From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 4: Playing the Long Game

Lucas hurried to explain. "Riley, Jeremy's young, and his father isn't around much. He just got confused."

"Is that right?" A shadow flickered across Riley's face. "For a second there, I wondered if maybe I couldn't have kids, and you wanted one so badly you let someone else's child call you Dad."

She was beautiful—soft features, luminous skin, even more striking in the lamplight. Lucas felt something shift in his chest.

His throat tightened as he murmured, "How could you think that? I only want our child. Jeremy's just little. He'll understand when he's older."

Watching his blatant two-faced performance, Riley felt disgust curl in her stomach—but underneath it, a dark satisfaction.

Let the cheater and the homewrecker squirm. No matter how cozy they got behind closed doors, they still had to play pretend in front of her.

Across the room, Sophia was barely holding it together. Lucas' words had landed like a slap.

She'd brought her son back to Havenbrook for one reason: to push Riley out. Permanently.

She turned to Riley, her expression carefully apologetic. "I'm sorry, Riley. Jeremy can be so stubborn. If Lucas doesn't play with him, he'll probably throw an even bigger tantrum. Do you mind...?"

Jeremy clutched his toy car, eyes red-rimmed, staring up at Lucas with pathetic intensity. "Daddy, don't listen to the mean lady. Play with me, please?"

Lucas shot Riley an awkward look.

Riley watched the scene play out—the boy, the pleading mother, the guilty husband—and slowly nodded. "Fine."

Lucas took Jeremy's hand and led him away.

As she watched his retreating back, Riley let out a soft, humorless laugh.

She had genuinely loved him once.

He'd been gentle, even-tempered, handsome. For years, he'd been tender with her, indulgent, attentive.

But now? All she felt was revulsion. Whatever affection had survived the morning had dissolved completely.

Halfway down the hall, Lucas glanced back at her, something flickering in his expression.

He frowned.

This wasn't like her. Riley was usually jealous, spirited, a little possessive. She'd never let him walk away that easily.

A thread of unease wound through him.

But Jeremy's whining pulled him back, and he let himself be led toward the garden.

*****

Lucas played with Jeremy, but his mind kept drifting.

Sophia watched his face, anxiety coiling in her chest.

She bit her lip. "Lucas, did I do something wrong? Jeremy just misses you so much. I didn't know Riley would be there."

Lucas' brow furrowed, thinking of Riley's strange composure.

But when he looked at Sophia's vulnerable expression, his voice softened. "It's just—our situation isn't public yet. Riley's still Mrs. Ashford on paper. I don't want her to read too much into things. If I can avoid hurting her, I will. She did save my life once. And she's been by my side all these years..."

Besides, a part of him still cared for her.

"I know," Sophia said quietly, her face falling. "Riley's been with you for so long. I can't compete with that. Jeremy and I just wanted to be with you so badly. Even if... Even if you don't want to go public, Lucas, it's okay..."

"That's not true." Lucas' eyes darkened, and he pulled her into a tender embrace. "You are the real Mrs. Ashford. I just want to give Riley some compensation before we announce it. You, me, Jeremy—we're the real family."

A gleam flashed in Sophia's eyes. Smiling, she melted into his arms.

She tilted her face up and pressed her lips to his.

From across the terrace, Riley watched them through the glass doors. A bitter smile curved her mouth.

Her phone buzzed.

A game invitation. From Sebastian.

Riley blinked, surprised.

Before she knew it, her thumb had already accepted.

It was a co-op platformer—one of those old-school side-scrollers where you had to work together to get through the levels. Sebastian moved fast. Within minutes, they'd cleared five stages.

"GTG."

The words popped up in the chat.

Riley blinked again. She'd been playing a silly video game with a stranger for nearly half an hour.

His avatar went gray. She switched back to the messaging app and stared at his profile picture—a stark black-and-white image that matched the corporate bio she'd glimpsed earlier.

Hard to believe a guy with that kind of reputation had just spent thirty minutes on a dumb co-op game with her.

Strangely, her mood had lifted.

She thought about the investment situation and typed another message.

"Mr. Torres. Would you consider investing in Ashford Group?"

The reply came instantly. "No."

A few seconds later, another bubble appeared. "Unless..."

Unless what?

The next message landed. "Unless you come discuss it in person."

She stared at the screen for a moment, then set the phone down without replying.

There was time for that later. Right now, she had other things to handle.

*****

Lucas didn't come back to their room until the early hours of the morning.

Riley had actually slept. But she'd set an alarm, and when it went off, she arranged herself to look like she'd been waiting up.

When Lucas saw her still awake, guilt washed over him.

"Babe. Why aren't you asleep?"

Riley bit her lip gently, letting her expression droop. "Couldn't sleep. I was waiting for you."

The look on her face hit him like a punch to the chest. He cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing her skin. "Today was my fault. If Sophia and Jeremy are bothering you... I can move them to one of my other properties. Just temporarily."

"No, it's fine. Sophia's practically family."

Riley paused, then shook her head with a show of consideration.

Not a chance. If Sophia leaves, where's the entertainment?

Besides, having them under the same roof made it so much easier to watch them squirm.

The more gracious she acted, the guiltier Lucas looked. "Babe, I'm sorry you had to deal with that today. Is there anything you want? Let me make it up to you."

His eyes were so warm, so sincere. Any other woman might have melted.

Riley just wanted to gag.

But she didn't refuse. "Our anniversary's in a month. I booked that photo shoot—the one where we redo our wedding portraits. Lucas... will you propose to me again? The first time was so rushed. There was no ceremony at all."

One month from now. The same deadline he'd set with Sophia.

Lucas' chest tightened. He knew that by then, she'd know everything. This proposal would be his last chance to give her something real. He nodded. "Yeah. Whatever you want. This time, I'll do it right."

It was the least he could do. After everything she'd given him.

Riley smiled.

Inside, she was counting down.

One month.

In one month, Havenbrook would have a scandal big enough to shake the whole city.

And she'd be on a plane back to Nexopolis, ready to start over.

When she smiled, her eyes curved into crescents. In the soft light, her skin looked luminous, almost translucent. Lucas couldn't look away.

His throat tightened. He leaned in, his lips brushing toward hers. "Babe..."

A foot from contact, Riley's stomach lurched. A small, involuntary sound escaped her throat—half gasp, half gag.

Lucas froze.