Chapter 902
Nigel’s mouth twitched as he nodded. “So it was you p>
Calliope glanced at Leland, whose guileless face made her pity Nigel even more.
“You really have it tough p>
Damien was done arguing-bickering with Leland only made him feel just as dim- witted.
“You all look like you have plenty to say, but you just stand there,” Leland
complained, frustration clear on his face. “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out! I can’t read minds, you know p>
“Who gave you the apple?” Nigel asked wearily, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“A girl did,” Leland replied. “Is there something wrong with it p>
He was still oblivious, slow on the uptake.
“Nigel Howell, for the first time, I actually feel sorry for you,” Damien said, shaking his head. “You must have a peculiar talent for suffering, keeping someone like him around. Are you just asking to be poisoned p>
“Are you insulting me?” Leland protested, frowning at Damien.
“More or less. You really don’t get it, do you?” Damien shrugged. “It’s tragic, honestly p>
“I’m not tragic! What are you talking about p>
“I meant your boss is the unlucky one, stuck with you.” Damien gave a helpless sigh.
“I think the apple you gave Mr. Howell was probably poisoned,” Calliope said, pinning Leland with a look.
Leland froze. “My apple was poisoned p>
“Was it just one apple? And you just gave it to Mr. Howell, no questions asked?” Calliope pressed.
“Yeah, it looked delicious, so I gave it
to him,” Leland stammered. The realization suddenly dawned,
ait-my apple was poisoned? That girl gave me a poisoned apple p>
“That girl! I need to find her! How could she try to poison Mr. Howell p>
“Mr. Howell, wait right here! I’m going to track her down!” Leland declared with conviction. “I’ll get revenge for you p>
“Don’t bother—” Nigel tried to stop him, but Leland had already disappeared in a whirlwind of misplaced loyalty.
Calliope arched an eyebrow at Nigel. “You really indulge him, don’t you p>
Nigel shot her a wary look. “You’re not misunderstanding something here, are you p>
“You know,” Calliope mused, “Leland is kind of cute, good skin color… So that’s your type, Mr. Howell p>
Smirking, she gave Nigel a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. I won’t breathe a word p>
She turned away, gathering her things with exaggerated innocence.
Nigel grimaced. “You’ve got the wrong idea! There is nothing going on between me and Leland p>
Calliope only smiled, a knowing twinkle in her eye. “No need to explain-denying it just means it’s true p>
“Seriously, I’m very open-minded. I’m not judging p>
“You think I care if you judge or not?” Nigel muttered, frowning.
“See? That just confirms it.” Calliope exchanged a look with Damien; both now wore expressions of sudden ‘understanding p>
Nigel sat up, exasperated. “You’re both completely off-base p>
“It’s fine, what we think doesn’t matter anyway,” Calliope replied breezily. “But listen-the person who poisoned you might still be around. You should be carefu
or else your
pampering is going to get you into
even more trouble p>
She paused, then added, “By the
way, the poison you were given is a special kind-something called e D-tox. It attacks the mind, ruins your sanity over time, and slowly eats. away your brain. It won’t kill you but it’ll strip you of your dignity and leave you a shell of yourself. As far as poison goes, it’s as nasty as they come p>