His Destructive, Toxic Love

Eliza was grateful that the Welton ladies stood up for her. But knowing Casper as she did, she knew it wouldn't make any difference. He was the type to obsess once he set his mind on something. No amount of persuasion or advice could sway him. As long as his fixation persisted, everything else was futile.

"I think we can skip dinner." Casper stood up, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Eliza beside him. "Let's go, Mrs. Welton. I think we need to have a deep... discussion about our thoughts."

Eliza pursed her lips tightly as she stood up to bid farewell to Audrey and Caroline. "Mom, sis, we'll be heading back now."

Caroline seemed to want to say more, her gaze trailing after Eliza as Casper dragged her away. She watched Eliza stumble out of the room and finally sighed in resignation.

"Mom, I really don't understand what's going through Casper's mind. If he doesn't love Eliza, why can't he let her go? Is it really just possessiveness?"

"Love can be possessive. But without love..."

"You know what, Caroline? There's a kind of love called oblivious love," Audrey said, toying with her rosary beads as she slowly turned to her daughter. Her voice was calm yet filled with meaning. Caroline was taken aback, finding the answer hard to believe. "Mom, are you saying... Casper actually loves Eliza?"

That seemed impossible. Loving someone meant pampering and cherishing them, not bullying them.

"Mom, if he loves her, how could he drive Eliza to attempt suicide? You've seen the scars on her wrists; they're horrifying."

Audrey sighed softly, looking weary. "Maybe I was wrong about him. I'm tired; I need to rest."

Caroline looked out, lost in thought. What is love? Even if she didn't understand romance, she knew Casper's way wasn't it.

At the Welton Estate, Casper gripped Eliza's wrist and threw her onto the couch. His eyes were cold and dark.

As he undid his cufflinks, he looked at her sitting on the couch. "It seems I've treated you so poorly that even the rest of the Welton family can't stand it."

"Do you think you've treated me

well?" She removed her pearl earrings and threw them to the ground. Casper, slapping me and then offering a sweet doesn't mean you've treated me well, especially when your sweets aren't sweet at atp."

"Are you discontent?" He chuckled, undoing two buttons on his shirt and approaching Eliza, pulling her close. "Then tell me, what kind of sweet would be sweet enough for you?"

"You sent my father to jail, arranged

for my mother's organs to be transplanted to Nova, drove my brother insane, had me committed to an asylum, and denied me my right to motherhood by causing me to miscarry. How could those possibly make me feel any sweetness?"

The sharp pain brought uncontrollable tears to her eyes. She forced a laugh, suddenly grabbing his collar. "Casper, for everything you've done to me, even in death, I won't forgive you." Their eyes locked. The air was heavy and oppressive. Her hatred nearly burst forth.

Casper smirked, gripping her wrist,

his voice tight. "Let me tell you again, your dad's suicide in jail had nothing to do with me. I'm still looking for evidence of your mom's organs being transplanted into Nova As for your brother..."

Robin's situation left him speechless. But the miscarriage wasn't intentional on his part.