Chapter 7

After breakfast, Silas and Calliope headed to the county clerk’s office. The marriage certificate was in their hands in no time.

“Uncle Silas, I know you’re busy. Now that we’ve got the marriage certificate, you can head back to work. I need to visit home,” Calliope said as they stepped out of the office.

“Uncle Silas?” Silas raised an eyebrow, a flicker of annoyance crossing his strikingly handsome face.

Calliope caught on quickly and corrected herself, “Silas?”

What should she call him now?

They were married, but it was only a marriage of convenience. Calling him “honey” felt awkward, and “Uncle Silas” was definitely out of the question since she had called him that because of Gideon. She wasn’t his niece, after all. She glanced up to gauge Silas’s reaction. Luckily, he didn’t comment further.

“Want a ride?” he offered as they reached the car.

“No need, I’ll grab a cab,” Calliope said quickly. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“You sure you don’t want me to come with you to your home?” Silas asked, his chiseled features sharp enough to rival a top star’s.

“It’s fine. I’ll manage on my own.”

She knew Silas was already doing more than enough by marrying her. She didn’t want to trouble him any further. The truth was, saving him hadn’t been some grand act of heroism—it had been instinct. She would have done it for anyone. But now, using that debt to bind them together… A small flicker of guilt settled in her heart.

At the Jewell family estate, Zelda furrowed her brow and grumbled, “Why isn’t she back yet?”

“Mom, don’t worry. Maybe something came up,” Lisette said softly. “After all, there was that huge fiasco at yesterday’s wedding. Calliope loves Gideon so much, she must have been forced into this! There’s no way she suddenly stopped loving him, right?” She glanced at Zelda, gauging her reaction before adding, “Mom, you need to stay calm and talk some sense into her. Mr. Myers isn’t someone she can just toy with. What if she got caught up in the moment and now she’s set her sights on him? Someone like Mr. Myers isn’t easy to entangle with.”

Lisette’s eyes deepened. Silas was supposed to be hers. Calliope couldn’t just swoop in and take him. He was the man she had spent years trying to win over. She had worked tirelessly through the Jewell family’s company, hoping to get closer to him, yet despite all her efforts, Silas had never even glanced her way. She refused to believe Calliope had caught his attention!

Just then, the room shifted as Calliope finally walked in. All eyes turned to her. Monty, who had been on the phone, immediately hung up. Zelda’s eyes flickered with anger as she looked up. Horatio Jewell, busy scrolling through emails on his tablet, lifted his gaze. Valerian Jewell, absentmindedly fingering a strand of wooden prayer beads, paused his movements. Even Ulysses Jewell, who had been snapping selfies, set his phone down.

The three brothers sat lined up on a couch, their commanding presence pressing down on Calliope like a silent judgment.

Lisette spoke in her usual gentle tone, “Calliope, why are you so late? We’ve all been waiting for you!”

“Did I ask you to wait?” Calliope shot back, glancing at Lisette.

“I didn’t mean it like that…” Lisette murmured, her voice tinged with hurt. “Mom’s just a little anxious and wants to ask you something.” She lowered her head, as if wounded. “I’m sorry.”

A classic move! She was always twisting the truth. Even when Calliope wasn’t in the wrong, Lisette’s soft-spoken apologies always managed to make her look like the villain. She had spent years trying to explain herself, to defend herself against the carefully woven narratives Lisette spun.

Not anymore.

If they thought she was crazy, then this time around, she’d show them just how crazy she could be.