Eric sat in a modest café just a few meters from the pawn shop.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, blending with the soft murmur of conversations around them.
Across from him sat the young Chinese woman—now properly introduced as Elena Lin.
She wore an elegant burgundy dress that contrasted with the simplicity of her movements. Her black hair was tied into a delicate bun, and her eyes—those light-colored eyes, an unusual shade Eric still couldn't quite place—watched him with nervous intensity.
Eric, on the other hand, wore his usual black T-shirt and jeans, doing his best to hide the exhaustion of the past few days.
Between them—
Silence.
Feeling the tension, Eric spoke first.
"Elena Lin… I didn't expect you to have a Western name."
Elena looked away briefly, slightly embarrassed.
"My father was Chinese. My mother was Spanish," she explained softly.
Eric studied every detail of her expression as he prepared the question that mattered most.
"So… what did you think of my proposal?"
Elena took a deep breath—long, almost painful—before answering.
"I appreciate the offer… I really do. But I've used everything I have to keep my father's shop alive. Selling it to you… would mean erasing his legacy."
Eric nodded solemnly.
He gestured to the waitress—a cheerful young Filipina—who approached to take their order. He asked for a simple coffee; Elena ordered a latte.
As the waitress wrote it down, Eric felt a knot tighten in his stomach.
He was running out of money—
Again.
And paying for coffee with something that could be worth nearly a thousand euros was both absurd…
And dangerous.
When the waitress stepped away, Eric leaned forward slightly, showing genuine attention.
"With all due respect… your father's legacy is about to disappear anyway," he said calmly. "If you sell me part of the shop, I promise it will remain under your management. I just want to help—and I can pay whatever it takes."
Elena raised an eyebrow.
"If you have that much money… why not buy everything? Why only 51%?"
It was a fair question.
But the real answer—
Because I need you. Your knowledge. Your work. Your honesty.
—was not something he could say out loud.
So he simply smiled.
"Because I want you beside me. Not against me."
Elena turned her gaze toward the window, deep in thought.
Her delicate hands tightened around the edge of the table.
She looked like she was about to refuse for good.
"I appreciate your offer… but I'm going to decline," she said quietly. "The shop is my father's legacy. I can't destroy that. Even with… the risks. And the debts…"
Eric noticed the hesitation.
She was trying to be strong.
Trying to be rational.
But the weight was heavier than she wanted to admit.
Before he could respond, Elena's phone vibrated on the table.
She answered immediately.
Eric watched as her expression changed completely.
The color drained from her face.
Her eyes widened.
Her breathing seemed to stop.
"Elena? What happened?"
She didn't answer at first.
Her hand trembled.
Then suddenly, she stood up so quickly she nearly knocked over her chair.
Tears began streaming down her face uncontrollably.
She pointed toward the street with a shaking hand.
"My shop… my shop…"
Eric turned instinctively in the direction she was pointing.
And then he saw it.
Smoke.
Thick, heavy smoke rising into the sky—
Coming directly from the pawn shop.
For a brief moment, Eric froze.
Then Elena screamed—
Not in pain—
But in pure, desperate anguish:
"My shop is on fire!"
Eric's heart began pounding violently.
What was supposed to be a negotiation—
Had, in an instant—
Turned into a race against destruction.
Elena's shop.
Her father's legacy.
And possibly the key to Eric's future plans—
Was burning.
Leaving the coffee untouched on the table, Eric and Elena ran toward the blazing pawn shop.