Dumped Then Claimed By A Billionaire (Nerissa and Owen) novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38 The Impressive Nerissa

After giving Leo his medication, Luna quickly went to comfort Tiffany. “Mom, please don’t cry. If Leo knew you were crying every day, he’d feel terrible about it.”

Tiffany turned to look at Luna. “Luna, tell me honestly. Do you think Leo will ever wake up?”

Her eyes were desperate and pleading.

“He will, Mom. I know he will,” Luna said and nodded. “The doctors told us that as long as we don’t give up on Leo and keep talking to him, a miracle could happen.”

‘A miracle.’ When Tiffany heard that word, something flickered in her eyes. She thought, ‘If miracles were that easy, they wouldn’t be called miracles.’

Over the years, she’d searched for the best doctors everywhere, and she’d even brought in top international medical teams. She’d tried everything, but nothing had worked.

Tiffany’s eyes welled up with tears again.

She was getting older, and she didn’t know if she’d live long enough to see Ariel come back home.

Luna sighed, “Mom, I should’ve been in that car with Leo and Charlotte that day. If I’d been there, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out like this. I wish it had been me instead. I’d rather die than watch Leo lying here like this.”

She started crying harder. “It’s my fault, Mom. Leo’s like this because of me.”

By the end, Luna was sobbing uncontrollably.

Years ago, when Leo brought Charlotte and Ariel back to the ancestral home for the memorial ceremony, Luna and her husband Dunstan Bailey went with them.

But on the day of the accident, the two of them had something come up at the last minute, so they didn’t get in the car. And because they didn’t get in that car, Luna and Dunstan escaped the crash.

Seeing Luna take all the blame onto herself, Tiffany quickly pulled Luna into her arms.

Her voice came out hoarse. “Sweetheart, this was your brother’s fate. How could anyone blame you? You can’t think like that. Your brother’s lying in that bed right now, and you’re the only family I have left.”

“Mom.” Luna held Tiffany tight. “I’ll find Ariel for you, I promise. I will.”

“Okay.” Tiffany nodded. “I believe you. We’ll find Ariel.”

They clung to each other and cried.

After a long while, Tiffany’s emotions finally settled. She looked up at Luna. “Sweetheart, you should go take care of what you need to. I want to sit with your brother for a bit, just the two of us.”

“Okay, Mom.” Luna nodded and left the room.

Tiffany picked up a towel and gently wiped Leo’s face. As she worked, she murmured, “I’m already in my sixties. Who knows how many years I have left? Ariel is our family’s only hope now.

“I need to take care of myself and stay strong until Ariel comes home to inherit everything.”

‘Inherit everything?’ Luna’s steps faltered at those last words, but she kept walking.

Luna walked into the main hall and told the butler to prepare some nutritious soup for Tiffany later.

“Mom.” A young woman stepped through the door, wearing a white dress with her long hair flowing down her back. She had an elegant presence that turned heads.

It was Luna’s daughter, Anna.

“Anna, you’re home.” Luna hurried over to greet her. “Have you been busy lately?”

Anna smiled. “It’s been okay. Is Dad still on his business trip?”

“Yeah, he’s not back yet.”

“What about Grandma?” Anna asked. “Is she with Uncle again?”

“Yeah.” Luna nodded.

Something flickered in Anna’s eyes. ‘Nineteen Successfully unlocked! still holds onto hope for Uncle, but he’s in a

coma. How likely is it that he’ll ever wake up?’

Anna couldn’t understand why Tiffany kept putting all her hope in a man who’d been in a coma for years.

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Chapter 38 The Impressive Nerissa

Tiffany should appreciate the family members who were actually here.

Luna looked at Anna and frowned. “Anna, work’s been crazy lately, hasn’t it? You’ve lost so much weight, and I bet you’re skipping meals again.”

Her eyes filled with concern as she spoke.

Anna patted Luna’s hand and brushed it off. “It’s fine, Mom. I’m still young, missing a meal or two won’t kill me. Besides, everyone’s trying to be skinny these days anyway, so it saves me the trouble of dieting.”

Luna frowned slightly. “Your uncle’s lying in that hospital bed unconscious, and your grandmother’s getting older every day. The Sullivan family and Sullivan Group are going to depend on you to carry them forward.

“If something happens to you, who are your father and I supposed to rely on? Who’s your grandmother supposed to count on? So please, take care of yourself and don’t make me worry.”

Parents who genuinely love their children plan for their future.

Anna was the Sullivan family’s only remaining heir, and she was Tiffany’s last hope. She was the precious treasure Luna and Dunstan held dear in their hearts. If anything happened to Anna, Luna would have nothing left to hope for.

