The Billionaire's Heir I Never Knew Was Mine

Ava nodded immediately. ”Sienna, I’m sorry if my question sounded rude.”

”It’s alright, Ava. I completely understand your concern,” Sienna said with a gentle smile. ”Zach and I chose to register our marriage first before having our wedding ceremony to make things easier for us.”

Mia smiled, then said, ”Sienna, even if you were pregnant, it wouldn’t matter to me.” She reached out and gently squeezed Sienna’s hand. ”I’d still be just as happy for you.”

”Sienna, congratulations...” Ava said sincerely.

”Congratulations, my friend...” Mia echoed.

Looking at the genuine happiness in her friends’ eyes, Sienna felt her own eyes sting slightly. She quickly blinked away the emotion before it could turn into tears.

”Thank you,” she said softly. ”Both of you.”

For a moment, none of them spoke.

Then Ava narrowed her eyes playfully. ”But...”

Sienna smiled knowingly. ”I knew there was a ’but.’”

”There is.” Ava pointed a finger at her. ”Don’t even think about getting married without inviting us.”

”Exactly,” Mia agreed. ”If we find out through social media, our friendship is over.”

Sienna couldn’t help but laugh. ”I promise you’ll both be there.”

”Glad to hear that,” Ava smiled happily.

But Mia added again, her gaze beaming, ”And I expect good seats.”

Sienna couldn’t help but chuckle. ”No worries... You’ll have them.”

The three women laughed together before Mia noticed Riley quietly eating his dessert, not joining the conversation, as if something were bothering him.

She frowned. ”Riley.”

”Hmm?” Riley frowned as he looked at Mia.

”Did you already know about this?”

”Yes.” His answer was calm. ”Sienna told me.”

Mia looked surprised. ”Then why don’t you seem excited about Sienna’s marriage?”

Riley shrugged lightly before taking another bite of dessert. ”Because I don’t believe it.”

Instantly, the room grew quieter.

Mia blinked in confusion. ”What do you mean you don’t believe her?” Her eyes moved between Riley and Sienna as if sensing an awkward tension she couldn’t quite understand.

Instead of answering Mia directly, Riley looked straight at Sienna. His expression remained calm, almost unreadable. ”Because no one in the family knows about it,” he said evenly.

Mia gasped. She tried to say something, but no words came out of her mouth.

”So tell me, Sienna...” Riley’s voice was slightly playful, ”...what exactly do you expect me to believe?”

His expression barely changed, yet the meaning behind his words was unmistakable. He wasn’t questioning her in front of everyone because he doubted her. But he was reminding her that a marriage hidden from the Sterling family was a secret that could not remain hidden forever.

Sienna held his gaze, and although she kept her expression composed, an uneasy feeling slowly settled in her chest. Her hand slowly clenched into a tight fist as she tried to find the right words to say to him.

And once again, before Sienna could say anything, Mia snapped, ”My goodness, Riley Sterling! You are so rude! How could you say that to Sienna? Are you trying to make it clear we’re not friends anymore?”

Riley glanced at Mia and, instead of taking offense, let out a quiet chuckle.

”Whoa, relax, Mia,” he said defensively. ”I wasn’t trying to be rude to Sienna, but I was only stating a fact. My grandma and grandpa didn’t even know my uncle ever had a girlfriend. You can imagine what they would have thought about him having a wife...”

”Even so, you can’t say something like that so casually,” Ava added. She had caught the flicker of unease and sadness that crossed Sienna’s eyes.

Silence settled around them, and although no one spoke, the tension hung heavy between them.

Riley looked at Sienna. His expression softened, and when he spoke again, his voice carried a note of sincerity. ”I’m sorry, Sienna. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just wanted you to have some ideas about what may be going on in my family when they hear about it.”

Sienna remained quiet, her expression calm and unreadable.

”I can tell you for sure that my uncle still hasn’t told his parents about his marriage,” Riley continued. ”And honestly, because of that, my grandma is still trying to find him a wife. I heard she’s planning to arrange a meeting between my uncle and another woman’s family.”

Ava and Mia exchanged worried glances before looking back at Sienna. Both of them were in shock, speechless, at what Riley just said. They simply waited, counting on Sienna to respond.

After a long moment, Riley sighed. ”Please, Sienna, say something. If there’s anything you need me to do, just tell me. I’ll help you.”

Sienna’s jaw tightened, but she still said nothing.

”Damn it. How could Uncle Zach hide you like this? How could he not tell the rest of the family about you?” Riley said, his voice rising with frustration. ”I’m calling him right now. I’ll tell him to take you to my grandparents’ house—”

Before he could pull out his phone, Sienna finally reacted.

She gently shook her head, stopping him. A reassuring smile touched her lips as she said, ”Riley, thank you, but you don’t have to do that.”

Riley’s hand paused before he could dial Zachary’s number. He looked up and met her eyes.

”Sienna, I’ve told you before. My uncle never wanted to get married. And if he really did marry you, I’m afraid it might only be on paper. If he truly loved you, he would’ve announced your marriage to the media. At the very least, he would’ve introduced you to my grandparents.”

Sienna could see that Riley was genuinely worried about her, but his concern didn’t shake her confidence. She completely trusted Zachary.

”Sienna,” Ava said at last, breaking the silence. ”I actually agree with Riley.”

Sienna turned to look at her.

”I think you should ask Zachary about it,” Ava continued carefully, choosing her words with care so she wouldn’t upset or confuse her.

Mia, who was sitting beside Sienna, nodded in agreement.

Even then, Sienna showed no sign of worry or sadness. She simply smiled at the three of them with the same quiet calm.

”Alright,” she said, picking up her glass and raising it with a slight smile, as if proposing a toast. ”Can you all just be happy for my marriage?” Her gaze moved from friend to friend before she added warmly, ”Let’s stop talking about it. I trust my husband.”