"...what the heck are you doing there?"
Gasping, Calix was stunned to see Evelyn sitting cross-legged on the floor near Calliope’s bedroom. He had just co out of Leslie’s chamber.
She was already asleep, long before the movie finished. Their argunt about fried chicken ended with her throwing a pillow at him.
Leaning her back against the wall, Evelyn returned Calix’s stare. One could easily tell her mood was bad.
Well, saying it was bad was an understatent.
"Are you itching to kill soone?" Calix arched his brows, amused to see Evelyn’s darkened countenance. He slowly closed the door behind him, "Leave it to the police ah."
Evelyn pushed her long hair to the front, draping the luscious locks over her right shoulder. Rising to her feet, she said sothing totally unrelated to what Calix was talking about.
"I thought you wouldn’t co out anymore tonight, Second Brother," Evelyn grinned. Her eyes darted from Calix to the door behind him, "Poor you. You can’t hug your wife to sleep tonight?"
"Shut up, brat."
Purposely glaring at Evelyn, Calix walked toward her. Instead of approaching his younger sister, he ended up sneaking into Calliope’s bedroom. The pink and orange fairy lights cast their glow on him.
Calliope was still deep asleep. As expected, her posture had changed completely.
"Is she pretending to be a starfish?" murmured Evelyn who followed Calix into the room. She was amused to see her niece’s silly sleeping posture. "Just like Mia."
"Maybe," Calix shrugged in helplessness.
Lying on her back, Calliope spread her arms and legs like a starfish. The blanket was no longer covering her small body. The toy Mimo and the giant strawberry were kicked to the other side of the bed.
As usual, Calix carefully adjusted Calliope’s sleeping posture before tucking her in. He made sure the crochet fox toy and the giant strawberry kept her in place in the middle of the bed.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Evelyn said, "Second Brother, I’ll do sothing tomorrow."
"Speak outside," Calix hissed, "Don’t disturb my daughter’s sleep."
Rolling her eyes, Evelyn hurriedly left the bedroom. She waited for a few minutes before Calix finally appeared.
"Will you deal with him tomorrow?" asked Calix as soon as he closed the door, "Your sister-in-law ntioned the glitter bomb. You’ll do worse than that, don’t you?"
Snickering, Evelyn put both hands on her hips. Mischief and disgust flickered in her eyes, "Absolutely. Second Brother, back up if my plan didn’t work."
"Urgh... Even if you don’t tell , I have to. If not, Dad and First Brother will know," Calix made a face, thinking how unfair he was stuck in this ss.
"Hah! You better rember that."
Evelyn ntioned how Chase was scheduled to be out of the city for the entire day tomorrow. He wouldn’t be back until the next day. She would sneak into his apartnt to proceed with her prank.
There was nothing Evelyn should be afraid of. Her people would be stationed around to make sure no one else ca, for example, the staff under Chase’s agency.
Then...
Evelyn’s sharpened gaze softened. Uneasiness glinted in her eyes, "I’ll go looking for the victim next."
Calix understood who Evelyn was referring to without the need to directly verbalize the na.
"Edward has found her whereabouts. I’ll leave the rest to you."
"Yeah."
Instead of sending people to et Bella, Evelyn intended to go there herself. She was unsure whether the teenager would cooperate with her or not but, she wouldn’t give up easily.
Calix and Evelyn parted ways. He was heading to his bedroom while she went upstairs.
Night continued to envelop the city, spreading its tranquility far wide. With the clock ticking and ti turning, dawn eventually greeted the brand new day.
Evelyn left right after breakfast. She wanted to et Manager Yin before executing her plan.
As for Calix and Leslie, they spent the morning playing with Calliope in the backyard. They had already told the little one about a guest coming later. Uncle Raymond was on his way to pick Irene up.
"Wow~ Who? Mama and Papa’s friend?"
An excited little dumpling wanted to know who the guest was. Calliope stared expectantly at Calix and Leslie while holding a pink ball.
"Mama’s younger sister will co... to et Poppy..." answered Leslie truthfully. Lightly pinching Calliope’s chubby right cheek, she said, "Poppy hasn’t t her, en?"
"Oh~ A new auntie!"
"Hehe, that’s right..."
"Then, then, auntie will join our picnic?"
Leslie blinked. Calliope’s words made her recall their plan to have a picnic by the lake this afternoon.
"Well, if your auntie is free, she can... join us..."
"Yay!"
Calliope flashed her brightest grin before continuing to play with the ball. Calix installed a child goalpost nearby, a new addition that easily won the little one’s heart.
Leslie pursed her lips, not knowing what to say. She imagined Irene being heartbroken over her decision but, the teenager wouldn’t resent her for it.
Indeed, it would be a tough subject to broach.
"We should head inside," said Calix soti later. He stared at his phone before looking at Leslie, "Uncle Raymond is on his way ho."
"Oh... let’s," Leslie swiftly agreed.
The family of three headed back into the manor. The morning sun sprinkled on their backs, sending warmth to their way.
Leslie and Calix planned to let Irene et Calliope before he took the little child away. Leslie wanted to talk to Irene in private next, about Calliope, her pregnancy and birth as well as her plan to cut the Li family off.
Calix actually hoped to accompany Leslie when she had the heavy talk with Irene but, he silently respected her decision. She would call him if she ever needed his presence later.
Uncle Raymond and Irene arrived around nine-thirty. Calix was the only one who welcod the high school girl at the front door.
Irene thanked Uncle Raymond before alighting the car. Darting her eyes left and right, she approached Calix.
"Big Brother, where’s my sister?" asked Irene cautiously. She grasped the long strap of her sling bag, "Is she sleeping?"
"She’s in the lounge," Calix gestured to the inside with a tilt of his chin. He smiled, noticing the hint of nervousness from Irene’s behavior, "Let’s go in. We wanna introduce soone to you."
"...en? Soone?"
Irene quietly tailed behind Calix. She hadn’t co here in more than a month despite being in frequent contact with Leslie.
As Calix walked ahead of Irene, he entered the lounge first. Stopping in his tracks, he glanced at her. He saw the look of confusion in the teenager’s eyes as she stared at the people sitting on the couch.
Her elder sister and... a little girl?
"Long ti no see, Irene..." Leslie softened her smile. She patted Calliope’s back as the little one huddled closer to her, "et your niece, Calliope Xu..."
"...my niece?"
Surprised, Irene looked from Leslie, Calliope to Calix alternatively. Her eyebrows almost t in the middle.
"Calliope is our biological daughter," responded Calix casually as if there was nothing to be confused about, "Which ans she’s your niece."
"W-what?" Irene gasped. Incredulity replaced her initial confusion, "When did you two have a child?"
Did they play a prank on her?
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