His Destructive, Toxic Love

Eliza was taken aback for a moment. It seemed like the one who couldn't let go wasn't her, but Casper. "Why are we bringing up the past now? We agreed to leave it behind. Why ruin such a lovely morning with unhappy memories?"

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding genuinely regretful.

There was a heaviness in his demeanor. Eliza shook her head, reaching out to hold his hand, gently rubbing the back of it. "Let's not dwell on the past. I want a daughter as much as you do, maybe even more. Let's leave it to fate, you know how my health is."

"Yeah," he agreed.

The brief moment of gloom passed, and they started packing, getting ready to head to the airport. The hotel had arranged a car for them. Sitting side by side in the backseat, Eliza leaned on his shoulder, watching the city lights fade away.

Suddenly, she remembered she hadn't told Juan they were heading back to Falconridge. He was probably still waiting for their dinner plans.

"Oh no," Eliza quickly pulled out her phone, opening WhatsApp, which she hadn't checked in days.

Casper, looking puzzled, asked, "What's up? Did you forget something?"

"No," Eliza replied as she opened WhatsApp. Sure enough, Juan had sent her a bunch of messages asking when she was free so he could book a restaurant. She hadn't seen any of them, let alone replied. "Juan wanted to have dinner with us," she said, quickly dialing Juan's number.

After three rings, Juan answered with excitement. "My dear Ms. Eliza, you finally called me back! Let's get together and grab some good food."

"Juan, we're heading back to Falconridge. Maybe next time?" she said, bracing herself for his reaction and holding the phone a bit away from her ear.

Juan was silent for a moment, then said through gritted teeth, "So, Eliza, you've ditched your friend for a guy? What's so special about Casper, huh? You're a heartless traitor, and I'm done with you."

Eliza was at a loss for words. She had genuinely forgotten about meeting Juan. They couldn't just cancel their flight to have dinner with him. There was a whole family waiting for them.

"Juan, don't be mad. I'll come back, and we're not breaking up. You're stuck with me for life."

Juan, realizing Casper was probably with Eliza, tried to calm down. "Fine, go back to Falconridge. What kind of friend are you anyway?"

e ent

"Don't

at. I can't live without

you," Eliza said, trying to soothe angry Juan. "I'll call you

back to Falconridge." Whethe

"Hmph," he replied.

After hanging up, Eliza let out a deep sigh. When she looked up, she saw Casper watching her with a

curious expression.

"Is something on my face?" she asked.

"What did you just say?" His dark eyes narrowed. "You can't live without Juan?"

"I was just teasing him," she explained. Was he really jealous?

"Then tease me too," he said, pulling her onto his lap. "I want to hear it."noveldrama

Eliza glanced at the driver and immediately rejected the idea. "Are you crazy? You want people to laugh

at us?"

"He can't understand English. Just say it," he persisted like a child.

Eliza wasn't having it and gave his arm a playful twist. "I can't say it now. We'll talk later at home."

"Look at you. You talked so easily to Juan, but with me, you can't? That's not fair," he huffed.

Eliza shook her head, bemused. Was this jealousy really necessary?