The Alchemists

When Nicolae arrived back at his apartment, he was unwilling to answer questions from Altair and Vega about what was in the conversation with Marie. He only gave a little information that he had spoken with Auntie Marie and that there was nothing between them.

He deliberately still let Altair and Vega think that he was in a relationship with Aunt Louisa because once again, he really wanted to make the two children give up so that they would no longer look for a match for him.

He actually felt suffocated with all their efforts and those around him who only wanted to see him forget about Aleksis and move on by finding new love. Because they were his family, and he knew that they did it because they loved him, Nicolae didn't want to hurt their feelings by refusing openly.

Let this be the last time. Nicolae really didn't want to be involved again with any woman, at least not in the near future. The wounds in his hearts were still fresh. It was only a year ago that he let Aleksis walk down the aisle with Alaric, his twin brother.

In the past, eleven years ago, when his heart was broken after he found out that Aleksis was already married and was carrying another man's child, it took him more than six years to recover.

Even then, he still couldn't completely forget his love for Aleksis, so when they met again five years ago, the flame was burning even stronger.

His heartbreak was now much... much more severe and hurt more than the first one. This second time brought him a deep wound because he had been with Aleksis for four years, weaving a dream about their future together, where he would be able to marry Aleksis and be the father for her two children. They were even almost married.

Nicolae, who knew himself very well, realized that there was a possibility of this wound not healing for another hundred years. So even if his children found a good woman for him, he would only break the girl's heart.

They would be his rebounds, and he felt it was very unfair. That was also why he had been honest from the start with Marie so that the girl wouldn't develop even the slightest hope for his affection. Because Nicolae... wouldn't open his heart at all.

For this reason, this time, even though Marie was an attractive girl and Altair and Vega seemed to like her very much, Nicolae continued to make his children misunderstand, thinking that he was in a relationship with Louisa.

His words made Altair and Vega's faces look murky.

"That means you really love Auntie Louisa..." Altair sadly muttered.

"What is it that made you fall in love with Auntie Louisa? You and she had only met once... And it's clear that she doesn't seem to be Daddy's type..." Vega could only protest when she heard that Nicolae was still with Louisa.

"How do you know what my type is?" Nicolae asked in a very patient voice.

"I know that Daddy loves Mommy very much. That means Mommy should be Daddy's type of woman, a woman who looks like Mommy... Auntie Louisa isn't remotely similar to Mommy at all...!!"

"I really don't understand why Daddy can like Auntie Louisa ..." Altair added.

"Kids, you're still so young, so it'll be really hard for you to understand. Ten years from now, we can talk about this when you've met a boy or girl who made you fall in love. I won't judge your choices, because love just can't be understood sometimes."

In the end, Altair and Vega could only pout their lips sadly and couldn't argue anymore.

"Don't frown like that. Next week, we'll go to Grosetto. You can meet your mother. Are you going to spend the last week with frowns?" Nicolae finally asked. He sat in front of his two children and held their shoulders lovingly.

That's when Altair and Vega were then reminded that the agreement between Daddy Nic and Father Alaric would soon be over because almost a year had passed. Previously, when their father returned, he allowed Nicolae to bring his children for a year so they could spend time together before saying goodbye.

Next week, exactly one year would have passed... and they both had to go back to their biological parents.

This thought made Altair and Vega even sadder. They didn't want to leave Nicolae alone, without having anyone by his side. But... but why does that person have to be Auntie Louisa? Can't Daddy Nic just like Auntie Marie?

***

Meanwhile, on the 10th floor of the same apartment building, Marie was sitting on the window sill of her apartment. Her face looked sad and her beautiful pair of eyes were closed as if she was very deep in thought.

Both her hands held her right knee and implied a feeling of vivid grief and loneliness.

"You"re indeed a good man. Thank you for fulfilling my request..." she murmured softly.

In her mind was the image of the handsome young man who was talking with her in the coffee shop earlier and agreed to pretend to be her husband. I am not wrong about you, she thought.

A phone ring suddenly moved her out of her reverie. Gently, Marie came down from the window sill and picked up the call.

"Oh, hello, Louisa. That's right, everything's going smoothly. Your job is complete. Thank you for helping me yesterday. I've transferred your payment," Marie talked on the phone.

Marie then sat in her chair and opened a laptop. On the screen, we could see an online dating website with a profile called Louisa, which was opened earlier. With her nimble fingers, she typed something and deleted the profile. "No, I won't need you anymore. Thank you. You're right, he's a very good man. Don't worry. I won't hurt him. Goodbye, Louisa."

Marie then hung up the call and put her phone on the table.