Chapter 176

Valerian’s face shifted a few shades.

Lisette looked at Valerian with wide, innocent eyes. She bit her lip, turning to face everyone in the room. Suddenly, she spoke up, “I’m sorry. It is all my fault! I got a little carried away with my vanity, so I pretended to know K. I owe everyone an apology!”

“And about the whole thing with saving Valerian, yeah, that was my mistake, too! When Callie saved Valerian back then, she left right after because he stayed worried!”

“Because Callie and I were wearing similar outfits, everyone got confused and thought I was the one who saved him. I didn’t mean to take credit for that. In the heat of the moment, I couldn’t think straight. All I wanted was for Valerian to be okay. Nothing else crossed my mind!”

“Later, when people kept saying I was the one who saved him, I got scared. But I did tell Callie I wanted to clear things up, and she said it was okay not to!”

Lisette’s eyes were rimmed with red, her voice trembling as she sniffled, “I didn’t know Callie was holding a grudge about this!”

“Callie, I’m sorry. It’s my fault! I should have explained everything a long time ago!”

Lisette’s pitiful demeanor tugged at everyone’s heartstrings. She was considerate and kind, and now everyone felt a pang of sympathy for her.

“If she said it was fine before, why blame Lisette now?”

“Lisette, don’t cry. It’s not your fault!”

“This is all on Calliope!”

“How could a sister treat her sibling like that just because she’s adopted?”

“Who wouldn’t feel a little proud wearing K’s dress? A bit of vanity is human!”

“Exactly. Calliope and Lisette are sisters. What’s the big deal? Does Calliope want all the attention?”

Murmurs filled the room, with people casting disdainful looks at Calliope.

Calliope was momentarily stunned, but a sense of inevitability settled over her.

Indeed, every time Lisette’s eyes welled up, everyone rushed to her defense. She was a master at pleasing others, and an even better actress.

“I know you saved me. Lisette confessed to me long ago!” Valerian said, “Calliope, I’m so disappointed in you. Was it really necessary to slander Lisette at this moment?”

Calliope stared at Valerian, wide-eyed. She chuckled, finding it almost amusing that he would thank the impostor foster sister instead of his real sister who saved him.

Calliope glanced around at the rest of the Jewell family. Each one of them stood protectively around Lisette, looking at Calliope like she was some kind of threat to their precious Lisette.

She suddenly laughed. “Yeah, sure. I fixed up Horatio’s leg, but that’s Lisette’s achievement. I saved Valerian’s life, but again, my bad, Lisette gets the credit. I helped Ulysses make a name for himself in Hollywood, but who did he thank then? Lisette! Guess I was just feeding some stray dogs.”

Calliope smirked and turned to address all the guests, “You folks probably don’t know, but the Jewell family has always treated their foster daughter like a princess while the biological daughter got the Cinderella treatment."

“But then again, maybe none of you care. Lisette is the Jewell family’s little princess in everyone’s eyes, the symbol of kindness and grace, while Calliope is just the dunce. So, this dunce is leaving the Jewell family today.”

“Please, dear friends, bear witness–starting now, Calliope has no ties to the Jewell family. Calliope is severing all ties with Monty, Zelda!”