Yara Lockwood arrived at the banquet hall and sat down in the lounge area. Before she could even catch her breath, a shadow fell over her.
She looked up to see a young man standing before her, surrounded by his entourage.
She recognized him. He was the young master of a branch of the Sloan Family, Nathaniel Sloan’s cousin, Leo Sloan.
Leo Sloan’s face was flushed with anger. "Were you the one who was bullying Noelle just now? How could you be so cruel!"
Yara couldn’t be bothered with him and didn’t even spare him a glance.
Just then, someone approached.
A refined, gentle male voice, smooth as jade, spoke with an underlying sense of pressure. "Mr. Leo Sloan, cornering a guest like this isn’t proper behavior for a young master, wouldn’t you agree? Ms. Sloan was just looking for you."
Leo Sloan was both angry and annoyed, but he was also afraid of Iris Sloan finding out that he had come to cause trouble for Yara. He left in a hurry.
Yara finally looked up, raising an eyebrow. ’Jasper Kingston?’
After settling the collaboration with the Kingston Group last time, she had handed that part of the project over to Henry Kendrick. She had only been to the Kingston Group’s offices a few times, so she didn’t expect to see Jasper Kingston here.
"Miss Lockwood, are you all right?" Jasper Kingston asked with concern.
Yara shook her head. "I’m fine. It’s a pleasure, Mr. Kingston."
...
Nathaniel Sloan’s expression darkened.
He had been searching the entire venue for this woman, and here she was, drinking with Jasper Kingston in a corner.
Nathaniel Sloan strode forward. "Yara, come here."
Yara was just clinking glasses with Jasper Kingston when she heard a cold male voice. She frowned and looked over.
She hadn’t seen Nathaniel Sloan at all in the past few days. That pile of clothes he’d bought for her from the mall was still sitting in her closet, untouched.
Seeing those clothes reminded her of five years ago... For some reason, Estelle’s emotions had been in turmoil lately.
She turned her head away. It was Jasper Kingston who stood up first. "Nathaniel."
Nathaniel Sloan’s pale gray eyes swept over him before landing back on Yara. "The ball is about to start."
Yara raised an eyebrow. "The ball?"
Nathaniel didn’t know what was wrong with him. After just two days of not seeing this woman, it felt like his heart was being squeezed by something, and he’d been desperate to see her.
There was indeed a ball to kick off the banquet, but he didn’t need to participate. Even if he did, he wasn’t short of partners.
But he had still searched the entire venue to find Yara, wanting to be with her.
Hearing this, Jasper Kingston showed a surprised expression. "Nathaniel, are you also here to invite Miss Lockwood to the ball? Miss Lockwood, I had the same intention."
For some reason, Nathaniel Sloan found this man irritating. "Mr. Kingston, I was the one who asked first."
Jasper Kingston nodded like a gentleman. "I know. However, Mr. Sloan, Miss Lockwood hasn’t accepted your invitation yet, which means everyone still has a chance."
Yara narrowed her eyes, suddenly remembering something.
It was a tradition for the Sloan Group’s banquets to open with a ball.
Once, at a Sloan Group annual gala, Nathaniel Sloan, as the heir, was supposed to dance the first dance with his partner.
As a married man, his partner should have normally been his wife.
Estelle hadn’t known how to dance, but for Nathaniel Sloan’s sake, she had practiced for a very long time. Before that, Nathaniel had also promised her that he would invite her to dance at the ball.
At that banquet, almost everyone knew that Estelle Lockwood, Mrs. Sloan, would be accompanying Nathaniel Sloan for the first dance.
But...
When the moment arrived, Nathaniel Sloan walked right past her and went straight to Noelle Lockwood.

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