Author's note: this is from Aldus's point of view

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When I saw Serina approaching me with Thompson junior by her side and Thompson senior following her, I knew that Seraphina made her move.

She glanced toward the exit door, silently telling me it's time to leave and her stiff expression was the perfect opportunity for me to accuse Richard Thompson that he did something. Considering our previous conversation, he probably did.

I didn't expect that Richard would be looking at Serina like an enamored teenager, but then... this is Serina and she has her pheromones. But I thought she will use them on the youngster. Well, I knew she will explain what happened as soon as we get privacy.

We left the event without delay, and Mitch was quick to give us a ride.

"To the villa, Mitch…", I instructed him.

"Can we go home?", Serina asked.

I was surprised by this request. What about Drago? I thought that after our sync-up I will end up going home alone because Serina will come up with an excuse to stay longer.

"You don't want to remain in London longer?"

"I have things I need to do.", she responded with determination.

"Mitch, take us to the airport.", I said before turning to Serina. "What happened with Jonathan and Richard and where we go from here?"

Serina told me that Jonathan wants to send a revised proposition for collaboration between Giantshade Industries and Notte Pharmaceuticals, and that she used her ability on Richard, and maybe on Jonathan as well.

"I didn't want to use my pheromones on the old guy, but he was coming after me and I didn't want to argue with him. My options were to blast him away or to charm him, and considering that we were in a public space, I went with the one that is less noticeable to the potential observers."

I laughed at the irony of a man who was belittling her, now turned into a fervent admirer. Poetic justice.

"Don't feel guilty, Serina. You should be aware of the weapons you have at your disposal and use them when you see fit. As an immortal and my daughter, you don't need to put up with anyone. Not even your father-in-law." I saw her frown, and I quickly corrected myself. "Oh, sorry. Not father-in-law. I wanted to say, your future husband."

Serina sulked. "You are having fun with this."

I didn't deny it. "You would be enjoying more if you heard his speech how it's my blessing that you caught an eye of a man from the Thompson family because they will take good care of Notte Pharmaceuticals. Now that they are enamored with you, make them kneel and eat their words."

Serina rolled her eyes. "Let's focus on the important things. I believe that Jonathan is eager to take over the company from his father. Maybe that is our opportunity to cause some disturbance in Gianshade Industries and in the Thompson family. If they are busy with their problems, they won't have time to bother with anyone else but even without that, I don't think they will try anything against Notte Pharmaceuticals now because both of them are eager to leave a good impression on me. We should wait to see the revised proposal and in the meantime keep an eye on them."

"Richard is easily irritable and potentially mentally unstable.", I shared my thoughts. "If he thinks that he saw a vampire or a ghoul, that might be enough to push him over the edge and get him institutionalized."

"If he snaps, he will lose his position in the company, but that will leave us with Jonathan who has a good head on his shoulders. Actually, I think that Richard's presence is beneficial for us. He is a distraction for John and if we remove him, John will be able to focus on us and that will be a bigger problem."

That was an interesting perspective.

"Alright. Let's keep an eye on them and see what happens.", I said.

I thought that Serina will try to catch some sleep until we reach the airport, but she took her phone and made a call. Of course, she called her Duke.

"Hey, I'm out… Yes. I am fine… No, I can't… The event went as planned. Now I need to discuss strategy with my father, and I will keep you in the loop. I will call you tomorrow. OK? … I miss you too."

She ended the call and stared at the blank screen. I could feel how reluctant she was to refuse his offer to meet. It seems that the boy got under her skin.

"You did the right thing, Serina.", I told her.

"I know. But it doesn't make it any easier.", she said dejectedly. "I really want to go to his place and cuddle up next to him."

I chuckled. "It wouldn't be a problem if cuddles were enough."

I watched the redness invade her cheeks. She is a grown woman, why is she blushing so easily? But I noticed that she gets this vulnerable only when that boy is in question.

"I need to focus on my training. Luca's birthday is coming, and I was thinking of inviting Duke to join us, but…", she stopped talking and her pitiful expression told me that she is concerned about her ability.

I was happy to see that she finally found her happiness, but also dejected by the fact how that happiness has nothing to do with me.

I gave her a home, an identity, support, taught her things, yet the presence of that boy overshadowed everything.

Is this how every father feels when his daughter falls in love? Useless sappiness.

I saw that she is determined to practice and willing to make sacrifices. I decided to see how far she would go.

"When we reach home, I can help you train. If you wish."

She looked at me expectantly. "You can?"

"I think I can, but you might not like it."

"What is it?"

I wanted to confirm a few things first. "You said that you can control your ability to a certain extent. Correct?"

"I am making progress. My estimate is that I can control about halfway when I'm expecting it. However, when it catches me by surprise, my control slips."

"When you are not prepared in advance, you can't prevent the vitality from leaving your body. Correct?"

She confirmed.

"I believe that my ability is perfect for your training."

Her brows furrowed. "It is?"

"My ability drains vitality." Actually, it's more than that, but I decided to keep it simple. "If you learn to block my ability from sapping your energy and damaging your body, you should be able to use the same method to prevent vitality from leaving your body. I don't need to tell you that no one ever tried this, so it's not foolproof."

Serina's eyes flashed in understanding. "Alright. We will try that."

I was glad to see her relying on me, and the trust she showed me was touching.

I didn't have the heart to tell her how this will be painful for her because I never fine-tuned my ability to sap just a little bit. My ability is providing me a mess-free way to feed, and it was always in my interest to finish as soon as possible.

This might be a shortcut for Serina to prevent the vitality from leaving her body unexpectedly, but before she reaches there, every exercise will put her in a cycle of where her body is damaged, and we will rely on her remarkable healing ability to return her body to optimal state so that we can try again.

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