A Compromise Before Christmas

Chapter 8

Acacia stared at Nikolaos from across the table; she was in complete disbelief. The words he uttered had never been said to her before.

After the server was done, he finally left the two alone. Acacia, who was still confused, stopped herself from immediately reacting in order to understand the situation.

"Come again," she said in a calm yet intimidating manner

Nikolaos sighed before he repeated himself

"Will you be my fake fiancée?"

"Oh, so it wasn't a joke?"

"No, I am very serious."

"Are you? Because this sounds like a joke, and it's not very funny."

In all her years of existence, no one had asked Acacia such a question, and she never imagined they would. Mostly because she had never been in a situation where it could happen. Until that day.

"Will you at least hear me out before reacting?" Nikolaos pleaded.

"What's there to hear? What reasonable explanation could you possibly have for asking me such a question?"

"I wouldn't say it's 'reasonable', but I will say it's valid."

Acacia raised an eyebrow. As ridiculous as the situation was, she still found herself curious about his reasons. Why would a man of Nikolaos's status need a fake fiancée?

"Alright then, let's hear your 'valid' reason."

Nikolaos was quiet for a moment. Acacia could feel his hesitation. To her, that meant his 'valid' reason wasn't so valid. And he knew it himself, too.

"I know that this may look absurd to you. Nikolaos Cassavetes, in search of a fake fiancée. It's absurd for me too, but the current situation I'm in calls for such... strange requests."

"You keep saying that, but I'm yet to hear a 'valid' reason."

"I told you earlier that my family is being torn apart."

"So?"

"So, my request is in line with my family issues."

Acacia narrowed her eyes at Nikolaos. All she could hear were lies.

"If you aren't going to tell me the real reason, you made such a dumb request; I'm leaving. You could have spared me the nonsense."

Acacia attempted to stand, but Nikolaos reached forward and held her hand.

"Wait!"

"Let go of me."

"Just give me a second, you know it's not exactly easy talking to you."

"Then why did you seek me out?"

"Because I'm desperate, I thought I had already made that clear."

"Clearly, you aren't desperate enough if you can't even be straightforward with your answer."

The tension between the two was nearing its boiling point. If either of them hadn't withdrawn, the situation would've gotten worse.

Nikolaos released Acacia's hand and leaned back into his seat; he was the one to withdraw. Seeing his reaction, Acacia settled down as well.

"You want to know the full reason? Here it is: my family is going to disown me."

Acacia's eyes widened at the revelation.

"Disown you? Why?"

"You might be the only person in Athens who doesn't know what I've been up to. I've gotten myself into a lot of s**t, and it's all coming back to bite me.

Nikolaos' words were surprising, but his honesty was even more surprising. Acacia could feel the sincerity in his voice.

"So, let me get this straight: you messed up so badly that your family wants to cut ties with you."

"Yes"

"And your solution to this is a... fake fiancée?"

"Correct. It may sound appalling to you, but that is exactly how I'm going to get back into my family's good graces."

Though Nikolaos was being sincere, his reason was still off. Acacia couldn't bring herself to understand how he was so comfortable making such a plan.

"If I remember correctly, you said you hated your family. You said you disliked being around them and preferred being alone. Why are you now trying so hard to get back into their good graces?"

Nikolaos took a sip of his drink before responding.

"To be honest, it's not exactly my family I'm fighting to get back into."

"Then?"

Nikolaos looked straight into Acacia's eyes. The sudden eye contact caught her off guard.

"It's my grandmother's will."

"Pardon"

"My grandmother's will, that's what I'm fighting for. If I don't get back on my family's good side, I will be written out of it."

Acacia was stunned by Nikolaos's response and how casually he said it.

"You're telling me all this is because of money? You're willing to lie to your family for money?"

"Yes, and I'm well aware of how this makes me look to you, but I have reached the point where I have no more options."

"How about actually changing for the better? You're in this mess because of your destructive behavior, so why not just be a better person?"

"Do you have any idea how long it will take to convince them that I have changed? It would take an actual miracle."

"And you think convincing them that you got engaged will be any easier? You? The infamous playboy"

"No, but two heads are better than one. That's why I was looking for a partner whom I knew could convince them. And that's how I found you."

"Why me?"

"You're the type of woman my grandmother would be thrilled to have in her family. Who wouldn't believe that you were able to change my life?"

Nikolaos' shamelessness rendered Acacia speechless. The ease with which he spoke of deceiving his loved ones genuinely repulsed her.

"Again, I'm well aware of how this makes me look to you, but I wouldn't ask you to do such a troublesome task without compensation."

"What?"

"I will pay you for your services."

"You're going to be disowned. How on earth will you get the money to pay me?"

"I haven't been disowned yet, but that aside. You let me worry about that; all you have to do is accept my offer."

Nikolaos' tone was cold and unsettling. The kind you would only hear from someone manipulative, which was exactly how he sounded.

"You really don't have a single ounce of remorse, do you?"

"Yes or no, Acacia?"

At that point, Acacia's patience was totally exhausted. Talking to Nikolaos, a man without any shame, really angered her after the exhausting day she had. All the frustration she had bottled up was ready to blow, and he would be the unfortunate recipient.

"Go to hell," was her simple yet powerful response

"Acacia-"

"No, I'm not listening to any more of your nonsense, Nikolaos. You really dragged me all the way here, just for this? To offer me a scam for a job."

To the other customers in the restaurant, it looked like a couple was fighting, but it was much more than that.

"You never change; you're always going to be selfish and arrogant. This is exactly why it didn't work out back then..."

Acacia's frustration caused her to bring up their past, which visibly shocked Nikolaos.

"Instead of recognizing your mistakes and changing for the better, or even just apologizing, you choose to weasel your way out of your problems; learning absolutely nothing".

"Acacia, please lower your voice-"

"I don't give a damn! Let the whole restaurant know that you are a self-centred brat. If you're so concerned about missing out on your grandmother's wealth and ending up poor, then maybe you should be a man and start looking for a job."

Having poured out every last bit of her frustration, Acacia took her bag and rose from her seat. Nikolaos said nothing; he merely watched her get ready to leave.

"Goodbye, Nikolaos, and may we never meet again."

***

After leaving the restaurant, Acacia walked slowly to the nearest bus stop. Overwhelmed by exhaustion, she plopped down on the bench and sighed. It had been the longest and most eventful day she had had in years.

As she waited for her bus, her mind trailed back to Nikolaos. Despite her harsh words and her resolve to finally forget him, Acacia still found herself thinking about him and his situation.

What upset her the most about the matter was how nonchalant he was about making up such a grand lie, and for such a cause. Was the money really that important that he was willing to fake a whole engagement for it?

On the topic of money, Acacia remembered her own family issues. She had just heavily condemned Nikolaos for his plans, but wondered if she, too, would soon become as desperate as he was.