From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 33: The Pill Swap

The suggestion was sneaky, but it got straight to the point and did the trick.

Julian and Anthea exchanged a glance, and it was clear they were on the same page.

"That's not a bad idea," Anthea said, smacking her hand on her knee. "Let's go with that. Let her put in all that effort for nothing and see if she still feels like stirring up trouble afterward."

Julian nodded slowly. "It might work. But how do we pull it off? Riley's always so careful. It won't be easy to switch anything without her noticing."

The small group huddled closer, voices dropping to a murmur as they began ironing out the details of swapping Riley's medication.

The whole time, Lucas sat off to the side, listening to his parents and Sophia scheming without saying much.

He absently rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, his mind drifting to the hopeful look in Riley's eyes whenever she talked about trying for a baby.

The memory tugged at something in his chest.

But then—he quickly remembered the promise he'd made to Sophia.

He couldn't back out now.

Torn between guilt and that promise, Lucas wavered back and forth in his thoughts.

In the end, his sense of duty toward Sophia and her son outweighed that brief moment of hesitation.

He let his eyes fall shut—a silent agreement to this underhanded plan.

After all, if it made Riley finally let go and stop clinging to something that was never meant to be...

Maybe that really would be for the best, for everyone involved.

Eventually, they settled on finding someone to make look-alike pills and replace Riley's prescription.

"Lucas," Anthea said, her tone leaving no room for debate, "you're going to be the one to switch them."

"What?" Lucas looked up, caught completely off guard.

"Riley's guard is up around everyone else, but not with you. So you doing it is the safest bet," Anthea pressed, her voice shifting into a coaxing tone.

The plan felt just as dirty as the time they'd slipped fertility-blocking drugs into Riley's vitamin supplements years before.

Both times, they'd used her love and trust to carry out the lowest kind of betrayal.

Seeing Lucas hesitate, Sophia quickly stepped in, offering to handle another part of the plan herself.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the fake pills," she said, putting on her gentle, understanding act. "I know a really discreet pharmacist. He's good, and more importantly, he knows how to keep quiet. I'm sure he can make perfect duplicates."

After that, all eyes turned to Lucas, waiting for his final answer.

Lucas' throat moved as he swallowed hard.

While he was still wrestling with it, Sophia leaned closer and rested her head lightly against his shoulder. Her mournful whisper reached his ear, "Lucas... I know you don't want to be too harsh on Riley, but Jeremy's still so little. It's just not fair to make him share his daddy..."

Weighing both sides, Lucas had his answer.

He opened his eyes, all emotion drained from them.

"Fine."

Anthea and Sophia exchanged a look, satisfaction flashing between them.

Lucas had agreed to swap the pills himself.

But once it was settled, he made a show of warning Sophia, "The pharmacist you find—make sure the pills are mild, just basic supplements. No strange ingredients that could actually harm Riley's health."

His words sounded protective, but really, he was just trying to soothe his own conscience, convincing himself he wasn't trying to hurt her—only to make her give up.

Sophia was sharp enough to see right through his pathetic excuse.

She nestled softly against Lucas' chest, looking up with her innocent, wide-eyed expression, and said gently, "Lucas, don't worry. I would never actually hurt her."

Sophia moved frighteningly fast.

In just one day, the fake pills were ready and handed over to Lucas.

That night.

Lucas stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in the master bedroom, gripping the cool plastic pill bottle tightly. His palms were damp with sweat.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom.

Riley was in the shower—this was his best chance.

He moved quietly toward Riley's vanity.

Quickly unscrewing the cap of her pill bottle, he saw under the soft glow of the bedside lamp that the two sets of pills looked almost identical in color and size.

He didn't allow himself time to second-guess. After switching them out, he tightened the cap and placed the bottle back exactly where it had been.

The whole thing took maybe ten seconds, but it felt like an eternity.

Once it was done, he practically fled the master bedroom.

To cover his tracks, he headed straight to the guest bathroom at the end of the second-floor hallway—a space hardly anyone ever used.

He emptied all of Riley's real pills into the toilet and flushed.

Afterward, he braced his hands against the cold marble sink and stared at the panicked stranger in the mirror. He hardly recognized himself.

Once he'd steadied his breathing, he returned to the master bedroom just as the bathroom door swung open.

Riley stepped out, wrapped in a cloud of steam.

She wore a lavender silk robe. The smooth fabric followed her curves, and beneath the V-neckline, the delicate lines of her collarbone and the soft, fair skin of her chest were faintly visible.