“Mom, don’t say that. Grandma doesn’t just have me as a granddaughter. She’s got Ariel too.” Anna paused for a moment.” And besides, Ariel’s the real heir to the Sullivan family. What am I? I’m just an outsider with a different last name in Grandma’ s eyes.”

Anna couldn’t stand the way Tiffany acted sometimes, and she honestly thought her grandmother was way too biased. She was the one who stayed by Tiffany’s side and took care of her, but Tiffany kept going on and on about Ariel, who’d never even shown her face. She’d call Ariel “sweetie” and “darling” all the time.

‘Grandma’s never called me that, not even once, Anna thought bitterly. ‘Even when I got first place in my class, she just called me by my name.’

And then there was all this talk about Ariel being the heir to Sullivan Group. But Anna was the one who’d been working at the company all these years. Ariel hadn’t contributed a single thing, so if anyone deserved to be the heir, it should be her. ‘Ariel has no right to take what should be mine,’ she thought.

Luna glanced around and lowered her voice. “Look, Ariel’s just something for your grandma to hold onto. If they were gonna find her, they would’ve found her by now, right? Why would it take this long?”

‘If that kid’s still alive, then Charlotte must be alive too, Luna thought. ‘But Charlotte’s been gone for years without a trace. And there’s no way that baby survived in those conditions.’

It was all just Tiffany lying to herself.

It meant that the Sullivan family inheritance could only pass to her daughter, Anna.

Anna narrowed her eyes. “Mom, do you really think they’ll never find Ariel?”

Luna looked around again. “Ariel was only three months old when it happened. Out there in the middle of nowhere? She was probably eaten by wolves or something.”

She added, “There’s no way she’s still alive. I’ve been telling your grandma they might find her, but I’m just trying to make her feel better.”

Anna lowered her voice. “But even if they don’t find Ariel, Uncle might still wake up someday, and then-”

She trailed off, and anxiety twisted in her chest. She was terrified that what should be hers would get taken away by someone else.

“I hope your uncle wakes up too, but if he was going to, wouldn’t he have done it by now?” Luna smoothed out the wrinkles in her daughter’s clothes. “Just focus on your work at the company and wait to take over. Don’t overthink things.”

Anna nodded. Luna had a point. Anna said, “Okay Mom, I’m gonna head to my room.”

“Go ahead,” Luna said, watching her daughter leave. “I’ll have the maid make you some soup and bring it over in a bit.” Luna watched Anna’s retreating figure, and her eyes filled with satisfaction and pride.

Anna was beautiful and incredibly talented, with outstanding abilities that had earned her nothing but praise at Sullivan Group. She would definitely take over the Sullivan family and the company without any problems.

Meanwhile, in Aosthorne, Yale had been waiting at the café for hours, and the manager finally came over to remind him. “Mr. Edrington, it’s midnight now.”

Yale immediately pulled out his phone and checked the time. He hadn’t realized it had gotten so late.

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Chapter 38 The Impressive Nerissa

“Did Ms. Jamison come by?” Yale asked.

“No, she didn’t,” the manager said and shook his head.

Yale frowned slightly. ‘Nerissa really isn’t coming,’ he thought.

“Let me borrow your phone,” Yale said.

The manager froze for a moment, then pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Yale.

Yale took the phone and dialed Nerissa’s number.

“Hello?” Nerissa’s voice came through on the other end.

“It’s Yale.”

Nerissa said, “I already said everything I needed to say, so please stop calling me from different numbers.”

It was late, so Nerissa deliberately kept her voice down. “I’m not interested in fighting Audrey over a piece of trash, and you can tell Owen to look in a mirror and get over himself.”

She hung up right after that.

Yale stared at the disconnected call, and it only confirmed what he’d been thinking. ‘Nerissa really has moved on from Owen, he thought. ‘She doesn’t love him anymore.”

With that settled in his mind, Yale sent the recording he’d just saved to his own WhatsApp, then got up and left the café.

*****

At 12:30 AM, Yale arrived at Owen’s office in the Calloway Group building. Owen was still inside, working through documents.

Yale knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Owen called out.

“It’s me, Owen,” Yale said.

Owen had been busy all evening, and hearing Yale’s voice reminded him that he’d left Yale waiting at the coffee shop for Nerissa. He thought, ‘Yale must have brought Nerissa here to apologize.’

Owen immediately set down his documents and looked up toward the door. “Come in.”

Yale pushed the door open and walked in. “Owen.”

Seeing Yale enter alone, Owen frowned slightly. “Where’s Nerissa?”

‘She must be too scared to face me, so she’s hiding outside the door, he thought. ‘Yeah, she’s probably out there trembling right now.’

Owen narrowed his eyes and looked toward the doorway, his voice dripping with mockery. “So now you’re scared and hiding out there? If you knew to be afraid, why did you do such disgusting things in the first place?”

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