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."

as she

angry because of me? she wondered. Is it about Callie? Is he blaming me for her not

just say so. If that's how you feel, I'll leave right now," she blurted, her throat tight. "But... am I really the one you

She'd just poured her heart out, insisting she

noticed it before, but lately, with a bit more attention, it was

the

in age, we've been best friends since we were kids! That's always been our dittle secret, right? I always thought

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

him like a

special bond. Maybe she'd whispered the same thing to him, Valerian, and Horatio, keeping each one convinced they were her