Chapter 237: ~ 237
Chapter 237
~Octavia~
Another work day. I took a deep breath, leaning back against my leather chair, and took a long breath. I had actually managed to have a peaceful day.
I had been buried in back-to-back meetings, reviewing technical architectures, and coordinating with the database team. Because I was so incredibly busy, I hadn’t crossed paths with Bella once. Not in the executive wing, not near the elevators, and not in the lounge. For a few hours, I felt at peace.
I checked my watch. It was just past six in the evening. Franklin had already texted me saying he was finishing up his final meeting and would be up to pick me soon.
"I guess I got lucky today," I murmured to myself, gathering my tablet and sliding it into my bag.
But it seemed I spoke entirely too soon.
The heavy glass door to my office suddenly swung open without a single knock. The sharp, rhythmic clink of stilettos cut through the quiet room, instantly making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
I looked up. Bella stood framed in the doorway, her black trench coat unbuttoned, revealing a perfectly tailored, black dress underneath. She looked pristine, confident, and utterly malicious. She didn’t wait for an invitation. She walked right inside, closing the door behind her with a soft, deliberate click that sealed the two of us in the room together.
"Leaving so soon, Octavia?" Bella asked, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness as she walked toward my desk.
I didn’t panic. I didn’t even stop packing my things. I kept my movements completely fluid and calm, refusing to give her a single satisfaction she was looking for.
"It’s after hours, Bella," I replied, my voice smooth and completely level. "Unlike you, I actually work for a living. I don’t spend my days wandering around corridors waiting for someone to notice me."
Bella let out a sharp, mocking laugh, her eyes sweeping over the luxury furniture, and finally landing on my face. She rested her hands on the edge of my desk, leaning forward slightly to intimidate me. She had come here tonight with a clear purpose: she wanted to completely rubbish me.
"Enjoy this office while you can," Bella purred, her eyes narrowing with pure venom. "Because every single thing you have right now, this lifestyle, this high-powered role, the security, and the husband sleeping in your bed, it was all built on my ruins. It all belongs to me, Octavia. You are just a temporary placeholder sitting in a chair that has my name permanently engraved on it."
She took a slow step around the desk, her gaze dropping to my stomach before rising back to my eyes.
"You think you’ve secured your place. You think you’re clever playing the doting, supportive wife," she continued, her voice laced with deep, simmering jealousy. "But you’re living a lie. You’re just a replacement for the woman Franklin actually loved. A tragic little substitute he took on out of pity."
I stood my ground, and I turned to face her. Her words were sharp, designed to slice right through a woman’s insecurities, but I wasn’t just any woman. I knew exactly who I was, and I knew exactly where I stood with Franklin.
"Are you done?" I asked, tilting my head slightly with a look of profound boredom. "Because your monologue is getting incredibly repetitive."
Bella’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second, frustration flitting across her features before she masked it with a smug, knowing grin. She leaned in a little closer, her voice dropping into a dangerous, quiet whisper.
"You think you know everything because you can read code, Octavia," Bella sneered. "But there are things that you will never know. I hold a secret so dark, so completely ruinous, that if I drop it, your perfect little world will shatter into a million pieces. You have no idea what you’re actually dealing with."
Inside, my mind immediately began to ponder. A secret? What could it possibly be? A tiny spark of anxiety tried to flare up in my chest, wondering what hidden card Bella could truly be holding over my family. But on the outside, I didn’t show a single hint of doubt. My expression remained completely frozen, a mask of absolute, unfazed confidence.
I let out a soft, amused chuckle, looking Bella directly in the eyes.
"A secret, Bella? Really?" I said, my voice cutting through her dramatic tension like a knife. "Is that the best you can do? Let me tell you something clearly. I am completely unfazed by your pathetic mind games. I know all about your desperate lies. I know your entire ’kidnapping’ timeline is a complete fabrication, and I know exactly what kind of game you are trying to play with the media."
I took a step closer to her, matching her intensity, my dark eyes completely locking her down.
"Let’s call a spade a spade," I continued, my tone sharp and entirely ruthless. "You are nothing but a gold digger who realized she lost her golden ticket. A woman who has to literally fake her own kidnapping just to get a single glance from her ex-boyfriend has already lost the war. You have no dignity left, Bella. You are a ghost chasing a man who looks at you with nothing but absolute disgust."
The color instantly drained from Bella’s face. My words had hit her exactly where it hurt the most, stripping away her polished facade and exposing the desperate, scrambling criminal underneath. For a long moment, the room was dead silent as she stared at me, her chest heaving with silent, furious rage.
But then, slowly, a wicked, distorted smile crept back onto her face. It wasn’t the smile of a woman who had been defeated, it was the smile of a psycho who knew she still had a loaded gun.
"Don’t think you have won, Octavia," Bella whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of hatred and sick anticipation. She backed away toward the door, her eyes gleaming with a terrifying light. "You can call me whatever you want. But I can’t wait to pull my biggest card. When the time comes, you’re going to realize that everything you built was just a house of cards."
With one final, wicked look, she turned on her heel and slammed my office door behind her, her heels clicking rapidly down the hallway until the sound completely faded away.
I stood completely still in the center of the quiet room. The adrenaline from the confrontation began to cool, leaving behind a heavy, lingering silence.
I looked down at my desk, my mind spinning into overdrive. I tried to analyze every single syllable she had spoken, filtering through her threats with my logical, calculated intellect. She had been so confident. It wasn’t just empty bluster; she truly believed she possessed a weapon capable of destroying us.
I frowned, my hand resting gently over my stomach as I stared out at the door.
What could it be?
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