From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 106: Fake Concern

She immediately turned to Lucas, her face full of hurt from being misunderstood. "Lucas, don't get the wrong idea. Mr. Hull reached out to me yesterday afternoon. He said he wanted to talk about a potential partnership between our companies. That's why he asked me to meet him here today. I really didn't know you'd be here either!"

As she spoke, she looked at Terrence as if asking for confirmation.

Terrence had no idea what was going on. He smiled and tried to smooth things over, "Yeah, I invited Sophia. She's my daughter's best friend—like a niece to me. It's only natural, I'd think of her when a project comes up."

Lucas' face was still unhappy, but the explanation killed most of his suspicion.

Everyone in their circle knew Sophia was a close friend of Terrence's daughter.

Terrence doted on his girl, and by extension, he'd always been good to Sophia.

With the meeting with Sebastian coming up, Lucas didn't want to pick a fight with Terrence over something so small. So he swallowed his frustration and didn't say anything more.

But Riley, standing off to the side, saw everything clearly.

She found it pretty funny.

What a coincidence—the time, the place.

This act is way too rehearsed.

Others might buy it, but Riley didn't believe a single word.

Sophia was here for one reason only: to make sure Riley didn't get any credit in front of Lucas.

She was terrified of Riley helping Lucas land the Torres Group deal and gaining even more standing in the Ashford family.

So she came to get a piece of the pie—or even steal the whole thing.

What an effort.

Riley laughed coldly to herself. She caught the brief flash of smug defiance in Sophia's eyes when she looked her way.

Does she really think I still want to bust my ass for the Ashford Group—just to win a little approval from Lucas?

There was still a short while before the scheduled meeting with Sebastian.

This little gap became Sophia's perfectly staged performance.

She held her expensive custom golf club gracefully and walked up to Riley.

Her bright pink golf outfit was blinding in the sun. She wore a sweet, innocent smile. "Riley, do you know how to play golf?"

Before Riley could answer, Sophia kept going, her tone dripping with subtle superiority. "It's not like playing badminton in the yard. Golf takes years of training with a professional coach—learning every little move. The equipment, the course, the etiquette—it's all very demanding."

Every word was a quiet jab at Riley's background, a reminder to everyone there that she came from a different world.

This kind of high-society sport was out of her reach.

Lucas' brow furrowed. He shot a look at Sophia, but Terrence's cheerful laugh cut in.

Clearly, he didn't catch the hidden sting. He just thought it was small talk.

Faced with this fake concern, Riley stayed completely calm. "I really don't know how."

"Oh, that's too bad." Sophia immediately put on a pitying face. "Then you should go sit in the lounge area, Riley. The sun's strong—no need for you to get burned."

She guided Riley to a nearby umbrella table like she was the true hostess here.

Once Riley was settled, Sophia spun around and hurried back to Lucas' side, sweet and coy.

She gently tugged on Lucas' arm, her voice playful. "Lucas, I'm still so bad at this. I just can't get the swing right. Will you teach me? Please?"

Terrence was charmed by the sibling scene. He smiled at Lucas and said, "Lucas, if Sophia wants to learn, teach her. A boy should be nice to his sister. It's good to loosen up anyway. I hear Mr. Torres is quite skilled himself. You two can have a few rounds later."

With an elder speaking up, Lucas couldn't turn him down in front of everyone.

His lips pressed together. "Fine." Then he took Sophia and headed to another practice area.

After they left, Terrence politely ordered someone to bring Riley some pastries and coffee. But when his eyes landed on her, Riley caught the flicker of contempt.

She understood completely.

Men like Terrence—who ran with Lucas' parents in Havenbrook's old-money circles—had always looked down on someone like her, plain background, no family name.

To them, she was just a scheming woman who used her looks and tricks to climb the social ladder.

Even though she was legally Mrs. Ashford, it didn't change their disdain for where she came from.

Riley picked up her coffee and took a small sip.