From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 126: This Whole Pathetic Mess

Sophia thought that if she could ruin Riley's reputation, these wealthy ladies would see Riley for what she really was. Then she could turn things back in her favor.

What she didn't know—what she had no way of knowing—was that before she and Lucas had even shown up at the banquet hall, Riley had already brought Amanda and the others onto her side. She'd done it with a new project partnership agreement—one so profitable none of them could say no.

So when Sophia finished her little speech, she didn't get the disgust for Riley she'd expected. What she got instead was Amanda and the others looking even more amused.

"Sophia," Riley said again. Her expression hadn't changed at all. "Lucas still thinks about me in everything he does. Why would I be upset? I'm happy about it, actually."

"What... What do you mean?" Sophia asked. Something felt wrong. She pushed for an answer.

Riley pointed—casually, from a distance—at the magnolia blooming on Sophia's neck. Her voice stayed soft.

"Magnolias," she said. "They're my favorite flower."

Sophia's pupils shrank.

Riley didn't give her time to react. "The main diamond in that necklace looks like it's at least ten carats. If I had to guess... I'd say it's exactly twelve point one eight carats."

She paused for just a second. Her eyes met Sophia's—wide, horrified. "December eighteenth. That's the day Lucas and I officially announced our marriage to the public."

Sophia's mind went blank. Everything buzzed.

Every single detail of this gift—this thing I was so proud of—is connected to Riley?

Humiliation crashed over her. She instinctively tried to hide the hand with the matching ring behind her back.

But she wasn't fast enough.

"Oh my!" one of the sharp-eyed women nearby gasped, as if she'd just discovered something amazing. "Ms. Myers is wearing a matching magnolia diamond ring, too!"

That one gasp pulled everyone's eyes straight to Sophia's hand—the one she was desperately trying to hide.

"Really?" Riley said with a smile. She reached out, pulled Sophia's hidden hand into view, and held it open for everyone to see.

There it was—the magnolia diamond ring, glaring under the bright lights, nowhere to hide.

Riley looked at it for a moment, like she was admiring a piece of art. Then she raised her head and looked at Sophia—whose face had gone white as paper.

"This ring has to be over six carats, right?" Riley said. "I'm guessing it was cut specifically to match my birthday number."

"How could this..." Sophia had no color left in her face. She stumbled back a few steps.

In that moment, Sophia had never felt more like a ridiculous, pathetic clown in her entire life.

Overwhelmed with shame, she did what she always did. She looked for Lucas in the crowd.

Like every other time she'd been wronged, she wanted to hide behind him and let him question Riley and demand why she was being so cruel.

But her eyes darted around wildly—and all she saw were moving heads and unfamiliar faces.

Lucas had already gone upstairs.

But Sophia also knew one thing for sure.

She absolutely could not let Riley or these women see her fall apart.

"No way..." Sophia forced the words out. "This is just a coincidence!"

Even she didn't believe what she was saying. To everyone else, she just sounded like a sore loser—someone making one last weak excuse.

A few of the ladies nearby let out barely audible snickers.

Riley, though, looked like she was actually considering what Sophia had said. Then she nodded, completely serious.

"Yeah," she said softly. "Honestly, I hope it's just a coincidence, too."

Sophia looked up at her, confused.

Riley kept going in that same warm, gentle voice. "Because if it's not, then he's going to have to go through all this trouble explaining himself to me for giving you this gift later."

She had firmly placed herself in the position of the rightful wife. With something close to pity, she pointed straight at the heart of this whole pathetic mess.

Sophia clenched her jaw. She fought to keep her face from twisting. But she couldn't say a single word in her defense.

She knew. If she kept this up, Riley would just keep peeling off layer after layer of her pride—dropping each one on the floor and stomping on it.

"I..." Sophia finally managed to squeeze out a few words. "You all go ahead and chat. I need to fix my makeup."

Sophia practically ran away. She disappeared into the crowd fast.

Amanda watched her retreat—that desperate, hurried exit. The amused look on her face slowly faded.

She turned to Riley, who was still standing there, calm as ever, and lowered her voice with a hint of worry. "Riley, Sophia and Lucas... there's nothing really going on between them, is there?

"This isn't something to joke about. The Ashford family may not be some old-money dynasty, but they still have a reputation in Havenbrook. If Lucas wants to fool around, that's one thing. But Sophia is supposed to be his adopted sister. If word of this gets out, it would be a huge scandal."