Chapter 20 Think About Your Parents Before You Die
Alexander turned off the phone screen and put it back into his pocket.
The faint intimacy in his eyes disappeared with the darkened screen.
He said nothing else.
The driver was still in the car, so Elsa forced down the emotion threatening to break out of her and did not ask.
They rode home in silence.
When the car stopped outside the house, Alexander got out and personally opened Elsa's door.
At the same time, Violet arrived in another car with something she had brought for Elsa.
Seeing Elsa and her brother return together, Violet assumed they had finally made peace and looked delighted.
But Alexander had no intention of going inside.
He said to both women, "You two talk. I have something else to deal with. I'm going out again."
The moment he finished speaking, Elsa's face changed.
She grabbed the edge of his suit jacket.
"Are you going to see her?"
Alexander frowned and caught her wrist, forcing her to release him.
"Elsa, don't do this."
Avoiding the question was the same as admitting it.
The emotions Elsa had suppressed for the entire drive exploded.
She reached for his phone.
Before her fingers touched his jacket, Alexander caught her wrist again.
He put an arm around her shoulders and personally guided her toward the house.
"Stop making a scene. You have work tomorrow."
Elsa fought free.
Her hair was already disheveled, her appearance wild.
"Alexander, if you leave tonight, I'll kill myself!"
Alexander bent down, picked her up in his arms, and carried her through the front door.
He couldn't allow her to scream at him outside.
If reporters or paparazzi photographed the scene, the story would become uncontrollable.
Violet, frightened by what she'd just seen, hurried after them.
Alexander set Elsa down on the sofa.
She immediately grabbed a cushion and threw it at him.
Alexander bent to pick it up, then walked toward her.
He placed the cushion aside and turned to his sister.
"Stay here and watch her."
In other words, no matter what Elsa did, Alexander was still leaving tonight.
The realization made Elsa's mind go blank.
"Ah!"
She collapsed onto the sofa, clutching her head as she screamed.
Violet rushed to hug her.
Then she glared at Alexander.
"She loves you this much and you've pushed her to this point. Don't you feel sorry for her at all?"
"Be quiet."
Alexander gave Violet a warning look.
"Stay with her. If anything happens to Elsa, I'll hold you responsible."
Violet wanted to fight him.
But she'd been intimidated by her older brother since childhood, and now he also controlled her financial lifeline.
She did not dare.
Alexander looked at Elsa once and turned away tiredly.
Elsa shoved Violet aside, grabbed the fruit knife from a plate on the table, and ran to block the living-room door with her body.
Alexander stopped.
Elsa pressed the blade against her own neck.
Her lips trembled.
"Give me your phone, Alexander. Or I'll kill myself right here."
In that moment, Elsa was like a gambler making one last bet.
She could not accept defeat.
She wanted to gamble that some part of Alexander's heart still belonged to her.
At the same time, she wanted the bet to destroy her remaining hope.
She wanted to see the ugly messages on his phone with her own eyes.
She wanted the final traces of her love for Alexander cut away completely.
Eyes wide, she waited for him to deliver the last fatal blow.
The atmosphere became suffocating.
Alexander's phone continued vibrating from time to time, each buzz sharpening the tension.
Violet stood between them, helpless.
She knew her brother's marriage was in trouble.
She had never imagined it had become this serious.
She had never seen Elsa lose control like this before.
Alexander stood in front of her, his complicated gaze fixed on the knife in her hand.
He tried taking one step forward.
When Elsa's hand trembled and the blade shifted, he stopped.
He did not surrender his phone.
Instead, he said, "Elsa, your life belongs to you. If you're determined to die, no one can stop you."
His voice was cold and merciless.
Elsa stared at him in absolute despair.
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Violet turned on her own brother in disbelief.
"Alexander, she's already like this. Can you please say something kind for once?"
Alexander silenced her with a warning look.
Then he cautiously took another step toward Elsa.
"Before you die, think carefully about your parents. They raised you with everything they had. Now your father is still working as a consultant at his age. Your mother was discharged from the hospital only a few days ago. Noah has his university entrance exams next year."
His voice remained steady.
"If you die, the only people you will truly hurt are your blood relatives. You won't be able to threaten anyone else with it—including me."
Their eyes met.
Elsa closed hers in despair.
Alexander moved immediately.
He took the knife from her hand and pulled her tightly into his arms.
The fruit knife hit the floor with a metallic clang.
Something inside Elsa shattered with it.
She allowed Alexander to hold her like a lifeless body.
She couldn't cry.
Couldn't speak.
Her body shook violently.
Alexander held one hand against her lower back and the other behind her head, pressing her close to his chest.
He kissed her forehead.
"Stop thinking like this. Sleep. You'll feel better after you rest."
He soothed her for a while, then carried her upstairs.
Ignoring the nonstop message alerts from his phone, Alexander personally wrung out a towel and wiped Elsa's face and hands.
Then he carefully combed her tangled hair back into place.
When he finished, he pulled Violet out of the bedroom.
"I'm not coming back tonight. Stay here with Elsa. She's emotionally unstable. Think before you speak and don't say anything you shouldn't."
Violet returned to the bedroom and gently closed the door.
Elsa shut her eyes.
She had nothing left except tears.
Violet had never known how to comfort people, so she simply sat beside Elsa and cried too.
"Don't cry, Elsa. My brother is just temporarily out of his mind. He'll come to his senses."
Elsa turned onto her side.
"Violet, I was only trying to scare him. I'm fine. Go home."
Then she stopped speaking.
She had been so consumed by fighting Alexander that she had almost forgotten something important.
Only people who were loved had the right to be unreasonable.
Violet had a fierce temper.
She sat with Elsa for a while, then noticed Elsa had gone quiet and seemed to be falling asleep.
Violet slipped out carefully and got into her car.
She called Lucas.
He told her he had just left home and was heading to a charity auction where Alexander was expected to appear.
Violet drove to Crown Hotel and waited for Lucas outside.
She didn't dare hit her brother.
But she had absolutely no problem slapping Serena half to death.
Late at night, a silver Phantom sports car pulled into a temporary parking space by the road.
Lucas climbed out with his usual lazy swagger and immediately found Violet blocking his path.
"Take me to Serena."
Lucas widened his narrow, attractive eyes as much as he could. "Are you joking? How would I know where that woman lives?"
Violet didn't believe him.
She might not be able to control her brother, but Lucas was another matter.
She turned and started walking toward the traffic lane.
"If a car hits me, I'll tell my parents you pushed me."
Lucas dropped to his knees in a sliding motion and grabbed both her legs.
"Fine. I'll take you."