Dumped Then Claimed By A Billionaire (Nerissa and Owen) novel Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Van’s expression grew complicated as he listened to Anna.

He shot a glance back at Nerissa.

‘Married and divorced at nineteen,’ Van mused to himself.

‘Looks like… Anna thought to herself.

‘You really can’t judge someone just by what you see,’ he thought.

Nerissa looked so clean-cut and pretty.

But…

Anna kept her expression neutral as she watched Van’s face, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “Oliver, I’m not trying to stir up trouble by telling you about Arie’s divorce. I just think she’s had it rough, and I hope you can watch over her, just like the Berenson family’s Thirteen Brothers do. After all, Arie’s been through more than a decade of hardship out in the countryside.”

Anna put on her best big-sister act, her Oscar-worthy performance making it almost impossible to tell if she was being sincere or not.

She went on, “People always say good girls don’t just get divorced and walk away from their families for no reason. I don’t know why Arie got married and divorced so young, but I’m sure it wasn’t her fault. She’s such a great person, there’s no way she would’ve done anything out of line while she was married. Van, please don’t hold her divorce against her.”

On the surface, Anna sounded like she was defending Nerissa, but really, she was just badmouthing her.

Anna’s motives had been obvious from the start.

She was determined to slowly force Nerissa out of the Sullivan family.

Her goal was to make everyone hate Nerissa.

She wanted Nerissa to be totally isolated, once and for all.

Sure enough, after hearing Anna’s words, Van’s face darkened.

Especially that line about how good girls don’t just leave their families for no reason, it tore open an old wound that had just started to scab over.

The pain just kept bleeding, refusing to stop.

It was like Van was right back on the day his mom left him behind.

He was just five years old, clinging to her leg, begging her not to go.

vouchers

But his mom still pushed him away without a second thought.

The moment she left,

his father threw himself off the eighteenth floor.

Van would never forget that morning.

Overnight, he went from being a kid with a happy family to an orphan.

“Does she have any kids?” Van asked, his voice low.

Van had stopped calling her Arie, now it was just “she.”

“No kids,” Anna replied, shaking her head. “I mean, I don’t know if she’s ever terminated a pregnancy or anything. Honestly, Arie’s still so young, it’s normal not to want kids yet. Actually, maybe it’s a good thing she doesn’t have any. If she did, who knows how much it would mess up the kid? When parents split, it’s always the kids who get hurt the most.”

Van’s face tightened.

‘Yeah, he thought.

‘Anna’s right.’

‘When parents get divorced, the kids are always the ones who get hurt the most.’

And even though Anna never said it straight out, she was definitely dropping hints that Nerissa had had an abortion.

‘Disgusting,’ Van thought, unable to stop a wave of revulsion from flashing in his eyes.

Noticing the look of disgust in Van’s eyes, Anna flashed her usual sweet smile and grabbed his hand. “Van, let’s drop this topic! It’s been ages since we last hung out, let’s talk about something else. So, after all that time overseas, did you find someone special? Maybe bring back a fiancée?”

Van shook his head. “No rush.”

Because of the shadows from his childhood, Van was deeply afraid of marriage, and even more so of getting into relationships.

He worried that if he ever had children, they’d have to go through the same pain he did.

If he couldn’t give his kids a loving, stable family, he’d rather never get married at all.

*****

The family welcoming banquet was still going strong.

Popular male and female stars were up on stage, performing and singing.

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The vibe was absolutely buzzing, whenever the song hit its high point, everyone in the crowd would start humming and singing along.

Mrs. Sullivan was weaving through the crowd with Nerissa, introducing her to relatives, friends, and business associates so she could meet everyone.

After all, Nerissa was set to inherit the Sullivan family someday.

Mrs. Sullivan kept Nerissa close, her arm hooked through hers as they made their way through the center of the banquet hall.

“Arie, this is Mr. and Mrs. Song. They’ve been our business partners for over a decade,” Mrs. Sullivan said warmly.

Nerissa introduced herself, “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Mason. I’m Ariel Sullivan.”

Mr. Mason got whisked away by his colleagues for drinks.

So Mrs. Mason stayed behind to chat with Nerissa.

