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 stood frozen at the foot of the bed, my hands clenched into such tight fists that my nails dug painfully into my palms. 


She wasn't wearing a disguise. She wasn't hiding in the shadows of North Carolina anymore. That unmistakable, predatory smile was plastered across her perfectly made-up face. 


Beside me, the silence was suffocating. I turned my head slowly to look at Franklin. He was sitting on the edge of the mattress, his face completely bloodless, staring at the screen as if looking at a ghost that had come to drag him to hell. His strong shoulders were hunched, and his jaw was clenched so hard the muscles jumped beneath his skin.


"This is my fault," he whispered, his voice hollow, broken, and heavy with a devastating guilt that fractured my heart. "I should have put her away deeper. I should have seen this coming. I brought this nightmare back to you, Octavia. To our baby."


Chapter 232 - ~ 232