His Destructive, Toxic Love

Chelsea furrowed her brows, her voice tinged with a mix of reproach and frustration.

"It was just kids roughhousing, pushing and shoving-it's normal, not intentional." Eliza gently tugged at Chelsea's sleeve, signaling her to lower her voice so they wouldn't wake the toddler. They stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door quietly. Chelsea couldn't hide her agitation. "So, you didn't even talk to that kid's parents? Does bullying begin in preschool?"

"It's not that serious." Eliza tried to calm Chelsea down, speaking softly. "Don't get too worked up. I already talked to the teacher. It's just harmless roughhousing among the kids. Nothing was done on purpose."

"Don't just brush it off." Chelsea, having recently seen reports about school bullying, couldn't help but feel anxious. "Bullying can happen in preschool, elementary, or high school. Some people are just born troublemakers." "You're exaggerating." Eliza shook her head with a smile.

Chelsea pouted. "Isn't that exactly what Casper was? He was born a troublemaker. The world's full of them."

Hearing that name made Eliza's heart tighten. She didn't want to hear it. It only dredged up memories she tried to forget.

"Why bring him up?" Just hearing his name triggered her.

Chelsea pursed her lips apologetically. "I didn't mean to. It's just that today's incident made me immediately think of him." "Don't worry about it."

Eliza never taught her son to bully others, but she didn't teach him to always yield, either. Yielding only led to self-sacrifice and empowering the wrongdoers. After years of enduring pain, Eliza had to fake her own death to escape.

"By the way, Elle, didn't Dr. Martin mention that his uncle's sixtieth birthday is coming up and that he's visiting Oak Falls? Will you join him to celebrate his uncle's birthday?"

Aaron's aunt, his father's sister, married a very prominent figure in Oak Falls. In recent years, the Martin family had been under pressure from the Welton family, so they moved part of their business to Oak Falls. Their success there was

largely due to Aaron's uncle.

In these past three years, Aaron had helped Eliza a lot. Out of both sentiment and courtesy, she felt she should use this opportunity to repay his kindness. "He did mention it."

"Did you agree?" To Chelsea, meeting someone's parents meant things were getting serious. "So, are you and Dr. Martin, you know..." "Me and him..."

Despite Aaron expressing his feelings for her, both openly and subtly, many times over these three years, she hadn't found the courage to start a new relationship after being hurt by Casper. She also had a child to consider. She felt there was no need to start a new relationship or marriage.

"Dr. Martin is a good man. He's a true gentleman. He will definitely treat you well."

Chelsea hoped someone could take care of Eliza and her child. Aaron seemed like the perfect candidate. Eliza believed Aaron was

ve

undoubtedly a good man, but she wasn't sure if he was right for her.

"Chelsea, could you help me prepare a decent gift? Aaron has helped me a lot these past three years. I want to use this opportunity to properly repay his kindness."

"It sounds like you're trying to keep things seperate with him." There was no need for that.

Eliza shook her head. "It's not like that. At least I won't be owing him a favor. Favors are the hardest debts to repay."