Mrs. Mason was holding the hand of a boy around ten, her eyes full of amazement as she looked at Nerissa. “Miss Sullivan, you really are so young and beautiful, just like Mrs. Sullivan in her prime! Come on, Timothy, say hi to Ariel.”

Timothy peeked at Ariel, all shy, but didn’t say a word.

Mrs. Mason smiled apologetically. “Timothy’s just not big on greetings, Miss Sullivan, hope you don’t mind.”

Nerissa smiled and said, “Mrs. Mason, you’re joking. Timothy’s still young, it’s perfectly normal for kids his age not to be big on greetings. Really, it’s nothing to worry about.”

Mrs. Mason went on, “It’s not just that, lately he hasn’t been sleeping well, keeps waking up in the middle of the night, and barely eats anything. I’m really worried about him.”

Nerissa glanced at Timothy. “Mrs. Mason, has Timothy only started acting like this in the last couple of months?”

“Exactly!” Mrs. Mason nodded, looking genuinely surprised. “Miss Sullivan, how could you tell?”

Mrs. Sullivan puffed up with pride. “Mrs. Mason, my granddaughter knows a ton about traditional medicine, she’s seriously amazing at it!”

Anna was standing just behind them, catching every word of their conversation.

‘So good at traditional medicine?’ Anna thought with a snort.

A mocking glint flashed in her eyes..

‘Mrs. Sullivan really doesn’t care if people laugh at her,’ Anna thought.

‘What could Nerissa possibly know about traditional medicine?’ Anna sneered to herself.

Ο

a sneer.

“Really?” Mrs. Mason asked, her eyes lighting up. “Miss Sullivan, could you take a look at Timothy? Do you think he’s okay?”

“Of course,” Nerissa replied.

She bent down slightly and said softly, “Timothy, let she check your pulse, alright?”

With that, she gently took Timothy’s wrist in her hand.

A few minutes later,

Nerissa let go of Timothy’s wrist, looking concerned. “Mrs. Mason, has Timothy been packed off to a bunch of tutoring sessions lately? Is all that pressure getting to him?”

Mrs. Mason smiled. “Timothy’s our only son, and he’s the one who’s supposed to inherit the Mason family. So we’ve always raised him as the future heir, making sure he’s ready to take over the family business someday.”

‘If you want to wear the crown, you have to bear its weight, Nerissa thought.

‘No wonder he’s feeling so much pressure, he’s got the whole family’s future riding on his shoulders,’ she mused.

“No wonder,” Nerissa said gravely. “All that pressure is starving Timothy’s heart of blood, and it’s starting to mess with how his heart works. He needs open-heart surgery within half a month, if you miss that window, his heart could fail, and by then, even surgery won’t be able to save him.”

‘Half a month?’ Mrs. Mason’s mind spun, panic rising in her chest.

“Is it really that serious?” Mrs. Mason asked, her face clouding with worry.

“Yes,” Nerissa nodded, her face serious. “It’s really serious.”

Mrs. Mason was startled by Nerissa’s grave look. “Miss Sullivan, do you think you could give Timothy some medicine to help him out? I was hoping we could wait until next summer to get the surgery done.”

Winter vacation is only twenty days long.

But summer vacation lasts a full two months.

Nerissa frowned. “Waiting until next summer is out of the question. The surgery needs to be done within the next fifteen days. Mrs. Mason, I’m not exaggerating, this is really urgent, and you need to take it seriously.”

“How long will it take for him to recover after the open-heart surgery?” Mrs. Mason asked, her voice trembling.

“I’d recommend he take at least six months off from school,” Nerissa replied.

Mrs. Sullivan, who had absolute faith in her granddaughter, quickly chimed in, “Mrs. Mason, don’t underestimate her just because she’s young, Nerissa’s got real skills in traditional medicine. You need to take

her advice seriously. If you miss the best window for treatment, you’ll regret it when it’s too late!”

“Alright, Mrs. Sullivan,” Mrs. Mason nodded.

With that, Mrs. Sullivan took Nerissa and left.

Mrs. Mason watched Mrs. Sullivan and Nerissa walk away, worry clouding her eyes. ‘I’d better get Timothy to the hospital for further treatment as soon as possible,’ she thought anxiously.

