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.

My phone finally fell silent, the screen turning black as the elevator reached the ballroom floor. 


The doors slid open, and Franklin's bodyguards stepped out with me, their presence a constant, heavy reminder of the world I was trying to escape. The polished marble under my feet felt like thin ice, ready to crack at any moment and plunge me into the freezing depths of the Flemington-Harrington war.


I tried to blend into the shadows of the gold-leafed hall, waiting for a chance to find Frederick, offer my congratulations, and flee. 


The atmosphere was no longer celebratory; it was predatory. The guests didn't just whisper—they stared. It was the kind of scrutiny that made me feel like my skin was being peeled back, revealing every secret I had tried to bury since the day I signed that contract.


Chapter 56 - ~ 56