His Destructive, Toxic Love novel Chapter 649

She told Juan this in just a regular chat. But here she was, perched on Casper’s lap, turning the same conversation into playful banter. It was kind of embarrassing how he seemed to forget where they were.

"Okay, we're almost at the airport, cut it out," she teased, giving his cheek a gentle squeeze before slipping off his lap. "Once we're back in Falconridge, I’ve got to hit the office again. I've got tons of custom orders that are gonna need my full attention."

He got it. Sometimes work just took over everything.

But he had just popped the question. Now she was diving back into work, and he couldn't help but feel a bit bummed about it.

"No worries, no matter how late you work, I’ll be here waiting for you to come home."

That made her smile, and she squeezed his hand, their fingers entwined. "My Casper's really stepping up his game, becoming all thoughtful and sweet."

He puffed up a bit, "Of course, I'm aiming to be the ideal partner now."

"That won’t cut it, Mr. Casper still needs to bring home the bacon. My little business barely covers me, let alone a family."

If he took on the supportive role full-time, wouldn’t that just wear her out? No way. She wasn’t having it.

"Do you really need me that much?" he grinned, a hint of playful arrogance.

Eliza quickly buttered him up, "Absolutely, keep it up."

"Alright then. Oh, by the way, sweetheart, I was thinking of setting our wedding for next spring. How does that sound?" They cuddled closer, basking in their shared affection.

Eliza had never really thought about having a big wedding. As an orphan, there wouldn’t be anyone to witness her happiness. She was cool with just being secretly happy.

Her fingers lightly traced the young girl's face in the photo, so full of innocence. If only they had truly embraced those days, what might they be like now?

"Why didn’t you cherish that time, Eliza?"

"I was... blind, my heart was blind, totally out of it back then. If I had another chance, I’d never let us waste all those years."

He felt the regret too. Their best years were filled with so much pain. Torture was never just about one person’s suffering. It hadn’t been easy for him either.

"Why keep this photo? You didn’t even like me then. Look at you, frowning. It’s clear you were unhappy, hated being married, and hated this photo even more."

Eliza’s questions mirrored those Casper had asked himself countless times. If he hadn’t wanted to, he wouldn’t have taken such a photo with her. But he did want to. Yet he was torn. He found himself really liking her, but felt he couldn’t betray Nova, even though it later turned out Nova had been pretending to be Eliza all along.