From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 87: An Accidental Kiss

The mood was unexpectedly easy and comfortable.

As the night grew late and Riley felt her eyes growing heavy, she set down the controller on her own.

"It's getting late—I should head back."

Sebastian quit the game as well. He held the controller in his hand, turned it over a few times, and finally offered his verdict for the evening.

"Solid controller. Thanks for the gift. I like it."

Riley hadn't expected such a deliberate opinion on such a small present.

Somehow, it made her feel a little lighter inside.

"Glad you like it," she said with a soft smile, carefully placing the controller back on the console.

With the game over, Sebastian slipped his jacket back on.

"I'll drive you home," he said, picking up his car keys.

The ride from the hillside estate to Lydia's apartment wasn't exactly short.

For Riley, the entire day had been packed with more than enough excitement.

She sank into the comfortable passenger seat, her eyelids growing heavier by the minute.

Without her even realizing it, her head tilted gently to the side, and she drifted off to sleep.

The car rolled to a quiet stop in front of Lydia's building.

Sebastian cut the engine.

He turned his head and let his gaze rest on Riley's sleeping face.

The dim amber glow from the streetlights filtered through the window and settled softly over her features.

In sleep, she'd let down all her usual sharp defenses.

She looked peaceful, almost tender.

Sebastian's eyes traced the gentle curve of her cheek, then the relaxed line of her lips.

The detached coolness in his expression faded, replaced by something quieter, softer.

He allowed himself to admit it—he was being selfish right now.

He wanted this moment to stretch out just a little longer.

Just sitting here in the quiet, watching her, sealed inside the calm of the car...

It gave him a kind of inner stillness he hadn't known before.

Time slipped by.

When the dashboard clock neared midnight, Sebastian knew he couldn't let her sleep in the car any longer.

He gently unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned toward the passenger seat, reaching out to lightly tap her shoulder and wake her.

But maybe his movement upset some delicate balance. Riley shifted unconsciously in her sleep, her head—which had been resting against the seat—slipping sideways with nothing to support it.

As Sebastian leaned in, her soft lips barely grazed the edge of his cheek.

The touch was feather-light, impossibly gentle.

For a second, time seemed to freeze.

Sebastian went completely still, his body suspended in that half-leaned position.

His mind went blank. All his composure and control shattered in that one unexpected, fleeting contact.

Before he could even process what had happened, Riley began to stir, roused from deep sleep by the unfamiliar sensation.

She frowned, eyes fluttering open, still dazed.

Her vision hadn't even cleared when that flawlessly sculpted face appeared right in front of her, closer than she'd expected.

Only inches apart.

She could even see the surprise in his eyes—a look he hadn't had time to mask.

Had she fallen asleep?

And then... had she just... kissed him?

Their eyes held, a silent collision hanging between them.

Riley's first instinct was to immediately apologize.

But the word sorry climbed only as far as the tip of her tongue before she pulled it back.

In a moment like this, what would apologizing even mean?

It would mean acknowledging the touch had happened, turning this already awkward accident into something openly discussed.

That would only make everything more uncomfortable between them.

They were engaged, yes, but they were also business partners.

Any extra emotional complication was exactly the kind of trouble she was trying hard to avoid right now.

In a split-second decision, Riley chose to play it off.

She raised a hand and rubbed her eyes naturally.

"Wow... did I sleep that long?"

As she spoke, she kept her tone casual and turned slightly to unbuckle her seatbelt.

Sebastian's eyes lingered on her face for a brief moment.

He could tell, of course, how much of that sleepy act was real and how much was performance.

Without a word, he looked away. His leaned-in posture retreated swiftly, and he settled back into the driver's seat, straightening up.

"Almost midnight," he said, his voice returning to its usual steady, low timbre, giving nothing away.

"Oh? That late?" Riley feigned surprise. "Sorry, I was just really tired... You should've woken me up sooner."

That sorry was for dozing off and taking up his time—neatly sidestepping any mention of the accidental kiss altogether.

With that, she didn't linger. She pushed the car door open and stepped out, a little quicker than necessary.

Now standing outside, with the door between her and the man inside the car, she felt the night air wrap around her.

The interior of the car was dim. Half of Sebastian's face was shadowed, his eyes deep and unreadable in the interplay of light and dark.

So Riley added one last thing.

"Oh, right—tomorrow... Lucas is picking me up. To go back to the Ashfords'."

Sebastian responded with a neutral "Okay," his tone revealing nothing.

He didn't say anything more, only offering a flat, "Good night."