The Alchemists

It was not only Nicolae who was surprised to hear Marie's words, but also Altair and Vega. Both of them looked at the girl with a pair of rounded eyes.

"What did Auntie say?" Altair asked in amazement.

Marie smiled broadly, "I said I will go after your dad. Do you mind?"

A pair of smiles immediately appeared on the faces of Altair and Vega, and in unison, both shook their heads vigorously.

"No. Of course not. We'll leave Daddy to Auntie!" Vega exclaimed happily.

Nicolae opened his mouth with a shocked face, trying to say something, but no sound came out.

"Oh, how cute. It seems that you also like me? Then, please support me, okay? Auntie will try hard to get your dad's heart," Marie said with a rather flirty attitude.

Nicolae could only massage his forehead while shaking his head with disbelief. Was he really that old? He really didn't understand women nowadays. Were they really all aggressive and shameless like this girl? Or was it perhaps it was he who always had the misfortune of meeting aggressive women like Luisa and now Marie?

"Are you not going to ask my opinion?" Nicolae asked in a protesting voice.

Marie was very beautiful, and her personality was also quite fun. Especially from the way she spoke, she seemed to have a very broad knowledge. But that didn't mean that Nicolae would be willing to be pursued by her.

"I... I already have a girlfriend," the man said hurriedly. "Her name is Louisa."

Gosh, it looks like it's not only his children that he had to deceive but also the shameless girl in front of him.

"Oh really? Are you sure about that?" Marie asked nonchalantly.

"That's right," Nicolae said.

"In that case, prove to me that you already have a girlfriend." Apparently, Marie wasn't easily convinced.

She looked at Nicolae with a mischievous smile and a triumphant expression.

"Why don't you believe me?" Nicolae asked.

"I don't believe you," Marie replied, shrugging.

"Why?"

"Because I don't believe you. Do I need to have a reason?" Marie stubbornly blurted.

In the end, Nicolae gave up. This girl was indeed strange, or shameless. He didn't know what she was more precisely called.

"Sorry, I'm not interested in you," Nicolae replied nonchalantly. "Please don't follow us."

Seeing that their food had been eaten, Nicolae decided it was time to go home. He rose from his chair and gave Altair and Vega a signal to follow him.

"Eh, where are you going?" Marie asked as she stood after them.

Nicolae didn't answer. He just put a few hundred dollars on the table then walked out of the restaurant.

"Wow, you guys want to go home? It just so happens that our homes are nearby. I'll go home with you," Marie said in a cheerful voice.

Nicolae didn't care about the girl. He put his hands in his pockets and walked casually as if Marie wasn't there.

"Daddy, why are you being so rude? Didn't you teach us to treat people well? Why were you like that to Auntie Marie? What did Auntie Marie do wrong?" Altair asked suddenly.

Nicolae was stunned and stopped in his tracks. He then looked at his children and Marie alternately. "Whose children are you? Why are you defending her? Why aren't you defending your dad here?"

"I'm not defending anyone. I'm just defending the truth," Altair said with an innocent face.

"That's right. Didn't you teach us to always be polite toward others? Why is it now you are treating Auntie Marie as if she doesn't exist? I don't think this is a good example." Vega added.

Marie also stopped in her tracks and looked at the two children in awe. Subconsciously, she clapped slowly and her face was filled with sentiment.

"That's great. Children, you really have good manners and good attitudes. You make me want to be your stepmother even more!"

Nicolae suddenly choked at the shameless words coming from the mouth of the girl he had only met twice. How could Marie say that! They hardly even know each other!

"Good God, such a shameless woman! Have you no shame? We don't know each other..." he hissed. "Don't speak so carelessly!"

Hearing Nicolae's curt words, Marie looked at the man with her mouth agape and her hands pressed to her lips, showing an expression of shock. Her eyes looked glazed with tears.

"I was just kidding..." she whispered in a hurt voice. "Yet, you have the heart to call me shameless. Why is your mouth so harsh? What if a man treated your daughter the way you just treated me now???"

Nicolae swallowed. He was provoked by Marie's shameless attitude. He didn't know that Marie was just joking. He felt bad about his behavior. Normally he was a gentleman with patience and kindness, but Louisa had dried his well of patience last night. He didn't want to meet any more shameless woman.

Come to think of it, Nicolae's reaction was indeed too excessive. He really didn't want to deal with any woman at this time, but why was it so hard to get rid of Marie? Now, he had inadvertently said words that hurt the girl.

Nicolae was shocked to see Vega now looking at him with a hurt look. He knew that as a father, he wouldn't forgive any man who would treat Vega harshly.

He finally became aware that his bitter attitude towards Marie was indeed unreasonable. He really couldn't explain to Altair and Vega why he was deliberately cold to Marie. He was sure ten-year-old children wouldn't understand.

He knew that this time, he was indeed the guilty one. The girl only said that she would go after Nicolae, but so far, she hadn't done anything bad. Besides, in the beginning, it was Nicolae himself who was at fault because he was joking with her she ended up waiting for him all night at the dock.

If he could joke with his words back then, why couldn't Marie? Why was he so stiff and mean? Nicolae felt sad. This was unlike him. He never deliberately hurt a woman.

Maybe all the blind dates had ruined him so much that now he wanted to deter himself from women and avoid new problems. But he knew, he shouldn't have said those hurtful words to Marie.

"I'm sorry." That was all Nicolae could say. He knew he was guilty and didn't need to find excuses to justify his attitude just now.