A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust by Sally Garcia

Calliope had agreed to go to the party with Silas. Honestly, she figured it'd give Hudson and Lance some much-needed time alone anyway.

Lance knew about Hudson's condition now, but who knew how he'd react? There was bound to be some drama. After all, Hudson had known about his illness for ages and never told Lance a thing. Lance had just kept believing it wasn't a big deal.

But now? Now he knew the truth-Hudson didn't have much time left. And Lance was head over heels for Hudson. No way he'd take this news well.

Heck, it wasn't just Lance. Even Calliope, who'd seen more than her share of tragedy, was struggling to accept it. She'd dealt with all sorts of rare diseases before, and when it was someone else, it was easier. But when it was your friend? That was a whole different kind of pain. The regret, the helpless anger-you hated yourself for not being able to do a damn thing.

Calliope wasn't ready to accept it. Not by a long shot.

She'd spent the whole afternoon on the phone, calling every specialist she knew -oncologists, surgeons, miracle workers, you name it. But even the best of the best looked at Hudson's files and just shook their heads. She'd even tried her old mentor, who could usually pull off the impossible. But all he said was, "It's time to start making arrangements."

By the time the party rolled around that night, Calliope was barely paying attention to anything. Her mind kept circling back to Hudson.

to take it easy, then went

drama,

a piece of cheese, when someone

at the scattered snacks and

my gosh, I'm so sorry!" a woman blurted out, all wide-eyed

she just picked up her plate and what food she could

down, she

barely caught herself. Narrowing her eyes, she studied the woman.

this

"Wow, you caught