The Billionaire's Heir I Never Knew Was Mine novel Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Are You In Love?

"Hi, long time no talk to you. How’s your day?" From: Zach

Sienna stared at the message, her fingers hovering above the screen, her thoughts suddenly far away from the laughter around her.

And for a moment, she didn’t know whether to smile or panic.

But, in the end...the smile won.

Sienna’s lips curved slightly as her fingers moved quickly across the screen, typing with a kind of confidence she didn’t entirely feel.

"My day starts in hell, but, luckily, ends in heaven. How about you? Busy with your family business?"

She looked at the message again, her thumb lingering over the send button. For a moment, doubt crept in, quiet but persistent. Was it too much? Too playful? Too personal?

Her brows knitted together as she read it again, her mind suddenly refusing to cooperate, as if it had decided to take a break right when she needed it the most.

She let out a soft sigh and shook her head lightly, as though the simple motion could reset her thoughts.

’Nah... It’s fine,’ she reassured herself silently. ’It sounds normal. A little humor, nothing serious. I didn’t overshare anything about my problems... Yes. It’s totally fine. And stop overthinking.’

With that final push of courage, she tapped the send button.

The message was gone.

And just like that, her heart began to beat a little faster.

She waited.

But nothing happened.

Sienna leaned back slightly, forcing herself to relax.

’Relax, girl... he’s not sitting there waiting for your message like you are,’ she scolded herself inwardly. ’Don’t overthink it. But don’t you dare call him.’

Luckily, before her thoughts could spiral any further, Mia’s voice cut through her internal chaos.

"So, tell me, Riley," Mia said, narrowing her eyes toward him, "why were you late today? Sienna and I were almost dying waiting for you, but you weren’t there."

Sienna blinked, immediately grateful for the distraction. She slipped her phone back into her bag and shifted her attention to Riley, curiosity replacing her earlier tension.

Riley let out a long sigh, placing his cutlery down on the now-empty plate as if he had just finished a great battle.

"My grandma," he said simply, his gaze resting on Mia. "She wasn’t feeling well this morning. So I went to visit her." His answer came too easily.

Sienna exchanged a quick glance with Mia before narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Then why didn’t you reply to our texts?" Sienna asked, her tone calm but firm. "We called you many times. Your phone wasn’t even active."

Riley looked at her, and for a brief moment, something flickered in his eyes. Then he smiled, though this time, it carried a faint hint of bitterness.

"Believe it or not," he said, shrugging casually, "my phone died. Completely. And, somehow, my grandma, who always has every kind of phone charger in the world in her house... lost the charger for my type of phone. Talking about an unfortunate event."

Mia chuckled in disbelief, "What kind of bad luck is that?"

"The legendary kind," Riley replied without missing a beat.

Sienna studied him for a moment longer, as if trying to decide whether to believe him. But in the end, she simply let out a soft sigh and leaned back.

"Alright, we won’t ask anything else..." she muttered. "But once again, thank you for your help."

Mia nodded in agreement, clearly satisfied with the explanation. "Thank you, Riley. I will repay you for anything. Just name it. What do you want..."

And just like that, the tension faded again.

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