From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 28: Meeting at the Café

After speaking, she got straight out of bed and walked into the bathroom, neatly sidestepping Lucas.

That morning, when Riley arrived at the private room of the café she'd agreed to meet Sebastian at, she looked utterly drained.

Sebastian was already there.

He was looking down, his fingers moving rapidly across his phone screen, completely absorbed in some single-player game.

Hearing the door open, the man lifted his gaze slightly. Taking in Riley's clearly exhausted state, his movements paused.

He set his phone down and frowned a little. "You sick?"

"No," Riley said, pulling out the chair across from him and sitting down. "Just didn't sleep well."

Sebastian nodded in understanding and didn't push further.

He reached for an elegantly wrapped box of chocolates next to him and slid it across the table toward her.

Riley's eyes lit up instantly.

She almost blurted out, "How did you know I like sweets?"

But before the words could leave her mouth, Sebastian had already supplied the answer.

He went back to his game, his tone casual. "A friend brought them back from a business trip. I don't really do sweets, and they'd just sit there, so figured I'd bring them for you."

Riley thanked him, unwrapped a lemon-yellow chocolate, and popped it into her mouth.

The sweet and tart flavor melted on her tongue, instantly lifting some of the weariness that had settled in her chest.

Her nerves, which had been wound tight since the night before, finally relaxed for a moment under the comforting effect of the sugar.

What followed was an overwhelming wave of sleepiness.

Sebastian glanced at her and gestured toward the chaise lounge in the corner by the window.

The sunlight there was perfect, streaming through the wooden blinds in soft, dappled patches, looking warm and inviting.

"This game's going to take me a while longer. You can wait over there," he said simply.

Riley didn't bother with formalities. She nodded and got up to settle onto the chaise.

She'd only meant to lean back and rest for a bit, but the moment her head touched the cushioned surface, her eyelids became too heavy to keep open.

Before long, she was fast asleep in the warm, gentle sunlight.

From the moment Riley drifted off, Sebastian found he couldn't fully concentrate on his game anymore.

Even in sleep, her delicate brows refused to completely relax, remaining stubbornly furrowed.

The corner of the man's mouth unconsciously curved upward slightly.

A few years could change a lot of things.

But that fiercely competitive, never-say-die spirit running through her bones hadn't changed one bit.

Riley slept for over an hour.

When she woke, the sunlight outside had softened, and she felt considerably more refreshed.

Sebastian had finished his game. He was leaning back in his chair, his gaze seemingly fixed on a butterfly flitting back and forth outside the window.

She stretched contentedly, only then remembering the actual purpose of today's meeting.

"Oh, right," she began, asking the question. "What did you mean by that text you sent last night?"

Sebastian slowly drew his gaze back and turned to look at her, his expression calm and unreadable. "Exactly what it said.

"I wanted to ask what kind of wedding you'd like. Counting from now, we have about a month to prepare. Starting the arrangements now isn't too late."

Riley shook her head, her reply light. "I don't really have any strong feelings about it."

In her past life, the word "wedding" had once been the sweetest dream of her girlhood.

But the reality was, even though she'd held the nominal title of Mrs. Ashford, she'd never experienced any kind of proper ceremony.

Back then, because she loved Lucas enough, she was willing to make endless excuses for him.

She told herself he was just a private person, didn't like fuss, and that keeping things simple was understandable.

It was only now that the delayed realization hit her.

Lucas had probably just been afraid that making too big a spectacle back then would cement her identity as Mrs. Ashford too firmly in the public eye.

That way, when he later wanted her to step aside and return the rightful position of Mrs. Ashford to Sophia, Sophia might inevitably be suspected of being the other woman and labeled a homewrecker.

Sebastian seemed not to notice the flicker of something in her eyes and continued, "Well, that works. I don't have any experience with this either, so we can figure it out together from scratch.

"I have some rough diamonds on hold at the jeweler's. My grandmother left them specifically for me to have an engagement ring made for my future wife. Do you have time now to come with me and look at designs?"

Riley didn't know much about the inner workings of the Torres family. But just from these few sentences of Sebastian's, she could sense that this family seemed completely different from the rigid, calculating Ashfords.

They sounded more grounded.

It made her wonder a little.

Logically, descendants growing up in a family like that should mostly have the freedom to choose their own partners.

Why did a man like Sebastian, with all his qualities, also end up needing an arranged marriage?

The question flickered through her mind, but she didn't voice it.

Sebastian drove Riley to the upscale jewelry boutique in the city center.