From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 44: A Challenge for Sophia

Riley turned her head, her large, watery eyes fixed on Lucas without blinking.

Her face filled with concern, she asked softly, "Lucas, now that I'm not at the company anymore... are you going to take a page from his book and hide some sweet young thing in your office too?"

Lucas had almost forgotten Sophia was still sitting at the table.

He straightened up and thumped his chest earnestly, declaring to Riley, "How could I do something like that? Riley, what do you take me for?

"If I were the type to just fool around and chase after women, do you think Ashford Group would be where it is today? It would've gone under on my watch a long time ago. I'm nothing like a worthless trust-fund kid like Sebastian."

Watching him posture like some kind of moral authority, Riley almost laughed to herself.

How absurd—a serial cheater acting all high and mighty.

At the table, Julian didn't share Anthea's disdain for Sebastian's messy personal life. He fell silent for a moment before speaking in a low, measured tone.

"Lucas.

"No matter what Sebastian's actual capabilities or character may be, you can't afford to pass up an opportunity to work with him.

"And look at it from another angle—the less competent he is, the better for Ashford Group."

Lucas paused, clearly not following his father's reasoning.

Julian let out a cold chuckle, his eyes sharp with decades of shrewdness. "An incompetent man is easier to control. He's sitting on the whole Torres Group empire but can't run it himself—isn't that our perfect opening?

"We can use this partnership to get our foot in the door with Ashford's operations, use Torres Group as a stepping stone to break into the Nexopolis market. That's a whole lot easier than starting from scratch and fighting our way in on our own, isn't it?"

His words hit Lucas like a wake-up call.

When it came to cunning and strategy, Lucas still couldn't match his father.

The realization dawned on him, and his expression shifted to one of understanding.

"You've really thought this through, Dad. Alright, I'll find another way to reach out to him soon."

Just as father and son reached their understanding, Riley set down her fork.

She casually turned her gaze toward Sophia, who had been doing her best to stay unnoticed since earlier.

"Now that you mention it..." she began, as if the thought had just occurred to her, "I remember you saying before, Sophia, that you know Sebastian—and that you two are fairly close. Since Lucas isn't having much luck with the partnership, why don't you step in and help, Sophia? Maybe you could land this important deal for the company?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Sophia's face fell.

Most of what she'd said back then in front of Lucas had been about showing off her connections and abilities—while putting Riley down at the same time.

It was true she'd attended the same high-profile charity gala as Sebastian once.

But someone of his stature had stayed in the tightly secured VIP section the entire evening. Someone like Sophia, who had barely made it into the mid-tier guest list, hadn't so much as brushed sleeves with him—let alone seen him up close.

The only reason she'd bragged and made promises back then was because Riley was no longer at the company and she'd taken Riley's position. She'd wanted to impress Lucas, to make him believe she was more capable than Riley.

She'd assumed that with the Ashford family name and her own standing in the entertainment industry, she'd eventually find a way to connect with Sebastian.

She never expected Riley to put her on the spot like this—right in front of the whole family.

Feeling the weight of hopeful looks from both Julian and Anthea, Sophia broke into a cold sweat.

Her hand, holding her fork, trembled slightly, but she forced a polite smile.

She shot Lucas a quick, resentful glance—as if blaming him for not jumping in to rescue her—before finally speaking hesitantly.

"We do have... something of a connection. But things at the company have been so busy lately, I've been completely swamped. A few of the projects you used to handle, Riley, have run into issues, and I've been running around trying to sort everything out."

But Riley wasn't about to let her change the subject.

She followed up with apparent concern, playing right along.

"Oh? Which project are you referring to? What kind of issues, exactly?"

Sophia opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Over the past few days, she'd been too busy enjoying her new director title to make real progress on any actual work.

And now, under Riley's calm, steady gaze, her mind went completely blank.

Julian seemed to think Riley was just looking for an excuse to angle her way back into the company.

"There's so much going on at the office, so many projects—no one can keep every detail straight all the time," he said, his tone clearly chastising. "Riley, since you're not involved with the company anymore, stop poking into every little thing and distracting Lucas and Sophia."

Lucas immediately picked up a grilled shrimp with his fork, placed it on the small plate in front of Riley, and coaxed gently, "Come on, Riley, don't worry about company business. You've got me. Sophia just stepped into the role—she needs time to find her footing. I'm sure she can handle it."