Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 410

His wheelchair stopped next to Summer, and he offered her the flowers.

Perhaps afraid Summer might overthink it, he quickly explained, "I ran into an elderly woman with a limp selling flowers outside the hospital, so I bought a bouquet."

Summer had seen her too when she arrived.

Summer had heard from Tessa Thorne: The old woman's son had died, her daughter-in-law ran off, and her young grandson was sick and admitted to this very hospital.

To care for her grandson and make some money, she set up a small flower stand at the entrance.

So every time Summer saw her, she would buy a bouquet and put it in Tessa's office.

To her surprise, Xander also bought flowers from her.

Seeing Summer's quiet surprise, Xander smiled faintly. "Leo told me the old woman has had a hard life. Beautiful flowers suit a lovely lady like yourself. I hope you have a wonderful day."

Xander had bought sunflowers.

Summer loved sunflowers, so she reached out and accepted them. "Thank you, Xander. I wish you a wonderful day as well."

Spotting Xander, Leo smiled and waved warmly from a distance.

Always the gentleman, Xander nodded to Summer. "Excuse me, I need to start my training as well."

Holding the sunflowers, Summer replied politely, "Good luck, Xander. I hope you make a full recovery soon."

Xander smiled and nodded. "I will."

Xander had been bedridden for eight years. Learning to walk again was destined to be a brutal, agonizing journey.

Usually, a patient fresh out of a coma required a slow transition—starting with rolling over in bed, learning to sit up, battling severe vertigo, and painfully unlocking stiff, atrophied joints.

But Xander possessed an unnerving amount of willpower, and the Sterlings had spared no expense hiring a massive team of elite specialists to manage his care.

His muscle atrophy and joint mobility were in drastically better shape than a typical long-term coma patient who lacked round-the-clock professional maintenance.

Summer didn't know why Xander chose to sync his rehab schedule with Leo's.

But with him there, the two of them constantly motivated and challenged each other. Leo's progress had visibly accelerated compared to before.

They took a break every ten minutes.

Summer walked over, wiped the sweat from Leo's brow, handed him a water bottle, and then offered a bowl of freshly prepared fruit. "Eat some of this, get your energy back."

Leo naturally offered some to Xander to share.

Instead, Xander accepted an elegant food box from his personal assistant. Upon opening it, an array of beautifully crafted, bite-sized pastries was revealed.

"This is from a century-old bakery. At least before I ended up in a coma, their pastries were legendary. You two should give it a try."

Summer recognized the prestigious logo on the box. "They're still incredibly popular today. People line up the second they open, and it's still nearly impossible to secure a box."

"Is that right?" Xander smiled, glancing at his assistant. "Looks like I owe Yancy a bonus for lining up so early this morning."

Summer picked out a melon-flavored pastry that caught her eye. Leo also grabbed a melon one, insisting on matching his mom.

Xander pointed to a mango-flavored piece. "This is their signature flavor. Aren't you going to try it?"

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