Chapter 11 Can You Afford to Divorce Me?
Alexander picked up the divorce agreement and skimmed through it.
Then he looked at Elsa, closed the document, and set it back down where she'd placed it.
His gaze stayed on her face, his tone as calm as ever.
"You actually have the nerve to ask me for a divorce. You've grown bold."
Elsa slowly stood.
She had loved him for so many years. Even now, she wanted them to part without destroying each other.
Her eyes dropped to the divorce papers.
She spoke as steadily as she could.
"You've done a lot for the Winters family over the years. If we divorce, I'll leave with nothing. Everything connected to you also affects Horton Group, so you can't afford a scandal. If necessary, I can hold a press conference and take all the blame myself.
I'll clear Serena and her son of any suspicion."
Alexander rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward slightly.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking tired. "Go on."
Elsa's eyes were empty. "I've already signed the agreement. When you have time, we can finish the legal process."
Then, right in front of him, she reached for her wedding ring.
Alexander caught her hand before she could remove it.
He rose slowly, watching her expression.
"Elsa, Serena and I are not what you think."
Elsa yanked her hand away.
All the hurt and humiliation she'd swallowed for days surged up again.
With red-rimmed eyes, she looked directly at him.
"Then what are you?"
Her voice shook harder with every word.
"You went to the airport in the middle of the night, in the rain, to pick her up. You didn't come home for more than a month. Don't tell me you haven't hugged her, kissed her, slept with her. And don't tell me that child isn't yours."
Alexander's expression darkened. "Elsa, you keep saying you love me. Do you really trust me that little?"
"Trust?"
Elsa stumbled back a step.
Then she shoved him hard, her voice rising.
"It was our third wedding anniversary! I prepared a candlelit dinner and a gift, while my husband booked out all of Emerald Bay to set off fireworks for the woman he loves and her son. And you want to talk to me about trust?"
Alexander's gaze sharpened. "Violet told you?"
Tears spilled down Elsa's cheeks before she could stop them.
So he admitted it.
When she spoke again, her voice trembled.
"Alexander, after I married you, I learned how to do laundry. I learned how to cook. I learned how to tie your ties, how to run a house, how to take care of every detail of your life. I learned everything I could because I was terrified I would never be good enough for you."
Her voice broke.
"I asked you to learn how to make one matcha dessert for me and you told me to buy whatever I wanted. But for Serena and her son, you baked a blueberry birthday cake with your own hands."
Alexander remained silent while she poured everything out.
So that question at dinner had been a test.
The calmer he looked, the more Elsa unraveled.
"You never used to stay out all night. But for them, you forgot our anniversary. For them, you left our home at three in the morning. And the bracelet you gave me for our third anniversary—you gave her the exact same one!"
Alexander frowned.
So she hadn't accidentally lost the bracelet that night.
She had thrown it away.
Which meant she had seen him with Serena in the hospital room.
By the time Elsa reached the end, she was shouting.
"You broke every rule you ever set for yourself because of her! You skipped work to shop with her. And when I saw you, you threw me out so you could protect her!"
The pain in her chest became so intense she could barely breathe.
She grabbed at her own hair.
"I disappeared for days. I was alone in a cheap hotel, crying until I fell asleep and waking up just to cry again. My whole world felt like it had collapsed. And my husband didn't even ask whether I was alive!"
"Elsa!"
Alexander reached for her.
She screamed and pushed him away.
"Alexander, what am I to you?"
"If you love her this much, why did you marry me in the first place?"
Alexander caught her wrist and pulled her into his arms.
"Elsa, I wasn't careful enough in how I handled these things. I'll try not to let something like this happen again."
That sentence destroyed the last of her control.
Not careful enough?
He had been caught betraying her, and his conclusion was that he simply hadn't been discreet enough.
Elsa shoved him away with all her strength and turned for the door.
Alexander caught her arm and pulled her back. Feeling her body shaking, he wrapped his arms around her again.
The memory of him shielding Serena in his arms flashed through Elsa's mind.
Nausea surged through her.
She struggled violently. "Alexander, don't touch me! You're filthy!"
For the first time, his expression turned truly dark.
He locked his arms around her, refusing to let her break free.
"Elsa, I'm not as disgusting as you think."
She could barely stand being held by him.
She thought she could even smell another woman's perfume on his clothes.
Unable to escape, she broke into desperate tears.
"Alexander, I'm begging you. I can't stand emotional betrayal. I can't touch something that's been contaminated. Please don't touch me. You make me sick."
He had not expected such a violent reaction.
Still holding her tightly, he tried to soothe her.
"Elsa, stop. It isn't what you think."
"Ugh—"
Elsa suddenly vomited.
Alexander immediately carried her into the bathroom and set her down beside the toilet while she retched.
He watched her with a complicated expression.
The last few times they had slept together, he had used protection. Elsa should not be pregnant.
But she had always wanted his child.
It wasn't impossible that she had secretly done something without telling him.
To be safe, Alexander ordered a pregnancy test from a nearby pharmacy and had it delivered to the house.
He handed it to her. "Try it."
Elsa stared at the test in her hand.
Of course.
He truly did not want her to have his child.
He had always been so cautious, as though pregnancy were the worst thing she could do to him.
A few minutes later, Elsa came out and handed the test to Alexander.
"Relax. Even if I accidentally got pregnant, I'd terminate it. I wouldn't let my child compete with your first love's son for the family fortune."
Alexander glanced at the result, then studied her face, his brows drawing together.
"You really don't want to have my child that badly?"
She wasn't pregnant.
Which meant the nausea really had been disgust.
Elsa almost laughed at the irony.
He had always been the one who didn't want a child with her.
"When you have time, let me know."
She turned toward the door.
Alexander threw the pregnancy test into the trash and blocked her path.
"It's the middle of the night and pouring outside. Where are you going?"
Elsa looked at him without expression, biting down hard on every word.
"Anywhere, as long as I can divorce you."
Their eyes met.
Alexander asked, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
The past few weeks had felt like hell.
The agony of being betrayed by the person she loved was driving her to the edge of madness.
If she stayed here any longer, she felt certain she would die.
A faint, unreadable scoff escaped Alexander.
Elsa stared at him. "What does that mean?"
He looked at her calmly.
"Elsa, can you afford to divorce me?"