Chapter 4 Blue-eyed demon

Ariadna felt disappointed, Leonidas seemed to have cared more about her wounded pride than the desperate situation her family was going through.

"Leonidas, have you really heard what I told you?" She asked angrily. "We could lose everything, the mansion, the cars, the company, absolutely everything."

Leonidas was silent for a moment, Ariadna believed he had finally understood the seriousness of the situation.

"I told you not to worry, I will talk to dad about this, I am sure we will solve it, we always do, don't we?" He said, then quickly said goodbye.

Ariadna let herself relax in an armchair, while she looked around at all the luxury that surrounded her, how much time did they have left before everything changed?

Meanwhile, at the Petros mansion, Leonidas entered the study, looking for his father, Theodoros, who was reviewing some documents, was startled by the sudden entrance of his son.

"Dad, we have to do something to help me, a certain Dimitrios Galanis wants to take Ariadne away from me." He said, shaking with anger.

Theodoros put aside the documents, slowly took off his glasses and stared at his son.

"And what do you expect me to do?" He asked with some annoyance. "Are you not capable of solving your own problems?"

Leonidas felt frustrated by his father's indifference, raised his fist and hit the desk.

"This is beyond me" He shouted. "Galanis bought all the Kallistos' debts, if Ariadne doesn't accept his proposal, he will leave them on the street? Can you understand what that means? Theodoros leaned back in his chair, a wry smile drawing on his lips.

"Wow, it seems that this Galanis is smarter than we could think, in days he has done what you have not been able to do in years, bring the Kallistos to their knees."

Leonidas couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Father, how can you say that? Ariadne is my fiancée, I have put all my expectations in this marriage, you know that."

Theodoros stood up, while fixing his cold gaze on his son.

"A fiancée who is now more of a liability than an asset, I suggest you reconsider your options, son."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing, I will never let Ariadne marry that man, she belongs to me, she's mine."

Theodoros walked around the desk, to slowly approach his son.

"Then prove to me that you are worthy of our family name, and solve this problem for yourself, and if you can't." He paused while his eyes sparkled with malice. "Well, son, perhaps it's time for you to consider a marriage that will bring you more advantages."

Leonidas didn't answer, he turned around to leave the study, closing the door so hard that the walls shook.

Back at the Kallistos mansion, Ariadne had made a hasty decision, she would talk to this Dimitrios Galanis, so she went to the garage while thinking about everything she would say to that guy, but she didn't count on the unpleasant surprise that was waiting for her.

When she looked for her car keys, they had disappeared, they were nowhere to be found, frustrated, she called the butler, the man appeared with a sad expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, Miss Ariadne." He said, looking away. "Mr. Galanis sent someone to collect the keys to all the vehicles, he said they belong to you now."

Ariadne was surprised, what nerve that man had, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to control her anger.

Without saying another word, she left the mansion and called a taxi, while she waited, she looked at the facade of the house that had been her home all her life.

Half an hour later, she arrived at the Galanis corporate offices, the building was an impressive skyscraper.

At the reception desk, an elegantly dressed woman stopped her, wearing a clearly fake smile.

"I'm sorry, miss, Mr. Galanis is in an important meeting, he doesn't usually receive visitors without an appointment."

Ariadna felt that all the frustration, fear and anger she had accumulated during those days would explode at that moment.

"Listen carefully," she said as she leaned towards her, over the counter, "I'm going up to see Mr. Galanis, right now, and I assure you that you better not try to stop me, because if you do, you will regret it, I assure you." The employee backed away from her intense tone.

Without waiting for the woman to respond, Ariadna walked towards the elevator, ignoring the shouts of the receptionist asking her to stop.

She assumed that the CEO's office would be on the top floor, she felt her heart beating frantically.

Upon reaching the top floor, Ariadne headed straight to Dimitrios' office, without stopping to ask the secretary, the woman stood up trying to reach her.

Ariadne opened the door in a rude manner, without even knocking, to her surprise, Dimitrios was alone, sitting behind his desk.

Dimitrios, who was reviewing some papers, upon hearing someone enter, looked up, seeing that it was Ariadne, a smile of triumph appeared on his lips.

"Miss Kallistos, this is a pleasant surprise," he said, trying to sound pleasant.

Ariadne was speechless for a moment, she expected the man to be older, perhaps bald, and with a prominent belly, but instead, Dimitrios Galanis was young, with blond hair, attractive, he seemed to her to be a demon with intense blue eyes.

Ariadne made an effort to compose herself, she walked towards the desk.

"Mr. Galanis, I demand that you return our properties to my father." He said firmly. "Immediately."

Dimitrios was not fazed by her tone, he calmly leaned back in his chair, while a sarcastic smile appeared on his face, he fixed his gaze on Ariadne, scanning her from head to toe, almost as if he were evaluating a piece of art.

"I am afraid, Miss, that will not be possible" he replied calmly "unless you pay me what I have invested, or you are willing to accept my marriage proposal."

Ariadne felt her face redden, how dare this man play with the life of his family like this?

"Why do you do this? I do not understand what he gains by ruining my family.

Dimitrios stood up, slowly approached her, Ariadne felt the urge to back away, but forced herself to remain where she was.

"Make no mistake, Miss, I am not ruining anyone, rather, I am offering you a way out of your ruin, one that you must admit, is quite generous considering the circumstances."

"What circumstances are you talking about?" She asked confused.

Dimitrios stared at her, Ariadne couldn't help but feel small under his imposing gaze.

"Well, I imagine your father hasn't told you the whole truth of what happened. The vice president of the company didn't act alone. It was your father who authorized all those bad financial moves that led the company to bankruptcy, of course, that was independent of the money that man took for himself."

"It's not possible. My father would never do something like that." She said in a weak voice.

"But he did it, and when everything fell apart, he was cowardly enough to blame the vice president for everything. As for me, I only took advantage of the opportunity by buying all the debts."

Ariadna backed up to a nearby armchair and let herself fall, feeling that her legs weren't supporting her.

"But...why do you want to marry me?" She asked completely confused.

Dimitrios came even closer, keeping his gaze fixed on hers.

"Did it never occur to you, Miss Kallistos, that maybe you seem...intriguing to me?"

"Intriguing? Do you even know me?"

Dimitrios smiled enigmatically, while a strange glint appeared in his eyes.

"It could be that I know more than it seems, your reputation precedes Ariadna, and I am honest in admitting that I have always been attracted to... challenges."

Ariadna could not help but frown, she felt that there was something else behind those words.

"I honestly do not understand. What do you gain from this?"

"I gain the satisfaction of seeing how the world turns, Ariadna, because you know, the decisions we make in the past can shape our future. Have you ever wondered if the actions and decisions you made in your youth could have consequences one day?"

Ariadna did not know why, but at those words, a chill ran down her spine, perhaps it was the tone of his voice, or the intensity of his gaze, which deeply disturbed her.

"Mr. Galanis, if you have any problems with me, or with my family, I would appreciate it if you were direct, I don't like word games."

"There is nothing that is not direct in my proposal, Ariadna, as I told you, I am offering you a way out of your family's painful situation, the decision is entirely yours." He said, without abandoning his smile.

"I cannot give you an answer now, I need to think about it."

Dimitrios nodded.

"I will wait 24 hours, not a single minute more, or I will take the properties."

Ariadna stood up, her legs shaking, she walked to the door, before leaving, she stopped to look at him.

"And if I agree to marry you, Mr. Galanis? What will happen then?"

Dimitrios smiled again, this time more widely.

"If you accept, dear Ariadna, you will live the rest of your days with the certainty that you married out of obligation, and not out of love, and that will mark your life."