Chapter 72 Thats Aunt Elsa
Elsa almost laughed at Alexander's question.
She looked at him with open irony.
"You carried Serena in your heart for years. If anyone knows whether love matters, it's you."
Alexander released her and tugged irritably at his collar.
"Serena and I simply met again. I never spent six years deliberately waiting for her."
The blueberry cake and the social-media post, he explained, had been Serena's birthday wish from six years earlier.
Seeing her again after such a long separation had stirred old emotions, yes. She had also been ill and struggling with depression, and he had wanted to stabilize her emotionally.
That brief disturbance had never been enough to make him lose his judgment.
The post Serena requested had remained visible for only sixty seconds before he deleted it.
What Alexander could never have predicted was that in those exact sixty seconds, Violet would happen to see it, take screenshots, and send them straight to Elsa.
He had accepted Ethan publicly as his child only to stop his grandfather from harming Serena and the boy the way he had harmed Serena six years earlier.
And Alexander had promised Serena he would never reveal the truth of Ethan's birth.
But Elsa could not accept Serena.
She could not accept Ethan either.
Now one of them had to yield.
If they continued like this, everyone would be destroyed.
Elsa's mouth curved with bitter mockery.
They simply met again.
He made it sound so innocent.
Alexander stepped closer and caught both her shoulders, preventing her from moving away.
"Elsa, feelings that can't be converted into anything real are only empty promises. Every relationship eventually comes down to money, interests, and practical life. If I tell you I love you, can you eat those words?"
He held her gaze.
"Jewelry. Money. Position. Aren't those more reliable sources of security than sentimental promises?"
"I gave you a life without financial worry. I gave you the position of Mrs. Horton, a status no one could shake. Doesn't that prove my sincerity toward this marriage?"
Elsa and Alexander understood marriage in completely different ways.
She looked at him.
"Alexander, what I wanted was to be chosen first. Respect where I don't have to interrogate you before you explain things. A partner who changes when he knows something hurts me. Someone who answers me, follows through, and is loyal enough that his eyes and his heart are fixed on me.
That's what makes me feel secure. That's sincerity."
Her exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed her.
She pointed toward the door.
"I worked all day. I'm tired. I don't have the strength to listen to your excuses or argue anymore."
Her voice weakened.
"From now on, I don't need you involved in any part of my life. Please stay as far away from me as possible."
Alexander stood looking at her for a long time.
Then he took a jewelry box from his pocket and placed it on the dining table.
"Get some rest."
He walked to the door, stopped, and looked back.
Elsa looked as if she could barely remain standing.
Something shifted in his eyes.
He came back, pulled her abruptly into his arms, and kissed her gently between the brows before she could react.
"Happy twenty-sixth birthday, Elsa."
Then he released her and left.
Elsa immediately went into the bathroom and turned on the faucet, splashing cold water over her face.
When she had first chased Alexander, friends used to joke that two Scorpios together meant one of two things: a perfect match or mutual destruction.
Elsa had always answered proudly that they were obviously a perfect match.
They looked good together. Their ages worked. Their personalities balanced each other. Even their education seemed compatible.
But she had ignored one difference.
Alexander's intelligence was far above average.
Combined with the way he had been raised, that made him more rational, more calculating, and more emotionally ruthless than most people.
In truth, Elsa had realized they were incompatible long before Alexander ever did.
She had simply been unwilling to let go.
She turned off every light and collapsed onto the sofa.
Outside the door, Alexander had not left.
Gavin stood holding the rejected cake, uncertain what to do.
"Mr. Horton, you came all this way. Are you really leaving now?"
Alexander lit a cigarette and leaned against the wall.
"If I don't leave, she can't rest."
Gavin stepped several feet away and stopped talking.
Alexander smoked one cigarette after another.
At midnight, he crushed out the last one.
He stood straight and looked at Elsa's closed door.
Then, silently, he made a birthday wish.
Every previous year, they had blown out candles together, made wishes together, and exchanged birthday gifts.
This year, her birthday had been defined by arguments and separation.
Alexander stood there for a long time.
"Let's go."
The next morning, Elsa left on time for work.
Light makeup could not hide how exhausted she looked.
She saw cigarette butts scattered near her door and walked past them without reacting.
She knew Alexander.
He had too much pride to become the kind of man who begged at a woman's door indefinitely.
If he were not determined to keep her as respectable cover while maintaining Serena and Ethan outside the marriage, he would never have tolerated this much rejection.
Elsa believed he would not return for some time.
So she poured everything into work.
Soon the end of the year approached.
Alexander did not visit again. He did not contact her directly either.
Her attorney repeatedly secured court dates, only for Alexander's legal team to block them. The Horton lawyers challenged how her evidence had been collected, accused her side of illegally acquiring and exposing private information, and turned parts of the dispute back against her.
The family also put pressure on Elsa's parents.
To keep her parents from living in fear, Elsa temporarily delayed the hearing.
Professionally, however, everything was moving forward.
After several months of treatment, Raphael's insomnia had improved dramatically. He could now fall asleep naturally without medication.
Raphael kept his promise.
Within a short time, Europe's old-money circles all knew that Elsa Winters had successfully treated his long-standing condition.
The case established Elsa's international reputation in sleep-disorder medicine.
Following Julian's advice, she completed her handover in Taren and returned home to develop her career.
Elsa wanted to surprise her family, so she did not tell them her exact travel schedule.
Her flight landed around dusk.
She took a taxi to a bakery near First Experimental Primary School to buy her mother's favorite rose pastries.
When she came out, the kindergarten across the street was dismissing students.
Elsa stopped at the roadside.
A familiar figure stood among the parents.
Alexander wore a black business suit. His height and restrained authority made him stand out immediately.
He crouched on one knee and carefully tied Ethan's shoelaces.
Then he rubbed the boy's head and lifted him into his arms.
"Mom is busy with work today and can't take care of you. Tell me what you want to eat."
Ethan pointed across the road.
"That's Aunt Elsa."