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.

Two days later, I found myself driving through the familiar, upscale streets of Soho. I was heading to my parents' apartment.


We hadn't been on speaking terms for two long years—not since they treated my life like a bargain chip to save their sinking ship. But the weight of that malice had become too heavy to carry. I was tired of the silence, and I realized that if I was going to put the shattered pieces of my life back together, I had to start by letting go of the grudges that anchored me to the past.


Even though they hadn't reached out once after Franklin cleared their debts, I didn't want to fight anymore. To them, I had been a tool for financial survival; to me, they were still my parents, and I wanted peace.


When I reached their door, my mother opened it, her eyes widening in genuine shock.


Chapter 79 - ~ 79