From Rags to God of War

Nicholas Gets Even

Elsa invited Nicholas for coffee, even though Nicholas was pretty sure his sister-in-law was just playing nice. Nicholas knew Elsa's sneaky tricks all too well.

Elsa tried to look friendly, a wide smile plastered on her face as they entered the coffee shop. Nicholas followed, playing his part perfectly.

A waiter immediately approached them.

"Good afternoon, Miss. Welcome, Sir," the waiter greeted respectfully. "What can I get for you?"

Elsa raised her chin. "I'd like the most expensive coffee on your menu, two of them. Make them extra special."

Nicholas chimed in quietly, "Sorry, I don't have any money."

Elsa's smile instantly vanished. Her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Nicholas from head to toe, trying to figure out his secret. Victor Meyers said this guy had power, but no money? Impossible. He had to be lying.

"No problem, I'll pay," Elsa said. She gestured for the waiter to leave quickly. "You don't need to worry about money when you're with me, Nicholas. Just consider it my treat."

Nicholas just gave a small nod, barely holding back a satisfied smirk inside. The show had officially begun.

The coffee arrived, and Nicholas sipped his awkwardly, as if he wasn't used to fancy coffee.

Suddenly, a man rushing past bumped into their table. The glass of juice in his hand wobbled and spilled right onto Nicholas's shirt. Dark brown stains immediately spread across the white fabric.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, sir! I truly didn't mean to!" the man said, panicking, quickly grabbing a napkin to clean it up.

Nicholas brushed his hand away, feigning panic. "Oh no, oh no! It's all dirty! What now?"

Elsa instantly rose. Her face was flushed, but Nicholas knew it wasn't from anger, but because she wanted to create a scene. She wanted to see Nicholas's reaction, to see if he'd accidentally reveal his secrets.

"Hey, you! Can't you watch where you're going?" Elsa snapped, her voice piercing. "How dare you spill a drink like that!"

Nicholas looked down, pretending to be embarrassed, while occasionally glancing at Elsa. Nicholas could clearly see the glint of hidden intention in his sister-in-law's eyes. He knew Elsa wasn't defending him, but investigating.

The man who spilled the juice was scared stiff. "I'm so sorry, Miss! I'm so sorry, Sir! I promise I'll pay for it!"

Nicholas hastily whined. "No! Don't worry about it. Poor you. I'll just wash it later," he said, feigning unwillingness to cause trouble.

Elsa let out a long sigh, looking at the man who spilled the juice with disgust. "Go on! Get out of here! And don't let this happen again!"

The man quickly left. Nicholas then sighed. "Thank you, Elsa. You... you're so kind to me." He looked at Elsa with a loser's gaze, as if amazed by Elsa's bravery.

"I'm just doing what I should. You're part of our family, Nicholas," Elsa said, trying to put on a concerned face. "I can't let people disrespect you."

Nicholas just gave a faint smile, scoffing inwardly.

...

That evening. Isabella was applying night cream when Nicholas walked in.

"Elsa snapped at someone this afternoon," Nicholas began to tell her. "Because they spilled juice on my shirt."

Isabella turned around, her eyes sparkling. "Wow, really? That's great, right!"

"Great how?" Nicholas raised his eyebrows.

"It means Elsa is starting to accept you," Isabella said, her smile wide. "Finally, she's seeing you as part of our family."

Nicholas snorted. "I'm not so sure. I think there's something else behind it."

"Why do you always think that?" Isabella frowned. "They're my family! They care about people they consider family."

"I'm not saying they don't care. But sometimes, that care comes with a price," Nicholas mumbled, thinking about Elsa's cunning plan.

"Oh well," Isabella said. "Don't be so suspicious all the time. I'm happy Elsa is starting to be nice to you."

Nicholas just nodded, letting Isabella think that. He wasn't going to reveal what he knew all along. Let Elsa play her part, and he would play his own.

...

The next day, at the Weber Group office. Isabella was focused on checking documents when her office door opened. Elsa walked in with a wide smile, followed by some of Elsa's subordinates.

"Hey, Bell!" Elsa greeted, approaching Isabella's desk. "Congrats on your team's performance! I already heard that this project went super smoothly and made a huge profit."

Isabella furrowed her brows, it wasn't like Elsa to praise her so openly. "Thanks, Elsa."

"You're truly amazing, Bella," Elsa continued, glancing at the wedding photo on the desk. "I'm curious, though, what exactly does Nicholas do for a living? How is Victor Meyers so respectful of him?"

Isabella smiled proudly. "He just does odd jobs. And, just so you know, Nicholas is close with Jessica. I guess Victor likes Jessica."

