Dumped Then Claimed By A Billionaire (Nerissa and Owen) novel Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Everyone had their bottom line.

Lennox was no different.

Apologize on his knees?

No way in hell!

He’d never apologize to any woman, not in this lifetime.

93%1

E55 vouchers

Hearing this, Ethan grinned. “Lennox, don’t get ahead of yourself. You might end up even more whipped than me!” After all, the Stratford family was famous for having men who were totally under their wives’ thumbs.

The Stratford women all knew exactly how to keep their husbands wrapped around their fingers.

And the men?

Every single one of them was completely at their wives’ mercy.

Honestly, Ethan couldn’t wait to see Lennox on his knees.

It’d be hilarious to watch.

Ethan was practically rubbing his hands in anticipation.

Served Lennox right for always making fun of him for being so whipped.

Lennox didn’t take Ethan’s words seriously at all. “Ethan, I’m not you. Don’t go projecting your own issues onto me.”

“I’m just saying, what if you end up being a total henpecked husband someday?” Ethan teased.

“I’m never getting married,” Lennox leaned back in his chair. “So your little scenario is never going to happen.”

Ethan was left speechless.

Fine!

Well, guess that was settled then.

He’d just have to wait and see if his brother-in-law could really shy single for life.

After a moment, Ethan continued, “Alright, back to business. Lenox, can you reach Riley for me? I have no idea if she’s still mad at me. It’s totally my fault. I was way too careless with my cigarette. She was already nice enough to let me smoke in the first place! She’s always been so good to me. How could I have pushed my luck and ended up burning her dress?”

By the end, Ethan looked totally guilty.

Lennox shot him a look. “Ethan, can you stop being such a wimp”

“A wimp?” Ethan looked totally lost. “How am I a wimp?”

Lennox said with obvious disdain, “Seriously, isn’t it pathetic to so whipped by your wife?”

Ethan burst out laughing. “What’s so embarrassing about being ared of your wife? You know why my career’s taken off? It’s

all thanks to Riley. She’s the real boss at home, keeping me in check behind the scenes!”

1/6

|||

O

୮

09:28 Thu, Jan 22 GF.

Chapter 81

Ethan and Riley were a love match, pure and simple.

93%

65 vouchers

Back then, Riley was the campus belle at Aosthorne University, with men lining up for her. Ethan was just another face in the crowd, but Riley didn’t care about family background at all. She picked him without a second thought.

After they got married, she respected and loved him. Even though she could be a little feisty sometimes, Ethan was totally into it.

So…

Even after all these years of marriage, their relationship was still going strong.

Bossing him around?

Ethan looked like he was loving every minute of it.

‘Is Ethan some kind of masochist or what?’ Lennox thought, totally baffled.

Lennox just couldn’t wrap his head around it.

“Seriously, you’re a big guy and you’re scared of a woman? Isn’t that just pathetic?” Lennox scoffed, giving Ethan a look of disbelief.

“Nope, not at all,” Ethan shot back. “Lennox, enough with the teasing, just hurry up and call Riley for me! Don’t let her sit there brooding all by herself.”

Left with no other option, Lennox picked up his phone and made the call.

Riley answered almost immediately.

“Hey, Lennox, what’s up?” she asked.

“It’s Ethan. He wants to talk to you,” Lennox said, handing the phone over to Ethan.

Ethan took the phone. “Riley, I’m sorry. You wouldn’t answer my calls, so I had no choice but to ask Lennox for help. Babe, I swear, I’ll never smoke again…”

As Ethan’s words got mushier and mushier, Lennox couldn’t hel but shudder and turned to head into the lounge.

He couldn’t stand to listen to a single word of Ethan and Riley’s Conversation.

It was way too sweet.

Lennox was totally baffled.

They saw each other every single day, and they’d only been apa for a little while. Where did they even find so much to talk. about?

Little did Lennox know that, not long from now, just missing My Jamison for a single day would drive him absolutely crazy. He’d be glued to his phone, texting her nonstop, pouring out a whole bucket of cringe-worthy sweet nothings.

Of course.

But that was a story for another day.

There was a bed in the lounge.

Lennox shrugged off his suit jacket and flopped onto the bed without even bothering to change, planning to catch a quick

nap.

2/6

09:29 Thu, Jan 22 =

Chapter 81

Half an hour later.

Ethan strolled into the lounge, grinning from ear to ear with his phone in hand.

Lennox was already fast asleep.

Who knew what he was dreaming about.

93%

55 vouchers

Usually so serious and unsmiling, Lennox now had a faint smile on his face in his sleep. The sharp lines of his face had softened.

Ethan was taken aback.

‘Who could Lennox be dreaming about?’ Ethan mused.

‘Is it his first love, the one he could never have?’ he guessed.

‘Yeah, that’s gotta be it,’ Ethan thought, nodding to himself.

‘Definitely his first love.”

‘If it wasn’t for his secret crush, why would Lennox be grinning like that?’ Ethan mused to himself.

Ethan stifled a laugh. ‘Ha, no wonder her nickname’s Sweetiepie

Seeing his brother-in-law’s smile get sweeter by the second, Ethan grew more and more curious, wondering what kind of girl could actually win over this cold-hearted prince?

Not wanting to interrupt Lennox’s sweet dreams, Ethan gently see the phone down, quietly closed the lounge door, and tiptoed out.

Just as he reached the door, Ethan’s eyes landed on a book sitting on the desk.

It was titled A Random Walk Down the Wall Street.

It was all about investing and finance, and definitely one of Lennox’s favorites. Judging by the beat-up cover, he must’ve brought it all the way from Cilowesad.

Ethan was genuinely impressed.

‘Man, Lennox is on another level. He has actually brought A Random Walk Down the Wall Street all the way from Cilowesad. Who else would even think to do that? No wonder he’s already the king of finance at such a young age!’ Ethan thought, shaking his head in awe.

