A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust by Sally Garcia

"Ulysses..." Lisette hadn't expected Ulysses to act like this. She looked at him, eyes wide and brimming with hurt.

She'd always thought he'd be happy to see her. He usually spoiled her rotten, after all. But right now, he was ice-cold, and it left her feeling uneasy, even a little scared.

Why was he treating her this way? Didn't he care about her? What was going on? Why the sudden change?

A thousand questions raced through Lisette's mind as she tried to figure out what was happening.

"I just saw you seemed upset, so I came over to talk," she said quietly, fiddling with the sleeve of her cardigan. "You know you're the most important person to me. If I did something wrong, tell me, Ulysses. I'll fix it, I promise."

She slipped her hand around his arm, her voice trembling. "I don't want anything to mess up what we have. You know that, right? You're the one I care about most. I can't lose you."

grew as she

because of me? she wondered. Is it about Callie? Is he blaming me for her

I'll

the couch, giving her a long, unreadable look. She'd just poured her heart out, insisting she cared for him

she was being fake. He'd never noticed it before, but lately, with a bit more attention, it was like her whole act

the

Lisette pressed, her voice bright and desperate. "You know, we're the closest in age, we've been best friends since we

sly, almost wicked smile. "You sure you don't say

hit him

Lisette always told everyone they were her favorite, that they had a special bond. Maybe she'd whispered the same thing to him, Valerian, and Horatio, keeping each one convinced they