While the father confronted his dilemma, the daughter was also in the face of difficulties.
"All so pretty ah! How can Poppy choose? Everything’s so pretty! Mama, please help Poppy."
Putting both hands on her cheeks, Calliope shook her head dramatically. She begrudgingly stared at the catalogs, dizzy from all the beautiful photos she had seen.
Leslie also shook her head but, out of helplessness instead of frustration. She was amused by Calliope’s reaction after going through the catalogs.
"Take your ti ah... Don’t be stressed, Poppy..."
Leslie patted Calliope’s head, running her right finger through her daughter’s long hair before gently pinching her left cheek. The little munchkin pouted, her eyes expressing her sadness.
"All so pretty... Poppy wants a pretty room too..."
Calliope was in awe by all the photos of the children’s rooms. Everything caught her attention, making it hard to envision what kind of room she wanted for herself.
Entertained by Calliope’s antics, Leslie suggested while chuckling, "Do you want... to draw on papers? We can... start from there..."
In their previous world, Calliope loved drawing using colored pencils or crayons. Her childish doodles could be vague sotis but, Leslie didn’t stop her daughter from having fun with her imagination.
"Poppy can?" asked Calliope. The idea had never crossed her mind. Her sad eyes brightened.
"Yes, hehe... Mama will ask Mrs. Bai... to get so colored pencils and papers..."
Reaching out for a communication device used between her and the assigned private nurse of the ti, Leslie contacted Mrs. Bai. She asked the caretaker to get so drawing papers and colored pencils.
The art supplies could be found in the second-story lounge where Leslie often played puzzles with Calix[01]. The man kept so in stock for his niece Alia whenever she ca for a visit.
Mrs. Bai entered Leslie’s bedroom with a stack of drawing papers and two boxes of colored pencils. The private caretaker swiftly left after placing the items on the coffee table.
"Wanna start drawing, Poppy?" Leslie picked one of the papers, eyeing Calliope with a smile, "You can... show them to your papa once he returns..."
"Okay! Mama, help Poppy, can?"
"Hehe, Mama will..."
Calliope climbed down the couch as she opted to sit on the carpet. Leslie moved so pillows, telling the little one to sit on them because of her small height.
The happy Calliope showed no signs of sleepiness as she had fun drawing. She often looked up from the papers, exchanging words and laughter with Leslie.
"Mama, walls with flowers ah. Will be so pretty right?"
"Poppy wants pink and purple. Hehe, but a white bed ah."
"Can Poppy get a study table too?"
Calliope continued drawing as she tried to envision her dream bedroom. Strokes in purple, pink, yellow and others left marks on the white paper.
As the mother and daughter were imrsed in their own fun, the father slowly approached the bedroom from the outside. The two knocks from him caught their attention.
"Papa~ Wow! Sa color ah!"
Calliope happily pointed Calix’s pajamas out as soon as he entered the room. Her words spilled so chuckles from his lips.
"Don’t you want us to be matchy-matchy?" Calix tugged at his collar. He approached the couch where Leslie and Calliope sat, "What are you doing? Drawing?"
Leslie quietly took in Calix’s appearance as he walked. She couldn’t help but sense sothing was different about him yet, nothing really ca to her mind.
The man was already used to wearing pastel-colored outfits so, it had nothing to do with his light yellow pajamas.
His hairstyle also looked the sa as usual.
What was it?
What was the thing that seed different about him?
Leslie didn’t let her thoughts bother her. She waved at Calix, gesturing at the drawing papers scattering on the coffee table.
"Poppy tries to draw... what kind of room she likes..."
"Oh? Poppy, show to Papa."
Quickening his steps, Calix hurriedly closed the distance between him and the coffee table. He sat crossed-leg on the carpet right next to Calliope.
Leslie was still on the couch, fondly watching the father and daughter from behind.
"Papa, look!"
A delighted Calliope passed the papers to Calix, eager to know what her father would think about her drawings. She had fun running the tips of the colored pencils on the white sheets of paper.
"Wow! Poppy, so good! You can rival Picasso ah!"
"Hehehe~ Look at the flowers! The bed too!"
