His Destructive, Toxic Love

Holding the remote tightly, Casper stood before the massive seventy-inch screen, unable to hide his seething anger.

He had gone to great lengths to deploy people to find the killer for her. And what does she do? She checks into a hotel with Aaron.

She hadn't just tarnished her own reputation; she dragged his name, the Welton family's name, and even the Martin family's name through the mud. Once it broke, this scandal shot to the top of every major media outlet.

Hooking up with a married woman, and not just any woman-Casper's wife was enough to give Aaron's father a heart attack, landing him in the ICU. Welton International's stock nosedived, delaying the subsidiary's IPO, and the Martin family's business took a hit, too.

Casper had Eliza cornered, his thigh wedged between her legs, the whole scene brimming with intimacy.

"Mrs. Welton, you sure know how to have a good time. You bury your mom one day, and the next, you're off to a hotel. Now, all of Falconridge knows that my wife's been fooling around with the Martin family's golden boy. You're really something, Mrs. Welton."

She shook her head vigorously. "That's not how it happened."

"I didn't go to a hotel with him," she insisted.

"Are you still denying it?" His knee pressed down hard against her; his usually handsome face twisted in fury. "You've been caught red-handed, and you still deny it. How should I punish you?"

Casper was never one to listen to reason. Eliza realized too late that she had been set up. But she knew Casper wouldn't care to hear her explanation.

"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can say."

"Then tell me, what does our marriage mean to you?" he roared, his rage boiling over.

Eliza found it almost laughable. Casper had never respected their marriage, yet here he was questioning her commitment.

"I've never done anything to betray our marriage. I've tried my best to make it work."

"And now?" He gripped her chin tightly, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You don't love me anymore so does that mean our marriage is disposable? You can just go to a hotel with any man and sleep with them, is that it?"

Eliza gave a bitter smile. If she were as free-spirited as he thought, she wouldn't have suffered so much their marriage. She wasn't as enamored with physical intimacy he assumed. Every time he took her roughly, without a thought for her feelings, she detested it. Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Loveless intimacy was, at best, a mere physical need.

"Give me the divorce papers," she said, looking up at him. "Then you can tell the media why I was seen at a hotel with another man."

This marriage had lost its meaning long ago anyway

"You..." He was so furious that he couldn't find his voice.

She knew he hadn't divorced her because he hadn't tired of her yet. In Falconridge, young and beautiful girls were never in short supply, whether they were ladies from good

families or big-name stars. With

Casper's wealth, a mere gesture

would bring a line of suitors.

If he wanted to craft an image of a devoted lover, he could easily marry Nova right after divorcing her. It might even improve his image in the media and help diffuse the current crisis. Annoyed, he snapped coldly, "I don't need you to tell me what to do."

Welton International's PR team managed to bury the scandal by pushing news about several celebrities' illegitimate children to the forefront.

Since the incident, Casper had brought Eliza back to the Welton Estate. Her life had been reduced to shuttling between the company and home, always under Marian's watchful eye.

But Casper rarely came back home. Word on the street was that he was preparing to get engaged to Nova. He had even spent billions on a wedding house in Falconridge's most luxurious residential area.