A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

"Silas, you're going to regret this! You'd really cross my father for some woman? Is she worth that much to you?"

"My dad told you to treat me with respect! If this is how you want to play it, I'll tell him everything. And don't expect me to keep sticking up for you!"

Phoebe jabbed a furious finger at Silas. Her cheeks were flushed with anger.

"I'll give you one last chance-ditch this woman, help me up, and maybe I'll pretend none of this happened!"

Calliope glanced at Silas, suddenly uncertain. What exactly was going on between him and this woman? Was Phoebe's father, his business partner, really that influential here? Could she truly end things for Silas just like that?

She'd been too fired up about Hudson to think straight before, but now that her anger cooled, Calliope began to worry she'd created trouble for Silas.

She caught his gaze, silently asking, Did I mess up? Did I just make things worse

for you?

But Silas didn't let go of her hand. If anything, he squeezed it tighter, holding it up between them for everyone to see.

He turned to Phoebe, letting the light catch on the simple gold bands on their fingers. "She's my wife," he said, steady and clear. "I promised to protect her, always. That's not changing."

"You-!" Phoebe's eyes flashed. "I don't care if she's your wife or not! If you don't want to ruin things with my father, you'd better apologize, and she'd better get down on her knees and beg for forgiveness!"

Phoebe was relentless, refusing to back down. Never mind that she'd started this whole mess. She couldn't, or wouldn't, see herself as the one at fault. In her mind, Silas was supposed to be hers. He was meant to be her future husband, not someone else's.

"Tell your father whatever you want," Silas replied coolly. "I'm not the one desperate for his business. If he wants to walk away, that's his choice. He's not likely to find a better deal, but he can try. Sure, he loves you enough that he might do it for your sake. But, honestly? My wife comes first. She always will. Anything else comes second, no exceptions."

He gave Phoebe a cold look, then turned and led Calliope away without hesitation.

A hush fell over the guests, broken only by a few murmured whispers.

It was obvious. Silas truly cared about his wife. Even with Phoebe's father being Maxwell Turner, a man

no

one wanted to cross, she couldn't use that to threaten Silas anymore.

"Ms. Turner, you should get up," someone said gently.noveldrama

"Yeah," another agreed. "Mr. Myers clearly loves his wife. Let it go, Phoebe. They're already married, nothing you can do now."

Phoebe glared daggers at Calliope as she walked away, practically shaking with rage.

"Who does she think she is?" she

hissed. "Plenty of women have wanted Silas, but no one's ever

dared challenge me before. If she thinks she can steal him away, she's got another thing coming. Bitch!"

She straightened up, brushing invisible dust from her designer dress.

Around her, the other guests kept their heads down. No one wanted to get on the wrong side of Maxwell Turner, but Silas was a powerhouse in his own right, and still young, with plenty of room to grow.

Silas led Calliope out to the parking lot, then opened the car door for her.

Once inside, his tone softened. "Are you okay? If she's been giving you a hard time, you should've told me."

Calliope shrugged. "She couldn't really bother me. Besides, you were in the middle of a business discussion. I didn't want to mess that up."

She hesitated. "About earlier... Me kissing you like that, did I cause you any trouble? Is your deal with her father that important?"