From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 260: Overheard

It took Sebastian a long time to recover from the shock. He finally realized Riley had taken the initiative to kiss him.

The thought caused a dangerous mix of joy and possessiveness to radiate from him in the darkness.

He swallowed hard. His hand slid down from her wrist naturally, laced his fingers through hers, and pulled her closer toward his chest.

"Riley." His voice turned even lower and rougher. "Do you know exactly what you're doing right now?"

His words carried a faint undertone of warning, tangled with quiet flirtation.

Yet Riley showed no fear of his imposing aura.

Lifting her chin to meet his gaze in the dim light, she brushed her fingers lightly over his palm. 'Then do you know what you look like right now?' she asked, tossing his words back at him.

Caught off guard by her unexpected response, Sebastian asked instinctively, "Like what?"

A faint teasing smile curved Riley's lips.

Her tone held obvious mockery. "You look like a jealous little puppy fighting over attention with my useless husband."

Uncontrollable delight welled up inside Sebastian.

He could not hold back his smile at her fresh, intimate comparison.

In the next second, he pulled her firmly into his arms with one swift arm, pressing her tight against his scorching chest with no gap left between them.

"Oh?" Sebastian lowered his head, his warm breath fanning over her ear. He spoke in a suggestive murmur, "Since you kissed me first... may I return the favor now?"

The chemistry between them had intensified beyond control ever since Cedar Creek.

Riley had always held the upper hand in their subtle relationship. Yet trapped in Sebastian's possessive embrace and intense gaze, she felt her inner defenses crumble little by little.

She turned her face away awkwardly, avoiding his burning stare, and put up a weak last resistance. "Not tonight. This isn't the right time or place."

Sebastian could no longer restrain his pent-up longing. He had endured far too much restraint already. Her playful tease had pushed his fragile self-control to the edge.

He tightened his arm around her waist firmly, lifted his other hand to pinch her chin gently, and forced her to face him.

His handsome face drew closer and closer to hers.

Riley could not break free from his strength.

Fine.

She resigned herself and closed her eyes, thinking a simple kiss would not matter much.

Just as his cool lips were about to touch hers, Caleb and Lucas' clear conversation drifted over from right outside the door.

"Lucas, tell me the truth. When Riley is not around, have you continued your affair with Sophia?"

The casual words shattered all charged tension in the private room like a clap of thunder.

Sebastian stopped just shy of her lips, a hair's breadth away. The heat of his breath mingled with hers, but that invisible chasm remained unbridged.

Riley's eyes snapped open. The daze of longing evaporated, instantly replaced by a paralyzing jolt of shock.

She froze, forgotten in his embrace, every fiber of her being fixated on the conversation drifting from the corridor.

In the hallway, Lucas sounded desperate, his composure slipping. Yet his ambition outweighed his humiliation; he scrambled to deny the accusation. "Grandpa, why would you even ask that? I would never break the vow I made to you."

Caleb let out a derisive scoff. "See that you don't. The position of Ashford heir is not your birthright; it is a privilege you must earn. Your uncles and cousins are circling like vultures, waiting for a single misstep. The only way to secure your throne is to keep Riley by your side."

The realization crashed over Riley, her heart turning to ice in her chest.

She had always believed Caleb respected her for her competence, her character. Now, the ugly truth surfaced: his admiration had always come with invisible strings attached. She had never been a person to him—only an asset.

Sebastian sensed the rigidity seize her frame.

He tightened his hold, offering a silent harbor against the storm, while his own eyes hardened into glacial steel in the shadows.

Stung by his grandfather's pragmatism, Lucas sounded aggrieved. "After everything I've done, do I still rank lower than an outsider in your eyes?"

"Shut up!" Caleb snapped, his voice laced with undisguised contempt, "Do not speak such foolishness. Do you know why I gave Riley every opportunity? Why I fast-tracked her career? I groomed her to be your sharpest blade, your most reliable instrument."