Chapter 27

Gideon was feeling incredibly awkward.

Fleur was even more furious. “Oh, you two just love to run your mouths, don’t you?”

“Yeah, we sure do,” Dahlia grinned and uttered. “Fleur, if you’re stingy with money, you’ll never get a good daughter-in-law. Look, now your son’s all alone, isn’t he?”

“Their family didn’t even like her to begin with! They didn’t care about losing shares either!” Calista chimed in, poking at the situation with relish.

Just as Fleur was gearing up to unleash a verbal tirade, Eamon interrupted, “Alright, enough with the bickering. Let’s eat.”

At the dinner table, Eamon briefly mentioned Calliope and Silas’s situation.

Everyone gathered around the table seemed pretty indifferent. Silas commanded a lot of respect, and no one dared to cross him.

Besides, who Calliope married didn’t really matter to them. In fact, her marrying Silas only seemed to elevate her in their eyes.

When she was clinging to Gideon, she seemed so desperate, and everyone looked down on her for it.

The ones having the hardest time were Gideon’s family. Not only had they lost Calliope, but they also missed out on shares they thought were as good as theirs.

At this point, regretting was pointless, and they knew they couldn’t fight Silas. They just had to swallow their pride.

Gideon tried to say something, but Fleur quickly shoved a piece of roast beef into his mouth.

Fleur was sharp; she knew her son had already pushed the subject of shares with Eamon a few times. Bringing it up again might just anger him. They were out of options now.

Gideon gnawed on the beef, his eyes drawn to the glittering necklace around Calliope’s neck.

He’d given her necklaces too, but they were usually just cheap, maybe a few or tens of bucks. He always said it was the thought that counted, and she’d always accepted them with delight.

Now, the comparison just simmered in his gut, making him even more irritable.

“My husband gave me this necklace. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Calliope munched on shrimp that Silas had peeled for her, looking up and flaunting the necklace in Gideon’s direction.

“Isn’t it dazzling? It’s worth millions! You don’t have that amount of money, do you? Of course not, otherwise why would you buy those one or two-figure necklaces? Do you like it? Even if you do, you can’t wear it!”

Calliope teased Gideon intentionally while displaying her necklace, making sure he couldn’t miss it.

When she emphasized its value repeatedly, Calista and Dahlia were nearly in stitches. They’d always thought Calliope was a force to be reckoned with, but now they found her quite amusing.

“I don’t want it,” Gideon muttered, lowering his head, feeling like he might burst from frustration and unable to eat another bite.

“Even if you did, you couldn’t have it. My husband gave it to me!”

Calliope secured the necklace and then opened her mouth for another spoonful of food from Silas.

“Don’t talk while eating. It’ll upset your stomach,” Silas gently patted her head, his voice soft.

“Okay,” Calliope nodded and stopped talking.

But even without words, the message was clear.

Everyone noticed that Calliope didn’t even have to lift a finger to eat. Silas was feeding her the whole time. She just had to open her mouth.

By the end of the meal, everyone felt stuffed – not just with food, but with the overwhelming display of affection.

Afterward, they all gathered in the living room for a while longer. Calliope played a game of chess with Eamon. The others sat around chatting.

Everyone felt pretty good, especially since the Bakers didn’t really care much for the second son’s side of the family.