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 soft clinking of crystal glasses and the warm, ambient laughter of my closest friends and family filled the transformed house.


I sat comfortably on a plush, armchair that Victoria had insisted be positioned under a massive archway of cascading white roses. My hand rested securely on the very top of my belly, feeling the comforting flutters of the little life inside me.


My mother walked over, her eyes still sparkling with happy tears, and gently laid an exquisitely embroidered, vintage baby blanket across my lap. "I kept this from the day you were brought home from the hospital, Octavia," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly as she leaned down to kiss my temple. "I always hoped I would see the day you would pass it down to your own child. You are going to be a magnificent mother."


"Thank you, Mom," I murmured, a deep warmth blooming in my chest as I smoothed my fingers over the intricate lace border.


Chapter 258 - ~ 258