The Alchemists

London's family finally understood the reason for the young man to withhold the truth from L. He was trying to find the right time, and they didn't want to add to his burden. They knew he would work hard to solve this problem.

"I have never heard anything like this happened before. Some rich guy has to pretend to be poor to get a woman. And for him to tell her the truth, to reveal that he was actually very wealthy, turns out to be very difficult," commented Rune with a laugh. His family was discussing London's problem while enjoying high tea together. "It's a complicated problem, but it's funny."

"I feel sorry for L. Imagine, the people around her know who I am, but she doesn't," uttered London.

"Who else knows about your identity?" asked Rune.

"Hmm ... Jan and you all know it. Lily too, that's for sure. I often whisper to her what happened." London's eyes always looked sparkle with happiness when mentioning his child. "Then Pammy, L's manager also knows, all the doctors who handled her at the hospital, and the two nurses who are staying with us now to care for Lily, they also know ..."

Rune was astonished at his brother's words. He was reminded of the time when he was playing tricks on London by secretly sticking a paper that said, 'I JUST FARTED' on his brother's back when they were little.

Everyone who saw the writing on the paper laughed at London all day, but because London did not see the note, he did not understand why they were all laughing at him.

Gosh ... this felt exactly like that! Imagine how L would feel later when she found out that everyone around her knew about her husband's secret, but she didn't. Of course, she would feel like a laughingstock, because she was like a fool who didn't know anything.

"Gosh ... Brother, your life is terrible. I don't want to be in your shoes then." Rune could only shake his head. "Good luck."

***

London was back at his house when L returned. The girl's face looked tired. London could suspect that L's meeting with Danny did not go too well.

Marc even sent photos of L from his observation spot. Her face looked sad and upset while talking to Danny while the man's expression looked hurt.

Unfortunately, Marc could not read lips, so he did not know what they were talking about.

[You must learn to lipread then. Go look for a good lip-reading teacher.]

With annoyance, London could only make the bodyguard learn how to read lips, so that next time, when he was sent to follow L again, he would be able to give a more comprehensive report.

London really wanted to know what upset L so much. But seeing L's tired expression and her resting bitch face that said 'do not disturb', London decided he wouldn't mention it at all. He did not want to make L even more annoyed if she had to remember what happened between her and Danny Swann.

Therefore, he tried to distract L from things that made her upset by inviting her to eat.

"Hey, you're home, Do you want to eat dinner now, Honey?" he asked softly. "I can prepare it."

L's forehead creased when he called her 'Honey.' She felt London never called her by name since she allowed him to call her 'Honey.' London seemed to really enjoy this new nickname.

L's mood was terrible, but she didn't have the heart to respond curtly to London's attentive words. Finally, she could only nod without saying anything. She then followed London into the dining room and saw the man preparing the ingredients and immediately got ready to cook.

"We can start using an automation system from RMI for this house. If you start your job, your energy and time will be used up for work. I don't want to see you doing trivial things like cooking ..." L commented suddenly.

"Why...? I cook because I am happy to see you eat healthy and delicious food," London answered with a smile. He had never done such 'trivial' work for anyone else.

In the penthouse where he lived, he also had an automation system and robot servants who did everything. But specifically for L and Lily, he would gladly set aside time and energy, just like his father Caspar had always done.

His father was a very busy man who had many interests and activities, moreover, in addition to being a businessman, he was also the respected clan leader. But 30 years ago, he decided to focus his attention only on his family. For the man, cooking for his family is a statement of love, which he gladly did every day.

Enjoying his father's cooking and their togetherness at the dining table was part of London's beautiful memories of his childhood. So, he wanted Lily to experience the same thing.

That's why he made it a habit to cook delicious food for L, and later for Lily, once their daughter could eat solid food.

"I love doing it. For me, cooking for you is a statement of love," London answered with a smile. He pinched L's nose with a mischievous expression, trying to improve the girl's mood. "Don't tell me, you don't like my cooking? Isn't it delicious?"

L shook his head slowly. "It's delicious ... I'm just not used to it."

"Oh ... in my home, my father loved cooking for us. We grew up enjoying his food every day. My siblings and I often helped him while learning new recipes from him. You could say, moments in the kitchen and at our dining table with my family were the times I always remember with a happy heart." London explained.

L looked pensive to hear that. "Your family seems very pleasant ..."

"They are..." London suddenly felt like he was getting a breath of fresh air. He knew how he would be able to tell his identity to L. He would often talk about his family to the girl. Slowly, L would feel as if she knew them and felt close because London often talked about his family. London continued, "If you help me chop vegetables, I'll tell you about my family ..."

L finally nodded and smiled slightly. She approached London and took the vegetables from his hands. "You could ask me to help you cook."

"You're a s.e.xy assistant. Of course, I'm happy to be assisted by a girl as beautiful as you," said London, who would never miss an opportunity to compliment and flirt with L.

L just hit his shoulder, but the girl smiled. Which woman didn't like being praised by a handsome man? In this case, L was just a normal girl.