Win My Husband Over to Find My Child
Chapter 179: Brother-in-law, Are You Telling the Truth?

Chapter 179: Brother-in-law, Are You Telling the Truth?

Walking out of the bedroom, Calix brought Irene to tour inside the three-story mansion. He started from the second floor, showing her to the common areas.

"Your sister’s eyes are still sensitive. She rarely goes out during the daytime," Calix started bringing up the matters related to Leslie, "If not for her hospital visits, she’ll only go out at night."

"Wow~ I wonder how many strings you’ve pulled to keep my sister’s condition a secret," Irene exhaled a sigh out of wonder, amazed by her brother-in-law’s discreet planning, "If I never requested to visit her, I wouldn’t know until later, en?"

"Are you mad at us, Irene?" Calix grinned, raising his brows a few times. "Next week will mark one month of your sister waking up from her coma."

Calix’s question was met with a sunken look from Irene. Thinning her lips in displeasure, she uttered, "Instead of being mad at you two, I’m more ashamed of myself. Even if I knew about it earlier, I couldn’t do much for Big Sister."

Irene lamented how powerless she felt. If she was stronger, perhaps her elder sister would be able to rely on her more.

Even though Sarah was the culprit behind the previous incident, Irene was aware the matter was indirectly caused by the mistreatments coming from her parents and grandmother.

Most of the helpers in the ancestral home thought less about her elder sister because the latter didn’t have much support from the powerful ones.

"I’m so weak..." mumbled Irene, her eyes falling to the marble floor, "I hate that I can’t be much help to Big Sister. Even after she finally woke up."

Calix pursed his lips, acknowledging the defeated look on Irene’s youthful face. It was different from the time she stepped forward to ask for his help in uncovering the truth behind Leslie’s incident.

Tilting his head, he wanted to object to the statement, "Why do you think you’re weak?"

"...pardon?"

Irene looked up from the floor, staring blankly at Calix. Her mind repeated what her brother-in-law had just said to her.

The older man shrugged with a smirk tugging on his lips. More words slipped out of his mouth.

"Irene, have you forgotten how you approached me to tackle your sister’s issue? Sure, I went looking for you first. But, the matter wouldn’t be resolved smoothly if not for your help."

Calix had other ways to investigate Leslie’s incident but, he was glad to solve it with Irene’s involvement. If not, he needed to use more extreme methods, something he tried to avoid.

"Don’t say you can’t be much help to your sister," Calix continued talking under Irene’s speechlessness, "She simply didn’t want to worry you. If you were in her shoes, would you immediately tell her?"

Irene parted her lips, hesitating as she answered Calix, "No... I think I’ll keep quiet about it first. At least... until I feel better. Also, our family’s situation plays a role in it too."

Her elder sister was always in a shaky position. The incident might leave trauma to her, prompting her to delay sharing the good news with their family.

"That’s right," Calix snickered, pondering how similarly the two siblings acted, "Stop thinking like that. You’ll just make your sister sad if she knows about it."

"...yes."

Calix chuckled at the sight of Irene’s dejected countenance. But, he sensed she actually felt better than earlier.

"Let’s get going. I’ll show you your sister’s favorite places," Calix gestured to the end of the hallway with a tilt of his chin.

"Okay."

While following Calix, another thought struck Irene’s mind. Turning her head, she stared at her brother-in-law’s side profile. The momentary scene that happened earlier in the lounge left her confused.

"Brother-in-law, did you just call my sister with another name just now? Leslie?"

"Uhuh, what about it?" admitting to Irene’s inquiry, Calix glanced at her, "Your sister told me to call her Leslie. She said it’s like a nickname to her."

"Did she really say that?" Irene’s confusion grew, "We’ve never heard of this name."

Where did Leslie as a nickname come from? It didn’t even sound similar to Charlene. She doubted they shared the same meaning.

Calix blinked, recalling the first time he dined together with Leslie[1].

Haha... he couldn’t possibly tell Irene that the conversation happened when her sister was in the soul state.

"Dad told me about you and Big Sister. You said you fell in love with her years ago but, you only looked at her from afar[2]. If you hadn’t befriended my sister at that time, when did you start using the nickname?"

Calix clammed his mouth shut. Irene’s words pricked into his conscience.

"Your sister told me after she woke up. She didn’t say whether it’s a nickname used by your family or not," Calix answered in half-truth, "Who knows? Maybe it’s a nickname she wanna use with her husband?"

"...maybe."

Irene couldn’t believe Calix’s reasoning at all. She planned to ask her elder sister later.

Calix exhaled a sigh, hoping that Irene wouldn’t be so fixated on that part. He also wasn’t sure why Leslie wanted to be addressed by that name instead of Charlene. But, he didn’t have a plan to change it.

So, what?

Let other people call her Charlene ah. He might be the only one who addressed her as Leslie. The thought of it carved a smile on his face.

"Hurry up ah. Stop thinking about unnecessary stuff."

Irene made a face, "Yeah, yeah. You’re quite a nagger ah, Brother-in-law."

Scoffing, Calix ignored Irene’s remark. He continued walking until they reached the staircase leading to the third floor. The glass door that separated the inner side of the third floor welcomed their arrival.

"This is your sister’s favorite place in this house, the rooftop pool," said Calix while briefly looking at Irene. He led her to the open area of the third floor, "Aside from the lakeside in the backyard, that is."

Spreading one arm, Calix pointed to the lake in the backyard. The newly constructed wooden deck and pavilion were perfectly visible from the rooftop.

In the fleeting moment, Calix imagined bringing Leslie there after dinner tonight. He didn’t realize how mellow his countenance was.

But, Irene’s remark snapped Calix out of her trance.

"What...? My sister... loves going to the pool and the lake?"

"Is there something wrong with it?" Calix slightly frowned, perceiving the unnatural look on Irene’s face, paired with her doubtful tone, "Why? Don’t your sister like going to such places? I mean, the pool, lake and even river?"

Irene’s brows almost merged together. She stared at Calix as if her brother-in-law had just told her that frogs could fly.

"Big Sister hates going near any big body of water. She almost drowned because of Sister Gladys before. Brother-in-law, are you speaking the truth?"

Irene’s statement robbed Calix of his words. Now it was his turn to look at the young teenager as if her head grew horns.

"Your sister... she hates going to... body of water? Are you serious?"

"Yes," Irene nodded. She kept her voice firm as if wanting Calix to believe her, "Well, she loves nature but, going near a lake or river is out of the question. She even stays away from the beach shoreline."

Calix blinked. He unconsciously gripped his hands into fists.

"Swimming... then, she can’t swim either?"

Irene answered with a shake of her head, "Sister Gladys played a trick when Big Sister was in a swimming class. Since then, she forfeited learning to swim."

"..."

Froze on the spot, Calix felt as if blood was drained from his body.

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Reference:

1 - 10

2 - 7