Chapter 81

~ Octavia ~

The office was hummed with the usual drone of clicking keyboards and low-level chatter when a voice sliced through the air—sharp, familiar, and dripping with a confidence that made my skin crawl.

"Who missed me?"

I froze, a chill racing down my spine. The entire floor went silent as heads snapped up toward the entrance.

"Bella?!" Ava gasped, her eyes wide with shock.

"Oh my God, Bella... you’re actually here?" Tina added, her voice trailing off in disbelief.

It was jarring to see her.

After going AWOL for over a week, she had practically become a ghost story in the breakroom. But here she was, standing in the center of the office like she owned the square footage. She looked different—calculatedly so. She had a sharp new haircut that framed her face and a radiant glow to her skin that suggested her "sick leave" had been spent in a spa rather than a hospital bed.

She ignored the chorus of surprised voices, her gaze locking onto mine with predatory precision. She marched toward my desk, her arms crossed over her designer blazer.

"My, my, Octavia," she drawled, stopping just inches from my workspace. "I really thought you would have upgraded by now. The last time I was here, you were glued to this pathetic desk, and now that I’m back...you’re still stuck in the same spot. Do you love stagnancy that much, or are you just lacking the ambition to move?"

I felt the old familiar sting of her words, but this time, something was different. The heartache Franklin had caused me over the last few days had left me with a raw, jagged edge. I wasn’t in the mood to be a punching bag.

"Maybe I do," I said, leaning back and meeting her gaze with a coldness that seemed to surprise her. "Maybe I love the stability of this desk. It’s certainly better than your style of ’upgrading.’" I stood up slowly, leveling my height with hers. "What about you, Bella? The minute you got that promotion, you scurried off like a puppy looking for its mother under the rain. How did you find your way back? Did you finally find her, or did you just get tired of being wet and alone?"

The smirk on Bella’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a dark, ugly scowl. I could feel the adrenaline surging through my veins, my heart hammering against my ribs, but I kept my voice steady.

Behind me, I heard a few muffled snickers from the other girls.

"That—is—not—fucking—funny," she hissed, leaning into my space.

"Well, it was to us," I shrugged, my confidence growing with every second she looked rattled.

"Especially to me."

Tina snickered loudly this time, not even trying to hide it. I wished Victoria were here; her office was too far away to witness this, but she would have lived for this moment.

"You conniving, vindictive bitch!" Bella sneered, her hands balling into fists. "You have a lot of nerve talking to me like that."

"You started it, Bella. I’m just finishing it. Consider it ’aura for aura,’ darling," I said. My heart was still breaking over Franklin, but for these few minutes, I used that pain as armor.

"You really don’t know what’s coming for you, Octavia," Bella whispered, a sadistic glint returning to her eyes. "You have no idea."

"Whatever it is, bring it on," I said firmly, my voice echoing in the quiet office. "I will fight you off until my last breath. Just try me." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Yeah, Bella, you heard her," Tina spoke up, standing from her own desk. I turned, impressed by the sudden steel in her voice. "We don’t want you here."

"And we don’t like you," Ava added. Her voice was trembling, but her gaze remained fixed on Bella. "We’ve never liked you."

"Just get lost, Bella! We hate you!" Sarah’s voice was the boldest of all. I knew she was thinking about the way Bella had sabotaged her in the past.

Bella staggered back, her eyes darting between us in genuine disbelief. She looked like a cornered animal, flinching at the collective weight of our rejection. She hadn’t expected a united front; she had built her power on keeping us divided.

"I see what you did there, Octavia," she finally spat, trying to regain her footing.

"Having your minions fight your battles for you."

"They don’t need to fight for me. I can handle you myself," I told her, my voice low and dangerous. "But they’re standing up because they’re done with you, too. You’ll find things are very different around here now."

Bella scoffed, a dark, twisted smile curling her lips. She looked at me with pure, unadulterated disgust.

"And when I bring what I’ve been working on... you’ll be the one who’s surprised. Whore."

The insult hung in the air, bitter and sharp.

"This isn’t over for you, Octavia," she threatened.

"It’s not over for you either, Bella," I countered.

She turned on her heel and walked away, trying to maintain a shred of dignity as she disappeared toward the elevators. The moment the doors chimed shut, the entire office let out a collective breath.

"Woah, guys... did you see the look on her face?" Tina exhaled, leaning against her desk.

"She couldn’t believe it," Ava laughed, a bit of hysterical relief in her voice. "She actually looked scared for a second."

"It was so satisfying," Sarah said, though her expression remained solemn. "Thank you for standing up first, Octavia. She needed to know she can’t walk all over us anymore."

I sank back into my chair, my hands finally starting to shake as the adrenaline began to fade. "We won this round," I murmured, though Bella’s final threat sat heavy in the back of my mind.

Later, over lunch, I recounted the entire showdown to Victoria.

"What? I thought she’d ditched the city to start a new life as a villain somewhere else,"

Victoria said, adjusting her glasses with a frown.

"Unfortunately, she’s back. Mrs. Lawson said she took a week of ’sick leave,’ and now she’s officially returned to her post."

"I’m just glad everyone stood up to her," Victoria said. "That woman is pure poison." As we finished our meal and began walking back toward the building, she bumped my shoulder playfully. "Oh! I almost forgot. Happy birthday in advance, Octavia."

I blinked, genuinely startled. Between the drama at the resort, the photos of Franklin, and the confrontation with Bella, my birthday had been the last thing on my mind. "Thank you, Vic. I...I actually forgot it was coming up in a few days."

"You forgot your own twenty-ninth? It’s your last year in your twenties, babe! Do you have any plans?"

"I don’t know," I said, shrugging as we stepped into the elevator. "I’ll probably just stay in and have a quiet dinner with my parents in Soho."

Victoria made a face like I’d just suggested eating sand. "Absolutely not. That’s not a celebration; that’s a wake. We are going to celebrate you properly. Twenty-nine is a big deal."

"Vic, I’m really not in the mood for a party," I protested.

"I didn’t say a party. But leave it to me," she said, a mischievous glint in her eye. "I’ll handle the details. You just worry about looking fabulous."

I watched her walk toward her office, feeling a mix of dread and gratitude. I didn’t feel like celebrating a year that had brought me so much heartache, but I knew Victoria wouldn’t take ’no’ for an answer. Whether I was ready or not, my birthday was coming, and so was whatever storm Bella was brewing.