From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 129: Excitement Surged Through Her

"Sebastian," Aiden went on, "you've always hated women who claw their way to the top like that. Haven't you?"

Sebastian knew exactly what Aiden was doing. He was testing the waters—trying to figure out how much Riley meant to him.

He turned his head calmly and gave Aiden a pitying look.

"You have time to stand here fishing for information about me?" Sebastian said, slow and deliberate. "Maybe you should spend that time figuring out how to deal with that fifteen percent shortfall you cooked into the Quinn Group's books."

The color drained from Aiden's face instantly. "How—" His voice cracked. "How do you know about that?"

That secret had been keeping him up at night for weeks.

He'd thought it was flawless. No one outside the few trusted people who'd handled it could possibly know.

"Did you..." Aiden's pupils shrank. "Did you put someone inside my operation?"

Sebastian just finished the last sip of his champagne, calm as could be. He set the glass down gently on the side table.

"I'm not as bored as you are," he said flatly, dripping with contempt. "But when I want to know something, I have my ways. Don't I?"

With that, Sebastian raised his hand and smoothed down the sleeve of his suit jacket—dust that wasn't even there.

"Anyway," he said finally. "This boring banquet is over for me. I'm leaving."

He turned and walked toward the door, long legs eating up the distance.

Aiden stood frozen in place, cold, panicked, and bitter.

In the end, his fear won out. He followed Sebastian, his face pale.

He couldn't just let him walk away.

The two of them walked down the quiet hallway, one after the other. At the corner, they almost ran into someone.

It was Sophia—fresh from her humiliation downstairs, now running up here to find Lucas and hide.

Sophia had seen Aiden at a few parties before. They weren't close, but they knew each other.

She was upset, distracted. When she spotted Aiden, her first instinct was to avoid him. But then her eyes swept to the side—and landed on the man next to him. And she forgot everything else.

This man...

Just one look, and Sophia felt like she couldn't breathe.

She'd always thought Lucas stood above all other wealthy young heirs in Havenbrook, with his cold temperament, striking looks, and impeccable status.

But now, standing in front of this man, Lucas' image in her mind suddenly went blurry and faded.

If Lucas was calm, refined, and overly mild in nature, this man was sharp, confident, and intensely commanding. He cast a heavy, imposing presence, intimidating yet impossible to ignore.

His face was almost impossibly handsome. And that commanding presence—like he was born to look down on everyone else—was on a whole different level from Lucas.

Sophia's heart started pounding out of control.

She wiped the humiliation and frustration off her face instantly. She switched to the expression she did best—shy, sweet, innocent. She smiled at Aiden, "Mr. Quinn. Fancy running into you here."

Aiden's mind was still stuck on that fifteen percent shortfall. He barely grunted in response.

But Sophia didn't care about his coldness.

She turned her big, watery eyes—just the right amount of curiosity in them—toward the man next to him. "Mr. Quinn," she said gently, "aren't you going to introduce us? Who's your friend?"

Aiden snapped out of his thoughts when she asked.

He looked at Sebastian—stone-faced as ever, then at Sophia—her eyes practically glued to him. Then he remembered her connection to the Ashford family.

A knowing smirk crept onto his face. "Oh, right," he said. "This is my cousin. Sebastian. CEO of the Torres Group."

Torres Group... Sebastian?

Sophia's eyes lit up, as if she'd never seen light before.

She never expected that the man who'd made her heart race at first glance was actually the real power player—the one at the very top of the pyramid.

Of course. Only someone like him could carry off this kind of presence.

Excitement surged through her—unstoppable.

If I can rely on someone this powerful, Lucas will no longer matter at all.

The whole Ashford family is nothing compared to the Torres Group.

The temptation was so huge she completely forgot about the humiliation she'd just been through.

Sophia put on her sweetest, most harmless smile and stepped forward. She reached out her hand. "Mr. Torres, so nice to meet you. I'm Sophia."

Sebastian was already in a bad mood. The person he'd wanted to see had left. And he'd wasted time dealing with that idiot Aiden.

Now this woman was throwing herself at him—eyes full of calculation and greed. Whatever little patience he had left was gone.