Win My Husband Over to Find My Child
Chapter 185: Those Three Steps Would Turn into a Run

Chapter 185: Those Three Steps Would Turn into a Run

"Mrs. Xu! You’re doing good! Three steps!"

Leslie chuckled hearing how enthusiastically Ms. Chen praised her while clapping hands. Her breathing was slightly ragged as she held back the strain from her legs up to her hands. Sweats dripped on her reddened face and her back.

"Let’s get you seated."

Ms. Chen extended her arms through Leslie’s armpits, securing her back before lowering her to the wheelchair. The latter inadvertently took in a couple of deep breaths.

"Haa... haa.... did I do... really well?"

Leslie watched Ms. Chen’s smile deepen as the latter nodded.

"Very. You managed to take three steps today, Mrs. Xu. Your movements aren’t steady yet but, you hold on until the third step. That’s great!"

Leslie blinked, her smile slowly spread on her sweaty face. Her hands were tired from holding the steel bars while her legs felt so strained but, the ache didn’t dispel her happiness in knowing her improvements.

After Calix left for his business trip this morning, Leslie began her rehab sessions. She started with Ms. Yao who assisted her in speech therapy. Then, she rested for a moment while waiting for Ms. Chen to come.

The physical and occupational therapist included walking in today’s session. Ms. Chen introduced it into the planning last week.

Leslie imagined patting herself on the back for accomplishing the goal for the day. During the first time, she could barely stand for a few minutes let alone taking three steps.

’I feel better holding the big railings than fiddling with small items. At least, I don’t need to move them.’

Sighing inwardly, Leslie planned to practice writing after lunch. She had done that a few times before. The end results were illegible scrawls instead of proper handwriting.

"Thank you for your time... as always, Ms. Chen," Leslie nodded politely once at Ms. Chen, conveying her gratitude, "I’ll practice what you and... Ms. Yao have been teaching me..."

Leslie had tried incorporating the therapists’ teachings into her daily life. She started small by folding the blanket, brushing her teeth, combing her hair and arranging light and small items.

But, eating and drinking were still hard for Leslie. Her hand trembled, always causing her to spill the contents of the spoon or tilt the glass.

"Mrs. Xu, you’ve shown us much progress. We’re truly happy for you," Ms. Chen chuckled, recalling what her colleague Ms. Yao had told her before, "You’ve started regaining your strength. You speak better too. Ms. Yao and I believe you’ll get better soon."

Ms. Chen wasn’t simply saying empty words. She was glad to see how much her patient had improved within one month. Perhaps, Leslie might recover before hitting the three-month mark estimated by Dr. Mo.

Leslie and Ms. Chen left the rehab center. The former simply controlled the knob to move the wheelchair. Mrs. An waited just outside the room.

The three ladies returned to the first floor. Leslie sent Ms. Chen only to the lounge.

"Thank you for today, Ms. Chen... I’ll see you again... in two days..."

"Yes. Please rest well and get some massage today, Mrs. Xu. See you later."

Leslie watched Ms. Chen heading out of the mansion. Withdrawing her eyes from the entryway, she spoke to Mrs. An, "I want to take a bath... please prepare the tub... for me..."

"I will, Mrs. Xu," Mrs. An quickly heeded Leslie’s request, "I’ll massage you after your bath."

"Hehe, thank you... as always..."

Leslie had started bathing and showering by herself, including going to the toilet. But, she still wore adult diapers, preparing for the unpredictable moment. She had gotten used to it despite still feeling a little embarrassed.

Uncle Raymond installed railings and several other stuff in Leslie’s en-suite washroom under Calix’s order. She only required some help occasionally.

"Should I go to the... backyard this evening?"

Leslie wished to see the new topiaries crafted by Uncle Raymond. If not at night, she would step out in the late afternoon to the evening. Her eyes’ light sensitivity improved little by little.

After refreshing herself with a bath, Leslie received a massage from Mrs. An. Her sore limbs from the exhausting rehab sessions felt so comfortable, luring her to doze off several times.

"Should I bring your lunch upstairs, Mrs. Xu?" Mrs. An inquired after she was done giving Leslie a massage.

"I’ll take a nap first..." replied Leslie drowsily, unable to keep her eyes open anymore, "Please wake me up in... an hour..."

Leslie didn’t feel too hungry yet. If not, she would rather have some food before napping. Everything cooked by Aunt Wendy was always delicious.

"Have a good nap, Mrs. Xu," chuckling, Mrs. An’s smile toward Leslie became softer, "I forgot to tell you. Mr. Xu called me when you’re bathing. He asked about you then he said he’ll call after dinner tonight."

"...he did?"

Leslie blinked, recalling her conversation with Calix last night. He inquired whether they could do video calls when he was away on his business trip.

"Mr. Xu is so caring for you, Mrs. Xu. Having such a husband is a blessing."

"Oh... haha... he is..."

Unable to come up with a better response, Leslie laughed awkwardly. Mrs. An made sure the room temperature suited her before leaving the bedroom.

’Mimo, are you here?’

Lying alone on the bed, Leslie telepathically called Mimo. The crochet fox toy materialized in the air before jumping to the mattress, clinging to her.

|Leslie~ I played with the butterflies! They didn’t run away from me~|

Leslie’s lips curved into a smile, finding how adorable Mimo’s chatter was. The fox toy had been venturing out of the mansion instead of staying in this room like before.

’Hehe, it’s good that you enjoy playing outside. You know what, I walked three steps today!’

|What? That’s awesome! Soon you’ll get to run!|

Laughter slipped out of Leslie’s mouth. Delighted, she nodded a few times.

’Yes. My therapist said I’ve improved so much these days. I need to work harder to fully recover. Then...’

|We can go looking for Poppy!|

’Hehe, yes. We can go to meet Poppy.’

Peeling her gaze away from Mimo, Leslie looked at the photo frame placed on the bedside table. Small photos of Calliope adorned the frame, showing her smiling and laughing self.

The time for her to meet her previous daughter became nearer.

But...

There was something she wished to solve before the meeting happened.