A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

"I can tell I'm not exactly welcome here, so I'll just show myself out." Calliope shrugged, not bothering to hide her annoyance, and headed straight for the door.

"Callie, wait! That's not what we meant!" Monty rushed after her, trying to explain, but Calliope didn't even pause. She didn't look back, didn't say a word, just kept walking until she was gone.

Monty stood in the hallway for a moment, helplessly watching the front door swing shut behind her. There wasn't really anything he could do.

After a minute, he wandered back into the living room.

"At least she finally agreed to do your surgery," he announced, trying to lighten the mood.

He waved a piece of paper at Horatio. "She left us a list of what she needs. Let's get everything ready over the next couple of days and then get this show on the road! Horatio, you're finally going to be up and on your feet again!”

Monty was grinning from ear to ear. Horatio, after all, wasn't getting any younger, and being stuck in a wheelchair made it tough for him at work, sure, but also... well, dating wasn't exactly easy.

There were a few women who'd been interested, but the situation always gave them second thoughts.

Monty imagined that once Horatio was back on his feet, things would change. He'd probably meet someone, settle down, and, who knows, maybe even make Monty a grandpa before too long.

Now that he was getting older, Monty found himself thinking about grandkids more and more.

"That's right, Horatio! You'll be walking in no time," Valerian added, thoughtful. "Look, we've already handed her the company. She knows what's at stake. If she doesn't do a good job fixing you up, we'll all be furious. She'd be burning every bridge she has left."

"She'd better do it right, or she'll have me to answer to first!" Zelda narrowed her eyes. "I'm her mother. Even if she doesn't feel grateful, she can't treat her brother like this."

Horatio, though, looked unconcerned. "I don't think Calliope would mess things up on purpose," he said. "If she wanted to, she could've just refused to help in the first place. Why go to all this trouble? She's got her own reputation to worry about."

...

It wasn't long before Calliope made her way back from the Jewell family's house to the Myers Manor.

As she stepped inside, she found Silas just getting home as well.

"Did you talk to the Jewells?" Silas asked, glancing over his shoulder. He knew where she'd been.

"Not yet," Calliope replied, and walked over to him.

She slipped her arms around him in a hug. He was wearing a soft black sweater- one of those really cozy ones that just make you want to curl up. The wool was plush and warm against her cheek.

Calliope let herself lean into him, soaking up the comfort. For a moment, everything else faded away.

Silas looked down, his handsome face softer than usual. "What's wrong? You look upset."

She glanced up at him, taking in his sharp features. He really was ridiculously good-looking.

"It's not exactly that,” she murmured, thinking aloud. "I just... I miss my birth mom. I keep wondering where she is, whether she's okay... Do you think she's still out there, somewhere?"

She'd never even met her real mother. Was she still alive?

She'd always been told that her mom would come back for her if she could, but she never did. Calliope had spent her whole life waiting, but her mother never returned. Maybe she was gone from this world fornoveldrama

good.

She didn't even know what her real mother looked like, let alone what kind of person she was.

She used to think Zelda was her birth mom. Zelda'd always seemed to resent her. Calliope had never

really experienced what mater Now,

love was supposed to feel like. Now,

more than ever, she wanted to know who her real mother was.

She hoped that, wherever she was, her mother had loved her. After all, when Kermit first found her as a child, her mother had fought tooth and nail to protect her. That had to mean something.