Dumped Then Claimed By A Billionaire (Nerissa and Owen) novel Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Luke blinked in disbelief. “Wait, seriously? You got nothing?”

“Nope, not a thing,” Lennox replied.

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Luke just stared, totally speechless.

“Uncle Lennox, didn’t I tell you Ms. Jamison’s birthday is on the eighth? How could you show up empty-handed?” Luke let out a long sigh. “Even if you’d just grabbed something random, i would’ve meant you cared.”

It was the thought that counted.

‘Why doesn’t Uncle Lennox ever get how this works?’ Luke thought, feeling helpless.

‘What’s money compared to Nerissa anyway?”

“I told you, I never spend money on people who aren’t family,” Lennox said slowly, and his expression didn’t change at all.

Luke shook his head, giving up. “Alright, alright! Talking to you i pointless. You’ll never understand. Just don’t blame me if you end up regretting it.”

‘Why bother reasoning with a hopelessly stubborn man like Uncle Lennox?’ Luke thought, feeling totally defeated.

Even if he talked till he was blue in the face, Lennox wouldn’t budge.

Neil and David had caught an earlier flight back.

They’d already picked up Lennox’s luggage and were waiting at the exit for Lennox and Luke.

Luke hurried over to them.

“Hey Uncle Lennox, which one’s my bag?” Luke asked.

“That one,” Lennox replied, pointing at one of the bags.

“Oh.” Luke nodded, then glanced at the other two big bags, curiality getting the better of him. “So, what’s in those other two?”

Before Lennox could say anything, Luke’s face lit up with sudde excitement. “Wait, I bet those are my presents! Uncle Lennox, you’re the best! Thanks for everything,”

And he actually started singing happily.

“Alright, let’s see what you got me, Uncle Lennox!” Luke said, practically diving for the bags, eyes shining with anticipation.

‘Man, this is a miracle!’ Luke thought, nearly bouncing on his tos.

“The old miser finally cracked open his wallet for me! If I’d know he was gonna spoil me, I would’ve made a wish list!

‘Ah!’

‘I’m so touched!’

But before Luke could finish basking in the moment, Lennox shattered his hope.

“Those are my personal belongings,” Lennox said.

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Wait, personal stuff?’ Luke thought, his excitement instantly fizzled out.

“So they weren’t for me after all…” Luke muttered, his face darkening.

I really thought maybe Uncle Lennox had finally loosened up a bit, he thought, feeling let down.

But he couldn’t have been more wrong.

‘Still the same old tightwad!’

“So I can’t even take a peek?” Luke pressed, not ready to give up.

“No,” Lennox said, each word clipped and final.

‘No?’ Luke echoed, totally thrown.

Luke hadn’t really cared at first.

But after Lennox said that, now he was even more curious.

What could possibly be in there?’ Luke thought, curiosity gnawing at him.

‘Not even I get to look?’ he wondered, feeling a bit miffed.

Luke couldn’t help but ask, “Come on, Uncle Lennox, what did you get?”

“That’s classified,” Lennox said, shutting it down with zero room for negotiation.

Luke felt totally defeated, but there was nothing he could do.

If it were anyone else, he’d just go ahead and peek inside the bag.

But this was Mr. Stratford!

Even as Mr. Stratford’s nephew, he wouldn’t dare mess with his stuff.

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On the way to the underground garage, Luke slowed his pace to walk alongside Neil, dropping his voice. “Neil, come on, what’s in Uncle Lennox’s private bags?”

Neil knew what was in those bags.

But as Lennox’s secretary, he knew exactly what he could and couldn’t say.

So when Luke asked, Neil just shook his head. “I have no idea.”

Luke leaned in even closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Neil just tell me what’s in there and I’ll give you this much.”

He flashed her a gesture for a hundred grand

Neil just shook her head again. “Mr. Merritt, please don’t put me on the spot. I really have no idea.”

Luke shot a look at David, hoping for a different answer.

But David immediately stepped away. “Mr Merritt, Freally don’t know

Luke was speechless

‘Man, I give up! he thought, totally exasperated

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‘Seriously, how are all of Lennox’s people so loyal? Not even a hundred grand can get them to talk!”

Not even a bribe could get them to spill.

Soon, they pulled up in front of the Rolls-Royce.

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Lennox hadn’t gotten much rest during his business trip. So as soon as he got in the car, he leaned back and closed his eyes for a quick nap.

Luke had a million questions he wanted to ask.

But Lennox, like he could read Luke’s mind, cut him off before he could even say anything. “Shut up. Don’t bother me. I’m trying to sleep.”

Luke was speechless.

‘Uncle Lennox is just ice-cold as ever. And me? Just left out in the cold, Luke thought, feeling sorry for himself.

Forty minutes later, the car pulled up to Stratfordland.

The driver opened the door, and Lennox was the first to step ou He was a total clean freak. Whenever he got back from a trip, the first thing he did was take a shower.

