From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 86: The Game Room

Life had a funny way of surprising you sometimes.

The elevator rose smoothly and came to a stop on the third floor.

With a soft ding, the doors slid open.

What appeared before Riley was nothing like she'd expected.

It didn't look like a private game room—more like a carefully curated, single-player video game museum.

This wasn't some cluttered gamer's den. It was a clean, inviting space that felt both futuristic and warmly nostalgic. One entire wall was taken up by a floor-to-ceiling glass display, softly lit by focused spots. Inside were gaming consoles from every era, from the classic NES all the way to the latest systems.

On the opposite side of the case, rows of game cartridges and discs were organized by genre. Many were rare, limited editions, long out of print.

Mixed in among them were detailed, high-quality action figures of iconic game characters.

It reminded Riley, almost inevitably, of his CEO office—it carried a similar kind of intentional, collected vibe.

She walked slowly toward the display, her eyes sweeping across the collection, then turned to glance at the man beside her. Her clear gaze held simple curiosity. "Did you... play all of these?"

"Not enough time in the day," Sebastian replied, as brief and even-toned as ever. "Only the ones that interested me."

He didn't linger by the collectibles. Instead, he led Riley toward the far end of the room.

There, a seamless electronic screen spanned nearly the entire wall, glowing with a gentle blue light. In front of it sat two deeply cushioned ergonomic gaming chairs.

"Have a seat." He motioned for her to take one chair, then picked up the gift bag she'd brought and walked over to the console beneath the screen. He began unboxing and setting up.

Riley settled into the chair.

She watched as Sebastian took off his suit jacket and leaned forward slightly, focused on connecting cables and ports.

That serious, intent look softened the sharp, imposing aura he usually carried as the head of a business empire.

It occurred to Riley then—if he hadn't been born the Torres heir, maybe he would've had more time for simple, personal joys like this.

While she was lost in the thought, Gideon entered quietly, carrying a polished tray with a steaming mug of milk.

"Ms. Harper, Mr. Torres asked me to bring this for you.

"Enjoy."

"Thank you." Riley snapped gently back to the moment.

After she'd drunk about half the milk, Sebastian finally finished setting up.

He walked over holding two controllers and offered one to Riley.

She took it. It felt smooth in her hands, with a slight textured grip, and the buttons had just the right kind of spring.

Riley got ready, expecting Sebastian to start the game right away, but he paused.

He stood in front of her, his tall frame casting a light shadow where she sat. His deep eyes looked down, his gaze steady and heavy on her face.

The light around them seemed to dim, leaving only the sharp gleam in his eyes.

"From what I know," he said, "most women aren't really into this kind of thing.

"So you came back with me tonight just to do something you thought I'd like?"

The question caught her a little off guard.

Riley's heart tightened, just slightly.

She didn't look away. Instead, she shook her head honestly.

"No. If I were trying to impress you on purpose, I'd have picked a better way—not something I'm not even good at."

Meeting his searching gaze, Riley allowed a faint smile to touch her lips.

"Actually, I was really into gaming in college.

"Games like this—where you have to completely focus—helped me tune everything else out and calm down fast. Back then, I had a few friends who were into the same stuff. We played online together a lot. It's just... after I moved to Havenbrook, life got busy. I never really picked it back up."

Sebastian listened quietly. The sharp intensity in his eyes softened into something Riley couldn't quite read.

"Just playing single-player games," he repeated, thoughtful, "and you still made friends to play with online?"

Riley felt a small tremor in her chest.

But she didn't want to talk about that part of her past with anyone—not even him, the man she was in this arrangement with.

She sidestepped the heart of the topic smoothly. Her expression eased back into a casual smile as she said lightly, "You can make friends doing just about anything, if you want to, right?"

Sebastian held her in a long, quiet look. He didn't press further.

He chose to respect what she wanted to keep to herself.

He pulled the other chair closer, sat down beside her, and started the game.

On the screen flashed a bright, cheerful classic—two-player co-op Mario.

"This work?" he asked.

"Absolutely." Riley raised her eyebrows, a hint of confidence returning.

Soon, light, upbeat game music filled the room.

For the next hour or so, they barely spoke. All their communication happened through jumps, shared moves, and the occasional misstep of the two little characters on the screen.