From Rags to God of War

Elsa's Scheme

Isabella was deep in her office on the Weber Group's executive floor, financial reports scattered across her sleek, modern glass desk.

A soft ding from her doorbell broke Isabella's concentration. She looked up, a little startled.

The clear glass door slid open, and there stood Nicholas in the doorway, holding a lunchbox adorned with a small ribbon. A faint smile played on his lips.

"Nicholas! Oh my gosh! What are you doing here?" She sprang up from her chair, feeling a little awkward. A few staff members outside seemed to be peeking in, curious. "You really didn't have to go through all this trouble, you know? Just to bring me lunch."

Nicholas stepped inside, totally ignoring the stares from a couple of employees passing in the hallway. He carefully placed the lunchbox on Isabella's desk, right amidst the piles of reports. "Trouble? What trouble? Not at all," Nicholas waved his hand dismissively. "I love doing it, for my beautiful, hardworking wife like you."

Nicholas gave her a wink, a mischievous glint in his tired eyes. "Besides, I can't let my wife go hungry, right? You need energy to deal with all these stacks of reports."

Isabella blushed. Her heart felt warm. Nicholas's sweet gestures often made her forget his mysterious and dangerous side, the side that sometimes made her anxious. "Nicholas, you!" She didn't quite know what to say. "But I can't eat right now. I have a meeting with one of my staff members. It's super urgent and needs to be done before the main lunch break." Isabella checked her watch. "My staff will be here in fifteen minutes."

Nicholas nodded, understanding. He glanced at the papers on Isabella's desk. "Alright. I won't bother you any longer. I'll leave your lunch here. But you have to eat it as soon as you're done. Don't be late, especially don't skip it. That's a mandatory order from me."

"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Bossy Nicholas," Isabella giggled playfully. "I promise. I'll definitely eat it. Thank you so, so much."

"You're welcome, Isabella." Nicholas bowed slightly, planting a quick kiss on Isabella's forehead. "I gotta go."

...

As he reached the ground floor, Nicholas was just about to head out. But his steps halted. Gilbert suddenly appeared from behind the elevator doors. His eyes immediately latched onto Nicholas's figure, and a cynical sneer formed on his oily face.

"Well, well, well," Gilbert began, deliberately raising his voice, loud enough to snag the attention of several other employees in the lobby who started looking their way. "Look who it is. Miss Isabella Weber's favorite bum. Not content just leeching off her at home, now he's daring to defile the proud offices of the Weber Group too?"

Nicholas ignored Gilbert. He didn't want to cause a scene here, especially with Isabella busy with her work. He tried to walk away, keeping his distance.

"Hey! Did you hear me talking, huh?!" Gilbert took a quick step, blocking Nicholas's path.

The man stared Nicholas up and down, his face full of contempt. "I'm asking, what's your business here, huh? Our office is a place for educated, professional people. Not for jobless losers like you. I'm sure Isabella is absolutely mortified to have a husband like you who has no job and can only cause trouble."

Nicholas clenched his uninjured right hand into a fist. His jaw tightened. He held himself back with all his might from landing a solid punch right on Gilbert's face. His breath hitched, barely containing the boiling rage.

Gilbert noticed Nicholas's reaction. His smirk widened, feeling completely on top of the world. He pulled out his thick leather wallet, peeled off a crisp hundred-dollar bill, then tossed it to the floor right at Nicholas's feet. The money landed by the tip of Nicholas's shoe. "Here," he said, his tone dripping with condescension. "Take this. Pretty decent for a day's meal, right? Or, if you wanna work a little harder, shine these shoes for me 'til they gleam. If you do a good job, I'll even give you a thousand bucks for it. How 'bout that? A tempting offer, wouldn't you say?"

Nicholas felt a surge of pure rage in his chest. The urge to throw a punch was so strong, picturing Gilbert flying back and crashing into a lobby pillar. But he knew he couldn't act rashly. He couldn't ruin Isabella's reputation or cause a scene at the office Isabella was leading.

Nicholas stared at Gilbert with a cold gaze, the kind he usually reserved for the battlefield, enough to make even the bravest soldiers cower in fear.

However, Gilbert, blinded by his arrogance and stupidity, totally missed the danger radiating from Nicholas. He just assumed Nicholas's look was one of inferiority.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from the elevators. Elsa appeared, her face showing shock as she saw Gilbert and Nicholas in the middle of the lobby, with the hundred-dollar bill lying on the floor, and several employees now openly whispering.

"Gilbert! What in the world are you doing here?!" Elsa snapped, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

Elsa marched right over, planting herself between Nicholas and Gilbert. "Have you no shame?! Causing a ruckus in the main office lobby! Don't you have anything better to do, huh?"

Gilbert was startled to see Elsa. His smirk immediately vanished, replaced by a surprised and slightly fearful expression. "Elsa, why are you defending him? He's disturbing the peace here!"

"Disturbing the peace, my foot!" Elsa cut Gilbert off sharply. Her eyes were blazing. "Causing a scene in the office lobby is disturbing the peace! Now, get out! I'll handle this myself! Don't let me see your face again today!"

Gilbert didn't want any more trouble, so he quickly left, abandoning Nicholas and Elsa in the middle of the lobby.

Elsa turned to Nicholas. A faint, slightly awkward smile touched her lips.

"Nicholas," Elsa said, her tone much softer. She even looked at Nicholas with a hint of pity. "I'm so sorry about Gilbert's behavior. He can be quite thoughtless. I'll make sure he doesn't bother you again."

Elsa glanced at the floor, seeing the hundred-dollar bill still lying there. "Just ignore Gilbert. He has no right to insult you like that."

Nicholas looked at the money, then at Elsa. His eyebrows raised slightly. He hadn't expected such a shift in attitude, especially from Elsa, who usually always looked down on him.

"It's fine," Nicholas replied, his voice flat.

"Nicholas," Elsa took a small step forward, as if to take his arm. "How about we grab some coffee? At the cafe on the second floor? There are some important things I want to discuss with you. It's about our family."

Nicholas initially wanted to refuse. He knew this had to be some kind of trick. There had to be an ulterior motive. But because Elsa, who had always scorned him, was now acting so kindly, Nicholas decided to just go along with it. He wanted to see how far their game would go this time. What was the motive behind this sudden change in attitude?

"Alright," Nicholas responded. He wanted to figure out what was behind this drastic change.

Elsa smiled. "Come with me."