Truth, A bitter pill

Kal's POV

It's late in the morning, and I am working on my desktop, wanting to beat the time and my schedule. I know I am meant to slow down, but I don't want to.

I am not someone to be lax when there is a lot of work to do. In fact, I like to overwork myself. There's this satisfaction that comes with it. So, I type away aggressively on my keyboard.

I am stopped by the constant ringing of my phone, which was beside my laptop, and which I had decided to ignore. But when it keeps ringing, I have no option but to pick.

I pick up my cutting-edge phone to check the caller, and when I see it's my Aunt, I groan and lift my phone off the desk.

"Hello, Aunty." I greet her as soon as I pick up. "How are you doing?"

"Karanos!" She exclaims in her loud soprano. I wince and shut my eyes, waiting to hear why she called.

"How's everyone?" I say. She must have forgotten in her excitement that I asked about her wellbeing. I am not surprised, though. She's such a ball of so much energy.

"Everyone's doing great." She replies. There's a shuffling in the background, and I'm guessing she's trying to pick up her kitten. Something she got a few weeks ago, which she did not forget to tell me about.

No doubt, I love Aunt Kate with her lovely scent and full mane of blond hair. But sometimes, she can be really extra with the relationship we have. Sometimes, she acts like she's my mother, and honestly, it's exhausting to have two women who are always on my phone every day. I have just one mother, and Aunt Kate can continue playing the role of an Aunt.

"Your uncle is in the Bahamas. He's gone on a business trip, so I have time to hang out with the girls at the Sauna. What are you doing today, sweetie? "

"Nothing much," I reply, getting out of my seat and going to the windows facing the city below. "Just want to get a few things done before the day is over."

"Okay." Then, she's silent for a while. I even decide that the call is over, and I am about to hit the end button when she finally speaks up. "I need you to do something little for me."

I stifle the groan building up at the back of my throat and give her listening ears. Maybe it's not something little. Her little ends up always being something I would not be able to accommodate in my day. I hope she doesn't assign me to a task I can't complete, though.

"Sure, what's up?" I reply and slip my hand into the pocket of my ashen slack, waiting.

"So, Linda's faculty is hosting a fashion week, and I can't be there. I am out of town, and she's furious at me. I promised to be there before the end of today, but she had already made it clear that she didn't want to see me. And you know how much she adores you."

I clear my throat and wait for her to finish.

"She's really sad that none of her parents would be attending her show. It will not be good for her on a day like this, so I want you to drop by quickly and show your face. At least make her a tad bit happy for the whole show. Can you do it for me, please?"

"Oh, jeez," I mutter under my breath and begin to pace about. Not today that I have something to do.

"My darling, do this for me. I beg of you." She says in a pleading tone. "Linda is going to be really unhappy with us, and I do not want that now that we're all trying to get back in her good graces. You know what she went through when she was younger?"

Fucking hell.

My Aunt is back with her manipulations. How the heck is her broken relationship with her daughter my business? We might be related and all, but that doesn't give her the guts to try to make me do something I do not want to at the expense of my schedule. If it were a worker who tried this with me, I would have fired them instantly.

"You know how busy I get on Fridays?" I ask no one in particular. "I don't really have the time to drop by at her college real quick. My schedule will be disrupted."

"Oh, honey." She replies in a shaky voice that I am about to believe she'll burst into tears soon enough. "That's going to be really bad for my girl. I caught her crying last night in her room, and she refused to tell me why. She's going through another of her phases, and I really want to be there for her."

"Then, why did you decide to go to the sauna today of all days— especially a day that's special to Linda. You could have rescheduled, you know? "

"I know, I know.  It's just that– I have to be there with the girls. We haven't seen them since last year, and they'll be around for just this weekend. I can't afford to miss this date."

I scoff, trying to understand how my Aunt's brain sometimes works. "But you can afford to miss Linda's Fashion show after years of being absent in her life? Sensational."

There's complete silence on the other end, and I know I hit home. Really, my Aunt deserved that bluntness, and I do not care if she took offense. All that I said was nothing but the plain truth. Linda's parents never really cared about being with her from a young age, and somehow she got used to their absence. In fact, she hated their presence.

I remembered everything vividly. Linda lived with us for half of her life, and with every day she spent with us, we became closer and more of a family to her than her parents were.

Suddenly, there's a long beep, and I know she has ended the call. Sighing, I go back to my seat. I will not call her back to apologize or try to reason with me. She deserves to be told the truth. Maybe she'll have a rethink.

Just as I am about to continue working on my desktop, a knock sounds on my door. My fingers pause on my smart keyboard, and I shut my eyes and rub my forehead with my thumb. "Who the hell is that?"

The door clicks open, and Achilles walks in. "Try not to sound rude all the time. You're going against work ethics by being rude. The fact that you own this company doesn't make you act however you want."

I roll my eyes and return to typing on my keyboard. "What do you want?" I ask.

"I'll be going to Susan's university. Today's their fashion week, and she wants me to be there."

"She studies at the University of Crete. That's a few minutes drive from the office." Achilles explained, his expression light with cheer.

"Linda's fashion show is holding, and somehow, I have to be there because her parents wouldn't be available," I say to Achilles while I begin to type again.

"Why do you sound like you're mocking?" Achilles asks. He comes to sit opposite where I am.

"Nothing really. Just Linda's parents being Linda's parents."

"So, will you be attending? We can go together. " Then his eyes narrowed, and he wiggled his brows.

"Bells might be there, too. Who knows?" I shrug.

There's a loud laugh, and I raise my head to see Achilles laughing at me. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just that I do not think you're going there primarily for your cousin. It has to be Bells, I am sure."

"You know that's not true." I counter. "Linda is very important to me. She's like a little sister to me, and I have to be there for her. Bells isn't the main reason I am going there."

Achilles doesn't seem to believe me, but I honestly do not care. I quickly finished this morning's task and shut down my computer.

"Are you ready to go now?" I ask Achilles. My friend nods immediately and stands to his feet.

"Yeah, I am." He replies and begins to walk to the door. "But, I'll have to drop by my office quickly. I need to pick up a thing or two and dish out instructions to my department employees."

"Alright," I say to him in reply. "Meet me at the lobby. I'll be waiting there."

Immediately, Achilles walks out of my office, and I go ahead to turn off the lights before locking the door to my office behind me. I instructed my secretary to cancel all of my schedule for today because I will be having a busy day.