Chapter 56 Long Time No See
Late that night, Alexander and Lucas arrived at Saintville Central Hospital.
Serena had already been moved into a private room.
She had been lying in bed, but the moment Alexander entered, she pushed the nurse away, ripped the IV needle from the back of her hand, and stumbled to the floor crying.
"Why did you save me? You should've let me die!"
Alexander dismissed the nurse and carefully lifted Serena back onto the bed.
"You cut your wrists. Did you think about Ethan at all?"
"I've already sent Ethan to an orphanage. He won't be a burden to you anymore. I really don't want to live, Alexander. Stop worrying about me."
He caught her injured hand before she could move it again.
"Serena, you're the only person Ethan has. Don't ever do something this foolish again."
At his words, Serena broke down completely.
"Alexander, your grandfather threatened me back then. He said that if I stayed with you, he'd strip you of everything and give the Horton inheritance to your illegitimate half brother."
Her voice shook.
"For your future, I agreed to leave you. But that still wasn't enough for him. He wanted to cut us off forever, so he forced me out of the country and into a marriage."
She sobbed harder.
"I was beaten for six years. I miscarried more than once. Ethan was conceived when that man raped me. Even after all of that, I was too afraid to come home because I didn't want to drag you down."
"Everything I did for you was my own choice. I only came back because I had nowhere else to go. I never wanted to destroy your marriage."
She shook her head desperately.
"I'm terrified of what your grandfather will do if he learns Ethan isn't your biological son. He'll send us out of the country the way he did six years ago, or force me into another marriage with some violent drunk. If I have to live in fear like that, I'd rather die."
With a dull thud, Serena dropped to her knees.
Alexander's face darkened. He pulled her upward, but she clung to his trouser leg and refused to rise.
Looking up at him, she pleaded, "Alexander, for the sake of what we once had—for the happiness I sacrificed because of you—please don't tell your wife the truth about Ethan."
Alexander stood rigidly, his eyes uncertain.
When he didn't answer, Serena panicked.
"Your grandfather destroyed my life just to separate us. Every disaster in my life began because of you. My life is already ruined. I only want to start again with my son. Please, have pity on us. Don't tell anyone who Ethan really is. I'm begging you."
She bent as if she were about to press her forehead to the floor.
Alexander seized her arm and forced her upright.
He remained silent for a long time.
Finally, he said, "All right. I won't tell her."
Relief transformed Serena's face through her tears.
"Thank you, Alexander. I promise I'll trouble you as little as possible. I won't give your wife another reason to misunderstand us."
He nodded distractedly.
"Rest. I'm going outside."
Alexander left the room quickly.
Lucas had heard every word from the corridor.
He grabbed Alexander and pulled him around the corner.
"You seriously can't see that she did that on purpose?"
Alexander frowned.
"Serena sacrificed too much because of me. I couldn't refuse her."
"Then are you planning to divorce Elsa?"
Alexander glanced at him.
"Elsa and I are not divorcing."
He clearly didn't want to discuss it further and headed toward the doctor's office.
Lucas followed.
"Alexander, because of Serena and Ethan, you've already lost your marital home and your wedding ring. The next thing you lose will be Elsa."
Alexander stopped and turned.
"Keep your voice down. This is a hospital."
He continued walking.
Lucas kept pace.
"I hit the truth. That's why you don't want to hear it."
Alexander stopped again.
Lucas added, "By the way, Violet heard you ran here to take care of Serena. She's flying abroad to tell Elsa."
Alexander's brows tightened.
"Why didn't you stop her?"
Lucas shrugged.
"To be perfectly honest, I also hope Elsa divorces you."
Alexander stared at him in silence.
The next afternoon in Taren, Violet left her hotel and took a taxi to Elsa's hospital.
Elsa hurried outside after receiving her call. The moment the two women saw each other, they hugged and spun around laughing.
Elsa chose a restaurant and treated Violet to lunch.
At first, they talked happily. Gradually, the mood changed.
Elsa knew Violet had never been good at keeping things to herself.
When Violet kept hesitating, Elsa finally asked, "You came all this way to see me. What happened?"
Violet couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Elsa, you don't know what happened. Mom took back the apartment Serena was living in, and Serena actually tried to kill herself. My brother ran to the hospital again to take care of her."
Elsa quietly set down her utensils and lowered her eyes.
News about Alexander and Serena still hurt, but at least she could hear it now without falling apart.
"From now on, you don't need to tell me anything about the two of them."
After lunch, Elsa urged Violet to return home.
"Thanksgiving is a little over a month away. I'll be back by then. We can see each other again."
Over the next month, Elsa handed everything relating to the divorce to her lawyer and poured herself into work and study.
The day before Thanksgiving, after speaking with her parents, she booked a flight home.
That evening, Elsa returned to Saintville.
After work, Alexander drove alone to the residential complex where Elsa's parents lived.
He parked by the road and unfastened his seat belt.
On the passenger seat lay a letter from Elsa's divorce attorney.
Since his trip to Taren—since Elsa had thrown away her wedding ring and refused to come home—they had barely spoken.
Their message thread was still frozen on the last text he had sent her the night he left.
He had believed they were both cooling down.
He hadn't expected her to hire an attorney and prepare to take him to court.
Through the windshield, he saw a taxi stop ahead.
Elsa stepped out wearing a beige early-autumn dress, fitted at the waist with sleeves ending below her elbows. The wind caught her long hair and sent it across her face.
Alexander stared at the woman he had not seen in more than a month.
His throat moved involuntarily.
Then he looked once at the attorney's letter beside him, opened the door, and got out.