The Heartwarming Reunion
The Heartwarming Reunion
Twenty years ago, when Lauriel saved Finland in San Francisco and later fell in love with her newborn, Aleksis, he had been welcomed as part of the Schneider family. He took Aleksis as his goddaughter, as she gave him a new reason to live.
But now it was different, because with the presence of Nicolae, Lauriel's family line could continue. He was no longer the only successor of the Medici family that was almost gone. Now, he had Nicolae beside him.
She subconsciously wiped her tears which slowly fell down her cheeks.
"I ... I don't understand ..." said Nicolae in a low voice. "What does all of this mean …?"
Inside his head, it was still very difficult for Nicolae to accept the fact that a man, who seemed to be of the same age as him, called him son.
Was this really his father?
Instantly he thought about himself. He was almost 100 years old, but he still looked like a 24-year-old young man. He always imagined that if he ever got married and had children, of course his children would eventually look the same age or even older than him ... Depending on whether his children were also immortals or not.
Lauriel finally let go of his arms and pressed his forehead to Nicolae's forehead. Their eyes met.
"I'm sorry, Son ... I didn't know your mother gave birth to you to this world ..." Lauriel whispered in a very earnest tone, and that stunned Nicolae. "All this time I thought I was alone, because your mother and you died in the war."
Lauriel sighed and rubbed Nicolae's head like he would do to a child. Outsiders would probably find the scene strange; two adult men embracing each other, where one stroked the other's head, as if to a child.
At first Nicolae felt rather uneasy by how Lauriel was treating him, but when he saw how Lauriel looked at him very earnestly, with a pair of eyes that radiated so much affection for him, his walls collapsed.
Nicolae finally nodded slowly, and murmured, "Father ..."
Lauriel smiled and hugged him again. Satisfied, he then handed the blood test report to Nicolae and let the young man read it.
"Maybe this is fate ... If you were not hurt and brought here, I would never have found you," Lauriel said. "The doctor thought we were brothers and asked me to donate my blood. The blood test results actually showed that you are my son ... This is an unexpected surprise. I never knew that I had a child."
"Oh ..." Nicolae examined their blood test reports and nodded in confirmation. Maybe this was good karma. Because he tried to help Aleksis from the kidnappers, her bodyguards mistakenly thought he was about to kidnap Aleksis, and so they attacked him. If he had not been hurt for Aleksis ... maybe he and Lauriel would have never met.
He turned to Aleksis and now he nodded in understanding. He finally understood why Aleksis cried for her Uncle Rory. He noticed that the two were very close. Of course, Aleksis felt touched when she found out that her Uncle Rory had a child. His heart felt sad when he heard that all this time Lauriel thought he was alone in the world ...
"Father, what happened to you ... why are you no longer with mother?" Nicolae asked him. The DNA report was an indisputable proof, and so he could quickly accept this man in front of him as his father.
Now he wanted to know what had happened to his mother.
"For a while, your mother and I were separated. I planned to come and get her after I rescued my men from the Japanese prison in Manchuria during World War 2. At the time she lived with her sister's family in Germany. Right at that moment, Germany lost the war and the whole family was killed during a city attack by the Allies.
Years later I learned that Luna managed to save herself from the city attack and fled to Romania. Thereafter, I lost track of her." Lauriel tried to explain briefly to Nicolae what had happened. He would only discuss it this once, and after this he would close this page in his life. Once and for all.
"I assumed that everyone died during the war, because I am sure that Luna would look for me if she had survived. I waited for decades, and finally I had to accept that she was gone forever. I thought she had died with our child in her womb."
Nicolae shook his head, "I'm still alive ... The hospital doctor loved me as his own son and I lived happily with them, until they all grew old and passed away. Then, I was alone, but I never suffered. Father, there's no need to worry ... I'm fine."
Lauriel smiled with relief. "I'm glad to hear that ..."
Nicolae still found it rather awkward calling the young man father. Fortunately, Lauriel's fatherly attitude really made him feel comfortable and slowly the awkwardness disappeared. Seeing the two men finally smile, Aleksis felt very relieved. She hurriedly wiped her tears and embraced the two of them warmly.
"I am very happy for you, Uncle Rory, Nico ... We must celebrate this. My godfather is finally reunited with his biological son ..." She took the time to grin mischievously toward Lauriel, "But Uncle Rory, I do hope that you will not reconsider who your favorite kid is, now that you have met your biological child."
Lauriel smiled at Aleksis, who was trying to break the ice. "Of course not. My daughter is only you."
He ruffled Aleksis' hair as usual then carried the girl on his back, to show that his affection for Aleksis had not changed at all, even though he had now met his biological child.
Aleksis laughed and whispered something to Lauriel and it made him laugh. Nicolae was stunned to see the interaction between the two. Lauriel, who was currently grieving, seemed to calm down. He and Aleksis had a warm closeness and that was evident from the way they talk. It was as if they lived in their own little world.
Nicolae wondered what Aleksis whispered that made Lauriel laugh.
"Let's go to the kitchen. The chefs must have arrived. I want to order food," Aleksis said in a cutesy tone. Lauriel nodded and lowered the girl to the floor and the three of them walked back into the penthouse.