Dumped Then Claimed By A Billionaire (Nerissa and Owen) novel Chapter 132

Chapter 132

Mrs. Sullivan just assumed Anna really cared about Nerissa’s friend, so when she heard that, she quickly said, “Anna’s right. If it’s Arie’s friend, then hurry up and invite them in!”

As soon as she said that, everyone turned to look at the entrance, curiosity written all over their faces.

Everyone was dying to know who Nerissa’s friend could be.

Anna had a smug smile on her lips, her eyes full of self-satisfaction.

‘Just watch,’ Luna gloated inwardly.

‘Nerissa’s about to make a fool of herself any second now!

Soon, the assistant butler came in, leading three people.

To be precise, there were three of them.

A well-dressed middle-aged couple, with a young girl in a champagne-colored dress at their side.

Anyone could see what was going on.

This was a family of three.

“Oh my god, isn’t that Mr. and Mrs. Penhaligon? And that’s Ms. Penhaligon walking between them!” someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Someone in the crowd recognized the Penhaligon family.

“The Penhaligon family? Which one?” someone else asked.

“Who else could it be? Besides the Penhaligon family from Aosthorne, is there any other family people call the Penhaligon family?” another person replied.

“Wait, are Ms. Penhaligon and the Sullivan family’s granddaughter actually friends?” someone blurted out.

“How could those two possibly be friends? Isn’t she supposed to have grown up in the countryside?” another person whispered.

The crowd started buzzing with gossip all over again.

Anna’s expression changed slightly.

‘Nerissa and Ms. Penhaligon are actually friends?’ Anna thought, feeling totally thrown off.

‘No way!’ she told herself.

‘Absolutely impossible!’

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‘How could someone as lowly as Nerissa ever be friends with someone like Ms. Penhaligon?’ Anna couldn’t help but sneer to herself.

Anna licked her parched lips, trying her best to keep her cool.

‘No way!

Anna told herself, desperate to believe it wasn’t true.

When Nerissa saw who it was, her face lit up with pure joy. She rushed over, grinning from ear to ear, “Mr. Penhaligon! Mrs. Penhaligon!”

“Nerissa, congratulations!” Mrs. Penhaligon said warmly.

Mrs. Penhaligon handed Nerissa a luxuriously wrapped gift box. “This is a little something from your uncle and me. We hope you’ll accept it with a smile.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Penhaligon! Thank you so much!” Nerissa said, her voice overflowing with gratitude.

Nerissa took the gift box and handed it to the staff member in charge of keeping track of the guests’ presents. Then she turned to Fifi, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Fifi, why didn’t you give me a heads up you were coming?”

Fifi put on a mock-serious face. “Wait, are you saying you don’t want me here, Nerissa?”

“No way, I’m always happy to see you!” Nerissa replied. “Didn’t you say you had something going on at home and couldn’t come?”

“I wanted to give you a surprise!” Faye said with a grin.

Nerissa hugged Faye tightly. “Thanks, Faye! You really did surprise me!”

After hugging Faye, Nerissa turned to Mrs. Sullivan with a bright smile and said, “Mrs. Sullivan, let me introduce you, this is Mr. and Mrs. Penhaligon, and this is Faye.”

Anna stood off to the side, feeling like the air had been sucked out of her lungs.

She’d been sure that Nerissa’s friend would make her look bad.

But she was totally wrong.

Instead, a total VIP walked in!

The Penhaligon family!

“That’s the freaking Penhaligon family!’ Anna thought, totally stunned.

Even she had never met anyone from the Penhaligon family.

‘How did Nerissa even get to know the Penhaligons?’ Anna wondered, dying of envy.

‘Did Mrs. Sullivan pull some strings for her?’ Anna started to get suspicious.

‘Yeah, that has to be it,’ Anna thought, clinging to the idea.

‘That’s got to be it,’ Anna told herself, clinging desperately to that thought.

Nerissa was Mrs. Sullivan’s precious granddaughter, and Anna was convinced Mrs. Sullivan had pulled strings behind the scenes just to make her shine.

‘Otherwise, with Nerissa’s background, how could she ever rub shoulders with the Penhaligon family?’ Anna thought, feeling that sting of envy.

Thinking about it all, Anna felt her heart twist with frustration. She just couldn’t figure out why Mrs. Sullivan was so obviously playing favorites.

