Calliope's fingers were turning cold, bit by bit.

She took a breath and forced herself to speak calmly. "Mr. Sterling, I think you've misunderstood. That thing... was just a product sample sent by mistake. I'll have someone contact you tomorrow to retrieve it."

There was a brief silence on the other end before Lucien replied, "Calliope, let's not kid ourselves, alright? Since we've both moved on, we should really let the past stay in the past."

Her breath caught.

She didn't expect him to just lay it out there like that.

He was the one who betrayed her-how was he now speaking as if he was the one who got hurt? Like she was the problem?

That sudden wave of rage almost had her blurting something out, but she swallowed it back.

"Lucien, don't you think it's ridiculous for that to come out of your mouth?"

Lucien didn't seem fazed at all. His voice stayed indifferent. "Stop sending me things like that. It's childish."

Childish?

Calliope almost laughed out loud.

He once said it was the most romantic and thoughtful gift he'd ever received.

And now it was... childish?

Holding back the emotions bubbling up in her chest, her tone cooled. "If Mr. Sterling doesn't like it, feel free to toss it."

"I didn't like it, that's true. But Angel loved it, so I gave it to her."

Calliope's eyes sharped slightly in shock, her mouth pulled into a near-incredulous smile.

Lucien's voice kept going. "Calliope, I'm going to marry Angel. It's something I owe her."

He paused.

"As for you... you'll be my only sister from now on."

What a joke.

Calliope felt a surge of absurdity and fury crash over her like a wave.

"You're absolutely disgusting, Lucien."

She hung up hard.

If she had let him say another word, she might've completely lost control, letting every inch of pain and resentment she'd buried inside come spilling out.

The wind on the balcony blew harder, tangling her hair and stinging her eyes.

Calliope clenched her lips together, refusing to let the tears fall.

Not worth it.

She opened her phone and blocked Lucien's number.

Just as she turned to head back into the room, her screen lit up again.

It was a Ins group chat she hadn't checked in ages, now flooded with tags.

A message popped up from Olivia: [Cal! Hurry up and check the chat! That fake angel is stirring up crap again!]

Calliope frowned and tapped into the group.

She scrolled up through the messages and saw a photo shared by Angelina.

It was the custom AI figure she'd sent Lucien.

Below the pic, Angelina had tagged her:

[@Calliope, I got the collectible~ It's so pretty and such a surprise! Lucien told me you made it just for us-I knew it! Deep down, you've always wished us well. I'll treasure this forever!]

Calliope stared at the text, half laughing from disbelief.

This was the same group she'd created six months ago to help expand Angelina's network. It included mutual friends of hers and Lucien's.

Now?

[@Calliope Angel's already been so generous; maybe let it go?]

[@Calliope Not to be rude, but you two have been done for a while. It's better like this for everyone.]

[@Calliope Seriously, stop making it awkward for Lucien. We're all friends here.]

[...]

One message after another, coming from those who used to warmly call her "family"-now all changing their tune overnight.

Calliope felt nauseated.

Olivia had already exploded in the chat: [WTF?! Are you all blind?? Cal's the one who got screwed over here! Angelina, have you no shame? You stole her fiancé and her gift, and now you're putting on a show like this?]

Someone immediately snapped at Olivia:

[Why are you freaking out, Olivia? This is between Calliope and Angelina, why are you butting in like it's your business?]

[Yeah, seriously. Maybe Calliope actually wanted to give it to her. Stop trying to stir the pot.]

Olivia was so angry she could explode. [Me? Stir the pot? You people are blind and brainless. I'm not wasting another breath on a bunch of bootlickers!]

Calliope shot Olivia a private message: [Olivia, leave the group. There's no point talking to them.]

Right after that, she herself tapped "Leave Group Chat" without hesitation.

A voice message from Olivia popped up: [Ughhh I'm so pissed! How can Angelina be so shameless?! That figure took you countless all-nighters to make! And now she has the nerve to say you gave it to her as a gift? With a blessing? What a joke!]

Listening to her bestie vent on her behalf, the ice in Calliope's heart slightly melted.

[You're right. She doesn't deserve it,] she replied calmly.

[If I made it myself, I've got every right to take it back.]

Calliope walked over to her desk and flipped open her laptop.

Her fingers danced over the keyboard at lightning speed, and soon, she hit enter with a sharp tap.

A pop-up instantly appeared on the screen:

[Self-Destruct Program for Core Chip Initiated. Completion in 10 seconds.]

As the screen dimmed, she finally felt her tense nerves begin to ease.

She did it.

Destroying something she once treasured so much-turns out, it wasn't that hard after all.

Then Olivia called, her voice anxious: "Cally! Are you okay? Don't let those two scumbags mess with your head! They're so not worth it, not even a little bit!"

Calliope's lips curved into a faint smile.

Having a friend like this-what a blessing.

"I'm fine, Olivia. It's all in the past now."

"That's great! So great!" Olivia sounded super relieved on the other end. "Alright, forget about those two drama queens for now. Let's talk about something real-Calliope, did you really go and get the marriage certificate with my cousin today?"

Calliope leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, letting the cool night breeze from the window brush past her.

"Yeah, we did."

"Oh my God! Calliope, that's incredible! So, what do you think of him? My cousin didn't freak you out or anything, right?"

Unconsciously, an image of Conrad popped into her head. Tall, broad-shouldered, lean waist and long legs. A bit icy and commanding, but strangely thoughtful too.

"He's alright." She paused. "I just didn't expect him to be a firefighter."

"A firefighter?" Olivia was caught off guard for a second, but quickly bounced back. "Oh-right! Yeah! He's a firefighter! Isn't that awesome? Saving lives and all that! Totally dependable, super manly, right?"

Calliope raised a brow.

There was something weird about Olivia's reaction.

"I never said there's anything wrong with being a firefighter. It just threw me off a bit. I mean, he's your cousin."

The Fletchers made their fortune in international trade, a well-known, wealthy family in Aurelian. Most of her cousins were CEOs or heads of departments before even hitting thirty. Someone like Conrad, risking his life at the front lines every day for barely-there pay? He was kinda the odd one out.

"Come on, what's there to be shocked about!" Olivia gave a nervous laugh. "Hey-don't take it the wrong way, okay?"

"My cousin-he's not what you might be thinking. Like, I swear I'm not trying to trick you or anything just because he's a firefighter. As if I'd do you dirty like that."

"I promise you, he's really amazing! Just give it some time-you'll see. Trust me, you're not gonna regret this!"

She was rambling so fast, she was almost tripping over her own words.

Calliope chuckled. "You introduced us. Of course I trust you. And yeah, he does seem pretty good."

"Yes! That's all I needed to hear! As long as you think he's a good guy, then everything's great. The rest doesn't matter."