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'd been staring at my laptop for hours, not really seeing anything on the screen. Annie's voice pulled me back to reality. She was standing in the doorway of my home office, looking at me with that expression that said she'd been watching me struggle for a while now.


"What?" I asked, even though I knew exactly what she meant.


"Your father," she said softly, coming to sit on the edge of my desk. She took my hand in hers, her touch warm and grounding. "You haven't said his name in weeks. You won't talk about the trial. You won't talk about what happened. But I can see it's eating you up, Clinton. Like you're carrying this weight and you can't put it down. I think you need closure. I think you need to face him and get the answers you're looking for."


Chapter 219 - ~ 219