A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

The employee nearly jumped out of her skin when Valerian snapped at her. Her voice trembled as she looked at Portia and stammered, "It was a gift from

Calliope!"

Valerian glared at the cake, his mood sinking even further.

He'd gone out of his way to buy that cake for her, her favorite, a big slice of cheesecake with extra strawberries. Not only did she not eat it, she just handed it off to someone else without a second thought!

The more he thought about it, the more it stung.

How could she treat him like this? She'd always been distant with his whole family, and now, even when he tried to reach out, she just shrugged him off. What did he ever do to deserve this?

If he was a little nicer to Lisette, so what? Lisette was always thoughtful, always polite, never made things hard for anyone. But Calliope? She never listened, never cared about the family. It was always about her, her, her.

So what if they'd been a little unfair to her as a kid? Was she really going to hold that over their heads forever?

Even Lisette had tried to make amends, tried to keep the peace, but Calliope just wouldn't budge. She was always the one making things difficult.

The more Valerian dwelled on it, the angrier he got. But then he remembered Horatio still needed Calliope's help with his treatment and he still wanted that birthday present she'd promised him, so he bit his tongue.

“Uh, can I... can I take the cake with me?" the employee squeaked, almost too nervous to breathe.

Valerian barely looked at her. "Yeah, take it. Whatever," he grumbled.

Just then, Monty walked by and noticed Valerian's scowl. "What's got you all wound up?"

Valerian scowled. "I got her that cake, and she didn't even care. Just turned around and gave it away to someone else. She's nothing like a real sister. She just doesn't get it!"

Monty glanced at him, then gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Let it go, man. Your brother still needs her help, remember?"

"If it weren't for that, I wouldn't put

up with this, Valerian muttered,

taking a deep breath to calm himself. The anger was still simmering, but with Horatio's surgery coming up, and that present stiff on the line, he decided, for now, to let it slide.

That evening, after work, Calliope drove straight to the Jewell family home.

When she walked in, the whole family looked stunned. She hadn't told anyone she was coming back. The atmosphere was awkward, to say the least.

"Callie! What are you doing here?" someone blurted out.

"Am I not allowed to show up?" Calliope replied, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it's not that, we just thought after your trip you'd go to Mr. Myers' place first" Monty said, forcing a nervous laugh. Then, as if

l.ne

remembering something important, he tried to discreetly slip toward the family photo wall.

But Calliope had already spotted it.

There, in the main hallway, hung the family portrait. Only, instead of the photo-the one with her in it-there was the old picture. One she wasn't in. Instead, it was Lisette front and center, smiling with the rest of the family.

They must've taken it while she was away. Replaced her, just like that.

Calliope felt a pang in her chest, though, honestly, she wasn't surprised. This was classic Jewell family behavior. Any guilt they felt for her faded fast, but their affection for Lisette? That never wavered.

Lisette knew exactly how to play them and they were all too happy to let her.

“Uh, Callie, let us explain—" Monty started, clearly flustered. Even he seemed to realize there was no good excuse for this.noveldrama