Leslie was amused by the father and daughter’s interaction. Calix didn’t hold himself back as he kept showering Calliope with praises, making the little one laugh out loud. The look of pure happiness glead on her little face.
’This is good. Really good.’
As Leslie witnessed the happy scene between Calix and Calliope, she couldn’t help herself from recalling her previous wishes. All this ti, those were unattainable.
’Poppy gets to experience even sothing as small as this... finally.’
Pursing her lips, Leslie wandered her gaze elsewhere.
If Axel was still alive, Leslie knew the man would definitely pour Calliope with all his love and care. He was always good with children, alongside his dream to be a father soday due to being an orphan himself.
Unfortunately, his early demise abruptly cut his dream off. He didn’t even get to hear about her bearing their child.
A piercing ache stabbed Leslie’s heart, followed by an abrupt gush of sorrow overflowing from it.
’Wherever you are right now, I hope you’re happy.’
Blinking, Leslie tilted up her chin, placing her eyes on the back of Calix’s head. The man was still entertaining Calliope with her drawing. He even drew sothing on the paper at the little girl’s request.
’Our daughter and I will continue our lives here. We’ll make new mories and... she won’t ever know about you, her father.’
’I’m sorry, Axel.’
’And... thank you for everything.’
Staring at Calix from behind, Leslie unconsciously fiddled with the skirt of her nightgown.
This man was the father of her daughter’s now.
No matter how terrible Leslie felt about it, she couldn’t afford to tell Calliope about Axel. Doing so would just confuse her daughter.
Leslie also wouldn’t ever ask Mimo to restore Calliope’s previous life’s mories for the sa reason.
This was their current life, not the one where they had died. They stopped living there the mont they breathed their last.
Axel... the first man she had ever loved.
Before, she was reluctant to move on despite already losing him for years.
Now, her sight was only on her future days.
The brand new life that she would build alongside their daughter.
"Poppy, wanna go shopping tomorrow?"
"Shopping where?"
"Go look for your room’s furniture and items ah."
Calix’s question to Calliope brought Leslie out of her reverie. Returning her focus to the father and daughter, she heard them talking about going to a ho center.
Turning to his back, Calix looked at Leslie sitting on the couch, his face beaming, "What do you think, Leslie? Poppy can look around and decide about it later."
"Oh? We haven’t shown Poppy... the entire house yet..." Leslie raised her brows, thinking about Calix’s plan, "I don’t have anything against it tho..."
Calix and Leslie hadn’t brought Calliope to visit every corner of the manor because of how big it was. They intended to do it tomorrow morning but, his sudden suggestion might change their initial plan.
Well, it was not a big deal anyway. The house wouldn’t go anywhere even if they chose to go shopping.
"What do you think, Poppy?" Calix shifted his attention from Leslie to Calliope, wondering what the little one had in mind, "Shopping or looking around the house?"
Graceville Manor was enormous. A small kid like Calliope usually needed ti to familiarize herself with every nook and cranny of the mansion.
Calix intended to give Calliope a watch or a necklace with a tracking system. His niece Alia also wore the sa thing under Vernon’s insistence once she started walking.
Vernon and Lucille benefitted from the tracker a few tis when Alia got lost in the huge Xu family’s ancestral ho. Even though they had excellent surveillance systems and bodyguards around the manor, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Tilting her head, Calliope’s mind began turning its gears. Her papa’s suggestions both sounded good ah, but...
"Mama, can go shopping? Mama is sick."
The idea of going shopping with her parents made Calliope excited yet, she was also concerned about her mama’s current condition.
Both Leslie and Calix were amused by Calliope’s question. They didn’t expect her to take the lady’s health into consideration.
Hehe, what a good child she was.
Understanding Calliope’s interest lay in shopping for her room makeover, Leslie smilingly answered, "Staying at ho is boring... Why don’t we go and see... the ho center? You should bring... Mimo along too, Poppy..."
Leslie’s words cast another layer of joy on Calliope’s countenance.
"Yayy! Mama, Papa, let’s go shopping!"
She could go out with her mama and papa!
So happy!
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