"Where is she? Did she vanish somewhere?"
A confused Calix became frustrated as he was unable to locate where Leslie was. She was not in the bedroom, only her body was left there.
Calix had checked the library, his home office, the gymnasium and even the rooftop swimming pool yet, no traces of Leslie were even there.
He couldn't possibly shout her name loudly, fearing scaring Aunt Wendy and Uncle Raymond. They might think he had gone crazy.
Sigh... If only they could communicate through the phone, it would be easier to find her.
Calix slowed down his steps as he walked passing a balcony. Furrowing his brows, he threw his gaze over the vast lawn outside until it landed on the shimmering surface of the body of water.
"Maybe..."
Calix opened the French door. Standing at the balcony railing, he focused looking in the direction of the lake. The distance from the main building to there was not that huge.
"Is she there?"
Narrowing his eyes, Calix tried to spot Leslie. The man-made lake was quite large with trees planted surrounding it. It was his favorite place to unwind when his stress level was higher than usual.
"...?! Ha! There she is!"
After several minutes of looking, Calix finally found Leslie lying under one of the trees. The rustling leaves provided shade for her.
Calix quickly ran downstairs, catching the attention of Aunt Wendy who was arranging blooming flowers inside a vase. They were picked from the garden by Uncle Raymond. She loved decorating the mansion with freshly picked flowers.
"Mr. Calix, you haven't eaten yet?" asked Aunt Wendy, bringing up the meal Calix told her to prepare earlier. She put down the scissors on the table.
Calix rarely had lunch at home thus, Aunt Wendy prepared more special dishes for him despite the young man telling her to just double the usual ones she made.
Expensive and rare ingredients were delivered to the mansion thrice a week. Calix always encouraged the spouses to use the ingredients for themselves. But, Uncle Raymond and Aunt Wendy frequently opted for simple dishes.
"Oh! I will, haha," Calix patted his tummy, grinning widely at Aunt Wendy, "I just need to step outside for a moment. I'll surely eat your yummy food, Aunt Wendy."
In the next moment, Calix was already out of the door, charging toward the lake. The cool spring breeze blew passing his figure, tousling his short dark hair.
If it was up to Calix, he would call Leslie's name out loud. There was no one nearby. Uncle Raymond was busy in the front yard while Aunt Wendy was inside the mansion.
Still, he needed to be careful oh.
"Is she sleeping?" blurted Calix once he stepped under the tree. Shadows fell on his back, slightly obscuring his expression.
Putting both hands on his waist, Calix's eyes landed on the sleeping figure of Leslie. Her bangs were gently swayed by the wind. The black wings of her eyelashes slightly fluttered.
"How could a soul keep on sleeping ah?" mumbled Calix.
He was so curious to know if all souls acted like her that he verbalized his thoughts out loud.
But...
"I'm not sleeping. Don't badmouth me."
"...?!"
Calix unconsciously took a step back. His pupils widened at the sight of Leslie lifting her eyelids. Their eyes were fleetingly locked together before she averted her gaze from him.
"Y-you! When did you wake up?"
Leslie calmly replied to the flustered Calix, "I only closed my eyes for a bit. Not sleeping at all. Lying by the lake feels so nice."
Leslie slowly sat up, propping her hands on the ground. Tilting up her head, once again she looked at Calix, "What time is it? I forgot you said you'd return early."
Leslie didn't check the time when she wandered around the mansion earlier. She roughly guessed it was approaching the late afternoon.
"It's almost three-twenty. I've been looking for you everywhere."
"What?" Leslie was stunned, "When did you get home?"
"At three. Just an hour early from what I told you this morning."
Calix plopped himself down on the ground, sitting next to Leslie. He rummaged inside the pocket of his coat before showing something to her.
Leslie lightly raised her brows, "A strawberry candy?"
Lying in the middle of Calix's was a candy in a plastic wrapper with small and cute strawberry prints.
Did this man carry it around?
"En, take it," Calix answered mutedly, "You haven't eaten or drunk anything after I left, right? I mean, you couldn't."
Leslie blinked, she was caught in a momentary trance. A soft smile found its way to her lips.
Calix might randomly choose this one but, seeing the strawberry candy reminded Leslie of Calliope. Her precious little girl loved anything strawberry-flavored too much.
Be it the fruits, candies, desserts or drinks, Calliope loved them all.
Just like her father.
"Thank you."
Leslie's voice softened. Calix's unintentional gesture washed over her heart with tranquil happiness.
"En... you're welcome."
The candy exchanged hands. Leslie opened the wrapper while Calix took another out and also unwrapped it. He tossed the deep pink-colored candy into his mouth.
"It's sweet," murmured Leslie as the sweetness of the candy spread on her tastebuds.
"Yes," Calix hummed, saying nothing much. He threw his gaze across the lake.
Leslie giggled. She was glad that she could taste any food like usual. This allowed her heart to be comforted by the favorite flavor of her daughter.
The newly wedded spouses sat in silence, gently embraced by the refreshing spring air. The tips of the grass and leaves above danced with every passing breeze. In front of them, the lake's surface twinkled under the bright sunlight.
Not long after, Calix broke the silence. He propped his chin on the back of his hand while staring at the lake.
"Aunt Wendy has prepared lunch. You better have it before we go shopping. We'll depart at four-thirty. Is it enough time?"
"Shopping? What for?" Leslie immediately guessed, "Ah? Is it to get gifts? For my parents?"
Even though this marriage was purely out of interest, Calix might still want to honor the Li family with betrothal gifts.
"Hurm, yes, we should get some gifts too."
Calix's response perplexed Leslie. It seemed as if it was not what he was referring to. Getting gifts was more like an afterthought.
Under Leslie's bewildered gaze, Calix answered. Yet, his reply heightened her confusion.
"Shopping for your outfits ah. The gifts can come later."
"What? My outfits?"