Dumped Then Claimed By A Billionaire (Nerissa and Owen) novel Chapter 40

Chapter 40 Lennox’s Jealousy

Owen leaned back in his executive chair and scrolled through the flood of posts, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction He clicked through comment after comment, and each one fed his growing sense of victory.

‘See? I knew it,’ he thought smugly. ‘People aren’t blind.”

Even random strangers online could see it-Nerissa must be devastated after hearing about his engagement to Audrey. She was probably hiding somewhere right now, nursing her broken heart and regretting everything

‘Any day now,’ he thought, tapping his fingers on the armrest. ‘She’ll come crawling back to me, begging

And when she did, he’d finally get his hands on Kinsbeat Game’s latest developments. All he had to do now was sit back and wait for everything to fall into his lap.

At one o’clock that afternoon, Nerissa left her apartment and caught a cab to the nearby shopping district.

Meanwhile, about six miles away in a mall café, Faye sat at a corner table sipping her smoothies and checking her phone every few minutes.

The transfer student exam was finally over, so she’d jumped at the chance to drag Nerissa out for some shopping therapy.

Faye showed up in Mickey Mouse overalls with her shoulder-length hair tied into two cute little buns, looking playful and adorable.

About twenty minutes later, a familiar figure appeared in the distance.

Nerissa had kept things simple today-just a white tee and black shorts.

The weather was warm, so she’d pulled her hair into a messy bun. But somehow, even in something so basic, she looked stunning and stood out from the crowd. Faye watched her approach and couldn’t help but gush, “God, Nerissa is just gorgeous.”

Even without makeup, she was the most eye-catching person around.

Faye stood up and waved at her. “Neri, over here!”

Nerissa jogged over. “Fifi, sorry I’m late.”

“No, I came early. We still have ten minutes before our actual meetup time. Here, I got you a smoothie-it’s their new thing.”

Nerissa took the smoothies and spotted the “full sugar” label on it, and her eyes lit up with a smile.

Full sugar smoothies were her absolute favorite.

In Nerissa’s opinion, ordering a smoothie with only three pumps of sugar was basically pointless.

Nerissa took a sip of her smoothie. “This is so good. After we finish shopping, dinner’s on me.”

“Yes! Deal!” Faye linked arms with Nerissa. “I want carbonara.”

Once they got inside the mall, Faye was like a kid in a candy store, wanting to check out everything and dragging Nerissa into boutiques to play the “guess the price” game.

Nerissa hadn’t felt this relaxed in forever, and she followed Faye around with a constant smile on her face.

It was the first time she realized that shopping with another girl could actually be this fun.

When they passed a men’s clothing store, Nerissa stopped. “Fifi, let’s go in and look at some clothes.”

“This is a men’s store. Who are you buying for?” Faye’s interest was immediately piqued. ‘Does Neri have a boyfriend? she thought.

“My grandpa,” Nerissa answered.

Hunter barely had any clothes. Apart from his work uniform, the shirt he wore most often was a tee he’d bought seven of eight years ago.

‘Oh, so she’s not buying for a boyfriend, Faye thought. She nodded. “Sure, I’ll grab some stuff for my dad, too.”

Faye and Nerissa headed inside and started browsing through the racks

The men’s store had floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Anyone passing by could see straight in and oversee Nerissa examining each piece of clothing.

Successfully unlocked!

Something was captivating about watching so. y ub

what they were doing

And Nerissa was already beautiful to begin with, so right now she practically glowed. She was impossible to miss.

1/4

Chapter 40 Lennox’s Jealousy

Lennox strode past the men’s store with quick, purposeful steps, but he froze mid-stride. His gaze locked onto the girl inside, picking through clothes.

He stood six feet four inches tall with a commanding presence and sharp, striking features. His custom-tailored shirt made him look like a CEO straight out of a TV drama. He drew stares from everyone around him.

Young women walking by stopped in their tracks to look at him, but he only had eyes for her through that sheet of glass.

After a moment, something seemed to click in his mind, and his brows furrowed. ‘A men’s store? She’s shopping for men’s clothes? For who?”

“Lennox, let’s go,” Riley called from behind him.

“Coming.” Lennox snapped out of it and caught up with Riley.

“Riley, do you buy clothes for your husband?” Lennox asked.

“Of course I do.” Riley nodded, and then she looked at him with a confused expression. “Why are you asking?” Lennox didn’t really know why he was asking, but he felt a heavy sensation in his chest. “No reason. Just curious.”

Riley didn’t press him on it. “Have you been in touch with Ms. Jamison lately?”

“No.”

Riley rolled her eyes at him with apparent disdain. “How do you expect to win over a girl acting like this?”

Before Lennox could respond, Riley continued, “I don’t know what Ms. Jamison’s been up to recently. Last time I had Luke invite her over for dinner, she said she didn’t have time.”

Lennox’s brows drew together slightly, and his long lashes hid the emotions in his eyes. ‘So Ms. Jamison has time to go shopping and buy clothes for her boyfriend, but she doesn’t have time to come to dinner?’ he thought.

Meanwhile, Kaia was shopping in the mall with Evelyn.

The two of them had just walked out of a store when they ran into Nerissa and Faye coming out with shopping bags. Their eyes met, and Kaia froze. ‘How did Nerissa change so much?’ she thought.

Evelyn also froze in place.

If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed that the person in front of her was that tacky, gaudy country bumpkin with no class.

But soon enough, Evelyn’s eyes filled with thick disgust. ‘Nerissa must have seen Owen’s engagement announcement on Twitter, so she tracked me down on purpose and wants to beg me to help her get back together with Owen, she thought.” How shameless.’

