From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 123: Claiming Its Territory

But she fixed her expression quickly. She put on an innocent look, blinked, and lowered her voice. "I don't know," she said. "My assistant actually waited outside for her for almost an hour. But she never showed up.

"Oh, and Lucas—maybe something urgent came up for her? She did call you earlier. I picked up.

"But you were talking business with the others. You seemed so busy, so I told her you didn't have time right now. And then... well, she just hung up."

Sophia's words were vague. She let the blame slide gently off her shoulders and onto Riley.

Lucas' brow stayed tightly furrowed.

He knew Riley. She had her pride, sure—but she would never cause a scene for no reason when he was handling something important.

If she hung up and didn't even call back, there is only one explanation: Something happened. Something that made her not want to come find me anymore. Or something that just... broke her spirit.

Lucas got his phone. He quickly punched in Riley's number.

No one answered.

The line just kept ringing until the system finally killed the call. All that was left on his end was silence.

Riley wouldn't pick up for me.

That realization only made the anger burn hotter inside Lucas.

He lowered his phone slowly and let his eyes sweep over the dazzling diamond necklace around Sophia's neck again.

"Sophia," he said, "did you do something to Riley? Is that why she left?"

But Sophia took a small step back, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Lucas..." Her voice trembled with pain, like she'd been wronged. "Why does everything have to be my fault whenever something happens with Riley? Is that really how evil you think I am now?"

The way she looked—like she was about to cry—made Lucas' harsh questioning stop in its tracks.

Sophia played the victim perfectly.

She sniffled, like she was holding back tears, and kept going. "Grandfather already said we had to bring Riley. You told me yourself how important tonight's banquet is for you.

"You really think I'd joke about something like that? You think I'd risk your future—and the Ashford family's future—over nothing?"

Her words sounded so sincere.

And sure enough, the sharp look in Lucas' eyes slowly softened.

He had always been confident—maybe too confident. In his mind, a woman like Sophia, who depended on him, might play some small jealous games to get his attention. But she would never dare cross the line when it came to his business.

Riley's disappearance bothered him, sure. But what Sophia said helped him calm down a little.

"That's not what I meant," Lucas said. His tone eased up, sounding almost soothing now. He was looking for a way out of his own outburst. "I'm just worried about what to tell Grandfather."

When she saw his expression loosen, Sophia knew she'd made the right bet.

She pressed her advantage immediately and started breaking it down for him.

Sophia smiled, "Lucas, don't worry too much. Think about it—Riley agreed to come with you, so clearly she wanted to be here. But then she changed her mind right at the banquet entrance after getting one phone call. She didn't even say anything to you. She just left. How is that your fault?

"You can't exactly tie her up and drag her in here, can you? That would only cause an even bigger scene—and embarrass the Ashford family even more. So really, this is on her. She's the one being unreasonable. Even if Grandfather asks, just tell him the truth. He's a reasonable man. He won't blame you."

Lucas' tense nerves finally relaxed under her soft, comforting words.

He glanced at Sophia. His eyes paused on that magnolia necklace around her neck—still a little jarring to him. He still had doubts, but he didn't feel like digging deeper right now.

The priority was making good use of this banquet.

"Alright. Enough about her." Lucas pulled his thoughts together. His voice turned steady again. "I just saw Amanda and the others chatting over there. Go say hello. Talk to them for a while."

Amanda had a lot of influence in the wealthy ladies' circle.

But Sophia's face stiffened slightly at the mention of that.

She remembered the last ladies' luncheon. She'd tried to break into that circle, but Jeremy's allergic reaction had ruined the whole thing. It left a terrible impression of her with those women.

Still, she knew this was another chance Lucas was giving her.

Sophia put on a confident smile right away and nodded. "Okay, Lucas. Don't worry. I know I'm not as capable or smooth as Riley when it comes to socializing, but I'll do my best. I won't let you down."

Lucas held out his arm like a gentleman.

Sophia's heart jumped with joy. She quickly slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow.

She could feel the magnolia diamond ring on her finger—shining bright, like it was claiming its territory.