Altair and Vega were puzzled to see their Daddy Nic become quiet throughout the rest of their dinner. Terry also did not say much after that.

"Uncle ... what about those names you mentioned earlier? Why did Daddy Nic just stay quiet?" asked Vega, who sat closest to Terry. Although she was only ten years old, she was well aware of what was happening around her. She could no longer hold her curiosity and asked Terry.

She had never seen Daddy Nic act this quietly. She was afraid the photo her brother had shown Nicolae made him sad.

Terry just shrugged. "It's a.d.u.l.t business. Let your Daddy Nic take care of it himself."

Finally, Altair and Vega could only keep their questions to themselves. Rune looked at them briefly and was not interested in finding out what was happening. For him, Nicolae was a grown man who could decide for himself what he wanted to do.

***

The Schneider family enjoyed a pleasant and intimate holiday with all the family members. They were all living separately in various parts of the world, so the holiday was a good occasion to catch up on their news. For those who lived in Europe, this was an opportunity to escape for a moment from the cold winter.

After his conversation with Terry, Nicolae forgot about his father's love life and didn't spike his drink with veritaserum. His mind was distracted by Terry's words, which kept playing in his head.

"I think you've recovered, Nic. And I sincerely advise you to look for this girl ..."

Terry pointed at Marie's photo and then mentioned the names of every woman Nicolae had been dating for the past two months in New York, one by one.

When his friend mentioned their names, finally Nicolae realized one thing.

All the girls had similar appearances to Marie. They all had a distinctive oriental beauty with a pair of slanted eyes that disappeared when they smiled, full red lips, and cute freckled cheeks.

They were not really her exact copy, but if he thought about it, at first glance, they looked quite similar to Marie. Was this ... a sign ... that subconsciously Nicolae was looking for a woman who reminded him of that girl?

What did this mean?

Was it true that Nicolae had recovered from his broken heart and his heart was now filled by Marie?

No matter what, he had decided to say goodbye to the girl and cut ties between them because Nicolae wanted to start a new life ...

What should he do now if he really had fallen in love with Marie?

"There's no other way. You have to confirm your feelings for her," Terry said the next day, as they were sunbathing on the beach watching the waves. "You have to look for her in Singapore."

"But I have changed my identity," Nicolae said.

"She doesn't know that, right? The important thing is that you have to come and meet her as your old self. Later, if you really love each other and are sure that you want to be together, you can tell her what really happened. You can disclose your identity ..." advised Terry. "I know it's not an easy thing. You know how it went when my brother London was chasing L."

Nicolae fell silent at Terry's words. He knew that his friend was only thinking about his best interests by saying that. Even though he was very relaxed in matters of love, Terry always encouraged his younger siblings and best friend to find their happiness.

"All right ... I will look for Marie to Singapore after our vacation is over," Nicolae finally said.

"That's good." Terry patted Nicolae on the shoulder and smiled happily.

"What is good?" Suddenly Alaric's voice came from behind them.

Terry and Nicolae looked up and saw the man coming with Vega on his back. The girl hugged her father's neck very tightly. She and Alaric were playing on the beach together when Vega saw Uncle Terry and Daddy Nic talking seriously. Vega then asked her father to immediately walk towards them and quietly eavesdrop on what they were talking about.

"Are you going to look for Auntie Marie? Can we join? I also want to meet Auntie Marie," Vega said enthusiastically. "Daddy must visit us at home to have dinner together. Take Auntie Marie with you too ..."

Alaric had never heard Marie's name before. He became interested in seeing his brother's expression change when Vega and Terry mentioned the girl's name.

"You have a girlfriend named Marie?" Alaric asked in a curious voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Um ... she is not my girlfriend." Nicolae suddenly remembered that he and Marie had actually got into a fake marriage for Marie's dying mother. It's been three months, surely Marie had annulled the marriage.

"So?" Alaric asked again. "Do you like her?"

Nicolae fell silent. At first, he thought his feelings for Marie were not deep and only casual. He only thought that the girl was amazing, and Marie helped him forget about Aleksis and heal his broken heart. But nothing more than that.

But for the past few days, after Alta?r showed Marie's photo, and Nicolae talked with Terry, he could not help but admit that he had been thinking a lot about Marie the past three months. He even subconsciously looked for women who looked like her to date in New York.

If that's the case ... he must have indeed fallen in love with her. So, if that was true, rather than dating the look-alikes, wouldn't it be better if he just looked for the original one and dated her? If Nicolae had truly fallen in love with Marie ... wouldn't it be better for him to have a relationship with Marie, instead of a woman who just looked like her?

"Does she live in Singapore?" Alaric asked again in a very patient tone. He knew that for his brother, love was a serious matter. He was the same. When they fell in love with someone, they would love the person seriously and deeply.

He was very happy when he learned the possibility that Nicolae was finally able to forget about Aleksis after eleven years. And now, Nicolae had fallen in love with another woman. Alaric just wanted to see his brother happy.

Nicolae smiled awkwardly at Alaric's question. Actually, he did not want to give his family false hopes. They must really want to see him happy with another woman. But as long as he hadn't met Marie again and confirmed his feelings, he would never know.

"Uhm ... actually, I don't know." Finally, Nicolae answered earnestly. "I met her a few times three months ago. I think she is a really nice girl. She is also charming. And better yet, she is also kind to the children."

"Then? What makes you unable to confirm your feelings?" Alaric asked. He lowered Vega from his back and whispered to his daughter to go play with Altair because he did not want the little one to hear the conversation between a.d.u.l.ts. Vega frowned, but she obeyed her father.

"I have said goodbye to Marie and changed my identity. I also have cut off all contacts. It would be weird if I suddenly came to her now ..." Nicolae said. "I didn't know if I had fallen in love with her."

Alaric seemed very sympathetic at his brother's explanation. He understood the situation was definitely not easy for Nicolae. Alaric knew his twin brother well enough now. He realized that Nicolae must have avoided Marie then because he did not want to use the girl as a mere rebound.

"Have you two slept together?" Alaric asked suddenly, surprising Nicolae. The question was very blunt and, for a moment, rendered Nicolae speechless. He knew the direction of his brother's conversation would be.

"Uhm .. yes." Nicolae nodded.

"You know what happened to my brother-in-law, right?" Alaric asked again. "He only slept once with L, and the girl got pregnant. Luckily, they are now married, and the baby was born into a complete family."

Nicolae gasped at Alaric's words. He hadn't thought about that before.

"We're married too ..." Nicolae murmured. "Maybe she has annulled it by now, but at that time we were actually husband and wife."

"What did you say??? You were married?"

"Married? Without telling us, your family?!?"