Calix had just left Harmony Haven Orphanage when he received Irene’s text. Its content slightly shocked him.
[Irene: Can I visit my sister this weekend?]
[Irene: I haven’t seen her since you two got married]
Calix hadn’t been in contact with Irene much after he returned from Ro. He wondered what made the teenager co up with such a request.
Was Irene deeply missing her elder sister? It was a highly likely guess.
Staring at Leslie, Calix could tell she also was startled by the sudden request coming from Irene. This would be the first ti the high school girl visited Graceville Manor if Leslie agreed.
Calix got married to Leslie in late March. Now, it was the beginning of May.
"We haven’t told both our families about your recovery," Calix pointed out, wondering what Leslie’s decision be, "If you’re not ready to et any of them yet, I can make up excuses."
Calix rembered how fondly Leslie talked about Irene before. The relationship between the sisters was good, much to his delight.
Leslie couldn’t rely on Rowan and Bianca thus, having a younger sister who genuinely cared about her was a good thing.
But, Calix didn’t want to pressure Leslie into eting Irene. She was still in her recovery state. Everything lay in her answer.
’Does Irene want to co here? To visit ? I an... her sister.’
Unable to co up with anything, Leslie replied nothing to Calix.
Irene’s request didn’t co out of nowhere. It was normal for a sibling to go visit her sister or brother, especially if they hadn’t t in a long ti.
If Leslie agreed, this would be her first ti eting Irene as Charlene. Just the thought of it made her hesitant. She couldn’t foresee how would she act in front of Irene.
But...
Pursing her lips, Leslie pondered more about the matter until an answer lit up her reluctance. She kept her eyes steadily on Calix as words flowed out of her mouth.
"Tell Irene... to co here..."
Agreeing was the better choice.
"Are you sure?" Calix’s voice was tinged with doubt, thinking that he heard Leslie wrong, "If Irene cos here, she’ll learn of your recovery. Do you want your parents to know? Or, do you want her to keep it secret?"
Leslie regained consciousness around three weeks ago yet, only a few people were aware of it. Calix wondered if she was ready to reveal her condition to the others.
"If it’s Irene... I believe she can... keep it quiet..." Leslie responded without hesitating. Fiddling with the throw blanket covering her legs, she said, "I also think... we can start telling... everyone about ..."
Leslie couldn’t predict how the Xu and Li families would react once they learned about her recovery. But, she still wanted to go through with it.
Perhaps, Irene’s request was the signal for her to slowly embrace her new life as Charlene.
Sensing how determined Leslie was, Calix said no words of rejection, "Then, let’s do that. We’ll begin with eting Irene before planning the rest."
Leslie nodded, agreeing with Calix. She wanted to see Irene first instead of having a eting with everyone.
"We can think... about it later..." Leslie stared at Calix’s slightly unkempt appearance. His eyes were still droopy, "Shouldn’t you go... upstairs now? Go and... rest..."
It was obvious how exhausted Calix was from his one-day business trip. Yet, he still wanted to talk about Irene with her, sothing he could have done tomorrow after a good night of rest.
Despite feeling grateful for Calix’s attention, Leslie was unwilling to take up too much of his ti. He was already busy enough as it was.
Tilting his head, Calix grinned at Leslie, revealing rows of pearly white teeth. With his bangs obscuring his forehead and relaxed posture sitting on the couch, he exuded a more youthful and easygoing vibe than usual.
"I can go a bit later to the office tomorrow," recalling his schedule, Calix’s mind conjured an idea, "How about we wake up before dawn? We can see the sunrise in the backyard."
Leslie still hadn’t gone outside much during the day except for her checkups at the hospital. Calix randomly got the idea as he thought how else could she spend her day.
Watching sunrise sounded like a good plan, suitable for Leslie. They could have early breakfast in the backyard too.
Leslie’s lips parted slightly. Staring blankly at the smiling Calix, she was startled by his sudden suggestion.
Welcoming sunrise at the crack of dawn?
"That... won’t it bother with... your rest?"
Leslie initially wanted to refuse altogether yet, the offer sounded tempting enough. The last ti she stayed to watch the sunrise in the backyard was during her ti as a soul.
"I’ll head to bed soon," Calix glanced at his wristwatch, "It’ll be nine in half an hour. If I sleep around that ti, I’ll still get a decent sleep."
The sparkles in Leslie’s eyes answered Calix, earning laughter from him. Thankfully he didn’t need to coax her further. He understood that she was concerned about bothering his rest ti.
"Wanna go upstairs now?" Calix gestured with a tilt of his chin.
"Yes..." Leslie’s smile softened. Her gaze reflected her delight, "I will sleep... early too..."
Arching his brows, Calix deepened his smile. He quickly stood up before walking to the back of Leslie’s wheelchair.
Without speaking much, Calix pushed Leslie to the elevator. He notified Mrs. An that he would bring his wife upstairs.
Mrs. An was still having dinner while chatting with Aunt Wendy. The longer Mrs. An and Mrs. Su worked as Leslie’s private nurses, the closer they got to the housekeeper.
"I’ll wake you up at five," said Calix while carrying Leslie to the bed, holding her fra tightly, "I think sunrise is around five-thirty now."
"That’s fine... with ..."
Leslie swiftly agreed, thinking the ti was not too early or too late to witness the sunrise.
Soon, Calix bid Leslie good night. As soon as he stepped out of the room, his cheery expression sank. His lips thinned out in unpleasantness.
’Which answer do I want? Or, need?’
As Calix walked down the hallway, his mind was inadvertently reminded of his private conversation with Director Li a few hours ago.
When all the children were enjoying their morning nap ti, Calix and Director Li talked in the latter’s office. No one was allowed to disturb them.
Calix explained the real reason he personally went to the orphanage. His words robbed Director Li of her words. He still rembered the surprised look on the middle-aged woman’s face.
"My man can move in the background but, I want to be open with you, Director Li. The child nad Calliope, can you tell everything you know about her origin?"
Despite being hesitant in the beginning, Director Li granted Calix’s wish. She told him everything she knew about the little one. The orphanage director also showed official records to Calix.
"I don’t want to waste my ti guessing. There’s sothing I have to do. If you accept it, you have to do it discreetly."
Under Director Li’s concerned gaze, Calix brought up an important request.
Sothing that might give him a concrete answer no matter what was it.
Sothing that might change his life altogether.
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