driver, you should still budget carefully. You can’t just spend money recklessly.
"Tell you what... Since you’re already here, Miss Lockwood, our Claire is kind-hearted enough to treat you to a meal. How about it?"
Estelle raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Sure. Since Miss Yeats is so rich, I assume she won’t be stingy when treating us, right?"
Seeing Estelle agree, a heavy weight lifted off Claire’s chest. It seemed this Estelle was just an idiot who posed no threat to her. If she was this stupid, how could she possibly figure out that her dress design had been stolen by her?
Since Estelle had made her lose face earlier, this was the perfect opportunity to teach her a lesson!
Estelle shot Liam a pointed look, thinking, "Just wait, I’m going to make you some money!"
Liam remained wordless.
The manager instantly understood. He stepped forward with a welcoming smile. "Miss Yeats, the private room has been prepared for you. This way, please."
Claire remained expressionless. After all, in her mind, she was born noble; it was only natural for these people to bow and scrape before her. The lackey, however, thoroughly enjoyed the moment.
Upon arriving at the private room, Claire and her lackey took their seats under the manager’s fawning praise. Estelle, however, stayed outside the door and gave Liam a look. "Miss Yeats is paying for everything today. She’s of noble status and isn’t lacking in money. If you give her a discount, you’re looking down on her, understand?"
Liam was left speechless once more.
After all, Claire had the Yeats Family backing her, and Quentin was also staying at this hotel. Liam glanced at Nathaniel Sloan for guidance.
Nathaniel, however, nodded dotingly. "Listen to her."
Liam silently began calculating the bill, thinking, "Miss Yeats, you truly are a money-scattering angel!"
The meal racked up a seven-figure bill. When Claire heard the total of over two million, her expression stiffened for a moment.
Estelle fiddled with the beautiful decorations on the dining table. "Miss Yeats is truly generous. Seven figures is still a bit extravagant, though. Won’t Young Mr. Yeats say anything?"
Estelle asked casually, but to Claire’s ears, it sounded like blatant mockery. Was she mocking her for being a spoiled heiress who only knew how to spend money? So what! She was born into the Yeats Family; she was inherently noble!
Although Claire didn’t lack money, she was starting to regret her decision. After all, spending seven figures just to treat Estelle to a meal felt entirely not worth it!
But on second thought, Claire suddenly smiled. "Miss Lockwood, you might not know this, but although the bill is over two million, I actually don’t have to pay that much."
"Oh?" Estelle feigned curiosity. "Can you get a discount? But it seems this hotel doesn’t offer discounts."
"That’s for other people," the lackey boasted loudly. "You might not know this, Miss Lockwood, but our Claire has deep ties with the chairman behind this establishment!"
The hotel’s public-facing boss was Liam, but the actual chairman was Nathaniel. Claire had come to Crestfall precisely for Nathaniel.
The lackey gloated, "Mr. Nathaniel Sloan, you’ve heard of him, right?"
Estelle glanced at Nathaniel. "Mhm. And then?"
"The big boss behind this hotel is Mr. Sloan, and our Claire is Mr. Sloan’s best friend. Tell me, would Mr. Sloan’s best friend have to pay to eat here? Even if they did charge her, would they really charge this much?"
Estelle was speechless. She gave Claire a meaningful look, then shifted her gaze to Nathaniel beside her. She mouthed the word: *Friend?*
Nathaniel had nothing to say. He felt rather wrongly accused.
"So Miss Yeats and Nathaniel Sloan are friends." Estelle nodded. "No wonder."
The food was served quickly. Claire was in a great mood, still carrying her sense of absolute superiority, so much so that she even left the actual mocking to her lackey.
Getting the hint, the lackey said, "Miss Lockwood, eat up. You and your husband have probably never seen such high-end dishes before, right? This might be the only time in your lives, so don’t hold back."
Estelle certainly didn’t hold back.
When the meal ended and it was time to settle the bill, Claire’s expression shifted slightly. "I’m Mr. Sloan’s friend. Are you sure you want to charge me?"
The manager subconsciously looked at Nathaniel. Estelle, beaming, shot the manager a look.
The manager instantly understood. "Miss Yeats, please don’t make things difficult for me. If you want to use your connections with Mr. Sloan, he needs to notify me personally. Otherwise, it’s over two million. As a mere manager, I simply don’t have the guts to write off such a massive bill for you."
Estelle nodded approvingly, thinking the manager sure knew how to talk.
Hearing this, the lackey mocked loudly, "Fine! Then we’ll let Mr. Sloan say it himself. When he blames you later, don’t come begging for mercy!"