From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 195: Reluctant Agreement

The moment Lucas raised his voice, Sophia's eyes welled up. She felt utterly wronged and completely lost.

She couldn't figure out what she'd done wrong. All she'd tried to do was help—so why was he yelling at her?

"I just..." Her voice broke, defensive and shaky. "I was only trying to help! Back when Riley was in the department, pulling together a new proposal in three days was normal—a whole week should've been more than enough. So why can't I do it? Is it because you don't really believe in me, Lucas? Do you think I'll never be as good as Riley?"

That only made Lucas' temples pulse with frustration.

Talking to Sophia right now felt like talking to a brick wall.

Riley could deliver because she had the skill and the discipline. She could spot risks ahead of time and always had a backup plan ready.

Sophia only saw the one-week deadline on the surface. She had no clue about the pressure behind it, or the domino effect of issues it could trigger.

This wasn't just about ability—it was about mindset.

"Just go," Lucas said wearily, closing his eyes. He didn't even have the energy to say another word.

He waved a hand impatiently. "Go back to your office. I don't want to keep arguing."

Tears pooled in Sophia's eyes. She stared at him in disbelief, but in the end, she covered her mouth and hurried out of the room, heart sinking.

Now it was just Lucas and Riley left in the conference room.

Lucas turned to Riley, who had stayed quiet through it all. His expression showed how hard this was for him—how much he needed to ask.

But before he could speak, Riley closed her folder first.

"It's fine. I know what you're going to say." Her tone was still even, impossible to read. "The holdouts in the community, right? Let me wrap up a few things at my desk, and I'll head over to the township this afternoon to see what's going on."

She knew perfectly well that even if she refused today, this mess would land in her lap sooner or later anyway.

Sophia would cook up a dozen excuses, hide behind Jeremy, and still sleep fine at night without doing any real work.

In the end, nobody else was going to clean up this mess.

Hearing how quickly she agreed, Lucas was flooded with guilt.

"Riley... I should've known. When something tough comes up, you're always the one who steps up."

He looked at her, his eyes full of feeling.

But what he didn't realize was that her quick agreement had nothing to do with being moved by him.

She was just thinking that handling this—driving out to the township, sorting things out—would take at least a few days.

Which meant she was getting closer and closer to her last day here for good.

Lost in his own emotions, Lucas felt like he owed her more than he could say.

He took her hand, his gaze softening. "Riley, thank you for doing this. I've already booked an appointment for you with Vera's custom wedding designer. Once you're back from the township, we can start planning our proposal party, okay?"

Proposal party?

Riley almost laughed to herself.

Even now, he was still feeding her empty promises.

But she didn't call him out. She just played along, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

"Oh... that sounds great."

Riley agreed quickly, and she moved just as fast.

After leaving the conference room, she spent an hour reviewing all the project files and background on the township. Then she headed straight home, packed a small bag, and got ready to leave.

It was a remote rural community, known for having stubborn, tough-to-deal-with locals.

This so-called "community outreach" probably wouldn't be straightforward.

As she packed a change of clothes and some basic meds, Riley thought it through calmly.

She opened her closet and picked out several dark-colored, easy-to-move-in casual outfits. From her drawer, she took a compact but loud personal alarm, along with some pepper spray disguised as lip balm.

If things turned confrontational, she needed to stay sharp.

She tucked both items securely into the hidden pocket of her daypack. Only then did she feel a little more at ease.

Just as she finished, Lucas called.

"The driver's already waiting outside the gated community," he said. His tone was noticeably softer than it had been at the office, clearly trying to smooth things over. "I made sure to book someone reliable—really capable. That way I'll feel better about you going out there alone."

"Got it," Riley replied flatly. She picked up her bag and headed out.

"Riley..." Lucas sounded like he wanted to say more, but she had no patience left for his sweet talk.

"The car's here. I've got to go." She hung up.

Wheeling her bag to the entrance of the community, she spotted the black SUV idling by the curb right away.