Win My Husband Over to Find My Child
Chapter 156: Another Possibility Lurked In His Mind

Chapter 156: Another Possibility Lurked In His Mind

A little girl in a pink nightdress sat by the windows, staring out to the night sky. She held a worn-out crochet fox toy in her arms. Her height barely reached the lower part of the window panels.

The stars and the garden lights outside were reflected in her eyes, reminding the little one of twinkling pixies in fairytale books she had read before.

"Poppy, you’re not going to bed yet?"

The little girl—Calliope—blinked, moving her round eyes from the windows. She happily grinned at the middle-aged woman greeting her, revealing two rows of teeth.

"Not yet~ The sky is so pretty tonight, Granny. Come and look!"

The woman—Director Margaret Li—smiled in helplessness. Heading to the little girl, she crouched by Calliope’s side, her eyes imbued with gentleness.

"How about we see it from your bedroom? Daisy and Ruby have gone there."

Calliope’s eyes lit up at the mention of her friends’ names. Chuckling, her melodious laughter tickled Director Li’s heart.

"Hehehe~ Okay, Granny. Can we hold hands?"

Director Li’s smile softened. She reached out for Calliope’s right hand, easily enveloping the latter’s tiny one in hers, "Let’s go. We’ll have a delicious breakfast tomorrow morning. Don’t you like eating, Poppy?"

"Do we have strawberries?" asked Calliope, her round eyes widening in anticipation, "Strawberry pancakes?"

"Oh, we don’t have any," Director Li smiled in regret, actually unwilling to disappoint the child, "But, we have strawberry jam. Is that okay?"

Fresh strawberries were generally expensive. Even though Director Li wanted to treat the children with the ruby-red fruits, she could only do it sparingly. She had to be careful in using the orphanage funds.

"Strawberry jam is yummy too~ Granny, Poppy can’t wait ah."

Calliope’s cheerful reply earned laughter from Director Li, "Hehe, you just need to sleep for one night, okay? The pancakes will be ready for you tomorrow."

"Okay~ Poppy will sleep well!"

With one hand hugging the fox toy, the little girl walked hand-in-hand with the middle-aged woman. Her laughter echoed in the hallway as she followed the orphanage’s director to her shared bedroom.

Never did the little one know someone was dearly missing her right now.

Nor did she know her true origin.

**********

Back to Graceville Manor in Mapleview Hills, Silvercrest City.

Even though Leslie didn’t cry as badly as Calix imagined, she still exhausted herself from the overwhelming emotions that took over her heart. She drifted to sleep in his embrace, leading him to carry her to bed.

’Now that you’ve known where the girl is, I hope you’ll feel more at ease.’

Not wanting to disturb Leslie’s sleep, Calix didn’t verbalize his thoughts out loud. He pulled the blanket, covering her from the base of her neck down to her legs.

Calix headed to the ensuite washroom. He grabbed a clean face towel from the cabinet above the sink countertop, let the running water drench it and twisted it dry.

Using the damp face towel, Calix wiped Leslie’s teary-stricken face. After he was done, he remained sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at her.

’I can’t help it, Leslie. I wonder... what is it you’re hiding from me.’

Calix put the damp towel away. Hesitating, he reached for one of Leslie’s hands, bringing it out of the blanket.

"You’re too bony, Leslie," Calix whispered, shifting his eyes between Leslie’s face to her right hand, "You have to eat lots and exercise lots, en?"

With only one touch, Calix perceived how weak Leslie’s physical condition was. He wanted to see her carefreely running on the lawn and strolling in the backyard.

Just like she had always done when she was a soul.

Calix gently brushed his thumb on the back of Leslie’s hand. Holding back the desire to kiss her knuckles, he slowly lowered her hand before covering it again with the blanket.

"Sweet dreams, Leslie."

Calix made sure Leslie looked comfortable lying on the bed. Her soft and steady breathing echoed faintly. Before leaving the bedroom, he didn’t forget to take the file from the couch.

"My wife’s sleeping. Like usual, inform me if there’s anything. I’ll be in my room."

"Understand, Mr. Xu. Please rest assured."

Calix entrusted Leslie to Mrs. An. She was on the night shift instead of Mrs. Su. His long legs brought him down the hallway, heading to his bedroom.

The clock was pointing to nine-fifty. It was still early to call it the night. Instead of the bed, Calix sat on a rattan chair facing the balcony. His eyes drifted to the file.

The five-year-old Calliope Li from Harmony Haven Orphanage.

"Really... the third time’s the charm," whispered Calix, still unable to wrap his head around the discovery, "Thankfully, her wish came true."

Flipping several pages in, Calix stopped once he found the page where Calliope’s information was presented. The paper slightly crinkled due to Leslie’s tears.

"...has been living there since birth."

Calix pursed his lips, feeling a headache threatening. Sitting alone in the spacious bedroom, he quietly read everything—once again—about the little girl named Calliope.

"Who is she?" Calix narrowed his eyes, taking in the adorable and naive look of the five-year-old girl, "Who is she to you, Leslie?"

Calix was actually reluctant to pry into the information from Leslie. He sensed how careful she was every time she needed to bring up about this little girl. She also admitted that there was something else she still hid from him.

From the first moment that Leslie asked him about looking for Calliope, Calix had been wondering what her next step would be once they had successfully located the child.

Did she simply want to find the child?

Was the child related to someone important to her? Maybe, someone unknown by her estranged family?

Perhaps, she wanted to be involved with the child’s life.

If not as a sponsor, how about...

"...as an adopted child?"

Calix blinked. His gaze on Calliope’s photo froze once those words slipped out of his mouth. Shaking his head, he didn’t know why he suddenly thought of that idea. Yet, he was not repulsive over the notion.

"I won’t get the real answer... if she doesn’t tell me. But..."

Lifting one hand, Calix roughly rubbed his face. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. Another possibility lurked beneath the ones he had entertained before, but...

He was scared to think further about it.

"...what should I do?"

Closing his eyes, Calix was reminded of the faint memories that had been haunting his nights after he woke up from his long coma. He rarely thought about those until recently, when he decided to take her as his bride.

Calix bit his lower lip, his unfathomable gaze was revealed once he opened his eyes. His attention shifted from the photo to the little one’s birthdate.

September 16th.

"Boss Xu, the birthdates aren’t usually correct. If the children were left at the doorsteps without any proper documents, the orphanages usually assigned that day as their birthdates."

Edward’s words came to mind. He answered Calix’s question when the latter inquired about it.

Exhaling a sigh, Calix closed the file. Shivers ghosted down his spine as his intrusive thoughts cracked his inner peace.

"This can’t do... I need to check it further."

If possible, Calix didn’t want to do anything behind Leslie’s back. He couldn’t imagine how betrayed she would feel if she discovered his shady movement.

Without a doubt, his shameful action would hurt her feelings.

"...I need to know."

But, he also had to find the answer.

No matter what was the outcome, he had to know.

Rising to his feet, Calix made up his mind as he strode to the bed. He would get Edward to check on the situation first before heading to the orphanage himself.

To meet the little one named Calliope face-to-face.