Chapter 7: Closing Every Door I Left Open

I didn't reply to Eleni's message.

Instead, I took a screenshot and saved it in a folder on my phone.

Then I blocked her number.

For the first time in months, the silence felt peaceful.

I made coffee, opened my laptop, and started looking into the property transfer.

I needed to solve that problem without Kostas.

The original document was ruined, but my mother had sent me a scanned copy when she mailed it.

I searched through my email until I found it.

The scan was clear enough to read the signatures and notary information.

I called the notary office in my mother's town.

After explaining what happened, the clerk told me there was a way to request another certified original.

It would take some time, but my mother wouldn't have to start the entire process from the beginning.

I hung up feeling lighter.

At least one thing in my life could still be fixed.

My phone buzzed again.

This time it was a message from Kostas.

“Eleni told me she messaged you.”

I didn't respond.

Another message appeared.

“She shouldn't have done that.”

I stared at the screen.

Then came another.

“Please don't let this get uglier than it already is.”

I almost smiled.

He wasn't asking what she had said.

He already knew.

He was worried about what I might do with it.

I put the phone aside.

An hour later, I received a call from an unfamiliar number.

I answered cautiously.

“Hello?”

A man's voice replied.

“Is this Romy?”

“Yes.”

“This is Mason. I'm a friend of Kostas.”

I sat up straighter.

“Why are you calling me?”

He hesitated.

“I wasn't sure whether I should.”

“Then why did you?”

He exhaled.

“Because I heard what happened last night.”

“Kostas told you?”

“Not exactly.”

There was another pause.

“Romy, I think you deserve to know something.”

My stomach tightened.

“What?”

“That weekend three months ago…”

He stopped.

“Kostas told everyone he was traveling alone for work.”

“I know.”

“But he wasn't.”

My grip tightened around the phone.

“You saw him?”

“I saw him at the resort.”

“With Eleni?”

“Yes.”

For a moment, I couldn't speak.

Mason continued.

“I didn't think much of it at the time.”

“Kostas said she needed help with something.”

“But later that night, I saw them together at the bar.”

“They weren't acting like coworkers.”

I closed my eyes.

“Why didn't you tell me then?”

“Because I didn't know you two were serious enough for me to interfere.”

His voice sounded ashamed.

“And honestly, I trusted Kostas.”

I understood that feeling.

I had trusted him too.

“Did you see anything else?” I asked.

Mason was quiet.

“The next morning, I saw them leaving the same elevator.”

“Kostas saw me.”

“He pulled me aside and told me not to misunderstand what I had seen.”

I swallowed.

“What did he say?”

“He said Eleni was important to him.”

“But he said he loved you.”

My chest tightened.

“Did he say anything else?”

Mason lowered his voice.

“He said he was going to figure things out.”

“Figure what out?”

“You or her.”

The words landed harder than I expected.

I thanked Mason and ended the call.

For several minutes, I sat completely still.

Kostas had known.

He had known exactly what he was doing.

He hadn't been confused.

He had simply wanted to keep both options available.

I opened the folder where I had saved Eleni's message.

Then I created another folder.

I named it “Kostas.”

Inside it, I saved the hotel reservation.

The delivery receipt.

The photograph of the ruined property document.

Eleni's message.

And Mason's contact information.

I wasn't preparing revenge.

I was preparing to protect myself.

That afternoon, I drove to my mother's town.

I wanted to tell her what had happened, but when I saw her waiting for me at the door, I couldn't bring myself to put the whole truth into words.

She looked at my face for a few seconds.

Then she asked quietly, “Did Kostas hurt you?”

I looked down.

“Not physically.”

She pulled me into a hug.

“Then don't let him hurt you twice.”

I closed my eyes against her shoulder.

For the first time in days, I allowed myself to cry.

When I finally pulled away, she touched my cheek.

“You don't need his apartment.”

“You don't need his door.”

“And you certainly don't need permission to walk away.”

I nodded.

That night, I slept in my childhood bedroom.

For the first time since I had met Kostas, I didn't check my phone before falling asleep.

In the morning, there were seventeen missed calls.

All from him.

I didn't call back.

Instead, I opened my laptop and began changing the password to every account we had ever shared.

Then I removed his access to the cloud folder where I kept my personal documents.

One by one, I closed every door I had once left open for him.

And this time, I didn't feel guilty.