Chapter 71: His Mate, Not A PlaceHolder

LUMINA Something was wrong, but I wasn’t able to place my hand on what it was. This Riley wants the same Riley that has spent a sleepover in my house. This Riley was the Riley that was always acting off whenever he was with Sophia. Or maybe I was just being too suspicious. Sophia was Riley’s mum but I felt something wasn’t normal here. I could feel it in my bones as I watched Sophia hover over Riley like a predator guarding its prey. The way she spoke to him, the way he responded with that flat, emotionless tone – it made my skin crawl. “Have a wonderful day, sweetheart,” I said to Ollie, bending down to give him a quick hug as he hugged me back. His excitement about returning back to his class was infectious, and I tried to focus on that instead of the strange tension I felt whenever Sophia was around. “I will, Mama! Riley and I are going to have so much fun together!” But as I looked over at Riley, I noticed he wasn’t happy like Ollie was. In fact, he seemed almost… distant. C