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 decided to start my life over in Queens. 


I found a quiet, modern apartment—a place where no one, especially not Franklin, could find me. 


After I walked out of the estate, I made the swift decision to clear out my old pre-marriage apartment, as the landlord needed to rent it out. 


I moved every last scrap of my past into my new sanctuary, and the moment the final box was unpacked, I blocked Franklin's number.


If he ever decides he's actually ready to face the reality of our divorce, he can come find me at my workplace and tell me himself. 


I am done being stepped on. It was enough. I threw myself into work, using the code and the logic of the office to distract me from the wreckage of my personal life.


The first thing to go were the rings. 


I stripped them off the moment I left the estate, not caring if the office gossip mill started spinning new tales about me taking Franklin's money and running him dry. 


Let them speculate. I don't care anymore.


Chapter 34 - ~ 34