Evelyn felt sick to her stomach, like she’d eaten something rotten. She walked forward a few steps.

She said, “Nerissa, you need to learn to accept your place in life and stop wanting things that don’t belong to you. And this mall is a high-end place-it’s not somewhere you should be.”

Nerissa just looked at Evelyn with a calm expression. “If even two dogs-one red and one yellow-can get into this mall, why can’t I?”

Today, Evelyn and Kaia were wearing red and yellow.

The two dogs Nerissa mentioned were obviously them.

Evelyn’s whole body started trembling with rage. Nerissa actually dared to call them dogs.

It was completely different from what she’d imagined.

In Evelyn’s eyes, Nerissa should’ve been groveling and trying to please her the moment she saw her, not acting all high and mighty like this. ‘Does Nerissa even want to remarry Owen anymore?’ she thought.

Kaia stepped forward and stood beside Evelyn. She glared at Nérissa. “Who the hell are you cursing at?”

Compared to Kaia’s anger, Nerissa looked completely unbothered. “I’m cursing at both of you, and if you didn’t hear me clearly, I can carve it on your tombstones.”

“Nerissa,” Kaia said furiously. “You better take a good look at who’s standing in front of you. I’m warning you to wake up right now and get on your knees to apologize to my aunt, or I’m going straight to Owen about this.”

She sneered, “If he finds out how you treated his mother, he’ll never forgive you for the rest of his life.”

After she finished speaking, Kaia lifted her chin high and waited for Nerissa to drop to her knees and apologize.

2/4

Chapter 40 Lennox’s Jealousy

After all, she’d just brought up Owen.

Nerissa had to be scared out of her mind now.

But the next second, Kaia was shoved backward by a strong force.

Then she heard Nerissa’s voice. “Leave me alone.”

Kaia’s eyes went wide, and she stared at Nerissa in disbelief. “You dared to push me?”

Nerissa raised an eyebrow slightly. “I don’t just dare to push you. I dare to hit you too, and next time you mess with me, you won’t be this lucky.”

Then Nerissa looked at Faye. “Fifi, let’s go.”

Faye immediately followed Nerissa’s steps.

Watching Nerissa walk away just like that, Kaia’s face went pale, and she scrambled up from the ground. She threatened,” Nerissa, you stop right there, or I really will tell Owen about what happened today.”

But Nerissa didn’t even pause for a second.

Kaia stomped her foot and whipped around to face Evelyn. “Aunt Evelyn, I think Nerissa’s actually lost her mind. How dare she treat us like that.”

But Evelyn didn’t seem to hear her at all. She just stared ahead, and the anger on her face had completely transformed into shock. She covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my god.”

Kaia frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Evelyn swallowed hard and pointed at a figure ahead of them. “That’s Mrs. Merritt.”

“Mrs. Merritt?” Kaia asked. “Which Mrs. Merritt?”

There were plenty of Merritts in Aosthorne.

“Riley Merritt. The matriarch of the Merritt family.”

The Merritt family was the most powerful in Kindowen, and Riley was Lennox’s sister.

She’d been blessed since birth-her brother had her back at her parents’ home, and her husband doted on her at her in- laws’ place. The worst hardship she’d probably ever endured was giving birth.

Kaia’s eyes went wide when she heard that.

The Calloway family had only a reputation in Aosthorne, but the Stratford and Merritt families were true elite dynasties. Getting to exchange even a few words with Riley would be a blessing earned across lifetimes.

Evelyn took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. “I met Mrs. Merritt once at a charity gala and even got to speak with her for a bit. She’ll definitely remember me. Kaia, come with me. Let’s go say hello to Mrs. Merritt.”

“Okay.” Kaia immediately followed Evelyn.

She knew that the Merritt family heir, Luke, was around her age and still single.

‘What if Riley thinks I’m sweet and sensible and pretty, and picks me as her son’s future wife?’ she thought. If she could marry into the Merritt family, she could completely change her social standing.

The more Kaia thought about it, the more excited she got.

“Mrs. Merritt!” Evelyn rushed forward with a fawning smile. “Mrs. Merritt, I’m Evelyn from Calloway Group. I’m Owen’s mother. We met at the charity gala on the ninth of last month.”

She gestured to the young woman beside her. “And this is my niece, Kaia.”

Kaia stepped forward respectfully. “Mrs. Merritt, my name is-”

Riley held a position of power, and wherever she went, people fawned over her, showering her with compliments.

She encountered women like Evelyn and Kaia dozens of times a day, and she waved them off impatiently without giving them a second glance. “Alright, alright. I don’t know you, and I’m not interested in learning your names.”

Their attempt to build connections had failed, and Riley’s cold rejection left Kaia’s back drenched in cold sweat. She wanted nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into.

Evelyn was just as nervous. She’d thought that once Riley knew she was Owen’s mother, she’d at least show her some basic respect, but clearly she’d been wrong.

Just then, Riley suddenly spotted a slender figure in the crowd, and the icy expression on her face instantly melted into delight. “Ms. Jamison!”

3/4

Chapter 40 Lennox’s Jealousy

Kaia and Evelyn both clearly saw Nerissa standing ahead, and they froze in confusion. ‘Is Riley calling out to Nerissa? Kaia

thought.

‘No, that’s impossible. Nerissa’s just some country bumpkin who can’t even show her face in public, Evelyn thought. There are plenty of wealthy people with the last name Jamison, so it must just be a coincidence.

She sneered inwardly, ‘There’s no way someone like Riley-a high-society lady-would be that enthusiastic about some village girl.’

回

Subscribe

0 Likes