His Destructive, Toxic Love

The muscles in Casper's jaw clenched as he yanked the bottle of pills from her hand and gripped her chin tightly. "You like your meds, huh? Fine, then down the whole lot."

He poured the white pills from the bottle into her mouth while she struggled to break free.

"You want 'em? Then take 'em all at once." He grabbed a glass of water from the shelf and forced it down Eliza's throat.

She started choking and coughing violently as she tried to expel the pills. Half of the hundred pills in the bottle went down her throat.

Eliza started gagging...Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

"Eliza, you better pray you never have my kid."

Casper let go of her roughly, picked up his jacket, and slammed the bedroom door shut behind him.

Stumbling, Eliza rushed to the bathroom to force herself to vomit. In the end, she had to be rushed to the hospital to get her stomach pumped.

Even though she got there in time, some of the medication had already entered her bloodstream, causing varying degrees of damage to her heart, liver, and kidneys. The high dose of hormones had triggered premature ovarian failure.

The doctor told her she might never be able to conceive again.

After crying her eyes out, Eliza felt a strange sense of relief.

In her drowsy state, she heard Marian, the housekeeper, calling Casper. "Her's condition isn't good. Perhaps you could come to the hospital?"

"Is she dead?" His voice was loud and cold, cutting through the phone.

"Not yet, but..."

"I'm busy..." A woman's voice in the background chimed in, "Casper, can you help me with my zipper?"

Annoyed, Casper's voice came through again, "Don't bother me with stuff like this."

The call ended with a click, and in the silence that followed, Marian cast a pitying glance at the pale Eliza lying on the bed. Marian knew the couple had a rocky relationship but didn't think it was this bad. With a heavy sigh from Marian, Eliza opened her bloodshot eyes.

That woman's voice-it was Nova.

On the rare nights Casper came home, Nova's sweet voice over the phone always called him away. All of Eliza's nightmares were filled with that same voice.

In Casper's heart, Nova was a thousand times more important than Eliza could ever be.

She closed her eyes, feeling exhausted. She needed a good sleep.

When Eliza woke again, she got a call from a nurse at the hospital where her mother was staying. The message was straightforward, asking her to come to the hospital to settle a bill. "Can't my mom's bills be deferred for now?"

The nurse on the other end sounded apologetic. "Ms. Eliza, the hospital is settling accounts, and your mother's treatment has been unpaid for a year now. We kindly ask you to settle the bill, or it might affect her ongoing treatment."

Previously, deferred payments were allowed because Welton International, Casper's company, owned the hospital. It seemed like he was no longer willing to handle her treatment.

Eliza's lashes fluttered with disappointment. "Alright, I'll be there shortly."

Her mother, Rose, had been in a coma since the car accident. Doctors said Rose had a stroke, and she was no different from the living dead.

If Eliza chose to stop the treatment, it was unlikely anyone would blame her. However, she didn't want to, nor was she willing to do so.

Eliza stared at the total figure at the end of the long bill and furrowed her brows. "Is it over two hundred thousand?"

"Yes, Ms. Eliza, after insurance, it's two hundred and thirty-five thousand eight hundred and sixteen dollars."

Two hundred thirty-five thousand didn't sound like an unattainable amount. Yet, she couldn't afford it.