Chapter 10 Calling Off The Engagement
Her engagement to Kallum was an agreement between her late mother and Wanda when they were babies. The two ladies were the best of friends, and after Wanda had married up, she wanted to help her best friend as much as possible. Even after Calista's mother
passed away, Wanda insisted on keeping this engagement, otherwise Silas would not have agreed to let his son marry her.
In her previous life, after her reputation was left in tatters by those two men the night before, Wanda initially refused to call off the engagement, but after tremendous pressure from the family, she had no choice but to take back the emerald thumb ring. After that, whenever she was in trouble, Wanda would come to her rescue. Unfortunately she was a weak person in her previous life and felt that she had let Wanda down, so she eventually let herself be bullied to death and did not call for help. "Callie, you're here so early?"
Calista smiled, "I have to come in person to settle something, sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Fairchild."Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
Kallum lifted his head from behind the computer when he heard what the servant said.
He had a pair of beautiful but extremely sharp eyes, black yet slightly purplish. Each time he shot someone a stare, that person would feel under extreme pressure. "What's she here for?"
Kallum thought that she had come to harass him and furrowed his brows.
She did say that she would come to call off the engagement, but Kallum did not take those words seriously - if this woman is so obedient, I'll thank her instead.
The servant stuttered, "Mr. Kallum, she's here to call off the engagement..."
"What?!" Wanda got up with a start. "I will not agree to this!"
Calista already predicted that she would respond like this, so she smiled gently and tried to explain, "Mrs. Fairchild, listen to me..."
"Did Kallum say something to you last night? Or perhaps last night..."
Wanda thought to herself, could it be that those two scoundrels did something to Callie? But she had asked her son last night, and even though he was annoyed by the question, he still said that she hadn't been defiled... So her son must have done something!
Calista shook her head. Her tone of voice was still pleasant and lovely as ever, but it was missing weakness, carrying confidence instead.
"I am very grateful that Mr. Kallum spoke up for me and cleared the misunderstanding last night. However, calling off the engagement is my own choice." Wanda was even more confused - didn't Callie like her son very much? Kallum must have done something behind her back!
"Callie, be honest with me. Did Kallum say something to you last night? You've had...relations with Kallum, did he say he didn't want to be responsible for what had happened?!"
Calista gave a wry smile - Wanda was so angry, as if someone else's son had bullied her daughter.
It filled her heart with warmth and much patience.
She saw that Wanda was about to speak, and quickly interrupted her, "Mrs. Fairchild, that was an accident and I was a willing party, so there's no need for Mr. Kallum to be responsible for anything. As for today, it is because I've straightened out my thoughts." "Look over there..."
Calista pointed to the painting in the middle of the living room. Wanda didn't understand why she was pointing at the painting, and continued staring at her. Calista smiled and continued, "This is a genuine landscape painting by the great Renaissance artist, Pieter Bruegel, right? Anywhere else it would be considered a great treasure, but in the Fairchild Manor this is just another ordinary item."
Wanda still did not understand what she was getting at.
Calista picked up the cup in her hand, "And this golden enamel cup was used solely by Ferropenian royalty - each set costs more than ten million, and is now valued at a much higher price than its original value."
Not only that - the sofa she sat on, the coffee she drank and everything else she could see, were not things that just any normal wealthy family owned, much less the Stafford family who couldn't even be considered wealthy.
Wanda suddenly understood what she was driving at.
She frowned deeply, "Callie, these are all material things!"
She looked at Calista and said with a serious voice, "As long as both of you get along, who cares what sort of family you're from?"
The Fairchild family had more than enough material wealth for themselves already and didn't need more from another family.
Calista laughed at her naivety - but how could she get her point across? She used to be equally naive herself. "That's too bad - he doesn't like me."
She never thought that the day would come when she could say this plainly. She remembered that in her previous life, her reputation was tarnished and she was locked in the house by her father, but she managed to escape with much effort just so that she could explain things to Kallum. Yet he had looked at her with such disdain... It was a pity that she did not understand this look back then, and she thought that Kallum had merely misunderstood her. Calista's calm voice made Wanda even more anxious. She knew that her son had no feelings for Callie, but still...
Calista continued, "Also, Mr. Fairchild doesn't really want me as his daughter-in-law, right? The Staffords were a family of doctors, but my father failed to carry on this tradition. And even if he continued, the Stafford family would never be good enough for the Fairchild family, so you should go and look for a girl with a truly rich and powerful background, and not someone like me..."
At this point Calista let out a small laugh, and said in a more relaxed manner, "Whenever I sat here I always felt like I didn't belong here - every item here is too beautiful, too elegant, with an opulence I can't find anywhere else. I know you want me to marry into the Fairchild family so that you can take good care of me, but Mr. Kallum hates me, and I should take the hint."
Calista's words made Wanda sad because it was true that her husband was not happy with Calista as their daughter-in-law. But she felt that Callie was a good match - someone who was gentle and kind, genuine and honest.
She was a little weak and timid, but that was the fault of her stepmother, and she could relax after getting married.
"Callie, are you sure about this? Your stepmother and sister are not going to sit by and do nothing. If you call off this engagement, I don't know how they're going to mistreat you."
Calista smiled a little and said, "That would be considered our family issue, and so in the future no matter how crazy it gets in our family, it will not affect the Fairchilds. Mrs. Fairchild, I know you mean well, but please don't risk the love Mr. Fairchild has for you for my sake. I will still continue to live well." Wanda was very disappointed - seeing how serious Callie looked, it seemed like there was no other way but to call the engagement off.
Calista quietly waited for her to think this through. She knew that Wanda would understand that it was pointless to force two incompatible people together.
For some reason, as she sat there quietly, she emanated a sort of calming beauty. Even though the thick fringe covered her eyes, there was a peace that surrounded her as she accepted her reality.
The servants standing at the side held their breath, as if they were afraid to disrupt her.
If Calista used to have the air of a stingy person, today it was as if she had the air of someone generously giving away pearls - just by sitting there, she looked like the daughter of an upper-class family from ancient times, and it was hard to take your eyes away from her. Every item in the Fairchild Manor was priceless to the average person on the street. But with Calista in their midst, no matter how valuable they were, they were merely a backdrop for her.
Wanda was too preoccupied with other thoughts to notice this, but Kallum noticed this as he watched from the top of the stairs.
He was stunned by this breathtaking sight, but he stopped himself with a click of his tongue. Since she's so aware of her situation and she's called off the engagement, what is there left for me to say?
Something tugged at his heartstrings, but he decided to ignore it, instead turning and going back upstairs.
Finally, Wanda let out a sigh.