From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 184: A Child's Unwitting Role

"Compensation? Come on, we're family—why get so hung up on that stuff?" Anthea only grew more agitated hearing her son take someone else's side. "A woman living alone in a mansion like that... who knows what kind of drama she might bring. She could end up embarrassing the Ashfords, and we wouldn't even see it coming!"

The insinuation was way too obvious. Even Julian, who'd been staying quiet, had heard enough. "That's enough! Just drop it."

"I'm not finished!" Anthea shot back, not holding back at all.

"Mom!" Lucas cut her off impatiently, the words rushing out. "Would you stop making up stories? Who said she's living alone? I'll be staying over there sometimes too."

Riley frowned, clearly annoyed.

Meanwhile, Sophia felt her heart sink straight to her feet.

She'd already noticed over the past few days that Lucas had been quietly pulling away from her.

She was seriously worried he'd use this as an excuse to keep going over to that villa, playing house with Riley in that huge mansion.

What if they rekindled things because of it? Wouldn't all her efforts over the last few months go down the drain?

Sophia's mind raced. She glanced around the table, and her eyes landed on Jeremy, who was quietly munching on his snack.

She leaned down and whispered urgently into his ear, just loud enough for him to hear. "Honey, didn't you draw a new picture for Uncle? Go ahead and show him now. Quick."

Jeremy paused for a second, then nodded obediently. He carefully pulled a piece of drawing paper from his little backpack.

He hurried over to Lucas, almost letting the familiar word slip out, "Dad..."

But he caught himself just in time, swallowing the rest.

He remembered what his mom had repeated before they came—whenever Riley was around, he was never to call Lucas "Daddy". Only "Uncle".

Jeremy held up the drawing to Lucas and said hopefully, "Uncle... look. I drew this."

Lucas' attention shifted instantly. He bent down and took the drawing. "Yeah? Let me see what you made, buddy..."

The tense, hostile atmosphere around the table melted away in a second, all thanks to a child's simple gesture.

Sophia let out a quiet sigh of relief, a smug smile touching her lips.

Anthea looked at her darling grandson, at his sweet, innocent face, and finally managed to force down the anger that had been boiling up inside her.

She took a deep breath, fixed her stiff expression, and when she looked back at Riley, there was a condescending sort of pity in her eyes.

Then she spoke, her words dripping with meaning. "Thank goodness we brought Jeremy back into the Ashford family early to help raise him. If he'd grown up in a single-parent home with just his mother, who knows what kind of bad habits he might have picked up."

The jab was painfully clear. She might as well have pointed straight at Riley and accused her of having no parents, no upbringing, and no real family values.

But Riley, the one being targeted, didn't even blink.

"You're right, Anthea," Riley said calmly. "A child's personality usually reflects what they learn from their parents. So if a kid ends up spoiled, it's probably because the parents didn't raise them right."

Her reply sounded agreeable, but every word was a subtle dig aimed right at Sophia.

Sophia's expression faltered for a second, but she recovered fast. She spotted an opening in Riley's response and fired back right away. "Well then, Riley, since you didn't have parents at all, doesn't that mean you were born with some kind of personality flaw?"

Lucas' brow furrowed deeply. He was about to snap at Sophia, but before he could, he noticed Riley wasn't upset at all. Instead, she smiled at Sophia.

"I was raised in a group home," she admitted openly, her gaze clear and steady. "But the staff and the volunteers there were good to me. They really cared. They taught me how to read, how to write, how to tell right from wrong.

"And honestly, it's not uncommon for kids who grew up in that same home to go on and build something from nothing—to make a name for themselves here in Nexopolis, even nationwide. So, Sophia...

"Don't use your own narrow-minded bias to define a world and a life you know nothing about."

She finished speaking.

Anthea felt a tightness in her chest. She couldn't quite catch her breath, and her face turned an unpleasant shade of purple.

She wanted to lash out again, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught the look on her son Lucas' face—already icy and unyielding. She swallowed the nasty remarks sitting on the tip of her tongue.

She couldn't afford to upset her son any further.

Finally, Anthea let out a cold huff and pushed back from the table.

"I'm going to tell the kitchen to make a couple extra dishes for Jeremy. His favorites."