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 was at a store, purchasing a step to what I have been dreaming about. My focus was entirely locked on the small, black velvet box the master jeweler had just placed between us.


"Go ahead sir," the older man murmured, smiling warmly as he stepped back to give us space. "It was finished just this morning."


My hands were actually trembling a little, a detail I would never admit out loud to anyone but the man standing right next to me. I reached out, my fingers catching the edge of the velvet lid, and clicked it open.


The breath caught clean in my throat. It was absolutely breathtaking. A flawless, custom-designed diamond. It was elegant, timeless, and completely, unmistakably for my Annie.


"Man, look at that," I breathed, a massive, uncontainable grin breaking across my face as I lifted the box closer. I felt like I was completely vibrating with pure, unadulterated joy. "It's perfect, Franklin. It is literally perfect. Annie is going to lose her mind."


Chapter 277 - ~ 276