Dua Ayah

"Apa yang sedang kalian bicarakan?" Tiba-tiba terdengar suara jernih di belakang ayah dan anak itu. Keduanya menoleh sambil tersenyum dan mendapati seorang wanita cantik dengan rambut cokelat dan mata berwarna biru-hijau datang mendekat dengan langkah-langkah anggun. "Hmm... Vega sedang membahas tentang cowok," kata Elios. "Aku sudah menasihatinya, bahwa ia tidak usah memikirkan laki-laki sebelum ia berumur seratus tahun." Wanita cantik itu tertawa dan mengusap rambut anak perempuannya. Ia berkedip seolah mengatakan untuk tidak mempedulikan kata-kata ayahnya. "Papa Nic sudah tiba untuk makan malam, kau tidak ingin menyapanya?" tanya sang ibu kepada anaknya. Wajah Vega seketika tampak cerah. "Papa Nic sudah ada di sini? Aku akan menyapanya dulu. Sampai jumpa di ruang makan, Ayah!" Gadis remaja itu mencium pipi ayahnya dan segera bergegas turun ke lantai satu. Elios mengangguk dan mengamati kepergian anaknya dengan wajah tersenyum. "Astaga.. rasanya baru kemarin aku melahirkan anak itu. Tetapi hari ini dia sudah membicarakan tentang cowok," kata sang istri sambil menggeleng-gelengkan kepalanya. Suaminya mengerling ke arahnya. "Kurasa aku tahu itu menurun dari siapa." "Astaga! Kau menuduhku mengejar-ngejar cowok?" tukas istrinya. "Siapa yang bersikeras ingin menjadi kekasihku saat kita pertama kali bertemu saat kau berumur 20 tahun?" tanya Elios dengan nada suara datar. Vega dan saudara kembarnya, Altair, memiliki seorang ibu dan dua orang ayah. Bagaimana bisa itu terjadi? Ayah kandungnya 'meninggal' ketika Altair dan Vega dikandung ibunya dan selama bertahun-tahun mereka terpisah. "What are you two talking about?" Suddenly a melodious voice was heard behind the father and daughter duo. They both turned around with a smile and found a beautiful woman with honey-colored hair and blue-green eyes coming closer with graceful steps. "Hmm ... Vega was talking about boys," Elios said. "I advised her that she shouldn't think about boys before she turns a hundred years old." The beautiful woman laughed and rubbed her daughter's hair. "Is that so?" "I only told Father that someday I wish to meet a man who would cherish me like he cherishes you, Mom," Vega smile sheepishly. "Aw... Yeah. You should definitely only marry someone who can love you more than your fathers. Otherwise, what's the point of being with him in the first place?" Aleksis nodded. "Oh, by the way, Daddy Nic has just arrived for dinner, don't you want to say hello to him?" Vega's face immediately beamed. "Daddy Nic is already here? I'll say hello first. See you in the dining room, Father!" The teenage girl kissed her father's cheek and immediately rushed down to the first floor. Elios Linden nodded and watched his daughter leave with a faint smile on his face. "Jeez ... it feels like yesterday that I gave birth to that child. But today she has already been talking about boys," his wife grumbled, shaking her head. Her husband glanced at her. "I think I know who she takes after in that regard, falling in love at such a young age. Tsk." "Gosh! You're saying I was chasing boys when I was young?" said his wife. "Who insisted on being my girlfriend when we met 17 years ago?" Elios asked cooly. He pulled his wife to sit on his lap. The beautiful woman chuckled and wrapped her arms around her husband's neck. "I had to be assertive then. If not, you wouldn't know what is good for you," she grumbled. "You're right, Aleksis," Elios Linden kissed his wife's lips and closed his eyes, enjoying her scent. When he opened his eyes, his face looked rather sad. "Time goes by so fast. Suddenly it's already Sunday. I hate it when time flies." "Sshh ... didn't we agree on this arrangement?" Aleksis reprimanded her husband gently." Altair and Vega need to lead a normal lifestyle, like other kids their age. Once they are satisfied, we can have them forever." Elios finally nodded. He rose from his seat and carried his wife in both arms. "Let's have dinner." Aleksis was raised by her overprotective father, the Alchemist clan leader. As a child, she had been kidn*pped several times, and that made her parents worried death about her safety. That was why she and her younger siblings grew up and educated at home. Their parents called the best private teachers in the world. They did not get an education in ordinary schools like other children. It made them lose their teen years when they were supposed to make friends with their peers. That was why Aleksis now let her two firstborns go to school like other regular children. Of course, the twins were always protected by reliable bodyguards who worked in discreet. Altair and Vega did not use the surname Linden when they were registered at George Washington High School. Neither did they claim to be Elios Linden's children. Their father was currently one of the most prominent men in the world because he controlled RMI, the largest technology company group that managed daily human life. If people find out that Elios Linden's children went to a particular school, surely the kids could become the target of bad people. They also wouldn't be able to make genuine friends easily because their schoolmates and teachers would treat them differently just because of their parents. So, to make it easier for Altair and Vega to go to school like regular kids and not disclose their identities, they were sent to live with their foster father, Nicolae Medici. They called him Daddy Nic. Nicolae was also an immortal who was not aging. He was quite adventurous and had traveled the world by changing his identities and professions. Now, he was working as a professor at a university in New York. He gladly accepted the twins at his home and became their father in name before their teachers and schoolmates. In school, Altair Linden and Vega Linden were using the name of Altair Medici and Vega Medici. On weekdays or school nights, the twins would stay with Nicolae. He owned a comfortable apartment near George Washington High School, and on weekends both would return to their parents' home. On Sundays like this, usually, Nicolae would go to dinner with them at the Linden's family home and then bring the twins to go home with her. Alaric quietly complained that time was running so fast and now it was already Sunday night and Nicolae had come to get her children. "Hey ... welcome. Let's eat," Elios said when he saw Nicolae sitting at the dining table and chatting with her children. Nicolae is a handsome young man who in 2056 is 111 years old, but in appearance, he still looks like a young man aged 25 years. At first glance, people would think he was a random student, not a lecturer. His handsome face has perfect curvature with long blond hair tied with a red ribbon and a pair of bright blue eyes. His body was tall, strapping, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and ripped jeans. His appearance is casual and his attitude is warm and friendly, the opposite of Elios who always looks elegant and has a cold and introverted attitude. Alaric has a pair of purple eyes and platinum colored hair which he often cuts short. He did not like long hair like Nicolae because his smooth face looked like a woman. Long hair will make her face look more feminine, which is why she diligently cuts it. One fact that people often would not have guessed when seeing these two people together was: both of them were sisters, identical twins born before their mother died at the end of World War 2. That is one reason why Altair and Vega call Nicolae as 'Papa Nic'.