He threw money on the bed after our one-night stand.
I threw it back in his face at his own inauguration.
By sundown, we were engaged. By the week's end — married.
Franklin Flemington needed a wife to secure his empire. I needed a miracle to save my family. For two years, we played our parts flawlessly — the golden couple the whole city envied.
Behind closed doors, I was invisible to him.
When the two years were up, I handed him divorce papers without blinking.
He stared at me like I'd lost my mind. "I've given you everything a husband should. What more do you want from me, Octavia?"
I smiled, signed my name, and walked out.
I thought that was the end. I thought I'd finally won.
I forgot one thing — Franklin Flemington has never lost anything in his life. And he has no intention of starting with me.
Game on.

I still remember the crispness of that morning air, how the sunlight slanted through the kitchen window just above the sink, turning everything golden and warm. I was sixteen, a kid who still believed his parents were invincible, untouchable. That morning, they had kissed me goodbye like any other day, grabbing their coats by the door with the casual ease of people who thought they had endless tomorrows.


"Stay with Grandpa today, okay?" my mom had said, her voice light but carrying a strange tension I was too young to fully notice. Dad was already pulling on his favorite jacket—the one with the worn leather cuffs he wore on every important business trip. "We'll only be gone for the afternoon. We'll be back before dinner."


Chapter 145 - ~ 145