Chapter 253: Damage Their Friendship

Sienna and Zachary already made up a story about how they could have Skylar.

And the story was simple: several years ago, they had been involved in a one-night stand while both were drunk.

When Zachary later discovered she was pregnant, he had wanted to take responsibility and raise their child together. Unfortunately, circumstances on her part had driven her away before they could build a family. So he decided to take responsibility for raising the child, given his life was more stable than hers. Now, after years of separation, they had finally found each other again, sharing their old feelings, and now finally able to marry.

The story was not the complete truth. But it was the truth they had agreed to share with their close friends and family.

Silence settled over the table once more.

Ava, Mia, and Riley were still trying to process everything Sienna had revealed: that Skylar is her biological son.

Sienna didn’t rush to explain further; she waited for them to ask.

She simply sat quietly, allowing them the time they needed to absorb the unexpected news. She knew that no amount of explanation would make the revelation any less shocking.

Fortunately, the silence didn’t last forever.

A few minutes later, several restaurant staff members arrived carrying trays filled with their dinner.

The elegant dishes were carefully placed in front of each of them, along with the expensive bottle of Château Margaux Premier Grand Cru Classé 2015 that Mia had insisted on ordering earlier.

The arrival of the food naturally eased the tension at the table.

As everyone picked up their utensils, the atmosphere slowly became less stiff.

Mia was the first to recover completely. She looked at Sienna with eyes full of curiosity.

"So..." she said, unable to hold herself back anymore. "How did you and Zachary meet back then?"

Ava immediately leaned forward. "I want to know too."

"There has to be a really good story behind all of this," Mia added.

The two women bombarded Sienna with one question after another, eager to fill in the missing pieces of a story they had never imagined existed.

Sienna couldn’t help laughing. She answered what she could while carefully avoiding the parts that had to remain secret.

Meanwhile, Riley remained unusually quiet. He cut into his steak and ate absentmindedly while occasionally glancing at Sienna.

Although he listened to every word she said, his expression clearly showed that he still wasn’t completely convinced.

No matter how calmly Sienna explained everything, he found it difficult to believe that the woman sitting across from him—the cheerful friend he had come to know over the past years—was actually Skylar’s biological mother.

Something about the story still didn’t fully make sense to him.

Even so, he kept those doubts to himself and continued listening, while starting to make a plan to send someone to investigate it.

...

Sienna abruptly stopped in the middle of her sentence as something suddenly crossed her mind.

She quickly turned toward Riley.

Only then did she remember that her identity as Skylar’s biological mother was still supposed to remain a secret for a little while longer.

The serious look she gave him was enough to make Riley pause in the middle of his meal.

He blinked at her before raising an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked teasingly. "Why are you looking at me like you want to punch me in the face?"

He set his fork and knife neatly on his plate, straightened in his chair, and looked at her with full attention, waiting for whatever she wanted to say.

Sienna let out a quiet breath before speaking.

"Riley, about me being Sky’s mom..." Her voice softened. "Please don’t tell anyone."

Her expression became more serious as she continued.

"Zach wants to tell his parents himself after they return from their vacation. After that, he’ll announce it to the rest of the family."

Riley didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he remained silent for several moments, his gaze lowering to the table as though carefully thinking about her request.

Seeing his silence, Sienna couldn’t help becoming anxious.

She knew Riley had never fully approved of her relationship with Zachary. Even after hearing the truth tonight, she could still see traces of doubt in his expression. She worried he might think revealing the secret immediately would somehow be the right thing to do.

The longer he stayed quiet, the more nervous she became.

"Riley!"

This time, her voice carried more firmness than before. It no longer sounded like a request; it almost sounded like an order.

"I told you this before the rest of the family because I consider you one of my closest friends." She looked directly into his eyes. "So I really hope you—"

"I promise."

Riley interrupted her gently before she could finish.

He smiled reassuringly.

"Relax, Sienna." His voice was calm and sincere. "I won’t tell anyone."

The tension in Sienna’s shoulders immediately disappeared. She let out a quiet sigh of relief she hadn’t even realized she had been holding.

Ava and Mia visibly relaxed as well. Neither of them had spoken while Sienna and Riley talked. Still, both had secretly been worried that this unexpected revelation might damage the friendship the two of them had built over the past years.

Fortunately, Riley’s promise put all those worries to rest.

He reached for his glass again and smiled lightly.

"I may ask too many questions sometimes," he joked, "but I know how to keep a secret."

That earned a small laugh from everyone around the table.

The atmosphere immediately became lighter again.

Seeing the conversation drifting back to normal, Ava decided to steer everyone’s attention toward a happier topic. "Alright," she said with a smile. "Let’s stop talking about secrets."

She turned toward Sienna, her eyes bright with excitement.

"Let’s talk about our plan instead."

Sienna instantly understood what she meant, and her face lit up with the same excitement.

"Oh!" Mia looked back and forth between the two women.

"So..." she asked eagerly, "does this mean you’ve both decided to open a restaurant?"

Sienna nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah." She answered, then glanced at Ava before smiling again. "We decided that we want to open both a restaurant and a café."