Calix decided to talk about Leslie to Old Madam Xu soti this weekend. The family al fell on next week’s Saturday. As usual, he refused to throw a party.
Calix and Leslie discussed the subject further before the forr left for work. They planned to invite Rowan, Bianca and Irene as well. Leaving them out was not a good option because they had promised Irene to co clean to her parents.
Calix told Leslie that he would contact Rowan soon. He wanted to break the news about Leslie himself instead of relying on Irene.
Soon, CEO Xu began a busy Friday.
Calix’s schedule was packed from the ti he appeared at the company until the late afternoon. He barely had room to breathe, let alone have a al.
Knock! Knock!
"Boss Xu, are you free now?"
Edward entered the CEO’s office soti before five, holding a sealed white envelope. The urgency in his tone piqued Calix’s interest.
"What is it? Anything else I need to authorize today?"
Looking away from the PC monitor, Calix paid attention to his chief assistant. The last ti he saw Edward was two hours ago when the younger man brought a plate of sandwiches for him.
Wait... did he forget sothing?
While Calix was caught in a trace, Edward paused one step away from the huge work desk. His sullen countenance expressed the seriousness of the matter he brought along.
"About the results. You told to keep it until you return," said Edward somberly.
Arching his brows, Calix studied Edward’s face a mont longer before shifting his eyes to the envelope held by the younger man.
Yes. He did forget sothing, an important matter.
"Is that a report from CS Geno Institute?"
Speaking quietly, Calix’s voice vibrated with a hint of anxiousness. He unconsciously clenched his hands hard, feeling the nails dug into his palms.
Edward’s silent nod imdiately answered Calix’s question.
"...give it to ."
Holding the envelope with both of his hands, Edward passed it to Calix. He stepped back, bowing to his boss before swiftly stepping out of the office. He knew when to leave Calix alone.
It seed like no one should disturb their boss right now. Edward made a ntal note to notify the secretarial departnt about it.
"This is it..." mumbled Calix, blinking slowly as he stared at the logo of the geno institute. In the quietness of the office, he could hear how his heart suddenly beat faster.
Should he open it now?
Or, wait until later?
Pursing his lips, Calix’s brows creased as a myriad of emotions overwheld his heart. His curiosity battled with his dread and anxiousness, raising his sense of doubt.
Calix had always been a cool and level-headed person but, this particular mont he was facing now sprouted fear from the depth of his heart, spreading it all over his insides.
Closing his eyes, an image of Leslie was conjured in Calix’s mind. Whenever he recalled her, he always rembered her smiling at him.
But...
The image was cracked by another thought of his.
’Will these results... ruin our relationship?’
Despite not showing much on his face, Calix had never felt as terrified as right now. Shivers ghosted down his spine as his confidence plumted.
No matter what the results were, he ended up going behind her back. He knew himself, he was not capable of hiding this matter from her.
He would rather face her hatred instead of continuously deceiving her.
While Calix lanted how useless he felt, a fleeting image of Calliope slipped through his jumbled thoughts. As if the little one was standing beside him, her childlike laughter echoing in his mind.
Leslie and Calliope.
Who were they?
Was their relationship just like how he had assud?
"Let’s... get this over with."
Exhaling a sigh, Calix rejected the idea to delay unsealing the envelope. It didn’t sit well with him. Reaching out for the letter opener, he braced himself to face the results.
Calix pressed his lips into a thin line. He carefully tore the edge of the envelope before taking out the papers from the inside. His heartbeat kept drumming against his chest, sending a buzzing noise to his ears.
Shaking his head, Calix focused on reading the papers. Cowering away from the truth was not his style.
The papers presented a table of figures, followed by a scientific explanation. His eyes imdiately jumped to the test result conclusion at the bottom.
Calix’s breathing was too quiet, drowned by the white noise. His sharpened gaze abruptly widened once he reached the most important part.
"T-this is... where’s the other result?"
Anxiously pushing the first paper to the back, Calix carefully read the second one. He unconsciously held his breath.
"...sa. The results... are similar."
Bewildered, Calix held both papers in one hand each. His quivering fingertips almost crumpled the edges. Ignoring the data and numbers, once again he read the conclusions.
[The probability of kinship is 99.99%. Test No. 7543-20 and Test No. 7543-21 are parent and child.]
[The probability of kinship is 99.99%. Test No. 7543-20 and Test No. 7543-22 are parent and child.]
Test No. 7543-20 was Calliope while Test No. 7543-21 and 7543-22 were him and Leslie respectively.
"She... she’s our daughter. Calliope is..."
Despite already assuming the possibility, Calix was still unable to handle the shock. Putting the papers down on the table, he closed his eyes, trying to regain control over his turbulent emotions.
No wonder Leslie desperately wanted to look for Calliope. She was the mother of that lovely child.
"Perhaps... this is what she ant."
Calix rewound his mory, playing the particular night Leslie brought up the subject of finding Calliope.
"My relationship with that girl... I’m sorry that I can’t tell you yet. But, please help to find her. This is my only request."[1]
Calix understood Leslie’s reluctance to reveal the truth. They were strangers who were tied in a marriage due to his scheming. Most probably, she was afraid of him getting angry at her.
"How should I tell her?"
Calix let out a ragged breath. Leaning forward, he propped his elbows on both thighs before covering his face with his hands. Another deep sigh escaped his lips, carrying his guilt along.
Calliope lived her entire life in the orphanage with little to no information about herself. All this ti, people thought she was simply thrown away by her parents.
Leslie was forced to hide sowhere far away by the Li family six years ago. Despite not knowing the real reason yet, the DNA results gave him the answer.
"That damn Li family!"
Hunching further, Calix roughly ran his hands across the back of his head. Faint shadows obscured his reddened eyes, glazing with unshed tears.
"Curse ! I did that to her! It’s my fault!"
Calix was certain that Leslie got pregnant from their passionate night six years ago. When he lay in a coma from the car accident, she was sent away to another place by the Li family.
Yes. That was the most highly likely scenario.
"How should I... tell her... that man was ?"
Biting his lower lip hard, a faint coppery taste spread in Calix’s mouth. The dams of his eyes finally broke.
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Reference:
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