A Fake Heiress’s Guide to Love and Power novel Chapter 290

Chapter 290

The three girls exchanged bewildered glances, none of them sure what to do next.

“Did we pay already?” Esme whispered.

Joyce shook her head. “I only saw the manager take our order and leave.”

“It’s just a phone call, you guys are worrying too much.” Unlike the others, Mia seemed completely unbothered.

“Hey, is that Alessia?” With the food yet to arrive, Esme scrolled through the university’s homepage on her phone and suddenly spotted a photo of Alessia and Cole arriving together that morning.

“Who’s with her?” Joyce peered over.

“Her boyfriend, I guess. Looks like he’s rich and gorgeous. I’m so jealous.”

Mia leaned in, curiosity piqued. “Wait, do we even have a guy like that at our school? If he was this handsome, the confessions page would’ve exploded–there can’t be just this one photo.”

“He’s a freshman. Someone saw him registering over at the finance department,” Mia replied, pulling up another photo she found and showing it to the others.

“They look amazing together. Talk about a power couple.”

“Wait, look at this!” Joyce blushed as she tapped on their arms, pulling up another picture–this one of Cole and Alessia sharing a kiss at the front gate.

The caption read: First day of term and I’m already getting third–wheeled. Kill me

now.

Their conversation was cut short by a knock on the door.

It was the waiter, bringing their food.

The girls immediately quieted down and slid back into their seats.

“Where is Alessia, anyway?” Esme glanced toward the entrance.

“I’ll go check,” Mia volunteered, already rising from her chair.

Retracing the way she’d come in, Mia asked one of the servers if they’d seen Alessia. To her surprise, everyone seemed to know exactly who she was looking for. Before long, a staff member was guiding Mia through the corridors.

09:37

Chapter

Alessia had already finished her call. She stood facing a man.

“Well, fancy seeing you again,” Fortune greeted her with a bright smile, acting as if they were old friends.

Alessia nodded in reply, intending to walk away, but Fortune stepped in her path.

“Don’t tell me you forgot me? I’m Fortune–we met this morning.”

“Did you need something?” Alessia’s tone was clipped.

“Are you here alone? I didn’t see Cole. Oh, is he your boyfriend?”

Three questions in a row, each one more invasive than the last. Alessia’s patience ran thin and her brow creased.

“And that’s any of your business because…?”

“You’re so chilly. Girls are way cuter when they smile, you know,” Fortune teased, undeterred by her frosty attitude.

Alessia’s patience snapped. She raised her hand to flag down an employee. There were cameras everywhere–if anything happened, someone would be there in seconds. It wasn’t that she couldn’t handle him herself, but this was her family’s restaurant and she had no intention of causing a scene that could ruin their

reputation.

Just then, a new voice cut through the tension.

“Alessia!”

She turned–it was Mia, striding over as if nothing was amiss. Without hesitation, Mia looped her arm through Alessia’s in a gesture that looked intimate.

Alessia wasn’t used to such familiarity from someone she barely knew, but she didn’t pull away, curious to see what Mia would do.

Fortune watched them both, but Mia ignored him.

“Come on,

the food’s here. Esme and Joyce sent me to find you,” Mia said breezily.

“Alright.” Alessia nodded. Together, arm in arm, the two girls walked away. This time, Fortune didn’t follow.

“Interesting,” Fortune murmured to himself with a slight grin.

Just then, a voice called, “Mr. Thorne, the patriarch wants to see you.”

Fortune arched an eyebrow, schooled his features into a cheerful expression, and

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Chapter 290

turned around.

“Sure thing,” he replied, following the family assistant down the corridor.