A Compromise Before Christmas

Chapter 10

An hour had passed since Acacia’s dramatic exit from the restaurant. Nikolaos remained seated and stared blankly at his untouched plate of Caesar salad.

The entire world felt frozen in place because he could not hear or feel anything. All he could do was look and silently wallow in his misery.

Acacia’s reaction to his offer, though understandable, hurt him. Just because he expected it did not mean it wouldn’t affect him. She always had a way with words, and they always managed to pierce his heart.

Nikolaos was whisked back to 3 years ago when their relationship fell apart. He made it seem like her words didn’t faze him at all, but deep down, they etched themselves into his subconscious and stayed with him ever since. Though they failed to change him, they did wound his ego; a feat no one in his life had previously accomplished.

Since his talk with Acacia failed miserably, there was no need for him to still be in the restaurant. Taking his wallet out of his pocket, he settled the bill for the uneaten meals and headed for the exit.

As he walked down the street with both hands in his pockets, Nikolaos once again began brainstorming ideas; he was back to square one. Though he was extremely disappointed that it did not work out with Acacia, he could not allow himself to give up; there was too much at stake.

***

Back in his hotel room, Nikolaos tried to keep himself busy to distract himself from the fact that his plan was not working. First, he took a long bath, then he browsed through the channels on his TV before turning it off because the noise was irritating him.

No matter what he tried, Nikolaos could not cheer himself up. All his thoughts still ran back to Acacia. Despite her harsh words, he still saw her as the only suitable companion for such a high-risk task.

Having mentally exhausted himself with a stream of never-ending thoughts, Nikolaos sat by the large window and watched life move on without him. Self-reflection was never really his thing, mostly because he had no regrets for the decisions he made, but at that moment, he did.

His regrets, though, weren’t about living life abundantly or lavishly; his regret was not living life wisely. Having a grandmother as strict as his should have made him a little smarter in his approach to his scandals. Had he handled them more maturely, he would not have been in the mess he was in.

In the middle of his self-reflection, his phone buzzed on the table beside him. Nikolaos was in no mood to talk, but then he remembered that in his situation, any call could be important.

Picking up his phone from the side table, he froze when he read the name on the screen. A knot formed in his stomach, and his heart slowly picked up pace. Nikolaos stared at his phone in horror for an entire minute, trying his best to be calm enough to answer the call.

One minute turned into two, but he still could not find the courage to answer. It took all his strength to swipe across the screen and put his phone to his ear. He had no other choice but to.

“Grandma?” he said sheepishly

“Ah, you finally answered. I thought you were going to leave me hanging,” the pleasant voice of Corinna Cassavetes pierced Nikolaos’ ear, giving him mixed feelings.

“Me? Leave you hanging? Why would I do such a thing?”

“Well, you have been leaving me hanging for some time now.”

Nikolaos felt a lump in his throat big enough to choke on, which made it hard for him to find his voice to respond.

“It wasn’t my intention; you know that I would never purposefully leave you hanging. It’s just... I have a lot of things going on in my life.

“Such as?”

The simple question sent Nikolaos’ brain into a frenzy; he did not know how to respond, but he knew if he hesitated, she would immediately know something was off. That was just how good she was at reading him.

“I’ll be honest with you, Grandma... life just hasn’t been... worth it these past few months.”

The response sounded darker than he had intended.

“Nikolaos?”

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?” There was a hint of worry in her stern voice.

“I’ve had better days.”

“Are you in trouble again? Whatever it is, tell me, or must I wait to hear it from the media again?”

Nikolaos felt a pulling in his chest from Corinna’s words; it was his shame. That was the brutal reality of the damage he caused; his image would forever be smeared in her eyes.

“Not this time, I’ve actually been trying to avoid the media. I think it’s working.”

“Whether you try to avoid them or not, you know you’re practically a magnet for them. That’s beside the point. Are you okay?”

“No, but I don’t think you’ll believe me if I tell you what’s wrong.”

“Nikolaos, I am your grandmother. If no one else will believe you, I will. You know that.”

Corinna’s statement was genuine. Even if the entire world did not listen to him, Nikolaos could have hope knowing that his grandmother would. This fact made him feel worse about his actions.

“Well, I’ve been trying to get my life back together.”

Paying back sincerity with a lie was a despicable move on his part, but Nikolaos sought to form a foundation for his plan. After what had happened earlier, he needed some assurance that it would work. After all, just because his grandmother suddenly called to check up on him did not mean things had changed; he was sure of it because he knew his grandmother well.

“Have you?” Corinna responded with much skepticism.

“You see? You already don’t believe me.”

“I’m sorry, but can you blame me?”

“No, I can’t. I know I haven’t been on my best behavior, and that’s why I’m trying to change. To be completely honest, that’s why life hasn’t been worth living; I think it’s because I’m just tired of it all, or maybe I’m just burnt out.”

“Burnt out? From scandals?”

“From it all. I’m done being the black sheep of the family.”

If there was one thing Nikolaos was an expert at, it was talking himself out of trouble. With his skill, he could have been a lawyer. For many people, it always took much to convince Corinna Cassavetes, but for Nikolaos, all he needed was his unwavering voice.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“I’m still trying to figure myself out... but hopefully, I can come home for Christmas, or maybe sooner.”

“You want to come home and celebrate Christmas?”

“Yes, or am I not invited?”

Corinna’s silence made Nikolaos uneasy. Though he did his best to convince her, it was still up to her to believe him. For all he knew, she could have stopped believing him years ago.

“Of course you’re invited,” Corinna finally answered. “You always have been.”

“Then I’ll be there.”

“I’m looking forward to it. I’m dying to see just how much my troublesome grandson has changed.”

Corinna’s response was like a challenge; Nikolaos could hear it in her voice, as well as her amusement.

“Keep your expectations to a minimum. Rome wasn’t built in a single day. I’m still a work in progress.”

“We’ll see. I have to go, but please let me know when you’re planning on coming back so I can make arrangements.”

“Wait! Before you go, I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“Why did you suddenly call me?”

“Can I not call my grandson to check on him?”

“You can, but you and I both know it’s not the case this time. Not after everything that has happened.”

In the same way that she knew him well, Nikolaos also knew his grandmother well. There were things that she didn’t do, and calling out of the blue was one of them.

“I forgot, you got your perceptiveness from me.”

“And I’m glad.”

“It’s true, I didn’t just wake up today and decide to call you.”

“So what prompted your decision?”

“It was Elena; she convinced me to call you because she believed you were in distress.”

Nikolaos immediately felt uneasy. If his aunt Elena was the one who convinced his grandmother to call, did it mean she knew that he knew about the will?

“Why would she think that?” he questioned nervously

“I don’t know, she just said that as your aunt, she had a feeling you weren’t well, and she wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Nikolaos sighed and thanked his aunt internally for having his back.

“I appreciate the concern. I’ll call her when I get the chance.”

“You do so. I’ll talk to you soon, hopefully in person.”

“Yes, see you later.”

Once the call ended, Nikolaos let out a loud sigh. He couldn’t believe he had just spoken with his grandmother and that it actually went well.

With his plan’s foundation successfully laid, he knew he had to speed things up. Without thinking, he scrolled through his contacts and called the one person he swore he would never speak to again: Cinda.