The fading evening light cast deep, golden hues across Leonardo's bedroom. Elsa sat quietly on the edge of the bed, her thoughts consumed by the unspoken tensions of the household, when the heavy door swung open.
Leo walked in, his presence commanding yet visibly strained. He stepped toward her, his jaw set in a serious line.
"I need to talk to you," Leo said, his deep voice carrying a quiet weight.
Elsa stood up immediately, rising from the mattress to stand directly in front of him.
Leo looked at her intently. "I need to talk to you about something important. Straightly, seriously."
Elsa nodded gently. "Yes, you can speak with me."
Without a word, Leo stepped toward the side table and picked up a sleek, brand-new box. He extended his hand, presenting the latest premium smartphone to her.
Leo instructed. "Take this phone,"
"It will help you to reach out to me."
Elsa looked at the device, a flash of genuine surprise crossing her features.
She politely shook her head, stepping back. "I don't use a phone."
Leo's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "WHAT?!"
he blurted out. "You don't use a phone in these modern times?"
Elsa offered a small, calm smile.
"It is not like that. I used to use one, but not anymore."
Leo asked, "Why?"
Leo's brow furrowing in deep confusion. "A phone helps you talk with friends and family, handles emergency purposes, and keeps you connected with your loved ones. It will be useful to you. Take it."
"No," Elsa replied firmly. "Phones emit a lot of radiation. They also make people far too dependent on them, causing them to forget the real people right around them. That is why I do not use a phone."
Leo let out a dry, incredulous laugh. "What century are you living in, Elsa?"
"The same century you are living in," she countered smoothly.
Leo threw his hands up in mild dispensation, staring at her.
"Why are you so weird, you crazy girl?"
Elsa's eyes danced with a hint of mischief.
"Still less weird than you, Mr. Arrogant."
Leo pointed an accusing finger at her, half-amused and half-frustrated.
"You—!"
He cut himself off, taking a breath.
"Are you going to take this phone or not?"
Instead of answering, Elsa turned on her heel and began walking toward the door. Just before exiting, she paused and looked back at him over her shoulder.
"No."
"Then how am I supposed to contact you, Miss Crazy Girl?"
Leo demanded across the room.
Elsa fully turned around to face him, a serene, radiant smile gracing her lips that seemed to soften the entire room.
"JUST CALL ME ELSA."
She took a slow step forward, her voice dropping into a tone of absolute certainty. "Even if I am far away from you, I will always come to save you."
A sudden chill ran down Leo's spine as he stared at her. The sheer impossibility of her words made his logical mind push back instantly.
Leo shouted at her.
"ARE YOU A GHOST OR WHAT?!"
"To just appear in front of me like that... or do you possess some magical superpowers that can save me from fires?"
Hearing the word fire, Elsa's expression shifted, a fleeting shadow of deep sadness crossing her face. She walked closer to him, her tone incredibly gentle and polite.
"If you choose to believe me, then I am a ghost. I will appear in your visions and right before your eyes. But if you feel that I am your friend—a girl who admires you and wishes to be your friend from the bottom of her heart—then you can simply see me as a girl who will always help you."
She glanced at the phone in his hand, then looked back into his eyes.
"You said a phone helps to connect two or more people. Perhaps it does. But I do not believe in that. Just trust and believe in the universe, in the people who love you without expectations, and in those whom you love. If your love is strong enough, destiny will bring you together with the people you love, just as it was meant to be. Just trust the love you have for that person."
She held his gaze, her voice ringing with an unbreakable vow.
"TRUST ME, I WILL SAVE YOU FROM EVERY DANGER. Because I trust myself, and I will never let you come to any harm."
Leo stood entirely frozen, completely entangled and trapped by the profound weight of her words. Elsa smiled at him one last time, turned around, and calmly walked out of the room.
The moment the door clicked shut, Leo felt a literal shock pass through his hands and straight to his heart. His chest heaved as he stared at the empty doorway.
"With whom did I just get myself entangled?" he whispered to himself, his heart hammering wildly. "This crazy girl is literally confusing me with her words and her very presence."
He began to pace the room frantically, his mind spinning.
"Why can't I just bring myself to tell her that I don't love her?
Why do I always find myself thinking about her? Who is she really?"
Images of their time together flashed vividly across his mind—their very first meeting, the way she had miraculously appeared as his savior time and time again, her strange yet beautiful words, and the sheer comfort of her presence.
Leo stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in sudden shock.
"Did I fall for Elsa for real?"
He shook his head violently, trying to dismiss the thought.
"No, no... This can't be. Leonardo Kingston is falling for a simple, cute girl like Elsa?
No, absolutely not."
He gripped his hair in frustration. "I have no space for love in my life. I will take her somewhere private and make it completely clear to her that I don't love her."
Meanwhile, in Easton's bedroom, the evening darkness had grown thick and heavy.
With the rest of the mansion quiet and everyone asleep, Easton stood in the center of his dark quarters. A wave of sinister satisfaction washed over him as he looked around the room. He was finally inside the fortress, operating right under Leo's nose.
Suddenly, the door swung open and a figure slipped into the darkness. It was Margaret.
Before Easton could even speak, she marched up to him and delivered a sharp, resounding slap across his face.
SMACK!
Easton stumbled backward, his hand flying to his burning cheek. "MOM!" he hissed loudly.
"How dare you!" Margaret whispered fiercely, her eyes wild with terror and rage. "To steal money and take heavy loans from Mr. X! He will kill us alive if we refuse to pay him, and we are already in deep trouble!"
She grabbed his arms, shaking him out of pure panic. "Why on earth did you take fifty million from him?!"
"I needed that money, Mom!" Easton snarled back, ripping his arms away from her grip.
"Mr. X is already furious with us because I haven't kept my promise!" Margaret whispered frantically, tears of desperation leaking down her face. "We promised him that we would give him shares of the Kingston Group of businesses, and we haven't given them to him! On top of that, if my brother Richard ever comes to know that we have contacts with Mr. X, he will have us arrested immediately!"
She struck her own chest, her voice cracking in agony.
"And almost all of the major shares are registered in the name of..."
Margaret growled.
"Leo."
She glared at her son, her voice turning completely cold and malicious as she continued.
"If Leo remains alive, we can never inherit anything! I want my son Easton to be the king of my father and brother's property. Not Leo!"
Easton's eyes narrowed into a gaze of pure evil and burning vengeance. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver lighter, flicking it open. A small, orange flame danced in the darkness, illuminating his twisted expression.
With his other hand, he pulled out a photograph of Leonardo. Slowly, he held the edge of the paper over the flame. The fire caught instantly, greedily consuming Leo's face and turning the photo into black, crumbling ash that drifted silently to the floor.
Easton says with rude tone, "I AM THE FUTURE KING, NOT LEO," his eyes burning with malice in the quiet night.