A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

"Exactly. You only get what you give, right?"

"No one's gonna bend over backwards for someone who treats them like dirt."

"Maybe at first, yeah, but if you keep giving and you get nothing back, sooner or later, you're gonna stop."

"People only keep trying if the other person is trying too, you know?"

"Honestly, I think Norton's the better catch. Can you imagine? A six-figure check? That's more than I'll see in my life!"

"The Jewell family couldn't scrape together that much if they sold their whole estate. Guess those brothers just don't measure up.”

"It's not even about money. If they just showed some real effort, even if they didn't have a dime, I bet Calliope would be happy. But they waste it all on that adopted girl, never on the real daughter. Why should she like them?"

"Yeah, I think she did the right thing this time. No point in giving endlessly for nothing."

"Seriously! Remember when she spent a week out at the lake house? The whole time, all they cared about was Lisette. Half of us had to take Lisette's attitude, too!"

The staff weren't blind. Everyone knew what was up.

Valerian was furious, but at a loss for words. He couldn't argue, really. He'd never actually given Calliope anything memorable, now that he thought about it.

Ulysses, off to the side, wanted to crawl under the table. He knew he should've stopped Valerian sooner. Still, it stung seeing Calliope defend those guys who weren't even her real brothers.

"Come on, Callie. Valerian's still your brother. Cut him some slack," Ulysses pleaded.

Calliope glanced at him, cool as ever. "When have you ever cut me any slack?" Ulysses fell silent.

Calliope didn't hold back. They couldn't handle her.

Norton pulled his car around and hopped out, beaming.

"Callie, this is awesome! Seriously, thank you!"

"I'm glad you like it!" Calliope grinned. "If you're happy, I'm happy."

"Oh, Quentin, Julius, I've got gifts for you two as well. They're upstairs. Want to come grab them with me?"

Valerian,

Before they could answer, cut in, scowling. "This is Jewell.

Group: We can't just let ra

people wander around."

Calliope shot him a look, then turned back to Quentin and Julius. "Forget it. This dump isn't worth seeing anyway. I'll grab your gifts and bring them down."

She didn't care one bit about Valerian's opinion. She disappeared inside the building.

Staff nearby exchanged sympathetic looks. He really knew how to make things worse for himself.

Valerian snapped at the staff, "Don't you all have work to do? Or do you just get paid to stand around and gossip?"

People scattered, grumbling under their breath as they left.

Valerian only got more annoyed. He and Ulysses stepped into the elevator Calliope had just taken. The doors slid shut, and now it was just the four of them: Calliope, Franco, Valerian, and Ulysses. noveldrama