‘After all, both Nerissa and I share the same Sullivan blood!’ Anna thought bitterly.

Nerissa and Faye hadn’t seen each other for over ten days, and the moment they met, they just couldn’t stop catching up. Nerissa made a point of bringing Faye over to introduce her to Mrs. Sullivan.

“Grandma, this is my best friend in Aosthorne, Faye Penhaligon. Her nickname is Fifi, so you can just call her Fifi,” Nerissa said, grinning.

Mrs. Sullivan wasn’t clueless, she could tell right away that anyone Nerissa introduced so warmly must mean a lot to her. Smiling, she took Fifi’s hand and asked, “Sweetie, is your nickname Fifi because you were born in March?”

“Yes, Grandma Sullivan,” Fifi replied, a little shy but clearly happy.

“March is when the peach blossoms bloom. No wonder you’re as lovely as a peach blossom, so pretty and so easy to like,” Mrs. Sullivan said with a gentle smile.

Fifi looked a little shy, clearly flustered by Mrs. Sullivan’s praise.

Next, Nerissa took Fifi around to meet all eight of her uncles and aunts.

Then she brought Fifi over to meet her thirteen brothers.

When Fifi saw all thirteen of Nerissa’s brothers, she was practically bouncing with excitement.

The Sullivan family’s genes were honestly out of this world.

Every single one of Nerissa’s brothers looked like they’d just stepped out of a hit CEO romance drama!

And the best part? Each one of them was handsome in his own unique way!

Nerissa introduced them one by one, “Fifi, this is my oldest brother, my second brother, third brother, fourth brother, fifth brother, sixth brother, seventh brother, eighth brother, ninth brother, tenth brother, eleventh brother, twelfth brother, and thirteenth brother.”

The thirteen Sullivan brothers all treated Fifi like she was family. “Hello, little Fifi!” they greeted her warmly.

happiness.

Nerissa then said, “Oh, Fifi, this is my big sis-in-law.”

My eldest brother’s wife is an Amanraian named Mary.

Mary is gorgeous, with sharp features and a super gentle vibe. She’s an only child herself, so she’s always treated me like her own little sister.

After that, Nerissa leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially in Fifi’s car, “By the way, except eldest brother, all twelve of my other brothers are single!”

for

my

Fifi could barely contain her excitement and grabbed Mary’s hand for a handshake. “Hi, Mary! You’re absolutely gorgeous!”

“Thank you, Fifi,” Mary replied with a warm smile. “You’re beautiful too.”

Fifi whipped out her phone. “Mary, let’s connect on WhatsApp!”

“Of course!” Mary said, pulling out her phone and adding Fifi on WhatsApp.

After connecting on WhatsApp with Mary, Fifi turned to my eldest brother and joked, “Since I’ve already got Mary on WhatsApp, I’ll skip yours, big bro. Second bro, let’s connect too!”

“Second bro’s in, so third bro, you’re up next!” Fifi said with a playful grin.

Soon enough, Fifi had all twelve of my single brothers on her WhatsApp list.

And of course, all twelve of my single brothers happily added her right back.

Watching Fifi add all the Sullivan brothers on WhatsApp, Anna’s jealousy was off the charts, she could barely stand it.

‘Nerissa is seriously crossing the line,’ Anna grumbled to herself.

‘Even I haven’t gotten Dawn’s WhatsApp yet, and Nerissa just brings in an outsider and gets them all connected?!’ Anna thought, her envy boiling over.

‘Can’t she even tell who’s important and who’s not?’ Anna fumed, feeling totally sidelined.

‘Does Nerissa even know who’s family and who’s not anymore?’ Anna thought, her jealousy burning hotter.

‘We’re actually sisters by blood! Nerissa should be introducing me around to the Sullivan family, not parading some outsider like Fifi!’ Anna grumbled to herself.

‘Is that brat Nerissa doing this on purpose?’ Anna thought, her irritation flaring up.

‘She knows Dawn’s into me, so she’s purposely leaving me out whenever she’s with the Sullivans,’ Anna sulked, convinced she was right.

‘Yeah, that has to be it, Anna thought, clinging to the idea.

‘No doubt about it, Anna insisted inwardly, refusing to let go of the thought.

