A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust by Sally Garcia

The man let out a low chuckle. "Hmm, interesting. But why don't you tell me who you think I am? And do you have any idea why I'm here to see you?"

Calliope didn't hesitate. "You're my husband's father. Oliver Myers, right?"

He arched an eyebrow, saying nothing.

She went on, her tone unbothered, "So, let me guess. You're the guy who walked out on his wife and kid years ago. Now, all of a sudden, you show up at my door. I bet you want me to talk Silas into coming back to you, to take over your little empire. Or maybe, you'd rather I divorce him, so you can set him up with a daughter-in-law you can actually control. Someone who fits into your plans for a perfect merger, right?"

Oliver's smile faded.

Calliope glanced at the fruit bowl in the center of the dining table, grabbed an orange, and started peeling it, her nails digging into the skin. She spoke slowly, as if she had all the time in the world.

"I heard things haven't exactly been peachy for you lately. That younger son you pinned your last hopes on? Turns out he's seriously ill. Not much use to you now, huh? And since there aren't any more kids in the picture, you start thinking, maybe Silas isn't such a bad candidate after all. He ticks all the right boxes, doesn't he?"

Oliver didn't know much about Calliope, aside from the fact she came from the Jewell family, the once-prominent, now practically bankrupt Jewell family.

He'd always thought she was supposed to marry Gideon, but somehow, she'd ended up with his son Silas instead. In Oliver's eyes, Calliope was a nobody-no connections, no ambitions, nothing worth mentioning-definitely not fit to be his daughter-in-law.

In fact, the woman he'd lined up for his younger son had backed out once she found out about the illness, but if Silas took her place, it

Calliope to nail his

this," Oliver said, trying

only natural

head, popping a slice of orange into her mouth. "That's where you're

you. You coul drop off the face

wouldn't blink. I just happened to hear

think, after walking out on your wife

again?

not exactly

licking a bit of

Ret

not to you. I don't care if you like me or not. In fact, let me give you some advice: why don't you turn around and go back to wherever you came from? You're not going to find what you're looking for

got some nerve, talking to me like that," Oliver growled. "Is it

you think you can