A Compromise Before Christmas

Chapter 9

The bus ride back home was filled with much thought. By the time she had reached her destination, Acacia was both physically and mentally exhausted.

Having had a terrible day, all she wanted to do was have a nice, long bath and go to bed, but even that could not be achieved, for the moment she set her bag down, her phone rang.

Sighing heavily, Acacia took her phone out of her pocket and saw that Violet was calling again. An instant feeling of dread took over her. Violet did not call often because she did not want to disturb her big sister; she would only call twice if she were in serious need or something bad happened at home.

"Hello?" she answered nervously

"Are you home yet?"

"I just arrived. Why?"

"Because I don't want you out in the streets so late."

Acacia began slowly pacing the floor as she talked to her sister.

"I'm a grown woman, Violet. Besides, I know the reason you called wasn't to check up on me, so what is it?"

Violet sighed, "Am I that easy to read?"

"Mmm-hmm, so what happened? Did Mom find out about Mr. Sanders?"

"No, but we have bigger fish to fry than him at the moment."

"We have too many fish to fry; which one specifically?"

"Take a guess."

Acacia didn't even have to guess, because she was the first person on her mind

"What has she done this time?"

"That witch, Sofia, came to the lodge and started barking orders as if she owned the place. On top of that, she tried to take money out of the safe," Violet explained with great annoyance.

Acacia shook her head, "How did you handle the situation? Was Mom there?"

"She was, the two were about to get physical if I hadn't stood between them."

"Mom almost got physical?"

"Yeah, she was really upset."

As amusing as it was to hear her mother almost beat someone up, it was also heartbreaking. Acacia did not like seeing her mother distressed, but she had been that way for a while, and no one could cheer her up.

"When are they going to leave us alone? We don't owe them anything." Violet went on.

"We don't, but their father apparently does."

"Screw him! We wouldn't even be in this mess if it weren't for him. I hope he burns in hell."

It was Acacia's first time hearing her little sister so worked up. The trembling in her voice indicated she was holding back tears.

"Violet, I know you're frustrated right now, but please hang in there. We'll get through this together, I promise."

Violet did not respond for a moment. Only her heavy breathing could be heard.

"Sorry... It's been a long day."

"Don't apologize; you have every right to be upset."

"Yeah, but... You have it worse than I do."

"Hey, we're all suffering here. What's important is not letting it get to our heads."

"Yeah, I'll try my best."

"The same goes for Mom. Tell her everything is going to get better... I'm- uh, I have a feeling that things are going to change for the better soon."

"You sound optimistic. Did something happen?"

Something indeed happened, but it wasn't positive, nor something she could say without feeling shame.

"Just... trust me; I'm working on it."

"I do trust you, but... please take care of yourself."

"I will. I need to go now; it's been a long and exhausting day. All I want is to lie down and sleep."

"Go ahead, call me tomorrow when you get up."

"Will do. Bye."

After the call ended, Acacia sat on the edge of her sofa and stared at the floor. The weight of all her problems was slowly crushing her, making it impossible to breathe. She had never felt more hopeless in her life.

Putting on a strong and optimistic mask was easy, especially since neither Violet nor her mother was there to see her. It was easy enough to lie on the phone, but she couldn't lie to herself. No matter how she looked at her situation, she was screwed.

At that moment, Acacia could only lament and ask herself why the universe was punishing her. Perhaps if there was a past misdeed, she could apologize for it and move on with her life. But the reality was she wasn't being punished for anything she did; she was being punished for something someone else did.

All the current problems in Acacia's life could be credited to one man and one man alone: her father. The irony of it all was that he wasn't even there to see the damage he had caused. He died and left all his problems to his daughters. What bothered them most was their obligation to rectify his mistakes, even though they weren't responsible.

3 years had passed since her father had died, yet the impact of his death still hit harder than ever. This wasn't because she missed him, no. It was because his lies and secrets were still hurting her and her family until that day.

Finding out that her father had a secret family, with children who were around the same age as she and Violet, broke Acacia to her soul. When it was confirmed, she lost all the love and respect she had for him, but that didn't matter because the damage was done, and only fighting remained.

Having her half-siblings show up out of nowhere and start claiming a nonexistent inheritance was the icing on the cake. Never in a million years did she think she would ever be in such a position, and yet, there she was, fighting for property and money that she and her family had worked hard for.

Aside from the secret family, there were also the secret deals and promises he made that he did not fulfill when he was alive. Naturally, that shouldn't have been her problem, but he made it her problem by tricking her into being his 'partner'. With him gone, all his debt became her responsibility, and she had no choice but to clear it.

Acacia's nerves were pulsing. Remembering all the painful memories made her develop a migraine. That was when she knew it was time to stop.

Getting to her feet, she dragged herself to her bathroom, where she stripped off her sweaty clothes. The only thing that could console her was a long, hot shower.

Standing under the running water, Acacia closed her eyes and reveled in the blissful silence of her bathroom. With how fast-paced her life was, the only time she had for herself was when she was taking a shower. Though it was sad, she was grateful she could at least have a little time to herself, where no one could find her.

In the dark and silence of her bathroom, Acacia's mind suddenly brought up Nikolaos' image, forcing her to open her eyes. He still managed to creep into her thoughts, irritating her even in her peaceful moments.

Try as she did, Acacia could not ignore her mind constantly bringing up the man she wanted to forget. At first, she rationalized it by telling herself it was only natural that she would think about him because they had just met, but that reason wasn't solid enough.

Finding no other justification for her thoughts of Nikolaos at that very moment, Acacia relented and let her mind roam. Their reunion at the bar replayed, and she remembered how charming he looked.

As her thoughts went on, she was reminded of the outrageous proposal he had made. Acacia still could not believe that he was willing to go to such lengths for money. Still, after her discussion with Violet and all the negative thoughts that ran through her mind, she partially understood his desperation.

It turned out that the wealthy, too, had issues, and though they weren't in the same boat, they still had a common problem: money.

Acacia did not want to accept that she had gone so low as to consider such a ridiculous offer, but even if she didn't accept it, it did not change the fact that to save her family from debt, she needed either a big miracle or a scam.