Dumped Then Claimed By A Billionaire (Nerissa and Owen) novel Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Chapter 69

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Eliana was the only child in her family, a sharp cookie from a young age. After years in the business world, she was a true powerhouse. Anna’s little schemes were no match for her.

Besides,

while it might seem like a small thing, just a matter of address, it was actually a boundary-crossing test.

Anna was testing Arie’s standing with the Berenson family.

Eliana certainly wasn’t about to indulge her.

Just like others in the Berenson family, she was fiercely protective. No way she’d let anyone but Arie get close enough to call her “Aunt Eliana.”

And as for Mrs. Berenson being called “Grandma,”

that was even more off-limits.

Arie’s grandmother only had one granddaughter, after all.

Except for Arie,

no one else got to cross that line!

Compared to Arie,

the Bailey family was nothing.

If it wasn’t for Arie, she wouldn’t even give Anna the time of day.

To Eliana, Anna couldn’t hold a candle to Arie.

When Eliana corrected the way Anna addressed her, Anna blushed with embarrassment.

She thought she had won Eliana’s approval.

But to her surprise,

Eliana was so ruthless about it.

What really threw Anna for a loop was that even though Mrs. Berenson seemed so nice, she didn’t say a single word to bail her out.

Anna couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy.

She was just as gorgeous as any A-list star, and her aura was second to none. She’d gone out of her way to win over the Berenson family, but they couldn’t care less.

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Chapter 69

Still,

she couldn’t afford to lose her cool.

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This was just her first time meeting the Berenson family, so it made sense that Mrs. Berenson and Eliana weren’t ready to accept her yet.

‘Ariel was already gone, so there was no way she could get in my way now, Anna thought to herself. ‘I’ll just take it slow and work my way in. With my skills, I’m sure I’ll have the Berenson family eating out of my hand sooner or later.’

‘And when that day comes, I’ll take Ariel’s place and become the one the Berenson family treasures most.’

With that thought, Anna’s expression softened, and she smoothly said, “Arie and I are basically sisters, so I thought I could just copy how she did it when it comes to addressing everyone. Didn’t expect to embarrass myself in front of you, Mrs. Berenson. Glad you’re not holding it against me since I’m just the junior here.”

Anna was sharp. She knew how to say all the right things to get on Mrs. Berenson and Eliana’s good side, and she was a master at smoothing over her own awkwardness.

Some things just had to be taken slow, no rushing.

“Mixing up how to address someone is totally normal, happens to everyone. Neither Mrs. Berenson nor I minded at all. Just try not to make the same mistake next time,” Eliana said with a gentle smile. “Anna, really, don’t worry about it.”

‘So, just don’t slip up next time, huh?’ Anna mused to herself.

She knew Eliana was giving her a nudge, making sure she got the message.

But Anna didn’t take it to heart at all.

‘Just you wait,’ Anna thought to herself.

One day, she’d make Eliana beg her to call her “Aunt Eliana.”

‘And when that day comes,

Eliana herself will have to come and apologize for how she treated me today.

Anna couldn’t help but smirk, feeling a rush of satisfaction. She was certain she could pull it off.

Then Eliana turned to Luna. “Luna, you’ve taught Anna so well. She’s really polite and knows how to carry herself.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Eliana,” Luna replied with a smile. “Honestly, I haven’t really taught her much. Anna’s always been self-sufficient. Whether it’s her studies or her hobbies, she’s always handled things on her own. She might not be perfect at everything, but she’s very independent! She’s grown up now, and all she ever does is focus on her studies and her career. Still hasn’t found herself a boyfriend, which honestly has me a bit worried.”

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Chapter 69

::.

On the surface, Luna was acting like the concerned mom.

But in reality,

she was making it clear to Mrs. Berenson and Eliana that Anna was still single.

Anna wasn’t just single. She was a total catch.

She was still in college, but she was already running her own business.

“If I remember right, Anna’s only two years older than Arie, isn’t she?” Eliana asked.

“That’s right, Eliana,” Luna replied.

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“No need to rush. Arie’s still just a kid. Let her enjoy her youth a little longer,” Eliana said, her gaze overflowing with doting warmth for her niece.

Noticing the doting look in Eliana’s eyes, Anna frowned slightly.

She couldn’t deny that she was jealous.

She just couldn’t figure out why everyone always put Ariel at the center of everything.

Most of them had barely even met Ariel in person.

Ariel’s grandmother was like that.

The whole Berenson family was just the same.

But she was way better than Ariel. She was the one who deserved all their attention, not Ariel.

‘Lucky for me, Ariel’s dead, Anna thought to herself.

Otherwise,

if Ariel were still around, she’d never get a chance to shine, because Ariel would steal all her thunder.

As they chatted, they made their way toward the parking lot.

Mrs. Berenson, who’d barely spoken, suddenly turned to Luna. “Luna, how’s your mom holding up? Has she seen a doctor yet?”

“She has,” Luna replied with a nod. “The doctor said her illness is all because she misses them too much. It’s a pain in her heart, not just her body. Unless we can bring Charlotte and Arie back, there’s no real cure. She might never recover.”

As Luna finished, she let out a long, heavy sigh, her heart weighed down by worry.

Mrs. Berenson sighed too.

‘It’s just so hard,’ Mrs. Berenson thought to herself.

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Chapter 69

‘It’s just so bitter,’ she couldn’t help but feel.

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‘Tiffany has such a hard life, Mrs. Berenson thought. ‘Her son-in-law’s been a vegetable in bed for years, and her only daughter and granddaughter are missing, and she’s been living in pain all this time.’

