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.

"You knew?" Octavia's voice was barely a whisper, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and something that looked like fear.


"Yes," I nodded, keeping my expression steady.


 "Octavia, everyone in New York knows who Franklin Flemington is. He's the city's golden son. The engagement, the wedding... it was everywhere. Don't look so surprised."


"I suppose you're right," she said, though she still looked unsettled. "But if you knew I was married, why didn't you just walk away? Why get involved?"


"Because I couldn't," I said, leaning closer so she could see the sincerity I wasn't entirely faking. 


"I was already interested in you. A ring—or the lack of one—wasn't going to change that."


"Even if I'm still legally married to him?" she whispered.


Chapter 41 - ~ 41