Chapter 61 If I Cant Get Divorced, Ill Die
Late that night, Alexander carried Elsa into the luxury apartment by the bay that he had moved into only recently.
He gave her no chance to escape. He took her straight into the bedroom.
By the time Elsa recovered, he had pinned her to the bed with both wrists held above her head.
The position was intimate enough to make her face burn with anger.
"Alexander, let me up!"
He held her wrists with one hand and secured the other around her waist.
Whether it was the alcohol or something else, his eyes were frighteningly red.
He looked down at her furious face. Slowly, something in his gaze heated.
His breathing deepened.
He lowered himself toward her.
Their breaths mingled.
Elsa turned her head.
His lips brushed the line of her jaw instead.
She struggled and bit hard into his shoulder.
Alexander flinched but did not release her.
Desire flickered in his eyes, and his voice carried a trace of testing.
"Stay tonight. I'll run a bath for you."
Elsa knew how much he had drunk.
Whether he was truly intoxicated or merely using it as an excuse, she could not stay.
"If you do this, aren't you afraid Serena will be hurt?"
The resistance in her body registered with him. Alexander slowly lifted his upper body.
Elsa immediately twisted free and got off the bed.
Of course.
The moment she mentioned Serena, he stopped touching her.
Elsa forced down the pain and walked out.
Alexander stopped her in the living room.
"Today is Thanksgiving. You announced a divorce in front of my grandfather and parents. Do you really think that was appropriate?"
The faint accusation in his measured tone instantly ignited her anger.
"You didn't think it was inappropriate to have an affair and keep what I believed was your illegitimate son outside our marriage. Why is it inappropriate for me to ask for a divorce?"
At the mention of Serena and Ethan, Alexander frowned.
His patience visibly thinned.
"I don't want to explain Serena and Ethan again. If you want to fight with me, you can do it any other day. But today is Thanksgiving. I don't want the elders spending the whole holiday upset because of us."
Elsa stepped backward and looked at him as if he were a stranger.
"You hurt my brother for the woman you love. Noah spent the entire night tossing in bed because his wrist hurt. My parents are getting older, and they took turns getting up to care for him. When I left today, the kitchen was cold. No one in my family had any desire to celebrate."
Her eyes reddened.
"You know it's Thanksgiving. You wanted your grandfather and your parents to have a peaceful holiday."
Her voice rose.
"Your elders matter, but my parents don't? Are they not people too?"
Alexander caught her arm and pulled her closer.
He lifted a hand to wipe away her tears.
"So because of that, you were angry with me and threatened me in front of my family? Threatened to ruin my reputation?"
Elsa shoved him away in disgust.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not angry. I'm not throwing a tantrum. I truly want a divorce."
Tears spilled from sheer frustration.
Alexander stared at her for a long moment.
Then he took her wrist again and led her into the study.
He opened a drawer and removed the divorce agreement and the bank card.
Right in front of Elsa, he fed the agreement into a shredder.
Then he held out the card.
"I don't deny Serena and Ethan are part of my life. And I admit I've used marital assets to help them. But what I give them is care. Nothing more."
Elsa refused the card.
"Stop lying to yourself. If you and Serena are so innocent, did Ethan fall out of the sky?"
Alexander did not explain.
He pushed the card containing one billion into her pocket.
"Serena and Ethan stayed in our marital home. I know you dislike that, so I moved out. From now on, we'll live here."
Elsa's voice went cold.
"The only reason I haven't made your scandal public is because your mother has treated me like her own daughter for more than twenty years. If you keep forcing me, don't blame me when I take everyone down with me."
Alexander met her eyes.
"Elsa, I know you're angry and that you can't accept Serena and Ethan right now. You can live separately from me and calm down. You can build your career. But we are not divorcing."
When she remained silent, he stepped closer and lightly held her wrist.
His voice softened.
"There are six months left in the year. Think about it slowly. If you come home, I'll find a way to buy back the jewelry your mother sold. The one billion is yours too."
Elsa's refusal was absolute.
"Alexander, you know me. No matter how much I once loved something, if someone dirtied it, I threw it away. What makes you think I'd keep a man who never loved me, betrayed me, and is filthy to me from his heart to his body?"
She pushed past him and opened the door.
She nearly collided with Lucas.
Elsa did not even stop to greet him. She walked straight out.
Lucas blocked Alexander when he followed her.
"Another fight?"
Alexander stopped.
"She's angry. I don't want her going home alone. Take her back for me."
Lucas made a sound of acknowledgment and hurried into the elevator after Elsa.
At the gate, he coaxed and half-dragged her into his convertible.
As he drove, he watched her from the corner of his eye.
"Tell me. What did that idiot do this time?"
Elsa stared into the distance.
"Lucas, we've known each other since childhood too. More than twenty years. If a woman said something about Noah, would you hurt him because of her?"
Lucas grimaced.
"Elsa... can we change the subject?"
She looked at him and gave a bitter smile.
"Would you give your childhood friend—your own wife—the silent treatment for the woman you loved?"
Lucas had no answer.
Elsa tipped her face slightly upward, trying not to cry.
"Alexander and I grew up together. I married him and spent three years as his wife. I thought that even if he didn't love me, twenty years of growing up together had to mean something."
She looked back at Lucas, smiling through tears.
"I was wrong."
Then she said, "If I'd known this was where I would end up, I might as well have married you back then."
Lucas was so startled he nearly forgot how to react.
"Elsa... what if Alexander has reasons you don't know about?"
She shook her head.
"No one can make Alexander do anything unless he chooses it himself."
Her voice turned pleading.
"Lucas, please talk to him. Convince him to divorce me. I've had enough."
Concern slowly replaced the humor in Lucas's face.
"Elsa, you know Alexander's temper and his methods. If he decides he won't divorce, even the best divorce attorneys in the city might not be able to get you out of this marriage."
Elsa's answer was calm.
"Then if I can't get divorced, I'll die."