Chapter 36 Elsa, You Wont Give Me Even a Little Trust
That night, Alexander showered, changed into sleepwear, and went to the study.
The divorce agreement on his desk was the first thing he saw.
He picked up the paternity report and ran his fingertips over the faint ripples in the paper.
Marks left by tears that had fallen and dried.
Alexander sank into his chair.
Imagining Elsa standing here and reading that report caused an unexpected pain in his chest.
He flipped through the divorce agreement and noticed the added clause.
Alexander leaned his head back, took a deep breath, and got up to pour himself a drink.
Late into the night, he paced the study with a glass in his hand, unable to sleep.
Just to divorce him out of anger, Elsa was really preparing to sell the imperial-green jade-and-diamond set her mother had inherited.
Close to midnight, Alexander called Gavin.
"Keep an eye on my wife's schedule over the next few days. Especially anything involving jewelry auction houses."
When Alexander finally returned to the bedroom, he noticed what Elsa had thrown into the trash.
A thin layer of anger entered his tired eyes.
He crouched beside the bin and silently took the items out one by one.
A toothbrush.
A cup.
Hair ties.
Cosmetics.
The framed photograph from the bedside table.
Alexander remembered the vow Elsa had made at their wedding.
She had said that in this lifetime, Elsa Winters could give up her own life, but she would never give up Alexander Horton.
A dull ache spread through his chest.
He held the doorframe as he stood and leaned forward until his forehead rested against the back of his hand.
"Elsa," he murmured, his voice low and hoarse, "you really won't give me even a little trust."
He still couldn't sleep.
Alexander changed clothes, took the paternity report and his car keys, and went downstairs.
At one in the morning, he parked outside the converted apartment complex where Elsa's parents lived.
He lowered the window, lit a cigarette, and stared across the road at a fourth-floor window.
One hand held the cigarette.
The other gripped the paternity report.
Uncertainty moved through his eyes as though he were weighing a decision he still couldn't make.
The passenger door opened.
Lucas got in.
Following Alexander's gaze toward the building, he said, "You can't abandon Serena and her son for Elsa, and you're too afraid to tell Elsa the paternity report is fake. So what exactly are you doing here?"
Alexander looked away and flicked ash from his cigarette. "Elsa is angry. That's all."
Lucas stared at him. "You think once she calms down, she'll happily tolerate you playing family with Serena and her son?"
"I'll explain what I can."
Lucas privately concluded that Alexander was sick in the head.
And not mildly.
After Lucas left, Alexander remained parked there.
When dawn began to lighten the sky, he sent Elsa a message.
Then he drove to the Horton estate.
Old Mr. Horton had always exercised early.
When he saw Alexander return at dawn, he ordered the butler to wake everyone.
In the living room, Alexander placed the paternity report on the coffee table.
"Ethan is my biological son. If you still don't believe me, I'll do another paternity test in front of you."
Eleanor picked up the report.
Her face went white enough that Violet immediately reached out to support her.
Alexander stood before his grandfather, determination bordering on recklessness in his eyes.
"Grandpa, Dad, I've proved that the child is mine. If either of you tries to hurt Serena or her son again, I'll register Ethan under my name, bring both of them into the Horton family home, and publicly acknowledge them."
Charles's face turned blue with anger. "And what about Elsa? You're still married. Do you understand what kind of scandal it would create if people learned you have an illegitimate child outside your marriage?"
"I'll support Serena and Ethan privately. I will never publicly reveal the child's identity, and I will not divorce Elsa."
Old Mr. Horton slowly stood. "Even if I leave them alone, do you think Elsa will?"
Alexander answered without hesitation. "Elsa is kind. She will."
After a long pause, the old man finally relented.
"If the boy truly carries Horton blood, then technically he is still a descendant of this family. You can give them money and provide support. But there will be no status. No public recognition."
"As long as you don't touch them."
Old Mr. Horton nodded once. "If you're certain you can keep Elsa from creating a scandal and stop her from divorcing you, I won't interfere with this matter anymore."
Alexander left the estate after receiving that promise.
Elsa loved him.
Even after learning about Serena and Ethan, she had only fought with him in private.
Outside, she had still protected his dignity.
To Alexander, that meant she was leaving room between them.
All this anger was because she wanted an explanation, an apology, and proof that he would return to their marriage.
She wouldn't actually divorce him.
Alexander went straight to the office.
When Elsa woke that morning, she saw his message asking to meet that evening.
She didn't reply.
Near noon, Julian called to tell her the auction house would have an appraisal for the jewelry within a week.
She had already survived so many miserable days.
She could survive seven more.
At lunchtime, Margaret brought food to the hospital.
"Elsa, since you and Alexander are preparing to divorce, your father and I were thinking that maybe Noah should transfer to an ordinary public high school."
Elsa rejected the idea immediately.
"Mom, you said the jewelry is worth well over one billion. Noah starts his senior year next term. Even after I repay Alexander, whatever is left will be enough for Noah to finish at his private school. The Winters family has fallen, and I'm divorcing Alexander.
Nothing matters more to us now than Noah's education."
Margaret opened the food containers one by one. "You're right. We'll take things one step at a time."
Elsa walked around the table and wrapped her arms around her mother.
"Mom, trust me. One day I'll buy that jewelry back."
Her nose burned.
"I've loved Alexander for so many years. I was married to him for three. I gave up the field I originally loved, gave up working outside the home, and built my whole life around him. And this is where it brought me."
Her voice became unstable.
"Mom, from now on, I don't want to put my hopes in love or marriage anymore. I'll work. I'll earn money. I'll make sure you and Dad have a good life."
Outside the staff-lounge door, Alexander stood holding a lunch bag.
Through the gap, he saw Elsa leaning vulnerably against her mother and crying like a child.
Pain filled his eyes.
He looked upward, drew a slow breath, and knocked on the door.