Ulysses squeezed his way through the crowd, keeping his mask on so no one would recognize him. He leaned over to the guy next to him and asked, "Hey man, what''s going on over here? Is there some celebrity in town or something?"


    He couldn''t help but wonder it was Christmas, and this sleepy little town wasn''t exactly known for attracting celebrities. Who''d bother to show up at the local supermarket around now?


    Ulysses even had a fleeting, half-joking thought: maybe word got out that he wasing to the store today. Maybe all these people were his fans, here to catch a glimpse of him. He felt a tiny thrill of anticipation.


    But the guy just nced back at him and grinned. "Well, I wouldn''t say a movie star, but it''s close enough. You know the richest guy in Capitalton? Ss, the guy who owns The Baker Group?"


    "Yeah, well, he just came in here with his wife and her brothers, too!"


    "His wife? You mean Calliope, right?" Ulysses asked, eyes widening.


    "Yeah, that''s her! She''s gorgeous, like something out of a fairy tale. And those brothers of hers? Man, each one''s more handsome than the next."


    Ulysses stared in disbelief. Ss? Calliope? And her brothers? That couldn''t be right. They''d juste here, and those couldn''t be the brothers he was thinking of. Was Calliope really out shopping with them instead ofing home for the holidays?


    He felt a pang of annoyance.


    The guy continued, "Oh, and did you know? Calliope always says these brothers are her ''real'' brothers. She doesn''t even acknowledge the other ones from her family back home. I get it, though, the Jewell brothers never treated her right. Didn''t even manage to hold on to the family business and left it all for her to handle. Shameful, really."


    "And honestly, the Jewell boys are just hopeless. Can''t run apany, and I hear one of them tried to be a celebrity or something, but he''s pretty much a nobody."


    Ulysses felt his face flush with anger. "Hey, you''re talking nonsense! The Jewell brothers aren''t hopeless!"


    "Whoa, calm down, man. I''m not


    talking about you, just those three Jewell brothers. They''re useless, and not much to look at, either. One''s even trying to be a TV star or something, bute on, noone even knows his name."


    Ulysses had to bite his tongue, seething inside.


    A few minutester, Horatio and the others showed up.


    Lisette hurried over, her eyes bright with curiosity. "Ulysses, did you find out what


    all the fuss was about?"


    Ulysses just shook his head, feeling


    more sour by the second. Calliope


    didn''t even want to spend the


    holidays with them. Instead, she was off with these so-called brothers, acting like they were her real family.


    The crowd started to thin out, people drifting away with their shopping carts.


    Valerian came up next, patting Ulysses on the shoulder. "So, what was all that about? Who was everyone gawking at?"


    Ulysses didn''t answer. He just walked away, his mood darkening. He wanted to see for himself. Was Calliope really that happy with those other brothers? Did they really treat her so much better?


    A few minutester, he finally


    in


    spotted her There she was, walking between her brothers, all of them fussing over her, picking out her favorite snacks and treats. Even Ss was there, smiling and bolding a bag of chocte chip cookies.


    Ulysses stopped in his tracks, unable to look away.