Their movements were subtle, barely noticeable to onlookers in the dim bar.


    But for Calliope and Nigel, the shift in power was instantaneous. They had both met their match.


    Calliope moved with blurring speed, her small hand mping onto Nigel''s throat with shocking strength before he could react.


    Her expression hardened into ice, her entire presence shifting into something dangerous.


    "Look, Howell, I''m not interested in being your enemy," she said, her voice dropping to a dangerous murmur. "But keep pushing this nonsense, and don''t me me for what happens next."


    "Callie, I''m just giving you a friendly warning," Nigel choked out, feigning innocence even as he was pinned. He leaned back stiffly, his posture submissive even while his words remained provocative.


    "You don''t have to be so defensive. Scared a few honest words might crack that perfect facade of a marriage? If your bond with Ss is that fragile, you two would fall apart even without my help."


    He paused, his eyes gleaming. "Or perhaps, you''ll be the one to leave once you realize the enormous secret Ss has been keeping from you."


    Calliope''s eyes narrowed, her gaze razor-sharp. "Are you trying to provoke me? Do you really think I''m that easy?"


    "Of course not. You''re far too intelligent for simple bait. I''m just telling the truth," Nigel continued smoothly, despite the pressure on his windpipe.


    "If your rtionship was truly solid, you wouldn''t be this worried. Your reaction tells me you already suspect something is off, don''t you? You know deep down that what I''m about to say might be true. So, Ms. Jewell, what are you afraid of? That Ss doesn''t love you? That this holdspletely one-sided love?"


    Nigel raised an eyebrow, looking utterly fascinated by her internal struggle.


    Calliope''s grip tightened reflexively. Nigel winced, sucking in a sharp breath, and slowly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Easy There are a lot of people here, MS Jewell. If word ger''s back to M Myers that you choked me out in a bar, it wouldn''t look good?"


    "We trust each other," Calliope said through gritted teeth.


    After a tense moment''s thought, she released his neck and sat back down,posing herself. "I have nothing to be afraid of. Say what you have to say."


    "Are you sure?" Nigel asked with a smirk, rubbing his throat. "Aren''t you afraid of being disappointed?"


    "He would never do anything to disappoint me," Calliope dered, her gaze locking onto his, cold and unwavering.


    "Is that so?" Nigel unlocked his phone and slid it across the bar top to her. "Take a look."


    Calliope shot him a final, wary nce before picking up the device.


    It was a video. The screen came to life, showing Ss holding a woman in his arms-a woman bearing a haunting resemnce to Calliope herself Calliope''s confident O expression faltered.


    She knew of this woman''s existence, vague rumors from the past, but Ss had never mentioned her, and she had respected his privacy enough not to pry.


    Seeing it on screen, however, was a visceral shock. The woman was real, and the resemnce was uncanny She appeared unconscious, and Ss was cradling her, his eyes wide with a raw, unguarded panicshe had never witnessed before.