The Art of Love and Treachery

Chapter 13: The Art of Love and Treachery

          Cassandra and Nikos didn’t spend much time together the next day, having reached a silent agreement to take some time to think things through. Max was busy reuniting with his family, however uncomfortable it made him. His mother seemed incapable of letting him far out of her sight, for fear that she wouldn’t see him for several years again. Cassandra still wasn’t feeling overly warm towards the Christokis family, so she kept away from the people who had been so convinced of her villainy only a few days previously.

       She wandered onto one of the terraces to read and maybe take a nap, when Cassandra stumbled upon Alex, already doing just that. He stirred when he heard a light footstep, so he couldn’t have been truly asleep. Alex had never had a problem with Cassandra, even in the past week, so she had no qualms about plopping down into a chair next to him.

           “Ah, Alexios, my boy. You never held it against me, did you? Why is that?”

       Alex sprawled in his chair, the picture of indolence. “What was there to hold against you? Constantine decided to leave you money. That was between you and him. My grandfather would never do anything without a good reason. And you didn’t want to tell us why he did it. You didn’t owe us an explanation. The only person you owed anything to was Nikos. So he was angry with you, that was his business. But you never did anything to me.”

       Cassandra looked at Alex appreciatively. He was the third brother, and it seemed that the Christokis brothers decreased in levels of seriousness. Andreas was far too serious, had never been a partier, and had settled down with a family at a very early age, concentrating on work.  Nikos was a mercurial person, exceptionally good at business, but unwilling to let many people into his personal life. Alex was laid back and fun: he worked in one of the family’s businesses, but it wasn’t his primary concern in life, and he generally liked to be around other fun people. Max had always been seen as the black sheep of the family, taking the partying much too far, and never contributing to any of the family’s businesses.

           “What are you thinking?” Alex asked, interrupting her thoughts.

          She sighed. “I don’t know what I think anymore.”

          Alex kept his eyes trained on her while he asked the question that needed to be asked. “Do you still love him?”

           Cassandra held back a breath, as though she didn’t want to admit it. “Yes.”

          “Then you need forgiveness. To find it within yourself to forgive him. If you can’t, then you need to divorce him. So let’s list them. What has he done to you that’s troubling you?”

          “He didn’t trust me when I needed him to.”

          “You didn’t trust him either. I think both of you are on par with that one. He hit you?”

          “He slapped me. When we got back home to London after the funeral and hearing the will read here. He thought I’d tell him once we were on our own at home, and got angry when I didn’t. It wasn’t a very hard slap; it didn’t leave a mark.”

          “But he still hit you,” Alex finished.

          “Yes.”

           “And infidelity?”

          “What about it?”

           “Whitney?”

       Cassandra chuckled humourlessly. “I don’t care that he slept with other women. We were separated. I do care that he wanted to hurt me so badly that he brought her here with us.”

          “Who cheated on who first?”

         She was quiet for a moment. “I guess Nikos did. But I was already gone that night. He told me to leave – we were separated as soon as the door shut behind me.”

           Alex studied his sister-in-law. She was an odd one. It was obvious why Nikos had been drawn to her to begin with, most men would be. When Alex had first met the her in Paris, with Nikos, he hadn’t been able to believe it: the artsy, charismatic young girl together with his moody, cutthroat, business-minded brother. But she and Nikos suited one another better than anyone had expected.

         “So go back to him. You still love him, and you seem to be able to forgive him for most of his transgressions. And he so obviously still loves you.”

           Cassandra rubbed her forehead absently. “But Max – “

        “Forget Max!” Real emotion entered Alex’s tone. “Don’t be an idiot, Cassandra. You’ve done more than enough for my brother. Don’t get me wrong, I’m ever so grateful to you for it, but you’ve done enough. You put your life on hold for him, possibly ruining your marriage, and now that you have a chance to make it right again, you can’t let Max get in the way.”

           She frowned at him. “That was a bit harsh.”

         Alex snorted. “It was true. I don’t know what’s going on in your head, Cass, but it seems like your trying to do penance for something, and your penance is looking after Max. I don’t know what you’re feeling so guilty about, but you’ve done right by Max, I promise. Now you’re just using him as an excuse.”

            Cassandra didn’t answer that. Alex wandered off, leaving her to think about it.

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Gaahhhh, I haven't been able to write for any of my stories on Wattpad. It just doesn't want to come out. I'm really sorry about it, but I don't know what to do!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, wrenched out of me as it was.