Chapter 510 Elspeth: Nicholas's Daughter
Hearing the baby's cry, Octavius was startled and confused. Where had this baby come from?
He looked at Calliope questioningly, but she busily served him food with a bright smile. "Octavius, I made your favorite hometown dish especially for you. Please try it."
Octavius set down his fork. "Where did the child upstairs come from?"
Calliope smoothed her hair with a faint smile. "Naturally, I gave birth to her."
Octavius called it absurd, though he couldn't bring himself to mention Calliope's infertility. After a long silence, he said bitterly, "You didn't invite me here out of genuine feeling—you want me to help register this child's identity, don't you? That's all this is about, Calliope. You have no heart!"
He threw down his utensils in anger but couldn't bear to leave, so he stormed upstairs with heavy footsteps. The servants watched anxiously, but Calliope continued dining with perfect composure. "Let him meet Elspeth first. Father and daughter should be properly introduced."
She didn't follow him upstairs, finishing her dinner before loading a tray with food and heading up. When she pushed open the master bedroom door, the room was dimly lit. The nanny was soothing Elspeth, who was crying—perhaps sensing her "father's" rejection, her sobs were remarkably restrained. Her little legs kicked adorably as she wailed.
Octavius slouched on the sofa, glaring at the infant with obvious resistance and disbelief. When Calliope entered, light from the doorway cast a golden glow that illuminated every strand of her hair and outlined her slender silhouette, making Octavius feel both love and hatred.
He stared daggers at his ex-wife. Calliope acted oblivious to his anger, setting the tray on the coffee table and gently asking the nanny to leave, saying she would handle everything.
Once the nanny departed, Calliope lifted the baby, rocking her soothingly while feigning complaint. "The child is crying, and you, her father, don't even think to comfort her. Instead you sit there looking thunderous, as if you want to devour her. I'll change her diaper—you should eat something. I know this surprise is hard to accept, but now that she's here, we must raise her properly and give her everything the world has to offer."
Watching her bustling about, Octavius laughed coldly. "A foundling, and you're already addicted to motherhood? Don't think I don't see through you, Calliope. You just want me to be your provider. What's this child's real story?"
Calliope didn't hide it, her red lips parting slightly. "She's Nicholas and Azalea's child."
Octavius's temple veins bulged with fury. "Calliope, have you lost your mind? You dare take in Moore family blood? Matthew will be dead by spring—you understand what that means? The Moore family is finished!"
Calliope remained perfectly calm, changing the baby's diaper and preparing her bottle. She held the child expertly while watching her ex-husband pace frantically like a caged animal. "That depends on your capabilities, Octavius. Don't you usually boast about how formidable you are? Why are you scared when it matters? If you won't be her father, I'll find someone else. Don't say I didn't give you the chance."
Octavius laughed bitterly. "Don't try to provoke me! If I wanted a child, plenty of women would gladly bear me one. Why would I need you? Especially when you're handing me a ticking time bomb."
Under the lamplight, Calliope cradled the child. Her expression was tender, but her words cut like ice: "Octavius, if you could father children, those scheming women would have given you a whole battalion by now instead of leaving you childless at your age. Your confidence is truly touching."
Octavius froze. After a long silence, he whispered, "That's impossible."
"You had tests done before, but for special reasons, the doctor lied to you. The truth is, you're infertile. If you don't believe me, check the second drawer on the left—your real medical report is there."
Octavius rushed to examine it. Indeed, the report bore his name and confirmed weak sperm count resulting in infertility. The diagnosis hit him like a physical blow—he slumped like a defeated rooster, staring at his ex-wife in devastation. For a man, infertility was the ultimate humiliation. He opened his mouth as if to speak but found himself speechless.
As the evening light dimmed, Octavius finally stood and walked toward the door without a word. At the threshold, he turned back to look at Calliope, who held the baby with newfound melancholy.
"Octavius, I'm serious. If you won't be Elspeth's father, I'll have to find someone else—some dignitary, perhaps a widower or divorcé. As long as he can give Elspeth a secure future, I'll submit to him completely: cooking his meals, making his bed, managing his household, being his devoted wife."
Octavius stood in the doorway as evening wind stirred around him. He gazed at Calliope for a long moment but said nothing, quietly closing the bedroom door behind him.
Outside, he replayed every word she'd spoken, his heart twisting in agony. As he descended the stairs, defeated and bitter, one thought consumed him: after years of marriage, he meant less to her than a foundling. She would sacrifice everything, debase herself completely, for this child's sake.
Once, Calliope had been so proud, declaring that after Octavius, she would never accept another man. Now, heartbroken and disillusioned, Octavius went to drown his sorrows. In his drunken stupor, he encountered Nicholas.