After they arrived at the penthouse, Caspar and Finland let Aleksis rest and didn't pester her with any questions. Caspar cooked his daughter's favorite food and she then went to sleep.
"I'm so relieved... Aleksis is fine..." Finland said, hugging Caspar after they closed Aleksis' door.
"Me too..." Caspar gently rubbed his wife's hair. The weight on his chest had been lifted and he felt the same relief. He grabbed Finland's hand and invited her to the kitchen. There, Jean was waiting for them with an open bottle of brandy.
"Want to drink?" he asked, lifting the bottle.
"Just champagne..." Caspar said as he walked to the refrigerator to pick up the oldest Dom Perignon he had. "This is worth celebrating."
"OK." Jean got up and took three sparkling wine glasses for them and Caspar poured each of them a full glass.
"To Aleksis!" Jean raised his glass, followed by Finland and Caspar.
"To Aleksis," both responded.
"Do you know who saved her?" Jean asked curiously.
Caspar shook his head. "No. There were no suspicious cars nor people around the Raffles Hotel. Tomorrow I'll ask Aleksis and Lauriel about this mysterious person. They can certainly provide information."
"How can Lauriel contact that person?" Finland wondered. As far as she knew, Caspar had better access than Lauriel, but this time it was Lauriel who could find out the whereabouts of Aleksis.
Also, the person who helped their daughter... who was he really? Why didn't he want to meet them? What was he hiding?
"Now that Aleksis has been found, are you guys going home soon?" Jean asked. "Can I stay with you for a week? I want to be with Terry a little longer. You know, this whole situation of being a father is foreign to me, but I want to do my best."
Finland turned to Caspar before nodding, "Of course. Our farm in New Zealand is huge. You can get to know each other better there. Terry can stay with you for a few months too if you're not busy."
"Thank you, I'm so glad to hear that." Jean smiled awkwardly. "Billie seems to want to get married and have children... I always try to avoid the topic. You know, my parents were divorced when I was little, I'm not sure if I could be a good husband and father..."
Finland nodded. She really understood Jean's feelings. This man had been her closest friend for almost 20 years and they knew each other very well. Jean had taken the immortality potion meant for his partner and given it to Billie after they had been in a relationship for two years.
Because Billie was an ordinary human who would age while Jean had become an alchemist at the age of 25, his face would never change while Billie's appearance would slowly look older than his.
He loved Billie, but just like how Caspar was with Katia, he wasn't sure if he would want to be with Billie forever. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get married and have children with her.
However, as time went on, and for the sake of his relationship in the future, Jean asked Aldebar to make an immortality potion for Billie. This decision was of course supported by Finland who really liked Billie Yves.
This meant that in the future, Jean would not be able to get another immortality potion for his wife if he were to fall in love with another ordinary human. His only option to live forever with his partner was to marry a fellow Alchemist.
"I don't mind. It's really hard for me to fall in love," Jean said with a shrug when Finland asked about his decision. All his life he had only loved two women, namely Finland, his best friend, and Billie, after they had been friends for a few years.
The two girls were very special to him, so Jean was not sure that he would ever meet another girl as special as them in his lifetime. After all, Billie was an extraordinary artist and Jean wanted to see the works she continued to make as she lived her life as an immortal.
Billie was very surprised but happy when Jean revealed the secrets of the Alchemists and offered her the immortality potion. As a normal human who had dreams, an immortal life was the most beautiful gift she never imagined possible. She accepted the potion and her engagement to Jean with joy.
Their relationship became even stronger after Billie became Jean's fiancée, but until now, because both Jean and Billie were very busy with their respective careers, they were still living apart.
They were known as the most loving couple in Hollywood and many people expected them to get married soon, especially Rosalind Marchal who didn't understand why, at the age of 38, Jean was still happy with his bachelor pad even though he had been with such a beautiful and kind girlfriend for almost a decade.
Caspar thought about the days when he was still a playboy. Getting married and having children was not in his books at all. He was happy to be able to change girlfriends once a month, so he also understood why Jean still did not want to commit himself to marriage. All Alchemists have one thing in common: they were not in a hurry, because time was in their hands.
"If Billie wants a child, but you don't, then she will never get pregnant," Caspar said. "Among our people, all children are conceived because they are wanted by their parents."
"I know." Jean nodded nervously, "After ten years, she must have realized that I don't want children, and I fear that I hurt her feelings. I love Billie, but I'm not ready for such a big commitment. Right now, I just want to see Terry grow well and become an adult. I don't have the time and energy for a baby... or any other child."
Caspar refilled his empty glass, "I needed 400 years to get to that stage... You're only 38 years old, right? Be patient..."
Finland looked at the interaction between the two men and her heart filled with warmth. Since Jean and Caspar made up, they could now be good friends.
Caspar had helped Jean a lot in matters of men, something that Finland could not do because she was a woman. Jean was now already very trusting and close with Caspar. He also became a cool uncle for their children.
She remembered how the two men acted as rivals before which gave Finland a headache. The girl was now so grateful because they could now be her best friends in life. She was no longer forced to choose between love and friendship.
"We will return to New Zealand in two days. Tomorrow we will wait for Lauriel's arrival," Caspar said.
"Where is he now?" Finland asked curiously.
"He was flying from Colorado. He's on the plane now. He flew immediately after he heard of Aleksis' disappearance."
Everyone in the room knew how fond Lauriel was of Aleksis and it was no wonder that he rushed to Singapore when he heard something had happened to his goddaughter.
***
.
Not at webnovel.com? Ouch, you're reading a stolen content then! I'm publishing this exclusively in Webnovel. Please SAY NO TO PIRACY! DON'T PATRONIZE THIEVES! Go here: https://www.webnovel.com/book/13038754206496605