Chapter 53 Shut Up
Traffic streamed across the illuminated overpass.
Beside the barrier in the emergency lane, Alexander and Elsa stood facing each other.
Neither spoke for almost a full minute.
When Alexander finally recovered from the shock, he seized Elsa's wrist.
His expression was frighteningly dark.
"Elsa, that was our wedding ring!"
She tore her hand away.
"I hope you disappear from my life exactly the way that ring did. Forever."
Alexander visibly froze.
Shock gave way to something dangerously close to panic.
When he spoke, his voice was hoarse.
"You're serious?"
Elsa looked at him without emotion.
"We've known each other since childhood. More than twenty years. We've been married for three. I wanted us to end this peacefully. I'm not being willful, and I'm not playing games with you. I genuinely want a divorce."
She had grown up around wealthy families. She had seen plenty of women tolerate mistresses and even illegitimate children for the sake of family, children, status, or money.
Alexander's mother was one of them.
Elsa could not live that way.
Alexander's breathing changed.
"Even if you want a divorce, you need to return home first. We can discuss it there."
She had grown up with servants accompanying her even to university. This was the first time in her life she had traveled so far on her own.
He couldn't stop worrying about her.
Elsa stared at him.
"Don't think I don't know why you're trying to drag me back and delay the divorce. You're afraid your grandfather will blame Serena and Ethan if our marriage ends. Everything you're doing is still for the woman you love. Stop pretending it's about me."
Alexander's expression hardened instantly.
"Violet told you?"
"I love you, Alexander, but I don't owe you anything. You have no right to use me."
He stepped forward and gripped her shoulders.
"Don't listen to Violet's nonsense."
It was true that he had promised his grandfather he would not divorce Elsa, in exchange for leaving Serena and Ethan alone.
But he had only agreed because divorce had never been part of his plans in the first place.
Alexander tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.
"You came all the way here because you wanted to divorce me. Have you thought about your parents? Noah is still young and rebellious. Your parents are getting older and neither is in great health. They need you nearby."
At the mention of her family, Elsa's composure cracked.
"You forced me into this!"
Alexander shook his head.
"Elsa, I know this running away is meant to force me to choose between you and Serena. You want me to send Serena and Ethan away, but you—"
He never finished.
Elsa dropped her bag and climbed over the barrier.
"Elsa!"
Alexander's heart nearly stopped.
She gripped the metal railing with both hands. When he took one step toward her, she released one hand.
"Don't come any closer!"
Alexander immediately stopped and raised both hands.
Elsa's eyes were red as she screamed at him.
"Alexander, I'll say it one last time. I'm not making a scene. I'm not forcing you to choose. I never planned to make you leave Serena. I don't love you anymore. I don't want you. I think you're dirty. Do you understand me now?"
Her voice broke into a sob.
"Do I have to jump from here before you'll believe that I truly want a divorce? That I'm not threatening you and I'm not playing with you?"
Anger flashed in Alexander's face, but he didn't dare approach.
"I believe you. I believe you!"
Elsa cried, "Then leave now. Go home and sign the divorce agreement. Don't interfere in my life again."
He nodded at once.
"Fine. I won't stop you from staying here. Just don't do anything reckless."
Only after he gave in did Elsa finally exhale.
The next second, Alexander moved.
Before she could react, he rushed forward, locked both arms around her, and pulled her away from the barrier.
He held her so tightly his breathing lost its rhythm.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? What if you'd fallen?"
Elsa struggled in his arms, crying uncontrollably.
"If I can't divorce you, I'd rather die!"
Alexander's arms went still.
Then they tightened around her.
He closed his eyes and felt the warmth of her body against him.
For the first time, he truly believed her.
Elsa wanted out of their marriage.
Alexander refused to leave until he had personally taken her back to her apartment.
Late that night, they stood downstairs beneath her building.
Elsa's eyes were still red.
"Call me when you're ready to sign the divorce papers. You're not coming upstairs."
Alexander looked at her with deep unease.
He caught her wrist before she could leave.
"Elsa, I won't bother you again for a while. We both need time to calm down. But I still don't agree to a divorce."
"Then we'll do it through the courts."
Elsa pulled free and walked into the elevator without looking back.
If they couldn't separate peacefully, then she would treat him as a stranger.
As the elevator doors closed, Alexander's hand slowly dropped to his side.
Gavin, who had been waiting nearby, cautiously approached.
"Mr. Horton, the helicopter is ready. When will you and Mrs. Horton be leaving?"
Alexander stood beneath the apartment building and looked up until the light in Elsa's window came on.
He closed his eyes wearily.
The moment he had personally gone to pick Serena and Ethan up when they returned, he should have known this day could come.
The moment he promised Serena that he would care for her and Ethan for the rest of their lives—and accepted the boy as his own—the marriage had already started slipping beyond his control.
He didn't call Elsa. He didn't go upstairs again.
He paced beneath the building for hours, smoking one cigarette after another.
After midnight, Gavin approached once more.
"Mr. Horton, you have a signing ceremony tomorrow morning."
Alexander finished the last cigarette in the pack, took out his phone, and sent Elsa a message.
He looked up at the now-dark window one final time.
"Let's go."
Early the next morning, Alexander returned to Saintville.
Eleanor met him personally and took him straight to the Horton estate.
He walked inside looking exhausted.
Charles immediately demanded, "Why didn't Elsa come back with you?"
Alexander lowered his eyes.
"She's taking advanced courses there. She can't return for now."
Charles slammed his cup onto the coffee table.
"She leaves the country whenever she feels like it? Does she have any respect for the elders in this family?"
He turned toward the butler.
"Carson, go to the Winters family. Tell her parents to discipline their daughter themselves."
Alexander cut in.
"Dad, Elsa went abroad for her studies. Why involve her parents?"
Eleanor had understood everything from the moment she saw her son step off the helicopter alone.
She had remained quiet throughout the ride home. Now she finally spoke.
"Alexander, is Elsa insisting on divorcing you?"
His expression didn't change.
"I supported her decision to study in Taren. I stayed at her apartment last night. We're fine. Don't overthink it."
From where she had been hiding nearby, Violet couldn't hold back any longer.
"Elsa said she'd rather die than stay married to my brother!"