Not long after Ethan left, Lennox woke up. Even though he’d only napped for about half an hour, he felt way more refreshed.

After getting up, he splashed some cold water on his face, and then headed over to his computer desk. With fifteen minutes to go before one, Lennox logged into the game Splendor Peak.

He wanted to see if Phyllis had managed to crack the tricky [Assassination] endgame he’d set up.

But Phyllis hadn’t logged in since yesterday.

Lennox couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

Lennox rubbed his temples, absentmindedly picked up the book A Random Walk Down the Wall Street from his desk and flipped to the page he’d left off on.

3/6

|||

O

<

09:29 Thu, Jan 22 GF.

Chapter 81

93%

55 vouchers

If Ethan had been there, he would’ve been floored to discover this wasn’t really a finance book at all. It was basically a hidden manual for How Hardcore Straight Guys Can Win a Girl’s Heart

Lennox read the words carefully.

[Guys, listen up! If you’ve befriended a girl on WhatsApp, make sure you post all the time so she can keep tabs on you. Sharing is basically a love confession. Besides, if she’s into you, she’ll definitely hit that like button!]

‘Sharing is basically a love confession?’ Lennox thought, a little skeptical.

‘Who comes up with this kind of brain-dead advice?’ Lennox snorted to himself.

‘Seriously, what a joke!’ he thought, rolling his eyes.

‘As if I’d ever post anything, Lennox scoffed.

‘I’ve literally never posted. Not once,’ he reminded himself.

Lennox closed the book and strolled over to the floor-to-ceiling window. It was deep winter here, and everything outside was covered in a blanket of snow. From his vantage point, he could take in the whole breathtaking scene.

A few seconds later, Lennox picked up his phone, snapped a photo, and posted it with a caption.

[In one day, I’ve experienced both winter and summer.]

Almost as soon as he hit post, there was a knock at the door, and Melinda said respectfully outside the door, “Mr. Stratford, the chairman and reps from KD Group are already in the conference room.”

“Got it. Tell them to hang tight and I’ll be there in three,” Lennox replied. After making sure the post had gone through, he finally put his phone away.

Three minutes later, Lennox walked into the conference room.

As the meeting went on, KD Group’s chairman and their representative couldn’t help but notice that Lennox was acting a little off. He kept checking his phone every five or six minutes.

And every time he did, his face darkened even more.

Lennox was known for his ice-cold expression. After a few rounds of phone-checking, the atmosphere became very tense.

They were getting more and more nervous, cold sweat breaking out on their backs. ‘Did we say something wrong? Is Mr. Stratford pissed at us?’ they wondered.

‘What now?’ they freaked out.

Is Mr. Stratford really gonna pull the plug on us?’ they were freaking out.

本

It was already afternoon where Lennox was.

But back in Cilowesad, it was the next morning.

Nerissa always started her day with a morning run.

Eight o’clock sharp.

She’d just gotten back from her run.

4/6

09:29 Thu, Jan 22 = G

Chapter 81

Hunter already had breakfast ready.

93%

55 vouchers

“Come on, Nerissa, eat up. Once you’re done, we’ll take Kennedy to the station,” Hunter said.

The station?’ Nerissa thought to herself, puzzled.

“Wait, didn’t I agree with Kennedy that he’d leave the day after tomorrow?” she asked, a bit surprised.

The day after tomorrow was when they were supposed to move into the villa.

Nerissa and Kennedy had already planned to have a little get-together after the move, and only then would he head back home.

Just then, Kennedy came out of his room. Hearing their conversation, he explained, “Nerissa, I was planning to wait until you guys finished moving before heading back. But I just got a call from home. My cousin, the one I grew up with, isn’t going to make it. I need to hurry back and see him one last time

When one got old, these little attachments were all he had left.

Nerissa asked, “What time’s your train ticket?”

“It’s at 10:10,” Kennedy replied, looking worried. “All the other tickets are gone, and this was the only one left. The bullet train to my hometown takes eight hours. I just hope I won’t be too late!”

“Let me eat quick. Grandpa and I will drive you to the station,” Nerissa said, eager to help.

Kennedy chuckled. “It’s really okay, Nerissa. I’ve ridden the bulle train plenty of times. No need to trouble you guys. I can get there on my own.”

“We should still go with you, Grandpa Kennedy,” Nerissa insisted glancing at him. “Who knows when you’ll be back in Aosthorne next time?”

Hunter nodded in agreement. “Nerissa’s right. It’ll give us a chance to catch up on the way.”

After breakfast, right at 8:20, Nerissa ordered a ride through the app, and she and Hunter headed out together to drop Kennedy off at the station.

Half an hour later, they pulled up at the station.

Once they got out of the car, Kennedy glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings, looking confused and a little panicked. “Wait, Nerissa, this isn’t the train station! Oh man, did he driver drop us off at the wrong place?”

Hunter just smiled. “Relax, Kennedy, it’s not the wrong place. This is the airport. Nerissa bought you a plane ticket. Remember how you mentioned you’d never flown before? She tok it to heart, and even booked you a first-class seat.”

Hearing that, Kennedy was hit with a wave of emotions, surprise, touched, and a little overwhelmed. He had never imagined Nerissa would remember something he’d just casually mentioned.

Nerissa wasn’t even his own family, but she treated him with me kindness than anyone else ever had.

Meanwhile, the three kids he’d raised himself had kicked him ou of their own houses.

The more Kennedy thought about it, the more his heart ached, and he couldn’t help but get teary-eyed. “Nerissa, you really didn’t have to go all out for me. First-class tickets cost a fortune. Aren’t they like ten times the price of a regular seat?”

5/6

09:29 Thu, Jan 22 G.