Chapter 36

Early the next morning, Calliope was back on campus. Before her final thesis defense, she grabbed breakfast in the cafeteria with her roommates-hadn't seen them in ages. "So, Calliope, what happened with you and Lucien?" one of them couldn't hold back anymore. "You two were like the couple everyone envied. How'd it go from that to calling off the wedding?" Calliope stirred her oatmeal slowly, voice calm like she was talking about someone else's drama. "It was just a family arrangement. He found someone he really loved, so of course I let it go." "True love? Seriously?" One roommate frowned. "We don't buy it. Everyone knew you were the one for him!" "Yeah, we saw how much he did for you all these years!" They all jumped in at once: "Remember the first year when you got super sick adjusting to campus? That cold, aloof Lucien practically moved into the girls' dorms just to bring you food and medicine!" "Right! And the time he cleaned out your wardrobe and folded all your laundry? Our jaws