The True Heiress Reborn And Slays (Alicia Delaney) novel Chapter 417

Chapter 417 A Friend?

Grace chatted with Riley a little longer, asking about her work and how she’d been. She wa about to say goodbye when something seemed to click. She let out a small “oh.”

“Riley, a while back someone came to the school asking about you. Said she was a friend of yours.”

“A friend?” Riley blinked.

“Yes.” Grace thought back, pulling up the memory. “She said you two were from the same orphanage. She’d been asking around and finally found out that you went to university her She wanted your contact info, but we don’t have your new number either. So I had her leav hers. Told her we’d pass it along if you ever came back.”

Riley’s smile froze.

The word “orphanage” struck her as if from far away—both close and distant at the same tin

The kids from the orphanage had scattered like dandelion seeds once they were adopted or aged out. Everyone went their own way, and their connections frayed until they snapped. So many years had passed, each building their own life. Nobody really dug into that past. It was exactly a chapter worth revisiting.

Someone went through all this trouble to track me down at my university. Did something happen?

The thought landed cold in her chest.

She pulled out her phone fast and rattled off her number to Grace. “Ms. Hughes, could you send me that person’s contact info later? It’s kind of important.”

“Of course. No problem.”

Grace disappeared around the corner. Riley stood there, still tangled up in the news, her thoughts churning.

She pulled her gaze back and noticed Sebastian staring at the athletic field in the distance- fixed, unmoving.

His nostalgia from earlier had put her on edge, and her chest tightened a little. She kept her voice light on purpose. “What? You see someone you know?”

Sebastian didn’t look away. “No.”

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Chapter 417 A Friend?

He tipped his chin toward the field. “Colin’s out there.”

Riley followed his gaze. The soccer field was packed with guys in mismatched jerseys. sprinting and shoving and chasing the ball.

And there, right in the middle of all that chaos, was a man in a white dress shirt.

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Colin had stripped off his ridiculous blazer and was dribbling the ball like his life depended it. His form wasn’t exactly pro–level, but the sheer energy and reckless grin on his face were infectious.

Audrey sat on a bench on the sidelines, chin propped on one hand, lazily twirling the straw i her iced coffee. She was waiting, obviously.

Riley and Sebastian traded a look and headed over.

“Riley! Finally!” Audrey launched to her feet the second she spotted them. She jabbed a finge at Colin on the field and started venting. “Will you look at him? He’s got way too much time ‹ his hands. A grown man out there crashing into a bunch of hormonal college kids. Doesn’t he have any shame? Who’s he trying to impress?”

Riley laughed, “He’s not that old. He looks like he’s keeping up fine.”

“He’s in his late twenties. That’s old.” Audrey plunked her coffee down with authority and pursed her lips. She looked like she was speaking from deep experience. “A guy’s prime is maybe a few years, tops. Give him a few more and let’s see if he can still run like that.”

Right then, the halftime whistle blew.

Colin jogged over, sweat soaking through his shirt. He wiped his chin with his collar and started scanning the bench. “I’m dying. Where’s the water? Who brought water?”

His eyes swept across the bench and landed on the iced coffee by Audrey’s hand. He grabbed it without a second thought and chugged several huge gulps.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and said flatly, “Colin, that was Audrey’s coffee.”

The air went still for a beat.

Audrey and Colin both froze and stared at each other for a solid three seconds.

“Ahh!” Audrey screeched and snatched back what was left of her coffee. Her face twisted with disgust.

“Colin, you did that on purpose! You drank out of it! How am I supposed to drink it

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