The Alchemists

In his entire life, Nicolae had never been happier than he was today. He never thought, on one fine day in summer, his happiness came unexpectedly.

In his heart, he felt very grateful that he made the initiative to watch over Altair and Vega in Paris. Because of this coincidence, he was able to meet Summer, his biological child, and now Marie.

He immediately made plans to formalize his marriage to Marie and bring his wife and daughter to live with him. It's up to Marie where she wanted them to live. He would follow the girl's wishes. They could also return to New York. He would complete his work at the university and buy a big new house to share with Marie and Summer.

Altair and Vega still needed to finish high school at George Washington High School for their senior year. After that, maybe they would continue their studies in New York or go to Harvard or wherever they wanted.

He would discuss with Marie, Alaric, and Aleksis about the arrangements between them. Altair and Vega could continue to share time with him and their biological parents or went back to live with Alaric and Aleksis full time.

Nicolae felt that his brother had been so kind by sharing his children with him for the past six years. But now Nicolae had his own child to take care of. He could not wait to bring Summer to live with him and introduce the little girl to everyone.

Summer would certainly love to play with Lily and Ireland and Scotland because they were of the same age. The next family event would be very lively and full of adorable kids chatter. He was so excited just by imagining it.

Since his heart was filled with excitement, he barely noticed the time they spent on the road. They arrived at the address Marie gave him shortly after. Nicolae parked the car in front of a small apartment building. He followed Marie out of the car and into the building.

"Welcome to my house," Marie said as she invited Nicolae into her cozy little apartment.

Nicolae smiled and immediately walked around. He saw that Marie's tastes were still the same as before. The girl chose furniture and designs that were similar to her apartment in Singapore. The arrangement reminded Nicolae of her old apartment.

"Do you still name your stuff?" the man asked with a grin.

Marie nodded. She pointed toward various objects that were around them. "The couch is Leon, and the flower on the windowsill is Lucia."

"Hi, Leon ..." Nicolae greeted those objects while smiling in amus.e.m.e.nt. "How are you, Lucia?"

A long dachshund dog suddenly came out of the bedroom and happily wagged his tail to welcome Marie. The girl immediately raised her dog and kissed its head happily.

"This is..."

"Koi, right? I heard about the dog from Summer," Nicolae said before Marie could introduce her dog. "Hello, Koi. Nice to meet you."

Marie smiled at that. She nodded and put Koi on the floor, then re-introduced the whole house. "That's Edward, this one is Lilian, and this one is Ariel, and this is Susan ..."

Nicolae kept smiling, listening to Marie. This girl was indeed very unique and adorable, he thought. He had never met anyone who named their worldly possessions.

"Will we bring all your family members with you?" Nicolae finally asked after he greeted all the items that Marie had introduced to him. "I still keep Edgard, Lilith, and all your belongings in Singapore."

Marie looked astonished at Nicolae's words. "Oh, really? How come? I left them all in my old apartment."

Nicolae put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. His face looked radiant. "I bought the apartment because I wanted to preserve all the memories of you there. I told you I go to Singapore once a year. I usually stay there and remember you ..."

Marie was stunned to hear the man's words. She now believed that Nicolae really loved her after they were separated. The man even bought her apartment!

Unfortunately, there was no crying over spilled milk. They couldn't turn back time. All they could do now was starting over from scratch... together.

Marie was so touched when she heard Nicolae's statement. Subconsciously she stepped forward and hugged the man.

"I ... love you so much," Marie finally confessed what she had said in her heart. "I thought you were gone. Every time I see Summer, I see you ... and it gives me the strength to go through my lonely life."

Nicolae returned Marie's embrace and stroked her hair lovingly. Even though they hadn't seen each other for nearly six years, it felt like only yesterday that he and Marie met and spent time together.

Flashes of memories of their togetherness immediately filled his mind ... He remembered when he and Marie stayed Mrs. Lu's side in the hospital to face her last days.

They finally got married in the hospital chapel. They played at Universal Studios. They rented a catamaran and scattered Mrs. Lu's ashes into the sea. They drank in Sky Bar. They slept together, and then made love many times in the morning ...

"I love you, Marie. I am very grateful that you are back in my life ..." whispered Nicolae while kissing Marie's head. "I want you and Summer to come with me immediately. I want to take you to meet my father and ask for his blessings ..."

Marie raised her face and looked at Nicolae's face, which was only inches away from hers, then she nodded. "OK."

Nicolae was elated to hear that. He couldn't wait to tell Lauriel and Alaric about this! His father and brother would be happy to hear that Nicolae had finally found the woman he loved and their child. Nobody could understand Nicolae's feelings right now better than Lauriel and Alaric.

He grabbed the back of Marie's head and tilted his head down slightly to kiss her. Marie closed her eyes and accepted Nicolae's lips on hers. They kissed lovingly. Koi, who witnessed the two lovebirds making out, looked astonished and frozen in its place.

The kisses became more passionate as Marie involuntarily let out a soft m.o.a.n, which made Nicolae even more excited. He rubbed Marie's hair, neck, and c.a.r.e.s.sed her back with his left hand, while his right hand hugged her waist.

His tongue slipped through Marie's half-opened lips and roamed her mouth passionately. Marie felt her mind went blank, and she suddenly forgot that the purpose of their coming here was to get their stuff.

They kissed more intimately, and could no longer keep their hands off each other. Finally, they moved to Leon, the couch, and continued making out there. Even though they were apart for many years, Nicolae still remembered and missed Marie's scent. She always smelled like fresh citrus.

As he pressed down on Marie's body under him, he could feel her temperature rise and her s.e.xy m.o.a.n started to cloud his mind. Nicolae really loved this girl. He really missed her. And now, all his longing for her was filling his c.h.e.s.t to the brim.

"Marie ... baby ..." he whispered after letting go of Marie's lips, and now they looked at each with their noses touching. "Have you ever missed me?"

Marie looked at Nicolae with her brown eyes glittering with tears that began to well up. The girl nodded slowly. "I always miss you..."

Nicolae closed his eyes and kissed Marie again very intimately. When he opened his eyes, he smiled happily. "I'm happy to hear that."

Marie became flushed red. But a moment later, her hands wrapped around Nicolae's neck. They slowly went down, traced his shoulders all the way to his c.h.e.s.t, and finally started unfastening the buttons on his shirt. Nicolae looked down at Marie's work and smiled.