His Destructive, Toxic Love

"Eliza, don't worry about him, that jerk deserves a taste of his own medicine for once," Alec said, thumping his chest with bravado, not realizing how serious things had gotten. "I've got your back, girl."

"Casper..." Eliza reached out to press against the man's bleeding head wound, her hands and clothes stained with his blood. Panic was creeping in. "Quick, call 911!"

Hallie, sensing the gravity of the situation, fumbled for her phone. "Hang on, I'm calling emergency services right now."

"Why call 911? That jerk had it coming, might as well have finished him off," Alec slurred, clearly drunk, while Renee, equally tipsy, squinted through blurred vision. "He's bad news. None of you know how he treated Eliza before; he deserved to be hit."

Casper was struggling to stay upright, his head spinning from the blows.

For a moment, everything went blank.

The ambulance showed up swiftly, and luckily, the hospital was nearby.

After a whirlwind of tests, cleaning, and bandaging, Casper was finally wheeled out of the emergency room.

Eliza hurried over. "Doctor, how's my husband?"

"The patient has a mild concussion. We'll keep an eye on him," the doctor said, casting a sympathetic glance at Casper before adding, "Couples argue, but violence is a step too far. You're lucky this time; it could have been much worse."

Eliza felt a pang of guilt. Did the doctor think she was the one who hit him?

Whatever.

No point in explaining.

"Got it."

The nurse wheeled Casper into his room.

Eliza looked at the man with his head wrapped in bandages, remorse in her eyes. "I'm sorry, my friends probably got the wrong idea, and... she was drunk, it wasn't on purpose. I'm apologizing for her."

"What on earth were you guys talking about? Do you all hate me that much?" Casper was genuinely shocked that someone would just smash a bottle on his head out of nowhere.

Eliza hadn't expected it either.

Still, they did it trying to defend her.noveldrama

She hoped Casper would let it slide. "Renee knows you're my ex-husband..."

"Hold on." Did he hear that right,

ex-husband? "Eliza, I'm your ex-husband? Say that again. No wonder your friend hit me. Now I get

it, I'm... the ex-husband."

Eliza was about to clarify.

Casper, not ready to let it go, said, "Yeah, am I not the ex? No ring, and you don't

mention me to anyone. I'm just extra baggage now."

Casper was genuinely upset.

And with that anger, his head throbbed even more.

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Seeing him grimace, Eliza felt a laugh bubbling up but knew she needed to calm him down. "Someone made fun of my ring, saying it looked like a cheap three-for-ten deal, so I took it off to avoid the hassle. You know I hate explaining stuff."

"Well, they're the ones who can't see straight," he grumbled, even more annoyed.

Eliza stifled a smile. "Come on, don't be mad. Why did you even come? If it was important, you could've just called me."

He gave her a pointed look.

She had some nerve bringing that up.

Who was the one dodging calls?

"Didn't I call you? And you didn't pick up. It was late, and I was worried, Eliza. Have you really become so heartless?"

Alright.

Not answering his calls was on her, she'd own that mistake.

"Okay, okay, if your head's hurting, just rest. I'll stay with you." She took his hand gently, her voice soft, and caring. "Sorry for making you worry. It won't happen again."

"Really?"

"Really," she nodded sincerely.

Men can be easy to appease, and with just a few words, Casper let go of the fact

that he'd been hit and hurt.

He basked in Eliza's attention.

But since the injury wasn't too serious, after a few days in the hospital, the doctor suggested they head home for some rest and recovery.