‘Honestly, Tiffany has had it even worse than I have,’ Mrs. Berenson couldn’t help but think.

Luna quickly added, “Mrs. Berenson, please don’t worry too much. My mom’s doing a lot better than she was before.”

“Alright,” Mrs. Berenson nodded. “Let’s pick up the pace. It’s been more than a decade since I last saw your mom. Who knows if we’ll even recognize each other now. Honestly, I always thought we’d only meet again once Arie was found. But after all these years, there’s still not a single trace of her.”

Her voice grew heavy with sadness at the end.

“Mrs. Berenson, please don’t worry,” Luna said quickly, trying to comfort her. “Arie’s a blessed girl. She’s tough and lucky. We’re sure to bring her home.”

“You’re right, Luna,” Mrs. Berenson nodded, hope flickering in her eyes. “My Arie will come back to us. I just know it.”

Soon enough, they reached the parking lot.

The driver had pulled up in a stretch limo.

Luna and Anna let Mrs. Berenson and Eliana get in first, and then the two of them got in after.

The car sped along. Luna kept chatting with Mrs. Berenson the whole ride. Eliana barely said a word. Anna wanted to keep winning Eliana over, but couldn’t find a chance.

Before long, they arrived at Sullivan Manor.

Ariel’s grandmother, struggling with her illness, was waiting at the gate to greet Mrs. Berenson and Eliana.

Peering through the car window, Mrs. Berenson saw how pale and weak Ariel’s grandmother looked. Her heart clenched, and she quickly got out of the car.

Eliana followed right after.

“Mrs. Berenson, Eliana, you made it!” Ariel’s grandmother walked right over, grabbed Mrs. Berenson’s hand with a big smile. “Welcome to Kindowen! It’s been ages since we last saw each other!”

It’d been nineteen years since they last met.

Everyone looked so different now.

Tiffany couldn’t help but notice that Mrs. Berenson just wasn’t the vibrant, youthful woman she had seen last time.

She could tell just by looking.

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Chapter 69

Mrs. Berenson hadn’t had an easy life these past years, either.

Even Eliana had changed a lot over time.

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Mrs. Berenson nodded, holding Tiffany’s hand, her voice trembling slightly. “Tiffany, time really does fly! It’s been nineteen years since we last saw each other, and nineteen years since I’ve been back to Kindowen. This place has changed so much. Honestly, if Luna and Anna hadn’t been with me pointing things out, I wouldn’t have recognized most of the old places.”

Kindowen had changed a lot.

But the changes in Tiffany were even more striking.

She was only in her sixties, but she looked closer to seventy than sixty. Life had really taken its toll on her.

Mrs. Berenson looked up at Tiffany and said softly, “Tiffany, let the past stay in the past. Things will get better, you’ll see. I just have this feeling that one day, Charlotte will come back with Arie. So you have to take care of yourself. Don’t make the kids worry. They’re both still waiting for you to bring them home.”

Tiffany’s surname was McQueen.

A distinguished family name.

“I know,” Tiffany said with a forced smile. “But it’s one thing to say ‘let it go’, actually moving on is just too hard. What happened nineteen years ago still feels unreal, like a bad dream I can’t wake up from. Just that morning, Leo and Charlotte brought Arie to see me. But the next night, I got a call from the police…”

As she spoke, Tiffany couldn’t help sobbing, her words lost in her tears.

She hadn’t meant to cry.

But seeing Mrs. Berenson somehow made the tears spill over, no matter how hard she tried to hold them back.

She thought of her daughter-in-law Charlotte.

She thought of her precious granddaughter, Arie…

That morning when they parted, everything was still just fine.

But after just one night, everything had changed.

For Tiffany, it was like her whole world had come crashing down. All these years, she was just barely keeping it together, trying to find her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, while keeping the business afloat. Honestly, nobody really knew how she had made it through.

“Old friend, to tell you the truth, not a single day has gone by that I haven’t regretted it. I should never have let Leo and Charlotte take Arie back to pay respects to our ancestors. If they hadn’t gone, none of this would’ve happened. I really, really regret it,” Tiffany choked out, her voice breaking with regret.

Tiffany was crying so hard that she couldn’t even catch her breath, completely losing control.

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Chapter 69

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Anna just stood there, watching Tiffany. Her face was calm, but inside, she felt a wave of resentment.

‘If it had been my mom and me who went missing, Anna thought to herself,

‘would Grandma Tiffany be this devastated? Probably not.

‘She probably wouldn’t even care, Anna thought bitterly.

Besides that private jet, the Berenson family had showered Ariel with all kinds of expensive gifts, but Tiffany had stashed everything away in the bank. Anna wasn’t even allowed to lay eyes on them.

‘Ariel’s already dead,’ Anna thought, bitterness rising in her chest. ‘Am I really not even worth as much as a dead girl? I’m the one who’s always by Grandma Tiffany’s side, doing everything for her, and yet she treats me like I’m nothing.’

‘She treats me like I’m a thief, Anna fumed.

Hearing Tiffany pour out her heart like that, Mrs. Berenson felt the pain just as deeply. The two women embraced, crying their hearts out together.

Eliana’s eyes were rimmed with tears too, getting choked up just like the others.

The atmosphere turned so tense.

Luna was choked up, tears streaming down her face as she walked over to the two elders. “Mom, Mrs. Berenson, let’s go inside and talk. No need to stand out here in the open.”

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21:07 Wed, Jan 21