A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

"Bad luck to die young?" Norton frowned, his tone skeptical. "Well, that's not exactly great news."

Quentin shot Silas a look, too. "You're not gonna kick the bucket early, are you? What's Callie supposed to do if you croak on her?"

Silas was quiet for a moment, eyes flicking between them. After a pause, he finally spoke up. "Not sure I'd call it dying young, really. I mean, I'm pretty healthy, aren't I? Even if I did bite the dust, I've got enough set aside for Callie to be taken care of. And she could always move on, find someone new."

He shrugged, almost matter-of-fact. "I wouldn't mind if she found happiness again. But right now, I can give her that, and that's what matters. I want to be with her. And even if I'm gone, I'll be looking out for her, just, you know, from the other side."

You could tell from the look in Silas's eyes-he wasn't about to let Calliope go, not for anything.

Julius looked uncertain, fiddling with the edge of his sleeve. "Maybe I messed up the numbers," he muttered. "Could've been a glitch in the ol' fortune-teller routine. Might just be a false alarm."

He shook his head. "Anyway, I'm not always spot-on. Who knows if you'll die early? One thing's for sure: you're talented and loaded, and you'll probably stay that way. And honestly, Callie doesn't need your money. She's doing just fine in that department. But if you really love her, just treat her right, okay?"

"I know," Silas said, his gaze steady as steel. "I'll give her everything I can."noveldrama

The three of them didn't look totally convinced, but Silas's determination seemed to satisfy them for now.

They chatted a bit more, and before long, it was pushing midnight.

Quentin stretched and yawned. "Alright, fellas, bedtime."

He headed over to Calliope's room to give her a heads-up about their plan for the night.

Calliope blinked, clearly confused. "Wait, what? You're all bunking together? It's not like we don't have enough space here. There are plenty of guest rooms. Why squeeze four grown men into one bed?"

She couldn't imagine Mr. Myers, of all people, being okay with that kind of situation.

The idea of four guys crammed into one king-sized bed, she shuddered. Even she found it a bit much.

"I know," Quentin admitted. "But he agreed. Besides, we can talk more once we're laying down. Callie, you're cool with this, right?"

"He agreed?" Calliope stared at him, incredulous. She'd half-expected Silas to bail the second he heard the idea.

"He's fine with it, or I wouldn't have come to ask you," Quentin said. "We want your blessing, though. If you're not comfortable, we'll scrap the whole thing."

"I mean... as long as he's okay with it, it's fine by me." She tried not to laugh, picturing the scene.

She had a good idea what they were up to. Norton dabbled in hypnosis, and if someone got hypnotized while they slept, maybe they'd spill some secrets without even realizing. They probably wanted Silas to let his guard down, answer some tough questions.

Honestly, Calliope could see where they were coming from. They just wanted to protect her, to make sure she'd be safe, no matter what. She couldn't really fault them for that.

"Alright, Callie, we're gonna hit the hay. You should get some rest, too."

"Yeah, I will. Night, Quentin."

Silas followed the brothers back to Quentin's room, since his was the biggest. They took turns brushing their teeth and changing into pajamas.

Quentin patted the bed. "Silas, you get the spot between me and Norton."