From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 161: The Silent Treatment

Then, she walked back into the living room, grabbed the light blanket and pillow Lucas had just used on the sofa, and tossed them straight into the large trash bin near the stairwell.

On the surface, Lucas came across as gentle and polite—the kind of guy who was friendly to everyone. But Riley knew better than anyone that underneath it all, he was selfish and arrogant to the core.

He wasn't the type to tough things out or stick around when things got uncomfortable. The only reason he'd shown up at her place that night was out of some lingering sense of possession.

If he had actually checked his privileged attitude at the door, spent the night on that sofa without a word of complaint, maybe Riley would've thought he genuinely regretted how things ended. But what happened only proved she'd read him right all along.

In a way, that was fine. It just confirmed she'd made the right choice walking away.

Back in her room, Riley sat down on the edge of the bed. Her thoughts turned to Sebastian. She owed him an explanation.

Picking up her phone, she called him. It rang and rang, but no one picked up. Riley watched the screen go dark, a quiet sadness settling in her eyes.

After a moment, she typed out a message and hit send. "I'm sorry about how tonight went. Lucas showed up without warning, and I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier. He's gone now."

Even after sending it, there was no reply.

Riley dropped her phone onto the comforter and lay back, staring blankly at the ceiling. That hollow feeling inside her just kept spreading.

For so long, whenever she needed something, Sebastian had been there—steady, reliable, without her even having to ask. She'd almost taken it for granted. But she'd forgotten: Sebastian was also the same man who made sharp, decisive calls as CEO of Torres Group.

He had his pride. His warmth toward her wasn't a given—it was something he chose to give, and it wasn't something she could assume would always be there.

Suddenly, Riley felt lost. She didn't know how to make things right, mostly because she realized that beyond what he'd shown her, she didn't really know that much about who Sebastian was beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, at Torres Mansion on the outskirts of the city, the master bedroom was lit only by a single dim wall lamp.

Sebastian had just stepped out of the shower, a towel slung low around his waist, his toned torso still glistening. With one hand, he roughly dried his hair; with the other, he picked up his phone from the nightstand. On the screen: a missed call from Riley, followed by a text.

He opened the message and read her short explanation. His hand stilled, the towel hanging loosely. His eyes lingered on the line "He's gone now," his thumb brushing absently over the screen.

Of course he knew Lucas would leave. Knowing Lucas like he did, there was no chance he'd last more than an hour in Riley's modest apartment.

But understanding it logically didn't ease the frustration simmering inside him.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw it again: Riley standing at the door, another man's voice floating out from behind her. It felt like an intrusion—into a space he'd quietly come to think of as his to protect.

He was about to call her back when a conversation with one of his closest friends came to mind from a few days earlier.

"Look, man, you're in too deep with this Harper girl. You can't just be the nice guy all the time. Sometimes you gotta pull back, let her wonder where you are. You get what I'm saying?"

At the time, Sebastian had brushed it off. But now...

He looked down at his phone, his expression cooling. Maybe his friend wasn't entirely wrong. Maybe he couldn't always be the one reaching out first.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a faint, unreadable curve. He flipped the phone screen-down on the nightstand and headed toward his home game room.

That night, Sebastian stayed up late playing video games alone.

Lucas, who'd returned to Ashford Manor, predictably never came back.

And Riley—she didn't sleep much either, kept awake wondering just how upset Sebastian really was.

*****

The next morning, Riley walked into the office building and immediately sensed something was different.

The lobby had been freshened up: the usual potted plants in the corner had been replaced with lavish bouquets of champagne roses and white lilies, flown in fresh. Their sweet, heavy scent hung in the air. The cleaning staff was meticulously polishing the marble floors until they gleamed under the lights.

Near the entrance, an HR colleague was directing a small team swapping out the welcome floral arrangements. Riley walked over and asked casually, "Big visit today?"

The colleague turned and smiled when she saw Riley. "Oh, hey! Yeah, haven't you heard? Mr. Quinn from Quinn Group and the CEO of Torres Group are both coming this afternoon for the final negotiations on the new project. Mr. Ashford really wants this deal to happen—he's been overseeing everything personally to make sure it all goes smoothly."