A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

"Yesterday? What did I say yesterday?"

Silas looked genuinely confused. Truth be told, he didn't remember a single thing he'd said the night before.

But Norton and the other two guys were all staring at him, eyes fixed, like they were waiting for something.

Clearly, he must've said something.

He tried again, “Did I say something I shouldn't have last night?”

He really couldn't remember. All he could recall was that he hadn't been tired at all, then, somehow, he just fell asleep out of nowhere.

It was weird, honestly. How did he manage to doze off like that, in a place like this?

Noticing the blank look on his face, Norton shot a glance at the other two.

It was pretty obvious: Silas had been hypnotized. Which meant whatever he'd said last night was probably the deepest, rawest stuff buried in his heart.

Remembering what they'd overheard, the three guys suddenly got real quiet. They glanced at Silas, then at Calliope. Their faces looked... complicated, to say the least.

"What's going on?"

Calliope picked up on the weird vibe from her brothers and couldn't help but ask. Their reaction was just odd, and she had no clue what was up.

"It's nothing!" Norton finally said with a grin. "Let's eat breakfast, yeah? Bet everyone's starving."

Calliope still looked a bit suspicious, but let it go.

Once they sat down at the kitchen table with their pancakes and coffee, she leaned over to Silas and whispered, asking if anything weird had happened last night, or if he knew why her brothers were acting so strange.

Silas shook his head. He'd gone out like a light. Nothing special happened before that. He remembered chatting for a while, just shooting the breeze, then poof, he was out. He agreed, the guys were acting a little off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Honestly though, he wasn't too

bothered. He had nothing to hide. He really did care about Callie, would do absolutely anything for her, give up everything, even his life if he had to.

So, if Norton and the others wanted to test him, so be it. He had nothing to fear.

After breakfast, the crew decided to head out to pick up some groceries.

Calliope was the only girl in the group, but with the four of them together, they were impossible to miss at the supermarket.noveldrama

Every single one of the guys looked like they'd walked straight out of a GQ cover shoot. Each one more dashing, more successful-looking, more movie star-worthy than the last. If it'd just been one of them, maybe people could ignore it. But four of them together? Total head-turners.

And then there was Calliope, drop-dead gorgeous, right in the middle, obviously being looked after by the guys. It was clear they all cared about her, which only fueled the gossip and curious stares from everyone around.

"Who are those guys? Are they celebrities?"

"Holy crap, they're hot. Seriously, are there even guys like this in Hollywood? How

come I've never seen them before?"

"Am I seeing things? These people don't look real. They're way too attractive! Like, unfairly so."

"Wait, isn't that Julius?"

"Yeah, but I don't recognize the guys he's with."

"No, hang on, that's Silas from the Baker Group, isn't it?”

"It is! Mr. Myers himself! The richest guy in Capitalton!"

"Well, if that's the company he keeps, the others have got to be big shots, too."

"But who's the girl? What's her deal, standing there with all those handsome men?"

"I'm dying of jealousy over here!"

"Seriously, why can't my life look like that? All I get is a bunch of dorks for friends!"