Nicolae actually felt surprised when he realized that Vega did not protest nor complain when he didn't come to see them in Bordeaux. He instead went to Grosetto and was busy taking care of Summer and Marie and their wedding.

When Nicolae called Altair and Vega, both of them sounded cheerful and was not upset.

Nicolae secretly felt baffled. Was this how it felt to have teenagers? Maybe they no longer cared about him as much as when they were just little kids...

He knew Altair spent a lot of time chatting with JM whenever they had free time, while Vega seemed to be very active on social media, appeared on various videos on the media channel owned by Tatiana, her best friend.

He suddenly felt old. At first, he thought Vega would feel sad because he could not come to Bordeaux to be with them. But she didn't seem to care...

***

"Big brother Mischa."

Mischa, who was sitting leisurely on the terrace of a cafe, raised his face and turned to see who was talking to him. He found a beautiful teenage girl standing in front of him, holding out a bar of chocolate.

"What's this for?" Mischa asked in amazement.

This was his third day in Bordeaux, and slowly he felt his mood begin to improve. It turned out that Alaric was right to tell him to come here. Bordeaux was a new place that was unfamiliar to him and gave him a new atmosphere to comfort his broken heart.

Throughout the day, he would walk along with the group of teenagers from George Washington High School, to watch Vega and Altair from afar. He enjoyed his time going to the vineyard with them. He even joined in picking gr.a.p.es and then follow the process of making wine in the winery.

The overly enthusiastic teenagers also helped make his mood lighter. He knew, even though Vega tried to make her actions not too obvious, Mischa could see the girl stealing glances at him from time to time. She was checking if Mischa was still around to protect them or not. And if she found him, she would smile to herself.

This made Mischa shake his head. He did not understand why a teenage girl as beautiful and lovable as Vega could like him. She obviously didn't lack admirers.

Why did she seem to like a much older man like Mischa? Vega didn't have an Electra Complex or attraction towards older men who could be a father figure to compensate for the lack of fatherly affection when she was younger.

This was absolutely not true when it came to Vega. Her biological father loved her so much and spoiled her to no end. She also had a foster father and many uncles who all doted on her.

So ... there was no way Vega was looking for a father figure in the man she liked, wasn't there?

Ah, never mind...

"This chocolate is for you," Vega said, smiling sweetly. She still held out the chocolate until Mischa finally reached out his hand and accepted the chocolate.

"Thank you, but what is this chocolate for?" Mischa asked in puzzlement. "This isn't Valentine's Day. Do they sell chocolate outside of February?"

Vega was stunned to hear the man's words. "Gosh ... of course! People buy chocolate all the time, not only on Valentine's Day."

"Really???"

Vega watched Mischa carefully and finally realized that the man was just pulling her leg. She struck the man's hand in annoyance and tried to take back her chocolate, but Mischa quickly pulled it away and kept it in his pocket.

"Do you think I'm that gullible?" asked Vega with a frown.

"I'm just joking," said Mischa with a smile. "Thank you for the chocolate."

"Uhm .. that is my token of apology for troubling you the other day," Vega said sincerely. "I just want to say that I'm glad you're here since Daddy Nic is now busy with his new family."

Worse yet, the child was his biological child, unlike her. The connection certainly could not be compared to just a foster child, like what he had with her.

As it happened, Mischa really understood how she felt. He was there years ago.

Therefore, he decided to invite Vega to talk and discuss the issue. He pointed to a chair in front of him and gave a sign for Vega to sit with him.

"Do you still have things to do with your friends, or are you free now?" he asked. "Do you want to have dinner with me?"

Vega initially looked doubtful. She had approached Mischa just to give the chocolate to him. She did not plan to be invited to dinner together.

Ahem... But, if Mischa wanted to have dinner with her, wouldn't it be rude if she refused his invitation? Besides, there seemed to be something important that Mischa wanted to talk to her about.

"Hmm, alright. Shall we eat here?" Vega asked. She glanced at the menu in this small cafe.

"No, we will eat over there," Mischa got up and pointed to a fancy restaurant across the street.

"Ahhh ... alright," Vega nodded and walked alongside Mischa to the restaurant.

A waiter politely welcomed them and invited them to sit at a table that had great privacy. After taking their orders, he excused himself and left them both to talk.

"I met Uncle Nicolae, his wife, and daughter," Mischa said, opening the conversation. "I think they are very happy together."

Vega scowled involuntarily. Of course, she was happy for Nicolae, but she could not deny that she felt like she was losing him. Finally, she could only nod.

"I haven't met Auntie Marie Paris, but I think if she can make Daddy Nic happy ... I'll be happy too," Vega said softly.

"That's good," Mischa nodded in agreement.

The waiter arrived with a tray containing a bottle of wine ordered by Mischa and two glasses and a jug of infused water. He poured a glass of wine for him and a glass of infused water for Vega. Because Vega was underage, she couldn't drink wine with Mischa.

"You know, we were Mr. Alaric Rhionen's foster children for more than 20 years. We were very close to him, and he loved us so much. He was the mentor, father, and protector for the four of us: me, Takeshi, Rosalien, and Kai," Mischa took a sip of wine and continued speaking gently. "Then, suddenly, you and Altair and Madam Aleksis returned to his life."

Vega listened carefully to Mischa's words. She realized Mischa really understood how she felt about Nicolae now. In a way, after Alaric discovered that he had two biological children, all his affections were devoted only to them.

She could now imagine how Mischa and his foster siblings also felt sad because their position had been replaced by Alaric's biological children. And so they felt like outsiders.

"In the beginning, my siblings and I also felt that way, losing the protective figure and father we have considered our parent for more than 20 years. However, when we saw how Master was so happy after he had you in his life, all our jealousy and sadness became meaningless," Mischa said in a gentle but firm voice. "So ... I guess, if you love someone, you just want to see that person happy. If you love Uncle Nic, you want to support him to live his life with whoever makes him happy. Now, the people who could make him happy are Marie and Summer."

Vega was silent. She took a slow sip of her infused water, thinking about Mischa's words. She did not show Nicolae that she was sad nor jealous because Nicolae was busy taking care of his own family and didn't have as much time to talk with Altair and Vega. However, secretly she did feel upset and jealous.

Hearing Mischa's words, Vega realized that she really needed to support Nicolae more and pray for her Daddy Nic to always be happy. Altair and Vega had both agreed that Nicolae had suffered for too long anyway.

"You're right," Vega said finally. "I will tell Daddy Nic that I love him and I will support him to do whatever he wants to make him happy. I will not be sad and jealous of his wife and daughter."

Mischa smiled at Vega's words. "You're a really good girl."