The Alchemists

"Uhm .. I think you will be really surprised later," Marion chirped. She then pushed Nicolae and Marie's shoulders out the door. "Go on now, if you want to get your stuff, I'll take care of your kid here. I think you both need to talk alone."

Nicolae nodded and smiled. He was grateful because Marion was very understanding. He opened the door to Summer's room and said goodbye to the little girl before leaving.

"Honey ... Maman and Daddy will be gone for a while. You stay here with Auntie Marion and be a good girl, okay?" Nicolae asked.

Marion had entered the room and sat next to Summer. "That's right. Auntie will be with you here. We can play together while waiting for JM to return. After that, we can eat ice cream together at the restaurant."

Summer's face immediately turned bright. "I would love that. Maman, will you go too?"

"That's right, baby. Maman has some business to attend. You just play here, okay?" Marie kissed Summer's cheeks and rubbed her hair lovingly.

Summer nodded eagerly. "All right. I like Auntie Marion."

"Good. See you later." Nicolae kissed Summer and then walked out while holding Marie's hand.

They walked to the elevator and went down to the lobby. Nobody said anything. Each of them still absorbing the fact that they had found each other ... And, oh ... there were so many secrets they have to share with each other.

When the elevator door opened, Nicolae took Marie's hand, and for a moment, the girl looked startled. She was still not used to being treated like this. Her face flushed red again.

Nicolae took her to the concierge and asked the hotel to lend him a car to make it easier to bring Marie and Summer's belongings that she wanted to take from her home.

"Right away, Sir. Will you need a driver?" the concierge officer asked respectfully.

Nicolae shook his head. "No, thanks. You can give me a driverless car, but I'll drive it myself if necessary."

"All right. Please come with me, Sir." The concierge raised his hand and invited Nicolae to follow him. Nicolae still clasped Marie's hand and took her to walk following the man's steps.

In front of the lobby, there was a black luxury car waiting for them. Nicolae thanked the hotel concierge, then opened the passenger door and invited Marie inside. After Marie sat in her chair and buckled up, the man got into the driver's seat and started the car.

"Just tell me the address, and we will head there," Nicolae said. Marie mentioned an address in Arr. 5 and Nicolae immediately keyed it in the car map.

"How's Sanna?" Nicolae asked on the way.

Marie shrugged. "She's fine. Now she's happy with her husband, Julian. They live in the suburbs of Paris, in a big house. Sometimes Summer and I stay there."

"Oh .. I'm glad to hear she's happy." Nicolae nodded. "Oh, wait... just a minute."

When he remembered Sanna and their chaotic date caused by his two children and London, Nicolae was suddenly reminded that he should have gone to Bordeaux to watch over Altair and Vega. He then set the car to automatic drive and called Alaric.

"Hey ... it's me. Sorry to bother you so early in the morning. I have an emergency and can't go to Bordeaux today. Can you make sure all your bodyguards are watching Altair and Vega?" he asked when Alaric picked up his phone call on the other end.

Alaric was surprised to hear Nicolae's request because he knew it was unusual for his brother to behave like this. But he knew Nicolae very well and understood that if Nicolae said he had an emergency, he must have meant something serious.

"Of course," Alaric answered casually. "Hopefully, you can handle all your business soon. I might be able to ask Mischa to stop by Bordeaux. I know he is currently in Paris. It would be good for him to get a change of scenery to distract his mind from Lisa."

"Ah ... that's a good idea," Nicolae said, "Thank you."

He actually wanted to ask for Misca's help to replace him watching over Altair and Vega but felt uneasy about ordering the man. No matter what, Mischa was an important person who led a large corporate group in Europe. It was not proper to ask him to care for two teenagers.

But if Alaric was the one who asked, Mischa would be happy to do it.

"Who is that?" Marie asked after Nicolae hung up the phone. "The twins' father? Elios Linden?"

"Yes. Well, I was supposed to go to Bordeaux today, but now I can't go. I want to fix your problem first," Nicolae smiled at Marie. When they were together like this, all he could think about was kissing her red lips.

"If I'm not wrong, Elios Linden is married to ..." Marie frowned, trying to remember. "... the daughter of the Schneider family. Is ... is she the mother of Altair and Vega?"

Nicolae nodded. "That's right. You know, the Schneider family is very reclusive."

"Oh .." Actually, Marie was a little jealous when she imagined the daughter of the Schneider family. She had never seen a photo of her, but the woman was said to be very beautiful, from the rumors circulating. Of course, if she was not beautiful... how could Nicolae love her so much?

"Her name is Aleksis Schneider. She has been my best friend for a long time, and is now my sister-in-law," Nicolae hurriedly added. He did not want Marie to misunderstand and think he still had feelings for Aleksis. "You could say we are both like family since she is also my father's goddaughter. My father loved her more than we were his own biological sons."

"Oh .. you've been mentioning about your father. How about your mother?" Marie asked him curiously.

"Uhm ... my mother already passed away. She died while giving birth to Alaric and me..." Nicolae said in a low voice, but his voice no longer sounded sad.

After Nicolae, Alaric, and their father talked about Luna at Targu Mures six years ago, when Lauriel shared his memories with Luna through Holodeck, the sadness in Nicolae and Alaric's hearts due to the death of their mother had slowly diminished. They started to move on with their lives. Nicolae could now talk about his mother without feeling sad.

"Oh ... I don't know that. I'm very sorry," Marie said.

"It's okay ..." said Nicolae.

Marie touched Nicolae's hand and patted it softly as if to let him know that she understood the man's feeling for losing a mother.

Nicolae smiled a little as he raised Marie's hand to his lips and kissed it lovingly.