A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

At the time, he was away filming on location, so he didn't make it back in time.

But the family portrait was missing someone else, too—

Calliope.

Staring at the photo, he suddenly understood how Calliope must have felt, like she'd been left out, abandoned.

Ulysses felt a mess of emotions.

He sat down on the couch, looking kind of lost, like a puppy left out in the rain.

"Hey, Ulysses, what's up with you? You finally managed to come home, but you look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders."

Valerian Jewell gave Ulysses a suspicious look.

He'd never seen Ulysses like this before.

He knew Ulysses had been doing great with his acting gigs lately. So he should have been in high spirits.

But right now, he just looked... empty.

"Valerian!" Ulysses finally realized Valerian had somehow ended up sitting right next to him.

"Did something happen?" Valerian asked.

"Yeah, Ulysses, what's wrong? Did something go wrong with work?" Horatio piped up from his wheelchair across from them, looking just as confused.

"It's not about work." Ulysses frowned. "I ran into someone at the airport earlier."

"Who?" The others all looked at Ulysses, puzzled.

"Calliope," Ulysses said quietly.

"She was at the airport?" Valerian sounded surprised. "What was she doing there? Going on a trip?"

"No, she was picking someone up. At first, I thought she was there to pick me up. I actually felt kind of happy for a second. But, turns out, she wasn't there for me at all."

Ulysses couldn't hide the annoyance in his voice.

She'd come to pick up her other brothers, but hadn't even asked when he'd be back.

"If she was there to pick someone up, who was it? It couldn't have been you, clearly, you didn't come back together."

Valerian was thinking aloud.

"Was she picking up Silas?"

"No." Ulysses shook his head. "You guys would never guess."

"What?" Valerian and Horatio looked at each other, even more confused.

"Just spit it out, Ulysses. What did you see?" Horatio urged him on, sensing there was more to the story.

"She was picking up her brothers. But I wasn't one of them."

Ulysses said it quietly, disappointment heavy in his voice.

She was his little sister. She'd come to the airport to pick someone up and he drun right into her But she wasn't there for him

He felt let down.

And when he saw the people she'd -guys more famous

come

hew the disappointment

into something sharper.

Seeing how close they all were, the jealousy just grew.

"Her brothers?” Valerian and Horatio exchanged glances, the realization dawning on them.

Calliope had obviously come for Quentin and the others.

She went out of her way for them.

But when she saw Ulysses, she just ignored him. That stung.

"She didn't even say hi?" Valerian asked. "Come on, you're her real brother!"

"No. She didn't even acknowledge me."

Ulysses let out a bitter smile.

If Calliope had recognized him as her brother, it wouldn't have hurt so much.

"How could she do that? She's really pushing it," Valerian said, his annoyance showing.

"Do you think... Maybe Callie just

doesn't see this as her home?noveldrama

Maybe she doesn't see us as her

family

Lisette sighed from the side, "She holds a grudge way too easily, doesn't she?"