The Alchemists

"Mommy.... !!!" the twins exclaimed in unison when they saw Aleksis and Alaric coming and ran toward them excitedly.

"How was the trip?" She asked them lovingly.

"It's okay. Daddy decided to come straight here because the plane to Rome was canceled. All the planes that headed to Italy somehow suffered engine failure or other technical issues. Luckily Daddy was able to buy a last-minute flight to Bucharest so we could come here," Altair explained.

"Oh ..." Aleksis lifted her face and saw Nicolae walking casually with his hands in his pocket approaching her. "Is it true that all the planes going to Italy were canceled? How strange."

Nicolae just shrugged. "At first, I thought it was just a coincidence, but after the fifth flight was also canceled, I suspected it was the work of a hacker who wanted to wreak havoc."

Nicolae decided not to talk about the bounty from ten years ago in front of Aleksis. He didn't want her to fight with Alaric if she knew what Alaric had done in the past to find Wolf. He would find the time later to talk alone with his brother.

"Wreaking havoc? Why? Were they after you?" Alaric asked in amazement.

"That's what I'm going to investigate. It's okay, what's important is that now the kids have arrived here and we are all well." Nicolae hugged his brother tightly and chuckled. "How are you? Hopefully, you get enough sleep with twin babies at home..."

Alaric patted his brother's shoulder and nodded. "Of course. Thank you for coming."

Nicolae broke free from Alaric and stepped in front of Aleksis, who had now risen with one kid hugged each of her t.h.i.g.hs.

"Aleksis ..." Nicolae tried to smile with his eyes. Before, even though his lips smiled, his eyes could not lie and still showed his pain. He still felt deep sorrow every time he saw the girl. But today, he managed to try his best to show that he was truly happy for Aleksis. "Happy birthday. I hope you will always be happy."

Aleksis looked at Nicolae with an emotional smile, and she slowly nodded. "Thank you, Nic. I'm so glad you came to celebrate with us here."

They looked somewhat awkward for a few seconds, but then, slowly, both Aleksis and Nicolae stepped forward and gave each other a hug, as they would to their best friend.

"Welcome," Aleksis said, kissing Nicolae on the cheek. The man nodded and patted Aleksis's shoulder gently.

"I'm glad to see you all. I'll never miss your birthday for anything."

All present hid their feeling of relief by acting as if nothing had happened. They knew that today was an important moment, where Nicolae and Aleksis were slowly trying to restore their friendship. Today marked the time that Nicolae could finally treat Aleksis as his brother's wife, without feeling awkward.

The sadness in his heart had not yet gone, but at least, just as Lauriel was able to continue living by letting Luna go, Nicolae also learned not to distance himself from his family just because he still had romantic feelings for Aleksis.

Nicolae greeted his father and everyone present. He was also introduced to Alaric's three foster children who came to the family event. The atmosphere felt so warm and pleasant.

"Okay, please go wash up. Soon, we will get ready for dinner," Aleksis finally said after everyone had met and exchanged news briefly.

Altair and Vega greeted and hugged their grandfathers, grandmother, and all their uncles before following their father's steps into the castle to see their two adorable baby siblings.

"You just rest and drink wine to relax. I am sure the trip here must be quite tiring," Aleksis commented to Nicolae.

"Thank you, but I've sat long enough in the airplane and the car on the way here. Now, I just want to take a walk around this place. Do you want to accompany me?" Nicolae asked.

"Of course. This place is beautiful. I will take you to my favorite place," Aleksis nodded happily. She was truly relieved to see Nicolae's attitude this time. The man no longer intentionally distanced himself from her!

Aleksis grew up without having many friends, so for her, losing a friend like Nicolae last year truly made her devastated. She did get her husband back, but at the same time, she lost her best friend. It felt like a horrible trade-off.

Oh, how happy Aleksis would be if Nicolae went back to being her friend.

After seeing Alaric disappear into the castle with their two children, Aleksis turned towards Nicolae and pointed towards the east.

"There is a very beautiful flower garden over there. Alaric made a memorial for your mother there. I'm sure you want to see it."

"Of course," Nicolae nodded and smiled at Aleksis's words. "I will be very happy to."

Understandingly, Alaric let his brother walk together with Aleksis around his residence. He understood Nicolae and Aleksis needed to talk in private to resolve the issue between them.

"So, how are you doing?" Aleksis asked while walking around the beautiful garden to the east of the castle.

They finally sat on a fallen tree and exchanged news. Nicolae told her a little about Altair and Vega's antics when they repeatedly tried to find him dates by hacking online dating sites.

He also told her about the three blind dates. Finally, Nicolae managed to make Aleksis laugh when she heard that the man decided to teach Altair and Vega a lesson by pretending to be in a relationship with Auntie Louisa.

"Jeez ... I can imagine. They must now give up in trying to find you a girlfriend," Aleksis chuckled.

Nicolae just shrugged. "I don't know. I hope so ... I'm not in the mood to hurt any woman right now. I feel like I still need time to be alone."

Aleksis looked at Nicolae, who sat beside her. She realized that Nicolae really meant what he just said.

"How are you feeling now?" Aleksis asked attentively.

She felt very happy and relieved because Nicolae no longer looked awkward toward her. She really missed her best friend.