Chapter 38 Come Upstairs With Me
Serena had assumed that once Alexander placed the paternity report in front of the Horton elders, they would have no choice but to accept her and Ethan.
Instead, Eleanor had threatened her openly.
Watching the older woman drive away, Serena burst into tears and called Alexander.
That evening, Alexander returned to the Horton estate.
Eleanor and Violet were arranging flowers in the living room.
He walked over. "Mom, why did you go see Serena?"
Eleanor continued working. "What else did she tell you?"
Alexander hesitated and said nothing.
Violet gave a mocking little laugh. "What happened, Alexander? Did Serena cry to you again?"
Alexander sat on the sofa and stared at the flowers soaking in a bucket. Irritation rose in him for no clear reason.
"Mom, I've already said I'll handle my own affairs. Can you stop interfering?"
Eleanor wiped her hands, opened a drawer in the coffee table, and tossed a voice recorder toward him.
Her face was more serious than Alexander had ever seen it.
"Clean out your ears and listen to this before you say another word."
Before he could answer, she continued.
"I've thought about it. If you truly want to divorce Elsa, I won't stop you."
She took a bank card from her bag and tossed it onto the table.
"The money you used years ago to pay the Winters family's debts? I've repaid it for Elsa. This came from my personal dowry funds. It has nothing to do with Horton family money. Sign the divorce agreement and let Elsa go."
Alexander's face darkened.
He left the card on the table and took only the recorder.
"Mom, what kind of mother encourages her own son to divorce?"
Violet shot back, "Since Serena and her son returned, hasn't everything you've done been pushing Elsa to repay you and make room for that woman?"
Alexander looked at his mother, then his sister.
Without another word, he left the estate.
Late that night, he returned alone to the house he shared with Elsa.
The message he had sent her that morning still had no reply.
They had known each other for more than twenty years.
Alexander had given Elsa her first phone.
He still remembered how happy she'd been, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him.
He had scolded her, while she happily assigned his number a special ringtone.
After that, Elsa had almost always replied to his messages instantly.
So this was what it felt like to wait for someone who didn't answer.
The silence was unbearable.
Alexander reached into his pocket and realized the voice recorder was still in the car.
He went downstairs to get it.
Before he reached the vehicle, Serena called.
Ethan had developed a high fever in the middle of the night. The nearby clinic had refused to take him and told her to go to a major hospital.
Alexander didn't hesitate. "Don't panic. I'm coming."
By the time Ethan's fever finally came down, it was nearly three in the morning.
Inside the room, Serena guiltily urged Alexander to leave.
"Go home and rest. I only called because I truly didn't know what else to do tonight. Explain things properly to your wife. Don't let her misunderstand again."
Alexander didn't tell Serena that Elsa had already moved back to her parents' home.
When he returned to the car, he looked for Eleanor's voice recorder.
It was gone.
He took out his phone and pulled up Serena's number.
After a long hesitation, he lowered the phone again.
He must have dropped the recorder while rushing around with Ethan.
The child had been burning with fever, and Serena had been crying with panic.
There was no reason she would have taken it.
Inside the hospital room, Serena immediately erased the recording.
Then she wrapped the device carefully in tissue and buried it in the trash.
Alexander clearly hadn't listened yet.
If he had learned that Serena accepted sixty million from Old Mr. Horton six years ago, he would never have rushed here without asking a single question.
She had underestimated Eleanor.
Quiet people, Serena thought grimly, were often the most dangerous.
Early the next morning, Alexander arrived at the hospital around the start of Elsa's shift.
Only then did he learn that she had gone to Helen City for a week-long professional exchange.
She had left for an entire week without telling him.
A heavy feeling settled in his chest.
Since he was already at the hospital, he stopped by Ethan's room.
The boy was still asleep, feverish and exhausted. Serena sat beside him, holding his small hand.
Alexander didn't enter.
Serena came from an ordinary background. In his mind, she had no grand ambition and no complicated schemes. Everything she did was for her child.
Perhaps, if Elsa became a mother someday, she would understand Serena's difficulties more easily.
Alexander walked away while calling Gavin.
"Cancel everything on my schedule for the next few days. Move the Helen City business trip up to this morning. Let me know when the arrangements are ready."
Inside the room, Serena had quietly moved to the doorway.
She waited until Alexander disappeared before stepping into the corridor.
Why had he suddenly canceled all his appointments and moved his Helen City trip forward?
Then Serena spotted one of Elsa's coworkers.
She recognized the woman from the day she had approached Elsa in the outpatient lobby.
"Excuse me. Is Dr. Winters working today? I need to speak with her."
"Dr. Winters is in Helen City for an exchange. She'll be back next week."
After the woman left, Serena clasped her hands tightly together.
Elsa was already demanding a divorce.
Why would Alexander rush to Helen City after her?
Had Alexander fallen in love with Elsa during the six years Serena was gone?
No.
Serena couldn't allow that.
That evening, at a hotel in central Helen City, someone knocked on Elsa's door.
She opened it and froze when she saw Alexander.
"Why are you here?"
"Business trip," he replied. "I heard you were staying here, so I came to say hello."
Elsa nodded once and began closing the door.
Alexander caught the frame with one hand and pushed his way inside.
He looked around the room and frowned.
"I booked a suite upstairs. Come stay there."
Elsa crossed her arms and leaned against the cabinet.
"Mr. Horton, use your free time to sign the divorce agreement instead of inventing nonsense like this."
His eyes darkened. "This isn't a good place to talk. Come upstairs with me. We'll have a proper conversation."
Elsa shook her head. "Unless the subject is divorce, I have nothing to discuss with you."
Alexander remained calm.
"I called Aunt Jocelyn White and told her you're here. She's coming to see us. You know how much she cares about you. Don't you want to see her?"
Elsa's expression stiffened.
Jocelyn White had been a neighbor when Elsa was a child and had always been close to the Winters family.
She was a violinist and the person who first taught Elsa to play—half neighbor, half teacher.
Elsa had planned to visit her before leaving Helen City.
She hadn't expected Alexander to invite her first.