Chapter 216

“Mom…” Yvette’s face was a picture of panic. How could she possibly bring up the topic with the Baker family? Marrying Gideon was already a long shot—asking for a wedding gift might just push the Baker family over the edge, ruining any chance she had of becoming a part of their world.

Once she became Mrs. Yvette Baker, she would step into a life of luxury. But if the marriage talks fell apart now, she would be doomed with nothing left. At the moment, Yvette was more anxious than ever.

Calliope watched the Jansen family with a mix of surprise and disbelief. They were even more outrageous than she had imagined.

“Zip it! I’m your mother, and I decide about the wedding gift!” Yvette’s mother snapped at her. “Our daughter won’t be marrying without an eight-million wedding gift!”

“Yeah, if you can’t do that, then forget about being unreasonable!” Ivor chimed in. “That’s the going rate, so we’re not asking for too much!”

“We’ll pay the gift, but eight million is excessive,” Fleur said, her face stern. “That’s just too much for us.”

Honestly, Fleur wasn’t thrilled about having Yvette as a daughter-in-law even when there was no wedding gift demanded. The Jansen family’s threats were just pushing her limits.

“No deal, no wedding!” Verena huffed. “If you look down on us, fine! Yvette is amazing, and there are plenty of other fish in the sea!”

“Right, you’ve already sent out invites, so if we call this off, it’ll be your embarrassment!” Ivor sneered.

Fleur’s face darkened with anger, her fist clenched so tight that her nails almost dug deep into her skin.

Gideon looked at the Jansen trio in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock. He glanced at Yvette, and his opinion of her started to sour.

He had always thought of her as kind and gentle, but now he couldn’t ignore her family’s behavior. It was starting to impact how he saw her, too.

Yvette met Gideon’s gaze, her heart lurching. Despite the fact that she’d already sent a heavy sum of money to them, she never expected her family to be this greedy, especially in front of her future in-laws. How was she going to salvage this?

Just as she was about to plead with her parents, the door swung open with a bang, and a scruffy-looking man barged in.

Calliope took a leisurely sip of her water, casting a glance at the newcomer. She recognized him—Yvette’s gambling-addict father. Yvette probably hadn’t invited him, but somehow he’d heard about the meeting and crashed it.

This was turning into quite the spectacle.

“Getting hungry?” Silas asked softly as he turned to Calliope, barely glancing at the scene.

“A little,” Calliope admitted, sighing. The way things were going, this dinner might drag on forever. It could even devolve into a brawl. Even though it wasn’t her business, she couldn’t deny she enjoyed watching the drama unfold.

“Want to slip out and grab a bite somewhere else?” Silas suggested, clearly anticipating the dinner’s prolonged chaos.

Calliope shook her head quickly. “The best part is just starting—let’s stay for now!”

Chapter 215

“…is nothing to you folks, right? I’ve heard that your family could shell out ten million without breaking a sweat.”