Chapter 14

Calliope's fingers were turning cold, bit by bit. She took a breath and forced herself to speak calmly. "Mr. Sterling, I think you've misunderstood. That thing... was just a product sample sent by mistake. I'll have someone contact you tomorrow to retrieve it." There was a brief silence on the other end before Lucien replied, "Calliope, let's not kid ourselves, alright? Since we've both moved on, we should really let the past stay in the past." Her breath caught. She didn't expect him to just lay it out there like that. He was the one who betrayed her-how was he now speaking as if he was the one who got hurt? Like she was the problem? That sudden wave of rage almost had her blurting something out, but she swallowed it back. "Lucien, don't you think it's ridiculous for that to come out of your mouth?" Lucien didn't seem fazed at all. His voice stayed indifferent. "Stop sending me things like that. It's childish." Childish? Calliope almost laughed out loud. He once said it was the most romantic and thoughtful gift he'd ever received. And now it was... childish? Holding back the emotions bubbling up in her chest, her tone cooled. "If Mr. Sterling doesn't like it, feel free to toss it." "I didn't like it, that's true. But Angel loved it, so I gave it to her." Calliope's eyes sharped slightly in shock, her mouth pulled into a near-incredulous smile. Lucien's voice kept going. "Calliope, I'm going to marry Angel. It's something I owe her." He paused. "As for you... you'll be my only sister from now on." What a joke. Calliope felt a surge of absurdity and fury crash over her like a wave. "You're absolutely disgusting, Lucien." She hung up hard. If she had let him say another word, she might've completely lost control, letting every inch of pain and resentment she'd buried inside come spilling out. The wind on the balcony blew harder, tangling her hair and stinging her eyes. Calliope clenched her lips together, refusing to let the tears fall. Not worth it. She opened her phone and blocked Lucien's number. Just as she turned to head back into the room, her screen lit up again. It was a Ins group chat she hadn't checked in ages, now flooded with tags. A message popped up from Olivia: [Cal! Hurry up and check the chat! That fake angel is stirring up crap again!] Calliope frowned and tapped into the group. She scrolled up through the messages and saw a photo shared by Angelina. It was the custom AI figure she'd sent Lucien. Below the pic, Angelina had tagged her: [@Calliope, I got the collectible~ It's so pretty and such a surprise! Lucien told me you made it just for us-I knew it! Deep down, you've always wished us well. I'll treasure this forever!] Calliope stared at the text, half laughing from disbelief. This was the same group she'd created six months ago to help expand Angelina's network. It included mutual friends of hers and Lucien's. Now? [@Calliope Angel's already been so generous; maybe let it go?] [@Calliope Not to be rude, but you two have been done for a while. It's better like this for everyone.] [@Calliope Seriously, stop making it awkward for Lucien. We're all friends here.] [...] One message after another, coming from those who used to warmly call her "family"-now all changing their tune overnight. Calliope felt nauseated. Olivia had already exploded in the chat: [WTF?! Are you all blind?? Cal's the one who got screwed over here! Angelina, have you no shame? You stole her fiancé and her gift, and now you're putting on a show like this?]