A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust novel Chapter 605

"Uh, n-no, it’s nothing!" Ryan stammered, quickly shaking his head. He tried to smile at Calliope, but it was the kind of forced, crooked grin that pretty much screamed something’s up.

Calliope saw right through him. She knew Ryan too well—when he got anxious, his eyes darted everywhere, and right now, he was practically begging Neil for help with his gaze.

Neil had already set down his fork and gotten up from the table. "Callie, really, it’s nothing. I’ll go talk to him. You guys finish your dinner, okay?"

He started to lead Ryan away.

But Calliope stood up right away, her chair scraping against the hardwood.

Silas followed suit, towering over the table.

"Ryan, just tell me straight," Calliope insisted, her tone leaving no room for argument. "What’s going on that you can’t tell me? Weren’t we best friends growing up? If you need help, spit it out."

Silas nodded, arms crossed, looking every bit the guy you wouldn’t want to mess with. "Yeah, seriously, Ryan. If you’ve got a problem, say it. I brought some friends with me—if you need backup, just say the word. They’re not exactly pushovers."

Ryan glanced helplessly at Neil, whose look said, “You’re not getting out of this one.”

Finally, Ryan sighed, his shoulders slumping. "It’s the people from Ivory Town. You know how jealous they’ve been since our town started doing better? They keep saying we ‘stole their luck’ or whatever, so they’re always trying to mess with us."

"Today, things just boiled over. We tried to talk it out, but they went straight to throwing punches. I was with Jacob and a few others, and… Jacob got hurt. Badly."