Chapter 518
Alaric would never forget the 6th of October when he turned 20.
That same day, he was taken by Athena to Endover Tennis Club, where he played tennis unknowingly with the club's professional tennis players for an entire day, finally beating one of them.
At that time, he was unaware that while he was playing with the professional players, a girl accidentally walked into the indoor court and was attracted by his performance. She sat quietly in the corner of the audience and watched him play.
The girl watched until 10 p.m. when the game ended.
Then, the girl excitedly made a call. "Aiden, let me recommend a newcomer to you."
The girl sent videos of Alaric playing tennis to Aiden, the club's coach.
Aiden spent an entire night watching the videos. He then contacted the club manager and said, "This newcomer has outstanding talent and caliber. I think very highly of him. I suggest that the club sign him on as soon as possible."
Just like that, on 10th October, on Alaric's 20th birthday, Aiden came to Alaric's school with the club's agent and manager, saying that he wanted to sign a contract with Alaric and train him to become an outstanding professional tennis player.
As a result, Alaric's shattered basketball dream turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Like a dream, he became a professional player of his favorite sport, tennis.
But it wasn't until a year later that he saw the girl at the venue of a domestic tennis match. At that time, he did not know who the girl was.
The girl had thick eyebrows and big eyes. Her facial features were delicate, and she was tall and fit. She did not seem to like to talk. She was not eye- catching among the athletes. When he first met her, she did not leave a deep impression on him.
However, after the girl went on the tennis court, she seemed to have become a different person. It was as if she had a sudden outburst of energy. She became radiant. Be it running, jumping, swinging the tennis racket, or chasing the tennis ball, she exuded unparalleled vitality and explosive power.
Every move was clean and neat. She had skills, experience, strength, and talent. Not only were the moves filled with intimidation, but they also exuded the beauty of sports.
Alaric was stunned. All he could think about was how such a young girl could have such strong dominance on the tennis court.
The girl quickly won the match. Alaric stood up and applauded enthusiastically. Then, he asked Aiden about the girl's background.
Aiden told him that the girl's name was Diane. She was the daughter of Adalynn, Zolin's first female tennis player who had become the Grand Slam champion. Diane was a recognized genius. She was once trained at Endover Tennis Club and transferred to the national team a few years ago.
Alaric was surprised that the girl was Diane. She was really low-key.
Aiden also told him that it was Diane who recommended him to the club.
Endover Tennis Club was also one of the top tennis clubs in the country. Ordinary recommendations would not be valued by the club, and Diane would not easily recommend newbies to the club.
It could be said that Diane was Alaric's benefactor.
Alaric originally wanted to express his gratitude to Diane, but what followed were continuous matches. The two of them were not staying in the same hotel, and he had not been able to find an opportunity.
After the competition ended, Diane won the championship again.
As soon as the award ceremony ended, Diane immediately left the venue in a car and went overseas to train.
A year later, Alaric was also transferred to the national team and became teammates with Diane. This allowed him to express his gratitude to her. Diane was a little shy. "You're more outstanding than I thought. You joined the national team after only two years. You're really amazing."
Before he could say anything modest, Diane continued, "I told my parents about you and even let them watch your competition videos. They all think that you're a promising talent. If you want, my dad can take the time to coach you, and my mom can play tennis with you."
Frederick Whelan, who was Diane's father and Adalynn's husband, was a well-known coach. Adalynn was able to achieve such brilliant achievements because of Frederick's years of coaching.
However, Frederick only served as a coach for Adalynn. He never accepted students. At most, he would guide Diane.
To Alaric, being able to obtain Frederick's guidance was definitely a huge stroke of luck.
He was surprised and delighted. "Really? Is Mr. Whelan really willing to teach me? If he is, I will do my best. I will definitely not let you and Mr. Whelan down."
Just like that, in addition to normal training, he received Frederick's guidance with Diane. His tennis skills improved by leaps and bounds.
He and Diane were together day and night, training and competing together. Naturally, their friendship had also made great progress.
A year later, the two of them played the Grand Slam together.
Alaric officially made a debut in the world tennis arena, and his results were quite impressive.
It was also that year that Diane moved into the Donovan family's big villa on the mountain. Alaric and Diane trained and competed together outside and practiced skills together at home.
On the day they made it to the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam together, they officially announced their relationship.
The reporter asked when they would consider marriage.
Alaric took Diane's hand and said, "When both of us became Grand Slam champions."
The entire inte was in an uproar.
[Diane might be able to become the Grand Slam champion in two to three years, but the competition for the men's championship is too intense. Alaric faces a huge challenge.]
[Although Zolin's local male players have made great progress, they are still far from the world's top level. They have never won a championship so far. Alaric has set too high a goal for himself.]
[In fact, it's already impressive enough if he can enter the semifinals or even get the second or third place, let alone the championship.]
No matter what the outside world said, Alaric and Diane only focused on training hard and constantly challenging higher goals.
A few more years passed.
QuPlease check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.
Of the Donovan family's children, Jaden's twins were preparing to attend elementary school, Arthur's two daughters were attending kindergarten, and Brandon and Nicolette were preparing to welcome their own child.
Zayn and Tina had officially announced their relationship, but they wanted to enjoy their relationship and career and were not in a hurry to get married.
Maria and Louis often read romance
novels and watched fashion shows
together. They had a good
relationship, and they even got their
marriage license in a low-key
manner. However, they did not plan to hold a wedding. Content belongs
Athena planned to use advanced technology to give birth, saving her from the hardships of pregnancy and the risks of childbirth.
The advanced technology was the rumored artificial uterus.
After years of research, Dr. Annie's laboratory had created an artificial uterus that had successfully allowed mice, monkeys, and the Donovan family's cats to produce offspring.
It also allowed a researcher in the laboratory with a severe uterine fibroid to successfully nurture a mature embryo.
Athena had great faith in this technology, and Matthew had great faith in her.
Most importantly, this would ensure that Athena would not be at risk because of pregnancy and childbirth.
This year, Alaric was 30 years old. It had been a full ten years since he entered the tennis world.
Finally, that summer, he fulfilled his wish and won the first Grand Slam championship in his life.
He returned home with the championship trophy and gave it to Athena. He said he was going to give all the first championship medals or trophies of his life to Athena, and he did.
It was also on this day that he saw Athena's newly born children. There were five children.
Athena had quintuplets. The three boys and two girls were given birth through an artificial uterus. Athena did not suffer much. The children were very healthy and cute.
The Donovan family, Matthew, Lucy, and Neil were fond of the five children and surrounded them.
Matthew was grinning from ear to ear. He took turns carrying the five children. "After giving birth to a lifetime of children in one go, there's no need to give birth again. It's simply perfect."
The Donovan family asked, "There are so many children. Is it okay to let two of them adopt the surname of Donovan?"
Matthew said, "Yes, sure. No matter what their surname is, they are my and Athena's babies."
Alaric looked at these children and smiled happily.
He thought, 'If Athena could have so
many children through an artificial uterus, so can he and Diane. This
way, Diane can give birth whenever she wants without affecting her training and competition. It's perfect.'
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