Chapter 45 She Must Have Finally Come to Her Senses
Elsa didn't remember how she got home.
She lay quietly on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
From the moment Serena and Ethan returned, Elsa had moved through jealousy, rage, desperation, and finally despair.
She had tried everything she could think of to divorce Alexander.
Alexander had never truly tried to solve the problem between them.
He had only tried to solve Elsa—to contain her, quiet her, and force her to accept his arrangement.
Pulling a man she had loved for most of her life out of her heart would never be easy.
But continuing the marriage had become meaningless.
Elsa only hoped that by stepping aside, everyone could finally preserve some dignity.
The next morning, her phone woke her from a restless sleep.
"Elsa, did you renovate the house?"
Violet's voice made Elsa sit upright immediately.
"Did you go there looking for me?"
When Violet explained that she had only seen workers delivering renovation materials, Elsa quietly relaxed.
Before leaving the night before, Elsa had warned Serena not to let the Horton family discover she had moved into the marital home before Alexander returned.
Surely Serena wasn't foolish enough to ignore that.
At the house, Violet ended the call.
Lucas stopped one of the workers and asked again, "You're sure Miss Winters hired you?"
The worker pulled out the contract and pointed to the signature.
"We couldn't enter a private residence like this without authorization from the homeowner."
Lucas saw Elsa's signature and finally believed him.
He dragged Violet back toward the car.
"No. I need to call your brother."
Alexander answered quickly.
Lucas got straight to the point. "Elsa stripped out the house you've lived in together for three years and started renovating. Did you know?"
There was a noticeable silence on the other end.
Then Alexander said, "She probably wants to redo it before moving back."
The things he had told Elsa before leaving on his trip must have finally sunk in.
Without his approval, no auction house in Saintville would sell her jewelry.
Without one billion, she couldn't buy her way out of the marriage.
He had been away for several days.
She must have had enough time to think clearly.
Alexander sounded unconcerned.
"It's our house. She can decorate it however she likes."
After the call ended, he rose and poured himself a drink.
Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, Alexander stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of his hotel room, one hand around a glass as he looked over the foreign city at night.
After a brief hesitation, he opened his chat with Elsa.
The last message was still the one he had sent before leaving Saintville.
His irritation returned.
Whenever he traveled in the past, Elsa rarely called, but her messages arrived all day long.
Since Serena and Ethan returned, Elsa hadn't initiated a single conversation.
Even if she was renovating their home and preparing to move back, she hadn't told him.
Alexander hesitated again, then called her.
When Elsa answered, some of the tension in his face eased.
"I heard you're renovating the house."
Elsa's voice was unusually calm.
"The master-bedroom dressing room and your study have secured sections with valuables. I didn't touch those."
After days of fighting, hearing Elsa answer him so quietly softened Alexander's tone too.
He made what he considered another concession.
"Forget about work for now. Don't confront Grandpa yourself. When I come back, I'll deal with it."
"No need. I've already resigned."
Alexander's hand tightened around the phone.
After a short pause, he tried to comfort her.
"Then resign. You're my wife. You don't need to work yourself that hard. When I get back, I'll give you my supplementary card."
Elsa remained calm enough that he couldn't read any emotion through her voice.
"We'll talk when you come back."
She hadn't refused.
A faint smile appeared on Alexander's mouth.
"Is there anything you want me to bring you?"
Throughout their three-year marriage, he had offered her a supplementary bank card several times and she had always rejected it.
Perhaps Serena's return had finally created a sense of insecurity in Elsa and made her pay attention to his money.
Elsa didn't answer the question.
"My mother is calling me for dinner. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."
Alexander said, "All right."
Elsa ended the call.
A little before four that afternoon, at the entrance to Saintville International Airport, Elsa had just finished a call with Julian when Serena walked directly toward her.
Elsa frowned.
Serena, however, was smiling broadly.
"Miss Winters, I heard your flight leaves after four. I came to see you off."
Elsa gave a perfunctory, "Thank you."
When Serena came closer, her smile disappeared and caution replaced it.
"Miss Winters, even if you hadn't chosen to step aside, Alexander would have divorced you eventually. Since you've decided to let him go, I hope you'll do it completely."
Elsa's face cooled. "What exactly do you mean?"
Serena looked directly at her.
"I hope that when you leave the country this time, you never come back."
Elsa suddenly laughed.
A cold laugh.
She stepped closer.
"Miss Whitmore, don't forget that Alexander and I are still legally married. Stop acting as though you've already won."
Serena's eyes flickered. "Are you going back on your word?"
Elsa spoke each word clearly.
"Serena, where I go, what I do, and when I return are none of your business. If you're capable, get Alexander to divorce me. Stop wasting your time trying to control me."
Before leaving, Elsa gave her one deliberately challenging look.
Learning about Alexander, Serena, and Ethan had nearly destroyed her.
From now on, she would live for herself.
She needed to earn enough money to buy back her mother's heirloom.
She wanted her parents to have a peaceful old age.
She wanted to become someone Noah could look up to.
Everyone else could stay out of her life.
Serena stood at the terminal entrance and watched Elsa walk away without looking back.
Jealousy tightened her expression.
Elsa was several years younger.
In beauty and figure, Serena knew she couldn't compete.
Even dressed head to toe in expensive brands, Serena somehow looked cheaper standing beside Elsa.
The Winters family was bankrupt, but Elsa had been raised with wealth, confidence, and the best of everything.
That unconscious ease of someone born into privilege was something Serena could imitate but never truly possess.
The next evening, Alexander returned to Saintville.
As the driver started the car, he said, "Young Master, Old Mr. Horton asked you to go to the family residence first."
In the back seat of the black luxury sedan, Alexander looked at the gift he had prepared for Elsa.
"Home first."
He had messaged her before boarding the plane.
By now, he expected Elsa to be at home waiting for him.