Chapter 12

Everyone saw how chill she was acting and started chiming in with their own words of comfort, along with a list of "great guys" she should totally meet. Calliope smiled politely and nodded along, but inside she was more than a little fed up. These relatives on her dad's side were the worst kind of two-faced. Living off her family while secretly hating to see them do well. Now that her engagement had fallen through, they were all pretending to be sympathetic, but she could practically feel them laughing behind her back. Come on, in all of Aurelian, who else could compare to someone like Lucien-perfect family background, crazy potential, the whole package. It was just like her last life. When she couldn't get pregnant, it was this same bunch acting like they cared, while gossiping left and right, blowing the whole thing out of proportion until it was all over social media. They even managed to get it trending. Total humiliation. She became a joke to the entire city. Seriously, so fake it made her sick. After finally seeing the last of those nosy relatives out, the living room fell quiet. Calliope's smile instantly disappeared, her eyes turning cold. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Mr. Carson, about the clause in my grandfather's will regarding company equity-I'd like to move forward with the inheritance and notarization." "Of course, Miss Godfrey. According to the will, if you're married, you're entitled to 40% of the company's management shares. So, may I ask..." Calliope tightened her grip on the phone, but her voice stayed calm. "Yes, Mr. Carson." "I'm married." Once she hung up, she walked back into her bedroom. In one corner stood a waist-high safe. The code? Her and Lucien's anniversary. Her finger hovered over the keypad for a second, then slowly tapped in the numbers. A soft beep, and the safe popped open. Inside, rows of jewelry gleamed under the light, all dazzling and over-the-top expensive. Every single piece? A gift from Lucien. Her eyes flickered, unfocused for a second. She reached for a velvet box on the top shelf. Inside lay a massive pink diamond engagement ring. She used to treasure it beyond words – even wore it to sleep. Now? It just felt blinding and heavy in her hand. Expression blank, she tossed the ring-box and all-into the bottom of the safe, then carefully placed a marriage certificate on the top shelf. She locked the top shelf, then hit the intercom. "Mia, could you come up for a moment?" Soon, the door opened, and Mia, the elderly housekeeper who had looked after her for years, walked in. "You needed me, Ma'am?" Calliope pointed at the open safe. "Mia, sort through everything in here and put it all up for sale online." "Sell it?!" Mia looked stunned, staring at her like she'd just spoken nonsense. "Ma'am, no... these were your favorites..." She couldn't believe it. How could she bear to part with these? Calliope just repeated herself. "Yes. Sell them. All proceeds go to the same charity fund as before, the rural-area kids' scholarship program." That fund was set up by her mother when she was young. Over the decades, tens of thousands of kids had gotten out of the mountains because of it. Calliope had been donating parts of her pocket money to it for as long as she could remember. Panicked, Mia hurried to the safe and carefully picked up a velvet box, opening it to reveal a necklace, shining like a river of stars. "Ma'am... have you forgotten? That necklace, Galaxy Love... Mr. Sterling gave it to you on your 18th birthday." "He said you were the only star in his sky, the one that lit up his whole universe." Mia choked a little as she spoke. She couldn't wrap her head around it. Mr. Sterling had always treated Miss Godfrey like treasure. Why would he suddenly back out of the engagement? She couldn't believe it. There had to be some huge misunderstanding. This couldn't be the whole story.