Chapter 7

"You little bitch! Trying to shake us down now? How dare you want such a huge amount? You'll die before using all of them." Grace was fuming, staring at Calliope's smug, pretty face. She couldn't wrap her head around why Calliope was so damn cocky!

'You're just a bastard. If we didn't need to marry you off to the Gray family, I'd have messed up your face ages ago!' Grace thought.

Calliope just grinned at Grace's rant. "If I kick the bucket, your precious Vivian will have to dive into the Moore family mess."

Calliope's chill words almost made Grace lose it. She couldn't just curse Calliope out; she had to hope she stayed safe. If anything happened to Calliope, Vivian would be the one marrying into the Moore family!

Vivian kept her mouth shut, scared she'd piss off Calliope. If Calliope backed out, she'd be the one stuck with the marriage.

Seeing them both so defeated, Calliope felt her bad mood lift. She strolled over to the table, grabbed the check, and while checking if it was legit, said, "You can wish Sylvester an early death, but you better pray for me."

"You! Little bitch! Turning you from a whore's kid into a rich lady, letting you marry into the Moore family, that's your honor. You should be kissing my feet, grateful!"

Vivian couldn't hold it in anymore. If Sylvester wasn't a dying jerk, would marrying into the Moore family fall to this bastard?

This was probably the word Calliope hated most in her life! But it would stick with her forever because her mom was a prostitute who slept around.

"If it's so great, why don't you marry him?" Calliope asked coolly.

That one question shut Vivian up. If it was so great, of course, she'd marry! Who wouldn't want to marry into the Moore family? But no matter how powerful the Moore family was, what was the point of marrying a dying guy? He could croak any day, leaving her a young widow.

"Alright, stop it! Since you agreed to this, don't back out."

Jack, who'd been quiet the whole time, finally got fed up. He stood up and looked at Calliope. After some thought, he felt a bit guilty about pushing his daughter into the Moore family mess.

Then he said, "I found out you probably won't be with Sylvester for long. He doesn't have many days left. The Moore family said he almost didn't make it last time he was in the hospital. The doctors said his condition is really bad. Just hang in there; it's only a few days..."

"What's there to hang in for? Marrying into a rich family, what's she got to complain about? Living the high life, can't she take care of Sylvester for a few days? What's she losing?" Grace cut in before Jack could finish.

Whether Jack was being sincere or not, Calliope didn't have time for his father-daughter act. She took the check, her face full of disdain, and said coldly, "My marriage to Sylvester has to be kept secret. I want a secret marriage."

"What?"

Jack, Grace, and Vivian all shouted at once.

A secret marriage?

Calliope wanted a secret marriage? With the wedding set for the 28th of next month, how could it be secret?

The media knew about it, and the Moore family had sent out invites. The whole country was watching. How could it be a secret?

With the Moore family's status and Sylvester being their only son, how could his marriage be hidden?

Grace shouted, "Calliope! Don't push your luck! You think you can call the shots here? A secret marriage? This is the Moore family! John’s son Sylvester is getting hitched!!!"

Grace was about to lose it. She'd already forked over eighty grand, and now Calliope wanted a secret wedding? She'd been pretty patient, but now she just wanted to strangle this cocky brat!

Jack frowned but knew he had to keep his cool. If Calliope backed out, things would get even messier!

Jack said calmly, "Calliope, come on, stop causing trouble, okay? This is the Moore family. How can it be a secret wedding? Everyone's got their eyes on this! We've given you eighty grand. What more do you want?"

Vivian was freaking out too. "Don't push your luck! Who do you think you are? You want the Moore family to have a secret wedding? Are you nuts?"

"I said I want a secret wedding. Whether it's possible or not is your problem. Otherwise, I'll spill the beans to the Moore family about your little schemes. Sure, they won't back me up, but if they find out you tricked them and sent an illegitimate kid to the Moore family, what do you think they'll do to the Gray family?"

Calliope had nothing left to lose. She wasn't scared of anything. If she could, she'd drag the Gray family down with her!

A secret wedding was her only demand. The whole country was watching the union of the Moore and Gray families. If David found out she was marrying Sylvester, that scumbag...

No! Absolutely not!

Seeing Calliope dig her heels in about the secret wedding, Jack felt a headache coming on. How was he supposed to convince John to let his only son have a secret wedding?

The Moore family estate was like a mini-city, with a bunch of villas, tennis courts, horse riding arenas, swimming pools, a cinema, an artificial lake, and all sorts of other fancy stuff. It was huge.

All the Moore family members lived there, including the two daughters and their husbands, each in their own villa. But John's villa was the biggest and right in the center of the estate.

In the spacious bedroom, the curtains were drawn tight. On the pure white carpet, a man's shirt, tie, and trousers were scattered around.

The soft bed had a dent where Sylvester lay sleeping. The bed looked super comfy, doing its job for its master.

Asleep, Sylvester looked less rebellious, more quiet and gentle. His handsome face lay sideways on the bed, with thick eyelashes, a high nose, thin lips, and naturally seductive eyes with a hint of roguishness. His proud jawline was perfect, a face that could make women weak in the knees.

Too bad the owner of this face was Sylvester, a capricious, cynical guy with not much time left.

Looking around the bedroom, its design was as flashy as Sylvester's personality. But a life-sized cardboard cutout in one corner seemed out of place.

It was a cutout of a girl in a sexy white bikini, with a hot body, standing 5'9" tall, with smooth, tight skin, a sweet smile, and long, wavy light brown hair.

Not just guys, even girls might fall for this chick. Her curvy body would make any guy drool.

But why was this cutout in this flashy bedroom? Everyone in the Moore family knew the answer, but no one dared to bring it up.

The bedside phone rang, and the sleeping Sylvester frowned slightly. He lazily reached out his long arm, picked up the phone, and put it to his ear. "Shoot."