From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 31: The Dinner Confrontation

Sophia kept her tone gentle but firm as she spoke to Jeremy. "Jeremy, sweetie, be good now. No more fussing. Daddy loves you so much—that's never going to change, okay?"

Her open display of favoritism gave Riley just the opening she needed.

She turned a cold stare toward Sophia. "Sophia, what exactly are you teaching this child? Throwing things during dinner in front of adults, then shouting things he shouldn't? What kind of behavior is that?"

It was the first time Riley had ever been so sharp at the dinner table.

Anthea didn't like it one bit—she couldn't stand seeing her grandson treated unfairly.

She set her fork down and frowned. "Riley, he's just a little boy. Why make such a scene? Shouldn't you know better as the adult here?"

Riley didn't back down. "Just because he's little, he gets to point at me and call me a 'mean lady'? Keep yelling 'Daddy' at someone who isn't his father? And you all just sit here and never correct him?"

Then she shifted gears. "Besides, what does me having my own child one day have to do with him? Unless... is Lucas actually his real father or something?"

For a moment, everyone at the table wore a different expression.

Anthea went pale.

She opened her mouth, almost blurting out, "Of course Jeremy is Lucas' son—he's my real grandson."

She wanted nothing more than to say it outright and put Riley in her place.

Lucas noticed his mother was about to lose composure, and his stomach dropped.

He stood up quickly, cutting in before Anthea could speak. "Alright, that's enough. Jeremy didn't mean anything by it. He's been sensitive lately. Let's not be too hard on him."

He reached for Riley's arm, trying to guide her back into her seat.

But Riley wasn't done.

She pulled her arm away and kept her eyes locked on Sophia. "I want an answer. Sophia, I'm asking you one more time—who is Jeremy's father?

"Letting your son call my husband 'Daddy'—is there even a father in the picture at all?"

Sophia turned pale.

She shot Lucas a wounded look, then bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears.

She dropped her gaze, avoiding Riley's, and spoke in a fragile, trembling voice, "Riley... I know you don't like me, but why drag up old pain like this? He and I... we ended things a long time ago..."

Julian, who had stayed quiet until now, finally spoke up in a low, authoritative tone that carried the weight of his position as head of the family. "Enough. Can we please just have one peaceful meal?"

Lucas knew he couldn't let this go on.

He tightened his grip and gently but firmly seated Riley back down, then signaled to a nearby server. "Please bring Mrs. Ashford a fresh bowl of soup."

Riley felt she'd made her point, so she settled back into her chair.

She picked up her fork and sighed, as though reluctantly letting it go. "Fine. He's just a child. I won't make it a bigger deal.

"But honestly, this habit of calling just anyone 'Daddy' has to stop. What happens when I have my own baby and he's still calling my husband that? What will people think?"

Just then, a server approached with a new bowl of soup and placed it in front of Riley.

She glanced down. The broth looked cloudy, with slices of ginseng floating in it.

She wrinkled her nose, stirred it lightly with her spoon, and said to the server, "Please don't bring me herbal soups anymore. The supplements I'm taking right now are very specific—my doctor said not to mix them with other herbs. They could interact and lessen the effect."

Lucas was already uneasy about how determined Riley was to get pregnant. Hearing her talk about her regimen with such certainty only deepened his worry.

He couldn't help asking, "Who gave you those supplements? You sound so sure they'll work."

"Of course I'm sure," Riley replied confidently. "I had Lydia pick them up back in Nexopolis—her family knows all about traditional remedies. She told me it's helped plenty of women who struggled for years to conceive."

Lucas' frown deepened.

Back when he was secretly dosing Riley, Lydia hadn't moved to Havenbrook yet.

But ever since he found out Riley had a friend well-versed in herbal medicine, he'd been extra cautious to keep his actions hidden.

Now what Riley said sent a ripple of anxiety through him.

What if she actually managed to restore her health?

His mind began to race.

Across the table, Sophia kept her head low, her bitter eyes fixed on her own bowl of soup.

The surface reflected a face tight with resentment.

She couldn't allow Riley to have Lucas' baby.

Everything in the Ashford family—every bit of Lucas' attention as a father—belonged to Jeremy alone.

After speaking her mind at the table, Riley finally felt a sense of release.