He wouldn’t even think about seeing anyone else until he was squeaky clean.

Luke, on the other hand, didn’t care about that stuff, so he just headed straight for the inner courtyard, going the opposite way from Lennox.

There were guests at Stratfordland today.

Hannah’s niece had come over with her three-year-old son.

Little kids just loved playing with marbles.

The moment Luke set foot in the inner courtyard, he landed right on a marble.

He was rushing, barely watching his step.

His foot slipped on the marble.

Bang!

“Ah!”

The very next second, he fell to the ground and couldn’t move.

‘Ouch! That hurts! Luke thought, gritting his teeth.

He couldn’t help groaning in pain.

He just lay there, totally out of it, not even processing what had ppened.

Hannah heard the commotion from inside, came out, and saw ke lying there like he was peacefully napping.

She walked over and nudged him with her foot. “Hey, wake up! napping here!”

Luke was speechless.

Poor him!

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I’m about to die here, and she thinks I’m just taking a nap?’

‘Seriously, Grandma??’

‘Classic Grandma move, Luke thought, totally done.

Luke felt hurt and speechless.

When Luke didn’t move, Hannah gave him another kick. “Luke, get up! The floor’s filthy!”

‘This brat!’ Hannah thought, shaking her head.

‘Is he really that wiped out?’ she wondered.

‘He’s really just out cold on the floor!’

Riley walked out at that moment. “What’s going on with Luke?”

Hannah glanced back at her daughter. “Oh, it’s nothing. He’s just sleeping on the floor.”

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Luke actually let out a laugh, more exasperated than amused. He shot up from the ground and wailed, “I wasn’t sleeping! I wiped out! Grandma, I nearly broke my neck! And you told my mom I was just taking a nap…”

He suddenly felt so wronged.

‘No wonder Uncle Lennox turned out so tough, growing up in this family. You’d need nerves of steel just to survive!’ Luke thought, totally exasperated.

Luke was just two years younger than Lennox.

He remembered when Lennox was learning to swim as a kid, he was nearly drowning in the pool, and Hannah was just standing there on the side, praising him for swimming so well, totally oblivious to the chaos.

Good thing the coach spotted it in time!

“I’ve never seen someone who just wiped out look so lively!” Riley said, coming over to brush the dust off Luke’s back. “Come on, get inside. Your aunt is here.”

“No wonder I tripped. There are marbles everywhere. That brat Tayler must’ve been causing trouble again, Luke grumbled as he stomped inside.

Hannah’s niece Chloe was visiting.

And Taylor? That was Chloe’s three-year-old boy.

Not long after, Lennox came downstairs, looking fresh and clean after his shower.

Taylor immediately ran over and greeted him, “Hi, Uncle Lenn!”

Lennox picked up a box of candy and handed it to Taylor. “Here have some.”

“Thanks, Uncle Lennox!” Taylor said, grinning from ear to ear.

After greeting Chloe, Lennox turned to Hannah. “Mom, where’snowball?”

Hannah chuckled. “You know how Snowball is. He’s probably of wandering around somewhere, doing his own thing”

She gave him a curious look. “Usually you don’t even ask about Showball. What’s up with you today, suddenly so interested?”

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“It’s nothing,” Lennox said, picking up his tea, calm and collected as always. “Just felt like asking.”

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Nerissa and Hunter had already settled into their new villa.

Hunter invited his colleagues over to a house-warming party.

The villa was filled with laughter and chatter, everyone having a blast.

On top of that, Faye showed up with a bouquet of flowers and a fruit basket. “Nerissa, congrats on the new place!”

“Thanks, Fifi,” Nerissa said, taking the gifts. “Come on in, have a seat.”

Faye pulled out a gift envelope. “Oh, Nerissa, my parents insisted I bring this for you.”

Before Nerissa could even say no, Faye cut her off, “Nerissa, my parents said this is for good luck, and you can’t refuse it. If you do, it’d be like you’re treating them as strangers. They’re out of town on business right now, or they’d totally be here celebrating with us.”

Nerissa accepted the envelope with both hands. “Alright, then please thank your parents for me.”

“No worries! Nerissa, I keep telling you, my folks are your folks too!” Faye said with a big grin.

As soon as Faye stepped inside, she caught sight of Snowball chilling on the cat tree.

Even though Snowball wasn’t Nerissa’s own cat,

he was always dropping by, so Nerissa had set up a cat tree just for him and even bought a bunch of his favorite canned food.

Faye was a total animal lover, especially when it came to cats and dogs. The moment she saw Snowball, her eyes practically lit up. “Oh my god, he’s so adorable! Nerissa, when did you start keeping a cat?”

She practically bounced over, arms outstretched, ready to scoop him up.

But Snowball darted away in a flash.

‘Phew!’ Snowball thought, heart pounding.

“That was close!’

‘Almost got ambushed by a human!’

Faye looked totally disappointed. “Nerissa, why won’t this cat at your place let me hold him?”

