Chapter 307: Advance Payment

Sienna stared at him, full of curiosity. "Zach, you weren’t joking?"

Zachary quickly glanced at her again, and a knowing smile appeared on his lips. "Of course I’m serious."

"Wow. I’m impressed..." Sienna nodded slowly, unable to hide her amusement. "And what about your second option? Forcing him to get married?"

"Easy. I’ll choose a woman for him and make it impossible for him to resist marrying her."

Once again, Sienna was taken aback by her husband’s dramatic idea. She looked at him for several seconds, trying to decide whether he was actually capable of doing something so outrageous. The confidence in his voice didn’t help her believe he was joking.

"So, which one do you want?" Zachary asked. "Just give me your word, and I’ll do it as earnestly and as fast as I can."

Sienna remained quiet for a few seconds. She didn’t know how to respond because she certainly didn’t want either option.

After a few seconds of silence, she finally sighed and looked at him.

"I don’t know. I just can’t decide on something like that. Besides, I’ve already made my feelings clear to him..." She paused to catch her breath before continuing more seriously. "I don’t want you to fight with your family because of me, Zach. What if your parents find out about this?"

Zachary gently squeezed her hand, his expression softening as he listened to her concern.

"I knew you would say that because you’re an angel. You can’t bring yourself to hurt people unless they strike you first." His voice was warmer now, and there was a small smile on his lips. "Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to him as long as he doesn’t provoke me."

Sienna smiled in relief. She had genuinely worried for a moment that Zachary might actually send Riley abroad or even try to arrange a marriage for him.

Knowing her husband, she wasn’t entirely sure how serious his suggestions had been, and the thought of Riley finding out about them made her nervous. If that happened, Zachary and Riley could easily end up at war with each other, and the last thing she wanted was to become the reason for a conflict between them.

She leaned back in her seat and let out a quiet breath, still holding Zachary’s hand. "Good. Because I really don’t want to deal with the two of you fighting over me."

Zachary smiled and glanced at her briefly. "Then tell Riley to behave."

Sienna couldn’t help laughing softly. "You should tell him that yourself."

"I would," Zachary replied, his tone becoming playful again, "but I think he’ll listen to you more."

"That sounds like a problem between you and your nephew."

"You are right," he said calmly, giving her hand another gentle squeeze. "I will talk to him later..."

Sienna smiled as she looked at him, feeling the remaining tension disappear. Even though the situation with Riley was complicated, she was grateful that she could talk about it openly with Zachary.

She knew he was protective of her, sometimes more than necessary. Still, she knew that beneath his jealousy and anger was genuine, passionate love. For now, that was enough to make her feel safe.

After a moment of silence, Sienna turned toward Zachary when something suddenly crossed her mind. She hesitated for a second before speaking, already wondering how he would react.

"Honey, I don’t know if this will upset you or not..." She paused, watching his expression carefully.

"What is it?" Zachary asked calmly, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Riley booked out my entire restaurant for Monday night."

Zachary chuckled at that and briefly glanced at Sienna. Instead of looking annoyed, he seemed amused by the information. "Of course I’m happy about it. He’ll be burning his money at your restaurant."

"Hahaha, you’re right. He’s really generous to support us like that."

"There’s no need to feel bad about it. He’s wealthy, so booking your restaurant for one night won’t make him go bankrupt," Zachary said casually, as though there was nothing to worry about. "What’s the occasion for him to book out an entire restaurant?"

Sienna nodded, then thought about the reason Riley had given her for the reservation. "If I remember correctly, it’s to treat his colleagues, so I think the company is paying for it, not him personally."

Zachary glanced at her again, this time with a questioning look.

Sienna quickly explained, "Riley said it was to celebrate winning a tender with the government... or the military. I can’t quite remember."

Zachary’s grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, although his expression remained calm. He didn’t say anything for a moment, as though he were putting the pieces together in his mind.

"The military project..." he finally said.

Sienna looked at him curiously.

"So, he told you they won that project?"

"Yes. That’s why he booked my place for Monday. He’s going to celebrate with his team," Sienna said excitedly. She clapped her hands happily as she continued, clearly pleased by the business opportunity. "He also ordered us to provide our expensive wine. Riley is really going to burn his company’s money at my restaurant. Well, this is our blessing."

"Congratulations, my love." Zachary smiled, although his eyes remained focused on the road ahead. "But make sure you ask him to pay in full in advance."

Sienna blinked, puzzled by his sudden advice. "Huh? Why?"

"Even though he’s your friend, he’s still a customer at your restaurant." Zachary gave her a warm smile. "I’m just afraid he’ll make a sudden cancellation on that day, and you’ll suffer a loss. I don’t want my wife to lose money because someone changes his mind at the last minute."

Sienna considered his words and realized that he had a point. "Ah, alright." She nodded in agreement. "I’ll ask Mia to tell him to settle the payment first."

"Good. At least then you won’t have to worry about it."

Sienna smiled and leaned back comfortably in her seat. She appreciated that Zachary always thought about the practical things she sometimes overlooked. Even though he had been suspicious of Riley earlier and clearly wasn’t pleased about the situation, he was still able to separate her business from his personal feelings.