A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust

"You really hurt Mavis. She's pretty broken up about it."

Calliope shot Uriah a pointed look, her eyes lingering on him for a few moments.

She knew exactly how Mavis was feeling, and honestly, things between Mavis and Uriah needed to change. Mavis was her best friend, and she couldn't just sit back and watch her keep getting hurt. Whatever was or wasn't going on between Uriah and Mavis, it had dragged on long enough.

She liked Uriah. He was a great mentor, kind of like her sensei, but less dramatic. But the thing was, Uriah never seemed to return those feelings. If anything, he just kept letting Mavis down, again and again.

Or maybe, Calliope sometimes wondered, maybe Uriah actually did care about Mavis, but he was just too uptight. Always going on about boundaries, about how a mentor shouldn't fall for their trainee. Like it was some kind of cardinal sin.

He just wouldn't let himself take that step, and it ended up hurting everyone.noveldrama

"I know," Uriah replied, frowning. "I'll talk to her, okay? You don't have to worry about it. It's between us."

"Honestly, I don't care about whatever drama you two have. I care about Mavis. She's my best friend. I just want her to be happy. She deserves that."

Calliope met Uriah's eyes, her gaze cool and steady.

"Uriah, I don't know what you really feel for Mavis. But if you're not interested, or even if you are, but you're not planning to do anything about it. I think you owe it to her to be honest."

She didn't blink, just locked eyes with him, almost as if she was waiting for something.

Uriah narrowed his eyes, suddenly uneasy. "What are you getting at, Calliope? What are you trying to say?"

He had a bad feeling about this. Calliope never beat around the bush, and he doubted he was going to like whatever came next.

"If you don't see a future with her, then she needs to stop hoping for one. You need to let her go."

Calliope shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, her tone level. "She should move on. My brother, Norton, he really likes her. He wants to ask her out. If you don't mind, Norton's planning to step up."

"It's only fair I check with you first. You know, first come, first served and all that."

Uriah froze, her words hitting him right in the chest. For a second, he just stared at Calliope, almost stunned. He hesitated, clearly thrownoff, but tried to keep his face

calm, like none of this bothered him

at all.

"He can do what he wants. Mavis is my student, not my girlfriend. Why should he

ask me?" Uriah said stiffly. "You should ask her."

He turned away, his voice deliberately casual.

Calliope glanced at him, sizing him up. "So, just to be clear, you don't have feelings for Mavis, and you don't see a future with her?"

"Good. That's all I needed to hear."

“Uriah, if Mavis and Norton end up together, don't take it personally."

With that, Calliope spun on her heel and walked away.

Uriah found himself glancing back at her, his brow furrowed, a tight, uncomfortable ache settling in his chest.

...

Back inside, Calliope made a beeline for Mavis.

Mavis

and itked up as she walked over,

obvious she had a pretty

good idea what Calliope and Uriah

had just talked about. She didn't ask,

just watched her, waiting.

Calliope said, "I told him Norton wants to ask you out. I made it clear, if he didn't

object, I'd let Norton go for it. He didn't try to stop me."

That was the plan they'd agreed on. To help Mavis, to give Uriah a little push.

If Uriah actually had feelings for

Mavis, this was the moment heet

either step up or freak out. If he didn't care, then it wouldn't matter who Mavis ended up with.

Either way, at least now they'd know.