Chapter 57 I Came to See You
They had not seen each other for more than a month.
Alexander stood near the front of his car. Elsa stood several steps away near the rear.
For a long moment, they looked at each other in silence.
Elsa had no desire to speak to him.
She withdrew her gaze and turned toward the entrance of the residential complex.
Alexander stepped into her path and lowered his voice without realizing it.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back? I could have picked you up at the airport."
Elsa took half a step back.
Their eyes met.
She calmly pulled her hand away when he reached for her.
"You should have received the letter from my divorce lawyer. From now on, my attorney will speak to you about everything related to the divorce."
Alexander's expression was difficult to read.
"Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I'll come tonight and take you to the family estate for dinner."
He deliberately ignored the word divorce.
Elsa's face cooled further.
A teenage boy came running out through the gate.
"There's no need," she said.
Irritation finally broke through Alexander's composure.
He stepped forward and reached toward Elsa's arm, but Noah arrived first and pulled his sister aside.
He shot Alexander a fierce glare before turning to Elsa with a huge smile.
"Sis, Mom and Dad sent me down to meet you."
Elsa ignored Alexander and pushed her suitcase toward Noah.
"Let's go."
Noah took the suitcase with one hand and linked his other arm through Elsa's. The siblings walked into the complex together.
Alexander stayed where he was.
The hand he had lifted toward her slowly fell.
He watched the Winters siblings disappear through the gate and did not move for a long time.
That night, on the third floor of the Crown Club, Alexander entered a private room and immediately frowned when he saw Violet.
"What is a young woman doing in a place like this this late at night?"
Violet hid behind Lucas.
"Grandfather told me to remind you that tomorrow is Thanksgiving. He wants you to bring Elsa home for dinner."
Alexander lowered his eyes.
"I know."
Violet clearly had no intention of leaving.
Lucas picked up her purse and began coaxing and dragging her toward the door.
"Give me a minute, Alexander. I'll take your sister downstairs."
Not long after the two of them left, Serena knocked and entered.
Alexander's eyes darkened slightly.
She immediately explained, "Don't misunderstand. I happened to pass by and saw you were here. I only came in to say hello. I'll leave right away."
Alexander gave a small nod. His mood was obviously low.
Serena approached carefully.
"Alexander, Ethan has been asking about you for days. He's off school tomorrow. Could the three of us have a meal together?"
Alexander idly swirled the drink in his hand.
"Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I have to take my wife to spend the holiday with the family."
The smile on Serena's face froze when she heard Elsa was back.
Only for an instant.
Then it returned.
"That's wonderful. I'm glad your wife came home. I won't disturb your reunion."
She left the room with graceful composure.
At the corner of the corridor, she stopped and pressed her back against the wall, breathing deeply.
She had planned to use Elsa's time abroad to rebuild her bond with Alexander.
She hadn't expected Elsa to return so quickly.
Judging from Alexander's distracted expression, Serena's mind began racing again.
As long as he continued hiding Ethan's true identity, there would always be a barrier between husband and wife.
And as long as that barrier remained, Serena would still have a chance.
At the Winters home, the family of four finished dinner.
Elsa washed dishes in the kitchen while talking with her parents.
"Sis, your phone."
Noah handed it to her.
Elsa looked at the unfamiliar number. After a moment's hesitation, she dried her hands and answered in the living room.
The moment she heard Serena's voice, she frowned.
When the call ended, Elsa used taking out the trash as an excuse to walk downstairs.
Serena was waiting near the gate.
She approached Elsa with a smile.
"Miss Winters, Alexander told me you'd returned, so I came to see you."
She offered Elsa a box of pumpkin pie and a fruit basket.
Elsa's lips curved with irony, but she made no move to accept them.
Alexander could disappear from home for a month because of Serena and never explain himself.
Yet the moment Elsa returned, he had apparently rushed to tell Serena.
If that wasn't love, what was?
Elsa suppressed the sting in her chest.
"Keep the gifts. If you have something to say, say it."
The two women stood beside the road.
Serena lowered the gifts.
Her gaze lingered on Elsa's striking face. Jealousy flashed briefly in her eyes.
"I assume you came back to spend Thanksgiving with your family. When are you leaving again?"
Elsa frowned.
"Why I came back and when I leave have nothing to do with you. If you're going to keep circling around whatever you came to say, I'm leaving."
When Elsa turned, Serena stepped in front of her.
"Miss Winters, I know you can't accept that Alexander and I reconciled. But all these schemes will only make him dislike you more."
Elsa almost laughed.
Of course Alexander and Serena thought exactly alike.
Both of them were unbelievably self-righteous.
Serena continued, "You invited Ethan and me into your marital home. You even had it redecorated for us. Then you left the divorce agreement and the bank card, and deliberately put your wedding ring on my finger. You weren't blessing us. You were retreating so Alexander would chase you.
You wanted to provoke him and force him to turn back. Am I wrong?"
Elsa forced down the emotions rising inside her.
"Serena, instead of wasting your time here, you should be whispering into Alexander's ear every night until he finally divorces me. Then you can take your child and become Mrs. Horton."
In the past, Elsa might have slapped Serena twice before she finished speaking.
But the bankruptcy of the Winters family and three years of a loveless marriage had worn away much of that spoiled young heiress.
Saintville's social circle no longer had the arrogant, fearless Miss Winters it once knew.
The woman standing here now carried scars no one could see. She was wounded, guarded, and painfully sensitive.
For reasons she hated, Serena felt inferior in front of her.
She straightened her back and lifted her chin, trying to look graceful.
"Alexander is a man with a strong sense of responsibility. He refuses to divorce you partly because of his elders and partly because he pities you."
Serena gave a soft sigh.
"I understand how difficult this is for him, so I won't force him to leave you. After all, I'm the woman he loves. His heart has always belonged to Ethan and me. The only thing he can give you is the title of wife."
"Go to hell!"
Noah appeared from nowhere and kicked Serena straight into the road.