Nerissa chuckled and explained, “His name’s Snowball, but he’stually Lennox’s cat. He’s kind of a weirdo and hates being picked up.”

‘Wait, Lennox’s cat?’ Faye thought, her eyes widened in disbelief

“Hold up, Nerissa! Are you guys shacking up together or what?” aye blurted out, her voice full of gossip and shock.

‘Ship’s sailing for real! Faye thought, practically bouncing with citement.

I’m so happy, so excited, so hyped! Faye thought, practically boncing with joy.

“Fifi, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Nerissa said, playfully bopping her on the head. “Snowball’s just Lennox’s cat.

He’s kind of a free spirit, always wandering around. He just likes o come over and hang out at my place sometimes.”

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“Oh, so that’s it?” Faye pouted, looking totally deflated.

‘Dang, so they’re not living together yet!’ Faye thought, a little disappointed her ship hadn’t sailed.

Nerissa linked arms with Faye. “Let’s go, Fifi, time for a barbecue

“Heck yes!” Faye cheered, her attention immediately snapping to the food.

Nerissa had already gotten all the barbecue ingredients ready to go.

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Hunter was busy hosting his friends out in the living room, while Nerissa was making Faye feel right at home inside. Laughter and warmth filled every corner, with everyone enjoying themselves both indoors and out.

*****

At Stratfordland,

it was ten o’clock at night.

Snowball strolled back in, looking all graceful and cool.

“Snowball, come here, give me a hug,” Lennox called out.

He reached out his arms, ready to scoop Snowball up.

“Meow!” Snowball called out.

He hopped right into Lennox’s arms.

Lennox buried his face in Snowball’s fur and sniffed carefully.

‘Hmm, Lennox thought.

‘Still the same,’ Lennox thought.

It was the scent that always put him at ease.

He absolutely loved it.

Lennox kept squeezing him tighter and tighter, until Snowball was practically gasping for air. “Meow, meow!”

‘Dad!’ Snowball thought, feeling totally helpless.

‘Best dad ever!’ Snowball thought, nearly suffocating but still loving every second.

‘Dad, I can’t breathe!’ Snowball thought, feeling totally squished.

Lennox noticed Snowball rolling his eyes and realized he was squeezing too hard, so he quickly loosened his grip.

Snowball wasted no time. He flipped himself off Lennox’s armsad landed on the floor in a flash.

Lennox popped open a can of food. “Snowball, come here, dinng’s ready.”

Staring at Snowball’s noticeably rounder belly, Lennox was ball. He’d told the butler to go easy on the cat food while he was gone. Why did Snowball look even chunkier than before?

Is it just me, or is he actually getting chubbier?’ Lennox thought a bit puzzled.

Lennox furrowed his brows, but didn’t dwell on it. He walked over to his computer, sat down, logged into Splendor Peak.

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and entered Adventure Manor.

His main goal was to see if Phyllis had successfully solved the [Assassination] puzzle.

As soon as he logged in, there were no notifications waiting for him.

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Lennox narrowed his eyes. The [Assassination] puzzle was rated over five stars, extremely difficult. Only two days had passed, so it was perfectly normal that Phyllis hadn’t solved it ye

Just as Lennox was about to log out, he spotted a new player had popped up on the screen.

This mysterious figure, dressed head-to-toe in black, was hanging out under the tree, trying to solve a tough chess puzzle at a stone table.

Floating above the player’s head was his name Phyllis.

As soon as Lennox saw Phyllis online, he wasted no time. He steered his avatar right over to stand in front of Phyllis.

Lennox wanted to see with his own eyes just how long it would take Phyllis to beat the [Assassination] quest.

Lennox got up to pour himself a glass of water.

By the time he came back, the chessboard looked totally different.

Everything on the board was flipped on its head!

The tables had turned.

Right then, a system notification flashed. [Mr. S, your [Assassination] puzzle has just been cracked by player Phyllis.]

He was shocked.

He had never imagined that in the time it took him to pour a glass of water, Phyllis would actually crack the [Assassination]

quest.

“That’s just insane!’ Lennox thought, totally blown away.

At the same time, Lennox’s curiosity about Phyllis was off the charts.

‘Who the heck is this Phyllis?’ he couldn’t help but wonder.

Just how strong are you, really?’ he wondered, his curiosity at an all-time high.

Nerissa felt exactly the same.

She was incredibly curious about what kind of person Mr. S mu be, to create a puzzle as fiendish as [Assassination].

In the world of Go, there were very few who could actually challenge her.

It was rare for anyone to truly match her skills.

Mrs. S was the only one who ever made her feel like she was truly up against a worthy opponent.

Just as Nerissa was still puzzling over it, a private message popped up on her screen.

It was from Mr. S.

Nerissa clicked open the chat window.

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[How about we meet up!]

Nerissa raised her eyebrows, puzzled. [What’]

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Seeing her response, Lennox messaged right back [You pick theme and place. How about we play a game face-to-face?]

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