A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

"What did you expect? That family is gross!" Portia rolled her eyes. "Honestly, they don't care about anything but themselves. But if they found out the truth? Oh, you can bet they'd come running back to try and take the company."

Calliope nodded. Portia was right. The Jewell family was just like that.

But honestly? She didn't care much, either. She never really gave a damn about the Jewell family's stuff in the first place.

After a little more gossiping, Calliope steered the conversation to something more fun.

"So, what's the plan for Christmas?" she asked.

Every year, they'd go somewhere together for a few days-hit the slopes in

Aspen, rent a cabin upstate, or take a city trip. This year would be no different, except it sounded like their group was going to be bigger than ever.

"I'm bringing Silas and my foster brothers," Calliope announced.

Portia grinned. "I'm dragging my boyfriend along, too."

Calliope's gaze shifted to Mavis. "What about you?"

Mavis just shrugged, reaching for her wine. "It's not exactly a secret I'm flying

solo. No boyfriend here, but don't worry. I kind of love it that way."

Calliope winked. "Maybe Silas can bring Uriah along. You know, just for you? Give it another shot?"

She shot Mavis a sly look.

Uriah was Mavis's mentor, and her longtime crush. And if you asked Calliope, she was pretty sure Uriah liked Mavis, too. Problem was, he had this whole 'I'm older, I'm your mentor, this isn't appropriate' thing going on.

But maybe if Mavis put in a little more effort...

"Let's be real," Mavis said, taking a bigger sip of her drink. "He just doesn't get me. I already tried, but he won't give me a chance, so what's the point?"

Portia's eyes lit up. "Wait, I have an idea! What if you brought a fake boyfriend You've never dated anyone else, so Uriah probably doesn't even realize he should be worried. If he sees you with another guy, maybe he'll wake up and realize how he feels!"

"We've got to do something, right? Test the Waters! If you don't give it a real shot, how will you ever know? And hey, maybe it'll work. If not, at least you'll know you tried.

She turned to Calliope. "You've got those three godbrothers, right? Maybe one of them could play the part?"

"That could totally work," Calliope laughed. "My third brother, Julius Quillen is a great actor. He could totally pull it off!"

Portia clapped her hands. "Perfect! Let's do it!"

Mavis hesitated. "I don't know... Is that really okay?"

"Of course it is!" Portia insisted, "I think it's genius."

Calliope chimed in, "Come on, Mavis. You've

take theed him for ages. If he can't

take the first step, maybe you just need to try something new. One last shot."

Mavis thought about it, then nodded resolutely. "Alright. Let's do it."

The three of them laughed and chatted, sharing another bottle of wine, the night filled with plans and inside jokes.

After they finished up, Mavis hitched a ride with Portia, leaving Calliope to order her own cab.noveldrama

Calliope wasn't worried. No need to call Damien or any of the guys. She could handle herself.

But as soon as she got in the car and they'd barely made it two blocks, a convoy

of black SUVs suddenly boxed them in, forcing her driver to a halt.

The cab driver turned pale and shot her a panicked glance.

“Uh, ma’am..... what's going on here? Are you... like, wanted or something?"