The Alchemists

Alaric immediately realized that Aleksis was now no longer the girl he got acquainted with and married ten years ago. Everything he knew about her was wrong. He had assumed Aleksis was an ordinary human, when in fact she was also an immortal like himself.

And now, ten years later, the girl already had a child and was going to marry another man. He looked for Aleksis to stop her from marrying Nicolae. But now, when he saw them appear before him and realized how happy their little family was, he felt so evil and selfish, as if he suddenly appeared before her only to ruin her happiness.

But ... but what about his own happiness?

Aleksis disappeared 10 years ago, and he did terrible things to look for her. It led to the death of Kurt Van Der Ven, her father's right hand. For ten years, he thought Aleksis had died. For years he searched for information about her grave without success, until finally, he gave up ...

All that made him suffer and underwent 10 years of misery.

Yet here was Aleksis, seemingly leading a happy life with someone else …? She even had a child with another man?

Alaric didn't know how he managed to stop himself from going berserk and killing everyone in the library at the time. Or maybe ... maybe it was because he couldn't bear to see Vega's adorable face staring at him with her witty eyes. He was still thinking the child was Altair.

Alaric closed his eyes and frowned in extreme pain. After taking a deep breath once, he then opened his eyes, looked away and walked out of the library with long strides. He did not pay any heed to the confusion shown by the people he left behind.

"What is up with him?" muttered Nicolae in puzzlement. Aleksis did not respond to his question. She just stared at Alaric's back, which went even further and further away.

His voice sounded familiar. From the looks of it, his body also looked very familiar ... Who was this guy really? Her heart kept asking herself.

Subconsciously two drops of tears flowed down her cheeks. Not long after, she could no longer hold her feet from running after Alaric. She must know ...

She must make sure ...

"Aleksis!" called Nicolae. He and Vega looked at each other in surprise. Both of them rushed after Aleksis.

Sophia looked at everything that happened with a smirk. Finally ... the moment she had been waiting for had arrived. Soon everything would turn into chaos.

At present, only Sophia and Alaric were aware of what really happened. Apart from the two of them, no one knew that Alaric Rhionen was Aleksis' husband and he was still alive. That woman must be chasing Alaric in confusion, Sophia thought while wearing a satisfied expression.

***

Aleksis' tears flowed even harder when she arrived at the garden next to the library but did not find Alaric. The man had walked very fast and now disappeared from her sight. Frantically, she ran towards the lake, hoping Alaric would be there so she could find him.

Nicolae and Vega arrived a little later as the man had to adjust to the slow pace of the young child walking with him. When they arrived at the garden, they did not see anyone. In the end, they decided to walk towards the main building, looking for Aleksis.

***

Alaric was very angry and had to exert all his sanity to not destroy all the objects around him as he walked with long strides towards the lake. Today, his world had been turned upside down mercilessly. He suddenly learned that the only girl he loved was not only still alive, but also as immortal as he was.

Unfortunately, Aleksis was already moving on and having a new life without him. His heart was conflicted. There was the feeling of relief because Aleksis was still alive, and the feeling of hate because he felt cheated, also feeling of guilt because he himself disappeared for 10 years, and the feeling of jealousy towards seeing Aleksis happy with another man.

He did not know how to act. He did not know whether to tell Aleksis who he was and ask her to return to him, or consider each other dead and forget about the past. He was very jealous ... Aleksis already had a child with her future husband ...

Alaric looked at his reflection in the lake and he was shocked by how flat his expression was. His mind was already churning like a volcano ready to erupt, yet for some reason, his face looked cold and unaffected.

He subconsciously touched his cheek as if to make sure the person in the reflection of the lake was him. He felt upset because he felt that he could not even recognize himself.

There was the sound of footsteps approaching and the sound of broken branches being trampled behind him, but Alaric did not budge. He did not care for anyone who came near him.

"You ... haven't answered my question," came Aleksis' soft voice from behind him. Alaric just stayed where he was, not turning his head. He didn't expect that the girl would follow him here.

With all his might, Alaric refrained from turning around and staring at the girl he loved. He knew his mental state. He was very depressed but he did not want to vent his frustrations at Aleksis.

Aleksis walked closer. When she arrived right behind Alaric and their bodies were almost touching, Alaric could hear her panting. He took a deep breath several times, and then finally turned around. That was just when Aleksis took another step forward. Thus, his action caused Aleksis' front body to touch Alaric's.

They felt like sparks flew between them in an instant. Both Alaric and Aleksis sighed in surprise as their eyes met.

Alaric's defense collapsed and, without being able to control himself anymore, he brought Aleksis in his arms and embraced her as tightly as he could. By then, his common sense disappeared to God knows where. He kissed the top of her head longingly.

Aleksis was stunned and for several seconds could not move. She felt that this person was very familiar. His voice, his body, and now his arms made Aleksis feel so peaceful. A crazy thought suddenly got into her mind and she was unable to get rid of it...

What if ...

What if he is ...

Alaric?

"Wa.. wait..." Aleksis finally found her voice and she tried to escape from the man's arms. "You have not answered my question yet."

But as she looked up and stared into his pair of brilliant purple eyes, Aleksis realized she did not need an answer. She just remembered that she hadn't seen Alaric's face since they first met again in Singapore ten years ago. When he told her that his face was disfigured, she unconditionally believed him... And she herself also assumed that Alaric was an ordinary human who was aging.

She never thought the possibility of Alaric being an Alchemist like her.

The girl's eyes went round and her lips opened, yet she could not say anything. Her chest started to pound so hard.

This was indeed Alaric! 

Meanwhile, all the flames of anger in Alaric's chest seemed to have been washed away by extremely cold water after staring at Aleksis' blue and green eyes and finding love there. These eyes had not changed after ten years, still looking at him with so much affection.

Alaric felt very touched.

She was still the same Aleksis from ten years ago.

He brought his face closer to hers. He immediately kissed the girl's slightly open lips. His cold lips claiming hers as he panted out of excitement.

He relinquished the longing that accompanied his loneliness for ten years when he thought he was all by himself. He let go of the feeling of longing which tormented him for years when he was filled with regret for not being able to say goodbye.

"Aleksis ..." he whispered with a hoarse voice. He then kissed her again. The girl closed her eyes and enjoyed the downpour of Alaric's affections for her. Her mind went blank.

She was afraid that all of this was just a dream, that after she woke up, Alaric would disappear from her side. It was because of this that Aleksis insisted on not opening her eyes. As his tongue entered through her lips and explored her mouth, Aleksis responded lovingly.

"I don't care what happened in these past ten years ... I will never let you go," Alaric whispered between his kisses.

Although Aleksis was with another man and already had a child with him, Alaric did not care. Aleksis was his and his alone!