Chapter 39 Lets Have a Baby
"Aunt Jocelyn."
Elsa freshened up and followed Alexander to his suite.
The moment she saw Jocelyn White, she greeted her warmly and embraced her.
Jocelyn took Elsa's hand and sat with her while Alexander poured juice and settled opposite them.
Jocelyn was a well-known violinist. Though already middle-aged, she dressed beautifully and carried herself with effortless elegance.
She looked from Alexander to Elsa and sighed repeatedly.
"What a shame. I'd be even happier if there were a little baby calling me Grandma Jocelyn."
Alexander looked directly at Elsa. "When Elsa and I have a child, you'll be one of the first people we tell."
Jocelyn smiled. "You've been married three years. It really is time."
Alexander's gaze never left Elsa. "You're right. I'll work on it."
Elsa almost admired how shamelessly he could lie.
Still, she had no intention of announcing their divorce to everyone she met.
She smoothly changed the subject. "Aunt Jocelyn, tell me the next time you're in Saintville."
Jocelyn had squeezed the visit into a busy schedule and couldn't stay long.
"Of course. The next time my tour takes me to Saintville, I'll stay at your place for a few days."
A little over ten minutes later, Alexander and Elsa walked her to the elevator.
The doors had barely closed when Elsa shook Alexander's hand off her shoulder.
He caught her wrist before she could enter the next elevator.
"Elsa, we need to talk properly."
She tried to pull free, but his grip tightened.
His eyes fixed on her face. "Are you walking back on your own, or am I carrying you?"
Elsa looked around at the public hallway.
"Let go. I'll walk."
They returned to the suite.
Alexander closed the door.
Elsa stood in front of the sofa, her expression cold.
"Alexander, I want a divorce. I'm not saying it to punish you, and I'm not throwing a tantrum. I genuinely want to leave you. You've read the agreement. I'll repay the one billion within a month. Beyond that, there is nothing left for us to discuss."
Alexander walked toward her and stared at her for a long moment.
"Did you touch your mother's jewelry?"
Elsa looked away. "That's my business."
He frowned. "That jewelry means more to your mother than money. How can you sell it just to divorce me?"
At the mention of the heirloom, Elsa's eyes reddened.
"If I don't sell it and repay you, will you divorce me?"
Their eyes met.
Alexander fell silent.
Elsa pushed past him and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside, night had already covered the city.
"Yes, that jewelry means a great deal to my mother. But compared with her daughter's happiness, she's willing to give it up."
After a long hesitation, Alexander made what he considered a compromise.
"Elsa, we can stay separated for a while and give each other time to calm down. But you cannot sell that jewelry."
Elsa turned toward him.
"Not just the jewelry. If selling blood and kidneys could buy my freedom, my parents would do that too."
Alexander's hand tightened against the back of the sofa.
His chest visibly rose and fell.
He knew better than anyone how deeply Elsa's parents loved her.
Step by step, he crossed the room and stopped in front of her.
His hands closed over her shoulders.
"Elsa, tell me what I have to do to make you stop asking for a divorce."
She shook her head.
"It's too late. Every time I think about you returning to the woman you love and having a son with her, I can't bear it."
Her voice was steady despite the tears gathering in her eyes.
"Divorce is the only road left for us."
Alexander pulled her into his arms.
He held her tightly enough that she couldn't escape.
"I know this is unfair to you. But if you can accept Serena and Ethan's existence, I'll transfer all my assets to you."
Elsa stopped struggling because it was useless.
"Even then, I couldn't stop you from giving them money. I couldn't stop you from caring about them."
She closed her eyes.
"Alexander, I'm not that little girl anymore—the one who did whatever you said because she believed every word you told her. You can't fool me now."
Alexander held her even more tightly, almost greedy for the closeness.
"I'm not lying to you. Name an amount. I'll compensate Serena and Ethan once. After that, if I help them, I will never secretly spend another cent on them without telling you. I promise."
Elsa finally forced herself out of his arms and moved back to the sofa.
"How do you still not understand? This isn't about money!"
For Elsa, emotional fidelity mattered absolutely.
In her eyes, Alexander had already crossed a line she could never uncross.
Even if leaving him killed her emotionally, she couldn't take him back.
Her voice rose as control slipped.
"I can't accept that my husband betrayed me. I can't accept that he still loves his first love. And I can't accept that he has a child with another woman."
She looked at him with anguish.
"I feel sick when I think about you with Serena and that child. I can't stand being close to you anymore."
The finality in her eyes frightened Alexander.
But he still couldn't tell her the truth.
He walked toward her and tried to soothe her instead.
"Serena and Ethan already exist. That can't be changed. But I have only one wife—you. I will never divorce you for them."
Their eyes met.
Alexander lowered his head to kiss her.
Elsa turned away.
He pulled her forcefully into his arms and tried again.
Elsa struggled as he pushed her back onto the sofa.
His kiss was urgent, almost desperate, as though he were trying to prove something neither of them could name.
During the struggle, Alexander's phone slipped from his pocket.
It was vibrating.
Elsa accidentally brushed the screen, answering the call without either of them noticing.
"Elsa," Alexander said against her, his breathing unsteady. "Let's have a baby."
On the other end of the line, Serena went silent.
Then her voice came through the speaker.
"Alexander? Are you there?"
"Ethan has a fever again and won't settle down. I can't calm him. Can you come over?"
The atmosphere in the room shattered.
Alexander abruptly released Elsa and stood, helping her sit upright in the same movement.
He picked up the phone.
Without thinking, his voice softened. "Serena, don't cry. Slow down and tell me what's happening."
Elsa pulled her clothes into place and stood.
Alexander reached for her.
Serena was still crying through the phone.
Elsa turned and looked straight into Alexander's eyes.
"I've known you for more than twenty years," she said carefully. "I've never found you this disgusting."
Then she walked out without looking back.
The door slammed behind her.
On the phone, Serena's crying stopped instantly.
"Alexander, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were with your wife. Don't come. I'll handle it myself."
She ended the call almost immediately.