Anna narrowed her eyes.

She knew.

‘Time to win some hearts and minds,’ Anna thought, a sly smile tugging at her lips.

The Mason Group was the Sullivan family’s biggest business partner. If Anna could win Mrs. Mason over to her side, her position at Sullivan Group would be unshakable.

Not even Nerissa could hope to compete with her.

Just thinking about it, Anna’s eyes gleamed with anticipation and ambition.

Soon, Anna walked over to Luna. “Mom.”

Luna turned around. “What’s up, Anna?”

Anna leaned close and whispered a few words to Luna.

Luna nodded, understanding. “Alright, Anna, go on then.”

A quarter of an hour later,

Anna showed up again in front of Mrs. Mason.

“Mrs. Mason,” Anna called out.

“Miss Anna,” Mrs. Mason responded.

Anna put on an apologetic face. “Mrs. Mason, my sister Nerissa just came back from the countryside, she hasn’t even finished her senior year of high

school yet. She tends to exaggerate and doesn’t always know when to keep things in perspective. Timothy looks perfectly healthy to me, there’s no way he’s got a heart condition, much less something as serious as heart failure. Please don’t let what she said worry you.”

“Miss Sullivan hasn’t even finished her senior year of high school?” Mrs. Mason asked in surprise.

“That’s right,” Anna nodded. “Didn’t Mrs. Sullivan mention that to you earlier?”

“No,” Mrs. Mason shook her head. “But actually, some of what Miss Sullivan said was right. When we took Timothy to the hospital before, they did find a small problem with his heart.”

Back then, it was nothing serious. I never thought it would get this bad.

“It’s pretty common for kids to have minor heart issues, honestly, I get arrhythmia myself sometimes, and it’s really nothing to stress over. Mrs. Mason, Timothy’s about to start third grade. If he has to take half a year off for surgery right now, it’s definitely going to set him back in school,” Anna said, sounding genuinely concerned.

Anna’s words struck a chord with Mrs. Mason. That was exactly what she’d been worried about, she was afraid the surgery would set Ryan back academically, so she’d been hoping to put it off until summer break.

Third grade is crunch time.

Mrs. Mason had two daughters before she finally got her precious son, Timothy. She pinned all her hopes on him, she wanted him to be number one in everything, every single time. Only if he was the best at everything could he be worthy of inheriting the family.

Anna went on, “Besides, who doesn’t have stress these days? I’ve never heard of anyone getting heart failure just because they’re stressed out. Kids’ hearts are supposed to be even stronger than adults’, right? If we adults can handle all this pressure every day without any problems, how could a kid possibly end up with heart failure just because of stress? My sister is just being dramatic-she’s not even a real doctor.”

The more Mrs. Mason listened, the more she felt Anna was right.

‘Nerissa hasn’t even finished her senior year of high school!’ Mrs. Mason thought, her doubts growing.

‘What does she know about traditional medicine, anyway?’ Mrs. Mason scoffed inwardly, her skepticism turning into outright disbelief.

“Oh, and Mrs. Mason,” Anna added, “I happen to have some Heart Protector Pills prescribed by the legendary Dr. Nanwound. Just give them to Ryan for half a month, and I promise you’ll have your energetic little guy back in no time.”

‘Heart Protector Pills!’ Mrs. Mason’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘And they’re from Dr. Nanwound himself!’ she thought, her heart racing with excitement.

Dr. Nanwound was practically a legend, second only to the almighty Divine Doctor.

lector Pills

His Heart were so rare, you couldn’t buy them for any amount of money.

When it came down to trusting a country girl fresh from the boonies or the famous Dr. Nanwound, Mrs. Mason didn’t even hesitate

she put all her faith in the renowned doctor.

No doubt about it, Anna was like a miracle worker for their family.

If Anna hadn’t stepped in, Mrs. Mason would probably have had no choice but to send her son straight into open-heart surgery.

Mrs. Mason’s eyes sparkled with hope as she eagerly accepted the box from Anna, her voice shaking with excitement. “Miss Anna, if Timothy bounces back in half a month, I’ll make sure to come to the Sullivan family and thank you in person, no matter what!”