A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust novel Chapter 84

"My eldest brother," Calliope said.

"Not Horatio, right?" Silas asked, recognizing her mention of her actual brother.

"No, my brother from the countryside," she clarified. "You know how I was considered a bad omen as a kid and sent to live in the countryside, right? I lived with Grandpa then, along with my brothers. Though they aren't my blood brothers, they've always been family to me."

"You really love them?" Silas couldn't help but ask.

"Absolutely. More than anything." Calliope’s eyes sparkled with delight and happiness.

"So, where do they rank among the people you love most?" Silas’s voice seemingly carried a hint of curiosity.

"They're at the top!" Calliope declared without hesitation. "Besides Grandpa, no one else comes close. But Grandpa's no longer with us."

Thinking about her grandpa brought a twinge of sadness to her heart. Despite her excellent skills in healing, she hadn’t been able to save him. After he passed, she barely practiced medicine, feeling unworthy of using skills that couldn’t save the person she loved most.

Silas watched her intently. "Besides your grandpa and them, is there anyone else you care about?"

"Someone I care about? Well, there's Eamon, Archie, Portia, and Mavis. Each of them means the world to me."

Silas was left speechless. Of all those names, none of which were his own.

"What's wrong?" Calliope gazed at Silas, innocence in her eyes.

"Nothing," Silas replied, his tone nonchalant.

By the time he was done, she was utterly spent.

As she drifted off, she vaguely heard Silas murmur something. But in her dazed state, she couldn't catch the words.

...

The next day, Quentin and the other two found Gideon.

As Calliope's brothers, they typically stayed out of her affairs, but there was no way they'd stand by if she was being wronged.

Despite Callie insisting that Gideon's issue was in the past and she'd handle it, they couldn't just ignore it. After all, he was the man she'd once loved with all her heart for so many years. How could she simply declare it was over and mean it?