Chapter 13 You Had Better Show Some Respect

• It took Calliope quite a while to register what she had just heard.
• Caleb was overjoyed as they not only had the money to pay for their mother's medical bills, but the Gingrich family also transferred her to a VIP ward, where she would receive specialized care from highly-trained medical staff and be prescribed the best medicine.
• “I think your father still loves Mom, Calliope. Anyway, I need to get going now. It's time for my self-study session! Oh, by the way, don't forget about my textbook fees! I'm the only one in class who hasn't paid for it yet!” Caleb said with an innocent smile.
• “Okay...” Calliope mumbled. She was still confused even after Caleb hung up the phone.
• What's going on here? Did Penelope have a change of heart, or is Dad really still in love with Mom? Neither of those possibilities seems likely, though. Given how the Gingrich family treated me when I returned home that day, I had given up hope on receiving the three hundred thousand dowry. Who would've thought...
• Calliope quickly made her way into the bedroom and placed the bracelet back into the box.
• Phew! Thank goodness I haven't sold this off!
• “I'll be sure to keep you safe from now on! I won't sell you off to anyone, no matter what!” she mumbled to herself with a smile as she caressed the jewelry in the box.
• A warm smile spread across Dominic's face as he stood outside the door and observed Calliope's behavior.
• As he looked down at his phone, he saw a text from Jonathan that read: All done.
• Dominic replied: Not bad. I'll be sure to reward you well later.
• As Dominic was a man of few words and would only reply when he was in a good mood, this was the first time Jonathan had received such a lengthy text from him.
• Calliope was cleaning the house during the weekend when she heard Dominic hitting the punching bag in the yard.
• Her lips curled into a faint smile as she listened to the rhythmic thuds his punches made. Although she didn't understand why he loved such a violent sport so much that he would train every day, she had never tried to stop him from doing it. In fact, she even gave him her full support.
• After all, it was better for him to hit the heavy bag at home than to go out starting fights with people.
• After cleaning the house, Calliope was about to make lunch in the kitchen when her phone started ringing.
• Penelope shouted angrily the moment she answered the phone, “Hey, Calliope! You sure are something else, huh? I can't believe you'd even seduce the son of the Bachtel family! Just like your mother, you're going around seducing men left and right!”
• “What are you going on about so early in the morning?” Calliope snapped back at her.
• Not wanting to waste any more of her time and energy arguing, Calliope was about to hang up when Penelope exclaimed with a sneer, “Dad wouldn't have lost that piece of land if it weren't for the Bachtel family! Do you have any idea what Mr. Bachtel told Dad? He said a father who would skimp on his daughter's dowry would do the same to his business partner! That's why he lost that piece of land! Do you even know how much Dad paid for that project? It's worth a billion! That's a few-months-worth of Dad's blood, sweat, and tears, and it's all gone because of you! This is all your fault, you b*tch!”
• “What...” Calliope was utterly confuse.
• What is she talking about? What Bachtel family? What land?
• “Are you crazy or something? You were the one who gave my brother the diamond necklace at the hospital, so why are you denying it now? Why would you make up such a ridiculous story? I don't even know who Mr. Bachtel is!”
• “Oh, drop the act! You act all innocent and pitiful, but you're a cunning and scheming little b*tch who seduces men to achieve your goals! I bet you've slept with countless men in the past, huh? Honestly, I feel bad for Dominic. He's really unlucky to have married used goods like you!”
• “You...”
• Calliope was so angry that her face got all red. While she was soft-hearted, she was certainly not afraid to fight back if necessary. Having been humiliated by Penelope countless times growing up, she gradually learned to retaliate and defend herself as she grew older.
• Even so, she found herself at a loss for words this time as she didn't understand a word Penelope was saying.
• Right as she was trying to make sense of the situation, the phone was snatched out of her hand all of a sudden. Calliope tensed up and turned around, only to see Dominic standing behind her with a gloomy expression.
• The look in his eyes was icy-cold as he said through the phone, “I don't care who you are, but you'd better show some respect when speaking to my wife! If I hear you running your filthy mouth like that again, I will come after you!”
• His menacing tone made his threat so terrifying that it could send shivers down anyone's spine.
• Penelope was so shocked by his sudden outburst that she went completely silent after that.
• Dominic then hung up the phone and handed it back to Calliope before making his way back to the punching bag in the yard.
• Calliope's heart was filled with an inexplicable warmth after recovering from her state of shock. No one has ever defended me like this... Dominic is the first to do so...
• After working the punching bag for a few more minutes, Dominic chucked his boxing gloves aside and panted heavily as he caught his breath.
• Jonathan soon received a text from him that said: What did you tell Maximilian?
• Jonathan replied cautiously: I gave him some pressure like you told me to, Silv. That's what you wanted me to do, right?
• Dominic's call came in a few seconds after he sent that text.
• “Yes, I told you to give him some pressure. Is that why you brought up her dowry?”
• “Silv, I...”
• You wanted to avenge your wife, didn't you? What better way to do that than to bring up her dowry?
• “Jonathan! When will you finally learn to put that brain of yours to good use?” Dominic yelled angrily and hung up.
• Jonathan had no clue what Dominic was so mad about. Fortunately for him, Cyrus Youngblood, who had just arrived from Yeringham, was there to enlighten him.
• Being a childhood friend of the two, Cyrus understood the situation after hearing the story from Jonathan.
• “Silv is right! You really should learn to put that brain of yours to good use!” he said while laughing out loud.
• Jonathan waved a fist at him in response.
• “Think about it, man. If you used Calliope's dowry as a means to pressure Maximilian into giving up that land, then you're pretty much telling everyone that you're siding with her! Even Penelope thinks you're into Calliope. There's no way Silv would be pleased with that!”