Chapter 497

Claire didn’t care if Octavia was clearly annoyed. She just shrugged it off, a little smirk tugging at her lips.

“I was actually going to tell you something. Apparently, someone from Latham’s past has been hanging around him lately p>

Octavia froze. “Wait, what?” The words came out sharp, almost a whisper.

“It’s probably nothing. Maybe I was just seeing things.” Claire shot her a look, then

let the conversation drop, but it was enough. Octavia’s nerves were already rattled.

“Are you serious? How do you even know?” Octavia couldn’t help herself— suspicion crept into her voice.

Claire just shook her head. “Forget it. Maybe I’m just making it all up p>

After that, Claire went quiet and Octavia was totally distracted. She didn’t care anymore about whether Claire had given her away for the school recommendation or not. All she could think about now was the so-called ‘old flame’ Claire might have spotted around Latham.

Latham hadn’t exactly been a saint when he was younger. Octavia knew it. He’d dated plenty of women before her, so who was this person from the past?

Honestly, Octavia’s constant anxiety about her marriage made sense if you looked at how things started. When she met Latham, he already had a girlfriend. Even when they started getting involved, he didn’t break things off right away. It was Octavia who used her own tricks to edge out the competition, making sure Latham’s ex caught the two of them basically tangled up with each other at a nightclub.

It was practically a public scandal.

No one could call what Octavia did honorable, but at the end of the day, she became Latham’s wife. She was proud of that. Still, the early years of their marriage were a mess, thanks to Latham’s wandering eye.

It wasn’t until they had a son that he finally started acting like a family man.

To be honest, it took Octavia threatening to jump off the balcony with their baby in her arms to get him in line.

After that, Latham had no choice but to behave.

Of course, Octavia was never really sure if he’d truly cut off those old flings. Most of

the time, she chose to ignore it, telling herself it wasn’t worth the fight.

Unless someone actually threatened her position or her child’s security.

That’s when she drew the line. Like with Fallon.

Fallon was different. She was

younger, one of Latham’s college juniors, and she’d always acted like she admired him. She used that connection to get a

at Thes James Group, and working together every day, things went from friendly

to flirty in no time.

At first, Octavia hadn’t cared, but by the time she realized what was

going on, it was almost too late. Fallon was clever in a way that none of Latham’s previous affairs had been. She knew how to hide her true intentions, how to act sweet and humble when Latham was around, and how to needle Octavia when he wasn’t looking.

Latham genuinely thought he’d found a woman willing to love him quietly asking for nothing in retu But Octavia wasn’t buying it what could Fallon possibly want? A man much older than her, already married, already a father?

Fallon quickly became the biggest threat Octavia had ever faced. She wasn’t about

to just sit back and let it happen.

So she set a trap, and once Fallon took the bait, it ended with her losing her baby.

When Latham figured out that Octavia knew everything, he kicked Fallon out of the company, trying to protect their family. Fallon lost her job and her child, and Octavia thought she finally got what she deserved.

Getting rid of Fallon hadn’t been easy. Octavia knew she’d paid a steep price to keep her family together.

She left school that day in a fog, barely remembering how she made it to her car. “Home, ma’am?” The driver’s words shook her out of her thoughts.

“No. Take me to the office,” she replied, already scrolling through her phone to call Latham. Her finger hovered over the call button, but after a second, she hung up without letting it ring. There was no answer anyway.

Checking in on Latham at work wasn’t anything new for her. But this time, as soon as she stepped into the office, she came face-to-face with Fallon.