‘She just doesn’t want me to become her sister-in-law for real, Anna thought, jealousy twisting inside.

‘Since when does Nerissa get to decide who I can or can’t be with?’ Anna fumed, feeling totally indignant.

‘Who the hell does Nerissa think she is?’ Anna scoffed to herself, her contempt obvious.

‘Just you wait,’ Luna thought, her eyes narrowing.

‘I’m definitely going to marry Dawn and become the lady of the Sullivan family!’ Anna told herself, her resolve unshakable.

With that thought, Anna’s eyes flashed with steely resolve.

After Nerissa had shown Fifi around the banquet hall, the butler came over and said, “Miss Jamison, Mrs. Sullivan wants to see you.”

Hearing that, Nerissa turned to Fifi. “Fifi, I’ll head over for a bit.”

“Go ahead!” Fifi said with a grin. “I’ll just hang out with your brothers for a bit.”

“Alright,” Nerissa said with a small nod, then looked at her twelve brothers. “I’m counting on you guys to look after Fifi!”

“You got it, Arie,” one of the brothers replied.

Nerissa walked over to Mrs. Sullivan.

Mrs. Sullivan smiled, her eyes crinkling with warmth. “Arie, this is your big cousin, Van Sullivan.”

Mr. Sullivan had an older brother.

Van is his son. His parents split up when he was little, and after the divorce, his father was so devastated he took his own life. Van grew up abroad and is now a famous graphic novelist.

Tall and striking, Van wore gold-rimmed glasses that made him look both elegant and intellectual. As soon as he showed up, every head in the banquet hall turned his way.

Nerissa greeted him warmly, “Hi, Van.”

Van handed her a gift he’d prepared in advance. “Congratulations on rising from the ashes, Arie. May your journey ahead be smooth and bright.”

“Thank you, Van,” Nerissa replied with a smile.

“Don’t mention it,” Oliver said.

Just as Van finished speaking, Anna’s voice rang out, “Big Bro Van, you’re back!”

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“Anna,” Van replied, turning to her with a gentle, warm smile.

Anna slipped her arm through his like they were super close. “Van, it’s been forever! I missed you to death! Come on, let’s go over there and chat.”

On the surface, Van seemed like nothing more than a graphic novelist.

Actually,

creating graphic novels was just his side hustle.

He even owned a castle in the US.

Anna was obviously doing this on purpose.

Right now, everyone was doting on Nerissa, treating her like she was their precious gem. Over my dead body would Anna let Nerissa snatch Van away from her as well.

Van was three years older than Anna.

When he was a kid, his mother left and his father committed suicide, so he spent a lot of time living with the Sullivan family. He stayed with them until he was ten, when his grandparents finally took him overseas.

Because of that,

Van and Anna were quite close.

Once they found a quiet spot away from the crowd, Van pulled out the gift he’d brought for Anna. “Anna, this is for you.”

Anna’s face lit up with surprise. “Thank you, Van! But from now on, you can just bring gifts for Arie. I really don’t need anything.”

Van smiled warmly. “Arie’s got a whole army of brothers spoiling her, so whether I bring her a gift or not doesn’t matter. But you, I’m your only brother in the world, so making you happy is what matters most.”

Van was an only child.

He truly treated Anna like his own little sister.

“Yeah, sure, Arie’s got a whole squad of brothers spoiling her, but honestly, she’s had it pretty tough. Grew up out in the sticks with nothing, and now she’s already been through a divorce at her age,” Anna said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy.

‘Divorced?’ Van’s mind jolted, his expression flickering with surprise.

At that word, Van’s face tightened for a split second, a shadow passing through his eyes.

Thanks to his mom, he just couldn’t help but look down on women who’d been through a divorce.

If his mother hadn’t cheated and split from his dad, his father would’ve never ended up taking his own life.

Seeing the flash of discomfort in Van’s eyes, Anna couldn’t help but smirk to herself.

‘Nice, that’s exactly what I was aiming for, Anna thought, feeling totally triumphant.

Van shot her a stern look. “Anna, Arie’s only 19. Don’t go saying things like that about her!”

“I’m telling the truth, Van! Arie really did get divorced! Grandma said I shouldn’t tell anyone, but I’m just telling you, okay? If you don’t believe me, go look it up yourself,” Anna whispered, sounding all secretive.