"How on earth is Nicholas buddies with a military doctor like Jessica?"

"I don't know exactly. We never really talked about the specifics," Isabella replied.

"You know how hard it is to even get close to Victor Meyers. There's no way a regular acquaintance could help you like Nicholas did, right?"

"I don't know the exact details. But honestly, so far, Nicholas has been the one who's helped me the most," Isabella said truthfully.

Elsa gave a thin smile. "So, does Nicholas have a lot of money? I mean," her voice dropped, "does he have any promising assets?"

Isabella shook her head. "No. Nicholas just has the house he inherited from his parents. That's it."

Even though Isabella had answered all her questions, Elsa still wasn't satisfied. She needed to dig deeper into Nicholas.

...

Later that afternoon, Nicholas showed up at Isabella's office again for lunch. Nicholas saw Elsa already waiting for him in the lobby. This time, Elsa didn't need any pleasantries. Nicholas had definitely caught her attention.

"Nicholas!" Elsa chirped cheerfully, immediately heading towards him. "Let's grab coffee again! I have something serious I need to talk to you about."

Nicholas gave her a flat look, but inwardly, he was smirking. "Coffee again?"

"Yeah, well, you know, we're family. In-laws gotta help each other out," Elsa linked arms with Nicholas.

They sat down at the office cafe. Elsa immediately ordered coffee for them.

"Okay, so Nicholas," Elsa began, her voice as sweet as she could make it. "I want you to help me get into the Diamond Group."

Nicholas pretended to be surprised. "Me? Help you? How?"

"Of course you can!" Elsa said, full of enthusiasm. "You have a direct connection with Victor Meyers, one of their bigwigs! Victor even respects you. It'll be a piece of cake for you to help me."

He put down his coffee cup. "Can't do it. I don't have anything."

Elsa's face tightened. "What do you mean, you can't? Why not? You're already so close with Victor!"

"I'm not close with him," Nicholas whined, pretending to be scared. "How could someone as esteemed as Victor Meyers be close to me?"

Elsa laughed. "Victor Meyers respects you! He thinks you're great! Don't be so humble."

Nicholas weakly shook his head. "Huh? Who? Me?"

Elsa stared at him suspiciously. "Don't lie. I know you're actually..."

Nicholas wasn't going to let Elsa finish her sentence. He knew Elsa wanted to expose his identity and then use him. He had to act fast.

"I gotta run to the restroom for a bit," Nicholas interrupted, his face ashen. "My stomach hurts." He quickly got up, leaving a stunned and confused Elsa behind.

Elsa waited, annoyed that her plan was delayed. But she wasn't giving up.

Nicholas returned from the restroom.

Someone, rushing while staring at their phone, slammed hard into Nicholas.

"Ow!" Nicholas yelped, intentionally falling to the floor.

"Idiot!" The man barked, his hand flying to slap Nicholas's cheek. The loud smack made Nicholas tumble even further.

Nicholas didn't fight back. He clutched his cheek. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It was my fault!" he whimpered, his voice hoarse with feigned terror.

The man pointed at the coffee stain on his shirt. "Look at this! My shirt's ruined! You're going to pay for this!"

Nicholas sobbed dramatically. "I don't have any money, sir. I don't have money to replace your expensive shirt. Please, don't hit me again..."

Seeing the commotion, Elsa got up. She quickly approached them.

"Elsa! Elsa!" Nicholas quickly scrambled to his feet, stumbling towards Elsa. He grabbed her arm, his face smeared with tears and snot. "Elsa, help me! He wants to claim damages! I don't have any money! Can you pay him first? I promise I'll pay you back later!"

Elsa froze. Her face turned crimson, not from anger, but from an overwhelming mix of shame and disgust. The man she thought had immense power, the one she wanted to manipulate, was now acting like a complete loser, bawling his eyes out in front of everyone, begging her for money. Elsa felt her pride absolutely trampled. She watched her cunning plan crumble before her eyes.

"What are you doing?!" Elsa whispered fiercely.

"Help me, Elsa! You're my sister-in-law! We're family! You have to help me!" Nicholas continued to whine.

Hearing Nicholas's pathetic pleas, in the middle of a crowd, while being utterly humiliated, Elsa couldn't take it anymore. She raised her handbag and swung it at Nicholas with all her might.

"Don't you ever dare call us family!" Elsa snapped, her face etched with extreme revulsion. "I don't have a pathetic brother-in-law like you!"

Elsa immediately yanked her arm free from Nicholas's grasp and stormed off.

"Elsa! Elsa! Don't leave! Wait for me! Help me!" Nicholas kept calling out. Then, he smiled triumphantly. 'Gotcha, Elsa.'