She had truly loved Xander. For him, she would have given up everything.
Elsa didn't understand.
Why was Xander doing this to her?
Why had he schemed against her so thoroughly?
In this marriage, she hadn't just thrown in her whole heart and body; she'd ended up
on the hook for every wedding expense, buried under that four-hundred-thousand- dollar loan, and choking on the shame of those videos.
It wasn't fair to her!
It was so unfair!
Elsa had never felt so hopeless.
Xander disgustedly shook his sleeve free from her grasp. "Who's not letting who go? If it wasn't for you, with my qualifications, I could have married a much better-off, supportive wife! It's because of your fraudulent marriage that I'm now a divorced man that nobody wants! Elsa, you deserve all of this!"
He narrowed his eyes. "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not seizing the opportunity. You had a friend like Mrs. Sylvester and you didn't know how to cherish her. If you had managed to maintain that friendship, I wouldn't have had to take things this far."
Having a friend like Caitlin was a blessing Elsa didn't deserve.
But Elsa had been a fool.
The more Xander thought about it, the angrier he got.
If Elsa hadn't been so stupid, he would've already married his way into the Sylvester family.
Elsa was a complete idiot.
Elsa took a deep breath and looked at Xander. "Fine, we can get a divorce. I can
also find a way to pay you back the six hundred thousand in wedding funds, but you have to pay back that four-hundred-thousand-dollar loan yourself!"
Although Elsa didn't want to let Xander off so easily, she had no other choice.
Xander now held leverage over her.
She had to take a step back.
"Me pay it back? Elsa, stop dreaming!" Xander sneered, his eyes filled with scorn. "Taking out that loan was your personal decision. What does it have to do with me?"
If Elsa's credit limit hadn't been capped at four hundred thousand, Xander would have had her take out a million.
What was a mere four hundred thousand?
Elsa owed him that!
Hearing his words, Elsa was practically seething with rage. "My personal decision? Xander, if you hadn't tricked me, would I have taken out that four hundred thousand?"
"I tricked you? Xander was
incredulous. How did I trick you? You're an adult. If you didn't want to, could I have tied you up and forced You
you to get a loan from the band
took out the loan yourself but want me to pay it back for you? Dream on. Life doesn't work that way."
Elsa's eyes instantly turned red, her voice trembling. "Xander, you know my family's situation. I can't possibly pay back that four hundred thousand right now. If you keep pushing me like this, you'll drive me to my death."
She was trying to appear weak in front of him.
She was also making a gamble.
A gamble that Xander still had a shred of affection for her.
But there was none.
"You want to die, is that it? Fine!" Xander looked at Elsa, his voice cold. "If you're going to die, then die somewhere far away. It'll save me the trouble of going back and forth to court!"
If Xander were the type to be moved by a few of Elsa's tears, he wouldn't have orchestrated her taking out loan in the first place. "I'm really going to die!" Elsa said, her voice hoarse. She grabbed Xander's hand, hertone almost pleading. ander we were husband and wife. For the sake of our past, please, just leave me a way out, okay?"
"To hell with your 'husband and wife' crap," Xander yanked his hand away from hers. "Elsa, have you ever heard the saying 'death cancels all debts'? If you really have the guts to die, I might even respect you for it!"