A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

Valerian was fuming, his jaw clenched as he shot back, "Don't look down on me like I'm some nobody. Do you have any idea how much money I actually have? Sure, maybe I don't make a fortune at the office, but does that mean I can't have other sources of income?"

He gave a sarcastic little laugh. "What do you even know?"

Calliope just stared for a moment, lost for words. She really wasn't trying to insult him. She'd only meant to give a friendly heads-up. It wasn't in her nature to judge people by their paycheck.

But Valerian wasn't listening. And honestly, she was too tired to argue. If she pushed any further, he'd probably think she was out to get him.

Julius glanced at Valerian, a sly smile tugging at his lips. "Thinking of buying your little sister the same thing we just picked out for ours? Hate to break it to you, but you might not be able to swing it."

With that, Julius turned away from him. "So, everyone made up their minds?" "Yep," Quentin and Norton both nodded.

"Miss, can you box up everything in this display for us? Except for these two pieces. Oh, and we'll take everything over there, too."

Julius gestured at the sparkling glass cases full of jewelry, talking to the sales associate as if he was ordering appetizers at a diner. He was practically buying out the whole store.

The sales clerk's eyes went wide, her jaw nearly dropping. "I'm sorry, you said— what?"

She looked at Julius like she wasn't sure if she'd misheard him.

Julius grinned. "Didn't catch that? No problem, I'll say it again. Everything except these two, and those two over there, pack up the rest for us, thanks!"

"Oh-oh! Of course!"

She hadn't expected to meet a high roller like this today. Once the shock wore off, she rushed to grab her coworkers, and together they started boxing up the jewelry as fast as they could.

Calliope leaned back against the counter, watching Valerian and his group with amusement as their faces went through every color of the rainbow.

Valerian had figured Quentin and the others would each buy a single necklace. He was ready to max out his credit card just to keep up and get something for Lisette.

But he hadn't expected this. These guys weren't just generous, they were on a whole other level. They were buying out the entire store.

Valerian could barely afford three necklaces if he stretched his budget. The thought of buying out the entire boutique? That was out of the

question Ever

if all of them pogled their money, it wouldn't come close. He didn't know if they were doing it

on purpose, but either way, he'd lost.

"Miss, do you have more of these in the back?" Julius asked casually. "A few more friends might want to buy some, too."

"Yes, sir! None of these are limited edition. We have plenty in stock," the clerk replied eagerly.

Valerian's face turned an even darker shade.

Julius shot him a mischievous grin "Hey, Valerian, you said you wanted to buy the same one as us, right? I. just checked for you. They ve got more. Go ahead, take your pick!"

Valerian didn't answer, but his hands were clenched in fists at his sides.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Julius teased. "Don't tell me you can't actually afford it? You seemed pretty confident a minute ago."

Calliope gave Valerian a curious look.

Horatio and Ulysses looked like they'd just seen a UFO. They had no idea Calliope's brothers were loaded enough to buy out an entire jewelry store. Even the cheapest necklace here cost tens of thousands and the pricier ones? Hundreds of thousands. These guys didn't even blink as they bought the lot. Were

they even human? What were they?

Oil heirs?

Valerian couldn't keep pretending anymore. Even if he sold himself, he wouldn't be able to cover this bill.

"Whatever, I don't even like their style here anyway," Lisette said quickly, giving Valerian a way to save a little face.noveldrama