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.

The moment she drove away from the orphanage, my heart skipped a beat so violently I had to clutch my chest. Why did she have this effect on me? I found myself staring at the empty space where she had been, the image of her etched into my mind.


I had never looked at her like that before—not for that long, and certainly not with that much intensity. Seeing her with the children, hearing her genuine, unbridled laughter, had been pure bliss. 


She looked truly happy, a radiant version of herself I hadn't realized existed until now. It was in that quiet afternoon light that I noticed everything: the way the wind caught her dark hair, the glow of her skin, the kindness in her eyes. I felt a pull toward her that was more than just physical; it was a magnetic, terrifying ache in my chest.


My heart was doing a frantic pitter-patter that scared me. I'd never felt this for her, and I couldn't understand why it was surfacing now, just as I was losing her.


Chapter 63 - ~ 63