Chapter 47 Where Is She?
Alexander's pupils contracted when he saw Serena and Ethan.
"Why are you here?"
His reaction was so abrupt that he accidentally knocked Ethan down.
The child burst into tears.
The sound only made Alexander more unsettled as he strode into the living room.
Serena hadn't expected such a strong response.
She quickly helped Ethan up, her own eyes reddening.
"Alexander, don't be like this."
He forced himself to calm down.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to knock him over."
Serena tried to change the subject.
"You've been flying for hours. You must be exhausted. Wash your hands and eat something first. We can talk tomorrow."
Alexander turned on her.
"Where is she?"
Elsa was proud.
Even if circumstances forced her to accept Serena's existence, she would never peacefully share a roof with her.
And she certainly would never invite Serena and Ethan into their marital home.
Realizing she couldn't hide it, Serena admitted, "Don't be angry. Mrs. Horton asked Ethan and me to move in. She's not here."
Before she could continue, Alexander corrected her coldly.
"Call her Mrs. Horton."
Serena hid her resentment. "I'm sorry. She was the one who told me to call her Miss Winters."
Then she explained, "A few days ago, she called me and asked me to bring Ethan here. She said she would divorce you and let us be together. She even arranged the renovation and said this home should belong to the three of us."
Alexander swayed slightly.
So Elsa hadn't renovated because she had calmed down and planned to return.
She had renovated the house for Serena and Ethan.
She was forcing him to choose.
Serena saw how frightening his face had become and quietly nudged Ethan forward.
The boy looked back at his mother before cautiously approaching Alexander.
He raised his arms, asking to be picked up.
"Daddy, Aunt Elsa is really nice. She made me a bedroom upstairs. It has a sailboat model and Transformers toys."
Daddy.
Aunt Elsa.
Alexander's mind buzzed.
He pushed Ethan away again, his voice stern.
"Ethan, I'm not your father."
The boy stepped back, frightened. "Uncle Horton, but Mommy said you—"
Serena hurriedly covered his mouth and pulled him close.
Alexander looked at her with suspicion.
"Serena, I told you long ago. I will never be Ethan's father."
She lowered her head guiltily.
"I'm sorry. Ethan has always lacked a father. Don't blame a child for wanting one. I promise I won't let him call you Daddy again."
She silently congratulated herself for using Ethan to test Alexander.
If Serena herself had raised the subject, his reaction would have been far worse.
Alexander said nothing and rushed upstairs.
He opened the old music room.
It had indeed been transformed into a child's bedroom.
Alexander leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, exhausted.
Hearing footsteps at the doorway, he asked without moving,
"Where are the two violins that were kept here?"
Serena stayed outside the room.
"Mrs. Horton burned them."
Alexander's eyes snapped open.
"Burned them?"
Serena nodded. "Not only the violins. She burned many things in the garden that night."
Before she finished speaking, Alexander had already run into the corridor.
Serena followed more slowly with Ethan.
She had deliberately left the burned debris in the garden instead of clearing it away.
She wanted Alexander to see it and finally give up on Elsa.
Alexander stopped beside the blackened remains.
Then he saw the ruined violin.
For a second, he forgot how to breathe.
He had given that violin to Elsa for her eighteenth birthday.
He remembered her that night in a white formal dress and a diamond tiara, wearing elegant makeup for the first time as she came down the stairs on her father's arm.
Everyone had stared.
But when she saw Alexander, her face lit up.
She let go of her father, ran straight to him, and shook his arm.
"Alexander, where's my present?"
When she saw the violin, she had immediately pressed herself happily against him.
She told him she would play only for him from then on.
Later, Alexander learned that Elsa had quietly changed her university plans and given up serious violin training because she wanted to study medicine and find a way to treat his insomnia.
She had treasured that violin for years.
And now she had burned it.
The strength seemed to leave Alexander's body.
He crouched beside the ashes.
It felt as though Elsa had set fire directly to something inside him.
He began searching through the wreckage.
A teddy bear burned down to one leg.
A music box with only its base remaining.
Fragments of wedding-photo frames.
Everything connected to the two of them—before marriage and after—had been burned.
Serena sent Ethan back inside and cautiously approached.
"Alexander, your wife burned everything that belonged to your history together. She's made her decision. Holding on alone doesn't mean anything. Just agree to the divorce."
Alexander slowly rose and called his driver.
When the call ended, he looked at Serena.
"Pack your things. The driver will take you and Ethan back."
Serena hadn't expected him to keep rejecting her even after seeing all this.
"It's already late. Ethan is tired. Could we leave tomorrow?"
Alexander headed for the living room.
"This is my marital home with my wife. It isn't appropriate for you to stay here."
Serena followed, unwilling to give up.
"Alexander, your wife has gone this far just to divorce you. Are you still going to refuse?"
He stopped and turned.
His gaze locked onto her.
"You know exactly why my wife misunderstands us. So why did you agree to move into this house?"
Serena stepped back as though wounded.
"Alexander, are you blaming me?"
He looked away, exhausted.
"When you came back with Ethan, I was overwhelmed by seeing you after so long. I lied to my wife and said I was away on business. I spent an entire month taking care of you and Ethan instead of going home."
He spoke more slowly.
"That was wrong. But I never planned to divorce my wife. Not then. Not now. Not ever."
Alexander's voice hardened.
"Elsa is angry with me. That's all. She will not divorce me."
Even if she truly wanted to, she couldn't produce one billion.
At least, that was what he had believed.
Serena realized he still wouldn't give up.
She went into the living room and returned with the divorce agreement and the bank card Elsa had left behind.