He turned to Lily, who was in his l.a.p.

"Honey, I don't want to be a possessive man who takes your mother's space and makes her feel suffocated, but I am so jealous whenever I see her surrounded by many men who are interested in her while I can't openly drive them away." London talked to Lily as if his baby understood his words.

Lily, who now had stopped crying, looked at him attentively. London became encouraged to keep talking to her. "You won't lose your mother. That is something I can promise you, love. We live close by, so you can be with her whenever you want."

Lily then smiled, showing off her toothless gum, making her father, who was sad, immediately feel happy. Lily's gray eyes sparkled. It was clear that Lily enjoyed her father's smile. Her tiny right hand touched London's dimples that appeared every time he smiled.

"Ahh .. you're really a sweet kid! Lily is the best," voiced London many times. He took his cellphone and texted L to ask if he could call her so L could have a chance to talk to Lily before the baby slept.

[Sorry, the event will end in one hour. Do you want to wait?] L replied.

[It's past Lily's bedtime. I can't let her wait so long.] London felt very disappointed, but he couldn't force L.

[I am very sorry. I will call you before breakfast tomorrow morning. How about that?]

[Okay.]

[Thank you. Good night.]

London did not reply to L's last message. He then laid Lily on the crib beside his own bed and fed her milk with a bottle. Fortunately, Lily was happy listening to her mother's singing just now, so she was no longer fussy. Lily happily finished her milk, and slowly her eyes went droopy and finally closed.

After Lily slept soundly, London returned to meet his family, who were chatting in the living room with some wine. Ireland and Scotland also slept, and both their parents were discussing L when London arrived.

Mischa had told them that L's family was murdered by someone who wanted the Swann family's property. On the one hand, they felt sorry for L, but on the other hand, London's family actually felt rather relieved that he canceled their wedding. They were more supportive of his decision to be assertive and think about his own happiness and Lily.

"I don't want to talk about it if you don't mind." London took a glass of red wine from the table and sat at his mother's feet, who was sitting on the sofa. He sipped his wine once and then laid his head on his mother's l.a.p.

Finland nodded and rubbed her son's head while sighing softly. "Of course. We understand, Dear. We shouldn't talk about it further."

The sight made Alaric a little sad. In his entire life, he had never known his mother or experienced motherly affection. He did not know what it felt like to be spoiled by his mother like what London was getting.

Aleksis, who happened to be looking at her husband, caught Alaric's sad expression. She shared the man's sadness. Subconsciously, she moved closer to Alaric and pulled the man's head into her arms.

"I love you very much," Aleksis whispered into Alaric's ear tenderly. She did not care that her whole family could see them being affectionate toward each other. Alaric, who was surprised because Aleksis suddenly embraced him, was rooted in his place.

A moment later, he closed his eyes and smiled faintly. "I love you, too."

No life is perfect, Alaric thought. He did lose his mother, but the only woman he loved was here with him. This was enough for him. He felt grateful.

When Alaric opened his eyes again, he looked directly at Aleksis's pair of blue-green eyes and expressed his gratitude with his purple eyes, staring lovingly at hers. For a moment, Aleksis was mesmerized by his beautiful purple eyes.

The girl then pressed her lips against Alaric's and kissed him tenderly. Alaric welcomed his wife's kiss with joy. He kissed her back lovingly. Aleksis smiled in amus.e.m.e.nt, and the opportunity was used by Alaric to thrust his tongue inside Aleksis's mouth through her slightly open lips and explore her mouth intimately.

The sound of a shock coming from his lips caught people's attention, and they all looked, trying to see what was happening. When they saw the couple making out passionately, they joined in opening their mouths to make a sound in unison...

Mischa's face was very red. He had never seen his foster father making out with any woman in his life.

Before they could all stand to leave the room, Alaric had snapped his fingers and, suddenly, the large hall was pitch black.

"Hey ... why did the lights go out?"

"What is this?"

Shocked voices were heard from among the guests. One minute later, when they were about to find out what had happened, suddenly the lights came on again, and they couldn't find Alaric and Aleksis near them.

Rune could only cough and try to hide his blushing face. What happened just now made him remember the events of last year when Alaric was tricked with an aphrodisiac by Elien Mikhailova and he entered the penthouse at the Hotel St. Laurent looking extremely aroused and almost made love with Aleksis in front of Rune and London.

It was really hard to forget that event, and now Rune had to witness his brother-in-law and sister making out like this, again. Fortunately, before things escalated, Alaric had turned off the lights and carried Aleksis out of there.

Unknowingly, simultaneously Finland, Caspar, Rune, London, and Mischa took their wine glasses and finished the contents in one gulp, then shook their heads in unison.

Aleksis, who was in Alaric's arms, struggled not to make a noise when her husband picked her up and took her out of the room to leave their family.

Alaric had a very sharp sense of vision, and he memorized every detail of his house, so he could easily carry Aleksis out and walked to their own bedroom in darkness.

"Gosh... they must be shocked ..." Aleksis whispered while giggling when they arrived at their enormous bedroom. She wrapped her arms around Alaric's neck and placed her head on his shoulder.

She loved Alaric's scent, just as Alaric loved her scent, something that always made them feel that they were created for each other. Alaric inhaled Aleksis's scent from the top of her head while closing his eyes and smiling before then he placed his wife gently on their big bed.

"What did you say?" he asked, kneeling next to Aleksis and cupping the girl's face with both hands, bringing his own face closer so that their noses almost touched.

"Which one?" Aleksis asked in a teasing tone.

"What you just said in front of your family ..." whispered Alaric.

"That, I love you?" Aleksis held the back of Alaric's head and neck then landed a kiss on her husband's lips. "I love you. I'll love you for a thousand years and forever ..."

"Mmm ... yes, that one..." Alaric smiled and kissed Aleksis's lips lovingly.

.

>>>>>>>

From The Author:

Aww.. I always love this couple!

By the way, regarding the arranged marriage between the 3-month olds.. I would like to give you peace of mind. It was a jest in Aleksis part (and mine).

Alaric did take it a bit more seriously because that's how he is. He is part of the old world and he is a purist, like his mother's side of the family who prefers marriage between cousins to preserve their lineage purity as commonly done by the old European noblemen and royal families in the past.

Do you know that Empress Maria-Theresa from Austria and Queen Victoria from England are called the grandmothers of Europe because their grandchildren married each other and they ruled kingdoms in Europe from England, Germany, France, to Russia?

Btw, Queen Victoria (Queen Elizabeth II's great-great-grandmother) herself married her cousin, Prince Albert, who was the love of her life, and after he died, she spent the remaining 50 years of her reign dressed in black to mourn him.

Since the Alchemist people started living during the same era, they are exposed to the same culture and a lot of them practice it too. Do you remember that Portia and Ned are actually cousins?