The Alchemists

Finally, the movie that had made Nicolae feel entertained was tainted by resentment due to the actions of several couples who were doing indecent stuff throughout the movie in their respective seats.

Shudders suddenly crept into his back as Louisa's hand slowly began to grope his t.h.i.g.h. Nicolae's body stiffened in horror and he didn't dare turn his head. He was afraid that Louisa would make his already thin patience disappear altogether, and he could no longer act like a gentleman.

Oh, God... Nicolae was forced to endure the last fifteen minutes with Louisa's fat hands touching his t.h.i.g.h as if she did it accidentally. 

Louisa was very fortunate that she met a man who was so kind and patient as Nicolae, so he tried hard to protect her feelings and not embarrass her by calling out on her behavior. His brother, Alaric, wouldn't hesitate to dismiss Louisa's hand and throw the woman ten meters away to teach her a lesson.

Finally, this damned movie was over too!! Nicolae rose from his chair excitedly as the movie ended. Louisa's hand was removed from his t.h.i.g.h, and his shudders suddenly vanished from Nicolae's mind. He felt free and relieved. This nightmare will end soon.

They walked out of the cinema studio and, as usual, the people who saw them seemed to be throwing strange glances at Nicolae. They arbitrarily also concluded that Nicolae was a gigolo who was accompanying his client on a date to watch a movie.

Because he had been so tormented for four hours, Nicolae decided to get back at the twins. He smiled very sweetly at Louisa and asked her to take pictures together.

"I want us to take a photo together as a memento. Can we?" he asked in a cheerful tone.

Louisa looked radiant at Nicolae's request, and she nodded excitedly. Nicolae asked a young man passing by to get their photo. The young man fulfilled his wish and took a few photos, but looking at his expression, he looked at Nicolae with a slightly condescending look. He also thought Nicolae was a gigolo.

"Ah, the photos look good. Thank you for coming to this date. It's already late now, so it's time for us to go home," Nicolae said to Louisa.

Louisa nodded and smiled broadly. "You're right, we have to go home and rest. Your place or my place?"

Nicolae frowned, not understanding. "Where's your place?"

"My place is in Admiralty. Where's yours?" Louisa answered.

"Oh, Mine's on Robertson Road."

"Oh, we can go to your place then," Louisa said excitedly.

"Why go to my place? You go home, and I go home," Nicolae tried to explain patiently. "I'm tired and sleepy. I have to go to sleep soon. You, too, will have to work tomorrow."

"I can come to your place, really..." Louisa stupidly said. "If you want to go to my place, that's fine too."

"I'm going home," Nicolae said again.

"Yeah, it's okay, I can go with you," Louisa replied.

Nicolae finally realized that Louisa thought that their date would continue to bed. Hence, she kept asking where they were going to go home. Your place or my place? asked the woman many times.

This. Is. Absolutely. Outrageous.

Nicolae tried to explain subtly to Louisa that he had to go back to his own place because Nicolae wasn't interested in spending the night with her.

"Louisa, I am exhausted and need to rest. I will go home to MY PLACE, and you will go home to YOUR PLACE. I will go west, and you will go north. Our house is not in the same direction. Sorry I can't take you."

After five minutes, Louisa finally understood that the handsome young man who had been sweet to her had no intention of sleeping with her. Hee face, which was beaming with a smile, suddenly turned sour, and her squeaky voice sounded very curt.

"You're a heartless man! If you're not interested in me, why didn't you say it from the start? You gave me false hope by inviting me to dinner and being nice to me. You even wanted to watch a movie with me..." The woman's pair of eyes seemed to be burning with anger. "Now you're dumping me like that! You're so mean. If you didn't like me, you should've just left from the beginning. By being nice to me from the start, you made me feel deceived into thinking that you liked me too, and now, you're rejecting me and embarrassing me. What a jerk!!! "

Louisa stomped her feet in annoyance. She then spat on Nicolae before turning away with long steps, indicating that she was very angry.

Wait... why did it turn out this way? Nicolae inwardly questioned, massaging his head, which felt dizzy. He felt tricked when he first met Louisa, but he didn't say anything for the sake of being polite. He didn't want to embarrass her because he was a gentleman. Why did his polite attitude make Louisa angry instead?

Would she have preferred it if Nicolae left her when he met her? Why is it so hard to be a gentleman nowadays? Nicolae could only curse in his heart.

Ugh... this is the worst date in his life history. Even if Altair and Vega begged him next time, Nicolae would never want to date another woman. He was already quite traumatized.

Hmm... he still had to get back at them, he thought. He walked out of the mall and into the Continental Building.

Tonight, he would stay at the penthouse and make his children think he slept at Louisa's house.

Once he arrived at the hotel lobby, Nicolae sent his photos with Louisa to Altair and Vega.

[The date was very fun. I think I have found a new mother for you, Kids. Oh, by the way, I am not coming home tonight. Good night.]

A mischievous smile carved into Nicolae's face as he stored his cellphone in his pocket and took the elevator in the Continental Hotel to the 100th floor.

Meanwhile, at Nicolae's apartment on Robertson Road, two ten-year-old children who had just received the message from him hysterically screamed.

"Gosh...!! How could you fall in love with a woman like this???" Vega sighed with tears welling in her eyes. "It's your fault!! You chose the third date!"

"Hey... I thought our Dad's taste is better than this. He liked our Mom, didn't he? Why are you blaming me?" Altair grumbled. "Aunt Louisa looked beautiful on her profile, so I chose her. Didn't you see it for yourself? How would I know that Dad's taste had turned bad?"

Both of them stared at the intimate photos of Nicolae and Louisa on their tablets with their shocked faces. Louisa had that crazy look in her eyes that scared the sh*t out of the children. Seeing her face gave them the chill!