Chapter 13
1490 Words
Acacia remained silent and unreadable, leaving Nikolaos uncertain about her reaction to his second request. To him, it sounded logical because he was the one orchestrating the plan, and he hoped that she would see things his way.
“So, you’re the one who wants me to be docile,” she finally said.
“Of course not, I would never, but you have to understand our situation, Acacia.”
“I’m not dumb, you know. I don’t need to be told what to do. We can make this plan work without you bossing me around.”
Acacia’s feisty spirit was admirable, but also difficult to handle. Nikolaos hoped she wouldn’t be that way every time they talked.
“Acacia, I understand you, really I do, but I feel you don’t understand me.”
“Then make me understand.”
“Don’t be mad, but I think you’re still holding a grudge against me, and that’s why you’re not understanding my point.”
Acacia furrowed her eyebrows in response
“You do realize I wouldn’t be here if I still held a grudge against you, right?”
“That’s true, but you think you’re negotiating with the Nikolaos of 3 years ago, instead of the current Nikolaos.”
“What’s the difference?”
The small spark had turned into a bonfire, and it would burn them both to the ground if they didn’t extinguish it. Nikolaos inhaled deeply, then let it out. He was determined to find common ground.
“Look, I understand your complaints, and I understand that you’re worried too, but for this plan to work, we really have to agree on this.”
Acacia folded her arms in silent protest. Nikolaos went on regardless.
“This is going to be a hard task, and we will need to not only rely on but also trust each other as well.”
“Trust each other?”
“Yes. You need to believe that I’ll never make you do something that you don’t want to do, because I won’t. I would never purposefully hurt you. Not back then, and certainly not now.”
Nikolaos looked straight into Acacia’s eyes, hoping he had gotten through to her with his sincerity. Acacia leaned back and sighed.
“I don’t like it... But for the sake of moving on, I’ll bite.”
Thanks to Nikolaos, the tension in the room was dispelled successfully. His need to seal the deal was far greater than his pride.
“Thank you for your understanding. I only had two requests, and since you’ve thankfully agreed to them both, we can move on to yours.”
“You’re sure that’s all you want?”
“Positive”
“After this, you cannot make any more requests.”
“I’ll work with what I have.”
“Alright then”
Acacia reached into her bag by her side and pulled out a yellow sticky note; Nikolaos found it strangely endearing.
“Here is my first request...” she began, “You will not touch or make any sort of advances towards me.”
Nikolaos jolted upright in surprise. Acacia had his full and undivided attention.
“Please don’t misunderstand me. I am well aware that whatever happened between us is in the past. However, we are still two grown-ups who will be in each other’s company for a while. Many things can happen.”
“I’m shocked that you even considered it a possibility.”
“It’s only natural for two people who have had a past relationship to feel a certain type of way towards each other. I’m just ensuring that nothing will happen.”
“What if you’re the one making the advances?” Nikolaos grinned mischievously.
“You needn’t worry about that; I’m not a fan of ‘old flames’. Besides, any desire I had for you fizzled out 3 years ago.”
“Ouch”
“Do you agree to my first request?”
“Though it’s a pity, you have my word. I promise I will not touch you... unless you want me to, of course. Although I do have one question on this topic.”
“Go ahead”
“If I can’t touch you, how will we be able to convince my family that we are a genuine couple? The lack of physical contact might cause some suspicion.”
“I already took that into consideration.”
“You did? Please share”
“Physical contact will only be initiated when we are around your family. During that time, and only that time, we can get close to each other. Once it’s over, you keep your hands to yourself.”
As disappointing as it sounded, Nikolaos agreed that their relationship should remain strictly business. No matter how tempting it may get.
“The physical contact, is it limited to holding hands, or can we do more?”
Acacia’s left eye twitched.
“You seem to be enjoying this topic.”
“I just want to make sure I understand everything so I don’t accidentally breach the contract.”
“We will do what is required to convince your family, just don’t go overboard. Got it?”
“Understood”
“Good. Moving on,” Acacia looked down at her sticky note, “You must pay me each time I manage to give you a good reputation point.”
“Ellaborate”
“With how bad your reputation is, it’s going to take a lot of damage control to prove that you have changed. Pretending is one thing, but having someone vouch for your behavior is another. If I manage to help sway your family’s opinion of you, you pay me in return, simple.”
Acacia had made a valid point. It would take more than one good deed to prove that he had changed. Making him pay her each time his reputation got higher was incredibly smart. Nikolaos felt impressed.
“You are one clever woman,” he praised
“Thank you”
“Anything else?”
“Yes, one more thing... and it’s kind of the most important one.”
“Go ahead then.”
Acacia looked down at her sticky note and bit her lip. Her micro-expressions did not go unnoticed.
“You must help me clear my father’s enormous debts.”
The tense expression on her face showed how difficult it was for Acacia to read her last request. To Nikolaos, it was almost as if she were embarrassed, so he stayed quiet to let her speak.
“Now would probably be the right time to explain why I accepted your offer. Without getting into too much detail, my father left behind several debts that need to be paid urgently. Try as I have, I can’t do it by myself, so that’s why I accepted this job.”
“When you say ‘clear the enormous debts’, does that mean all of them or-?”
“No, just the outstanding ones, the most pressing ones. I can do the rest myself.”
“Are you sure? If we manage to do this job right, then I can probably clear all his debts for you.”
A gleam of light appeared in Acacia’s eyes that Nikolaos glimpsed before it disappeared.
“No, I just need you to clear the most pressing ones. I have to do the rest on my own... It’s a personal thing.”
Nikolaos had witnessed many sides of Acacia in the past, but this side of her was entirely new to him. Despite her efforts to conceal it, her face revealed a profound shame.
The atmosphere in the room became awkward, which was unbearable. Nikolaos quickly put on his signature grin and flashed it at Acacia.
“You know, there are a lot of requests you just made.”
Acacia instantly wiped the distraught look off her face.
“Stop being dramatic. I only made 3.”
“And they are three high-maintenance requests.”
“So, what are you saying exactly?”
“I hope you’re ready to work for those privileges, because it’s going to be a long holiday.”
Acacia unexpectedly returned Nikolaos’ smile. Her mood was thankfully better than it had been earlier.
“You’ll find that I am quite efficient at my job. Whatever it may be, I give it my one hundred percent,” she replied smugly.
“I’m counting on it, because this job in particular isn’t going to be easy. From today onwards, you will be Nikolaos Cassavetes’ fiancée.
“That’s quite a title.”
“It is. So, do we have a deal?”
Nikolaos extended his hand to Acacia, who looked cautiously at it. Slowly and hesitantly, she reached out for his hand until her palm landed in his.
“Why does it feel like I’m selling my soul to the devil?”
Nikolaos gently squeezed her hand.
“Who knows? Maybe you just did.”
- Writer
