From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress (Riley and Lucas) novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36 A Chance Encounter

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Chapter 36 A Chance Encounter

Riley trailed a few paces behind him, keeping a relaxed distance.

Watching his retreating figure–which practically radiated “keep away“-she couldn’t help but feel a little amused.

Then it suddenly dawned on her why he was acting that way.

Almost without thinking, she raised her voice, clear and carrying over the street noise. “Mr. Torres.

“That day at the jewelry boutique–when I took off so suddenly… are you still upset about that?”

She put it right out there.

This time, Sebastian finally came to a stop.

He turned slowly, his frame casting a long shadow across the busy sidewalk.

With the afternoon sun behind him, his expression remained hard to read.

‘Do I really seem that petty?”

Riley’s lips twitched slightly. In her head, she answered silently. Petty? You’re practically giving a masterclass.

Of course, she didn’t say that aloud.

‘Not at all,” she replied evenly, meeting his gaze. “It’s just that, since the misunderstanding was on my end, I thought I owed you ar explanation.

‘The reason I left early was because Lucas had custom–ordered jewelry from that store under the name ‘Mrs. Ashford–but it wasn’t for me. When the manager mistook me for her, he wanted to review the designs together.

‘So I played along, and then, worried I might slip up if I stayed with you any longer, I made an excuse and left.”

Sebastian went still for a moment.

His eyes stayed on Riley as she stood there, poised in her tailored blazer and light makeup, her posture straight and unshaken. She spoke about the humiliations of her marriage as though discussing the weather–calm on the surface, but it only made the storm Deneath seem more profound.

His grip tightened unconsciously around the game cartridge in his hand.

After a pause, he said, “So you helped me out just to win me over?”

Riley’s eyebrow lifted almost imperceptibly

She hadn’t expected him to put it that way

Win him over?

The phrasing felt strangely personal, almost intimate, as if they were already past formalities. It instantly bridged the polite distance she’d been keeping

13

7:50 am

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Chapter 36 A Chance Encounter

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She drew a slow breath, holding back the faint smile that threatened to surface. Looking up at him, a hint of playful challenge in her eyes, she said, “So Mr. Torres is the kind of man who can be won over with a video game?”

Sebastian held her gaze and, right there on the noisy street, gave a firm, serious nod.

“Yes.”

The bluntness caught her off guard.

In that moment of hesitation, Sebastian’s phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen, frowned in clear annoyance, and answered with a terse, “What?”

On the other end, his assistant sounded close to panic. “Mr. Torres, I just got here–I’m outside the game store now. Where are you?”

‘Forget it,” Sebastian cut in flatly, his eyes drifting toward Riley’s car parked nearby. “Just head back to the office and stay put

He ended the call, strode directly to her passenger side, opened the door as if he’d done it a hundred times before, and slid into t seat.

Riley stared blankly for a second.

Then, looking at his tall frame now settled comfortably in her car, she finally let the corner of her mouth lift into a slow, amused

curve.

The more she got to know Sebastian, the more he seemed… unpredictable, layered, with depths that weren’t easily read

But every now and then, he’d show this almost boyish stubbornness and startling directness that left her completely thrown

Riley walked over and got behind the wheel.

She hadn’t eaten since leaving Lydia’s clinic, and her stomach was quietly reminding her it was empty

Starting the engine, she glanced at the man beside her, now examining the game cartridge again hot, would you like to grab something to eat with me first?”

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