Chapter 48 Your Wife Doesnt Want You Anymore
Alexander accepted the papers and picked up the bank card.
His eyes narrowed.
Serena spoke carefully.
"Your wife asked me to give you these. She said the card contains one billion. The day you go with her to complete the divorce, she'll tell you the PIN."
Alexander dropped the agreement and card onto the coffee table.
"The driver will be here soon. Go pack."
He sat down and lit a cigarette.
She had gathered one billion this quickly.
She must have sold the jewelry privately.
Serena couldn't believe that even with a divorce agreement and money in front of him, Alexander still wanted her out of the house.
Her fists tightened.
"Alexander, why won't you admit you still have feelings for me?"
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and drew deeply on the cigarette.
"Serena, whatever existed between us ended six years ago."
Smoke blurred the space between them.
His gaze remained fixed on Elsa's divorce agreement and bank card.
Serena stepped closer, unwilling to accept it.
"I know your grandfather and parents look down on me. I know they've pressured you. Maybe you can't openly divorce your wife and reunite with me because of them."
Her voice softened.
"I understand. If this is all we can ever have, I'll accept it. But please don't speak to me so coldly. It hurts."
Alexander crushed out the cigarette and stood.
"Serena, when I decide to do something, no one can stop me. I am not divorcing because I do not want a divorce."
He looked at her directly.
"My wife was spoiled since childhood. She doesn't handle hurt well. If she leaves home, screams at me, or asks for a divorce, that is between husband and wife."
"I don't need you to understand it. What would help me most is for you to take Ethan and leave this house immediately."
Serena stood frozen.
She had worked so hard to move in. She couldn't accept being removed this easily.
Before she could speak, tears began falling.
"We didn't force our way in. Your wife gave the house to us. If you throw Ethan and me out now and people find out, how am I supposed to face anyone?"
Alexander looked tired rather than moved.
"This is the home I share with my wife. Do you think it's appropriate for you to live here?"
Serena pushed back.
"You lied to your wife for me. You stayed away for a month without even calling or messaging her. You didn't seem to think that was inappropriate. I only followed your wife's invitation and moved in. Is what I did really worse?"
Alexander lowered his eyes.
He couldn't deny that he had handled those first weeks badly.
Seeing his silence, Serena became bolder.
"You were married to your wife for three years, and the one time she asked you to buy sanitary pads, you refused. I made one phone call and you went to the mall yourself to choose several brands for me."
"You challenged your grandfather for me. You even told your family that I was the woman you wanted to marry, not her."
"You said losing me destroyed your happiness. You said marrying your wife was only settling because you had no other choice."
Her voice rose.
"How can you still deny that you love me?"
With every sentence, Alexander's chest felt heavier.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low.
"Did Elsa tell you all of that?"
Serena nodded. "How else would I know?"
She approached him carefully and reached for his hand.
"Alexander, your wife has let go. She wants us to be together. And neither of us ever truly forgot the other. Why don't we start again?"
Serena pressed closer and rose on her toes to kiss him.
Alexander remained motionless, almost as though testing something in himself.
When her lips were only a breath from his, he suddenly pushed her away on instinct.
Then he turned his back.
"The driver is here. Pack your things and take Ethan home."
His mind and body had given him the same answer.
He couldn't accept Serena that way.
Now he was certain.
What he felt for Serena was guilt and responsibility.
Nothing more.
Serena stumbled back and nearly lost her balance.
"Alexander, I've loved you for years. I sacrificed so much for you. How can you treat me this way?"
He turned around.
His eyes were clear and cold.
"Serena, I know you suffered during these six years and sacrificed because of me. That's why I've tried to satisfy almost every request you've made."
He continued, "I even forged a paternity report to protect you and Ethan. To preserve your dignity, I refused to explain the truth to my wife. I neglected Elsa while caring for you and made her suffer."
His voice sharpened.
"I will compensate you and Ethan as much as I reasonably can. But I will not sacrifice my marriage. Do you understand?"
Serena broke down.
Crying, she lifted her left hand.
"Alexander, look at this."
The instant he saw the wedding ring on Serena's finger, his expression froze.
He reached for it.
"Why do you have my wife's wedding ring?"
Serena stepped back to keep it from him.
"She took it off herself and gave it to me. Surprised?"
Something in Alexander's eyes went dark.
He caught Serena's wrist and forcibly removed the ring.
She cried out in pain.
"Alexander, your wife doesn't want you anymore!"
"Shut up!"
Alexander grabbed tissues and wiped the ring over and over.
Elsa was obsessive about cleanliness.
She hated other people touching her personal things.
She would think it was dirty.
His reaction enraged Serena even more.
She grabbed at him.
"You love me, not your wife! Look at your own marriage—you don't even wear matching wedding rings!"
Alexander pushed her away and put Elsa's ring into his pocket.
It was true.
Their wedding bands did not match.
Alexander had barely participated in the wedding preparations. Elsa had handled almost everything.
He had instructed an assistant to choose her ring.
The assistant had asked whether Alexander wanted matching bands or simply a diamond ring, and what price range.
Alexander's answer had been two careless words.
"Whatever works."
He remembered Elsa's face when he placed the ring on her finger.
She had looked so happy.
The memory struck his heart with unexpected force.
At that moment, the driver knocked and entered.
Alexander pointed toward Serena.
"Help her pack. Take her and Ethan home. Now."
He picked up the divorce agreement and bank card and left.
Behind him, Serena shouted through tears,
"Alexander, she's already gone! You won't find her!"
He walked faster.
Elsa was living with her parents.
She was probably still awake.
No matter how angry she was, no matter how badly she wanted to punish him, giving away their home and her wedding ring had crossed a line.
They needed to talk.