A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

Only Lisette had truly stuck by him, from the very beginning, never once hinting that she'd give up on him.

Valerian looked at Lisette, his heart aching for her. "Lisette, what if she really gives you a hard time? What will you do then?"

He frowned. "Maybe I should go talk to her. Set things straight!"

"Don't!" Lisette quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving.

"If you confront her, she won't listen. I'll be fine, really. At worst, she'll just pile on more work. She's not going to hurt me or anything. She's not about to hire someone to kidnap me or make my life a living hell, right?"

"A little extra work is nothing. If it helps the company, why not? If it means Horatio can walk again, and Callie stops making things difficult for you guys... isn't that worth it? I'd rather take the hit myself than have everyone suffer."

Lisette smiled, her voice light. "Don't worry about me, really!"

"Lisette, I'm sorry," Horatio said, looking at her, guilt written all over his face. "We haven't done a great job protecting you."

"When Callie's done helping Horatio recover," Monty chimed in, "we'll figure out a way to win the company back. Everything will go back to how it was, and the company will be yours, Lisette."

"Dad, I don't care about the company!" Lisette shook her head. "I just want our family to be happy. That's all I need."

"Well, I should get back to work. Don't let me keep you all. While Callie's around, let's just keep some distance, okay? If anything comes up, just text me. You guys should spend more time with Callie anyway."

With that, Lisette slipped out, looking as thoughtful and mature as ever.

"She's wise beyond her years," Monty said, shaking his head in admiration.

"That's why we all love Lisette," Valerian said, frowning. "Callie's temper always gets to us. She thinks we're out to get her, or that we owe her something. For a while, we tried to make it up to her, even at bisette's expense. But Lisette never holds a grudge, not like Callie."

Horatio let out a long sigh. "I'm always on edge, worried Callie might refuse to treat me. Meanwhile, Lisette's always checking upon me, making sure I'm okay."

After chatting a bit more, everyone left Horatio's office. They knew they still needed Calliope's help, so they tried to make amends with her, even if it felta little forced. They brought her some food, but it was obvious they weren't thrilled about it.

Calliope's cold attitude didn't help. Compared to Lisette's warmth and understanding, Valerian's patience started to wear thin.

"Callie, do you have to be like this with us?" he asked.

"What?" Calliope was buried in her work, barely registering his words.

Valerian nearly lost it. "Did you even hear what I just said?"

"Nope. Say it again?" Calliope replied, glancing up.

"Forget it. I'm leaving the food here if you're hungry," Valerian said, voice tight with annoyance, and stormed out.

Calliope rolled her eyes, confused. She glanced at the box on her desk— cupcakes, by the look of it-and frowned.

A little while later, someone came in to give her a report. Calliope handed off the cupcakes without a second thought.

The employee all but skipped out of her office, delighted. As luck would have it, they ran right into Valerian, who was still stewing in the hallway.

"Where'd you get the cupcakes?"noveldrama