His Destructive, Toxic Love

He mulled over a lot of things, the ones that made sense and the ones that didn't. But after a long hesitation, he still couldn't bring himself to sign his name. "Mr. Casper, is something bothering you?" Dillon asked, puzzled by the mix of emotions on Casper's face.

Casper, visibly irritated, tossed the pen onto the table. "Divorce isn't exactly a joyful occasion. Signing this feels like lifting a thousand-pound weight." Hadn't he already decided?

Why the sudden hesitation now?

"Mr. Casper, are you having second thoughts, or are you just conflicted? I can't figure you out."

Casper let out a bitter laugh, his smile tinged with sadness.

Second thoughts?

Conflicted?

Did he even have a say in this?

He could only go with the flow.

"Dillon, sometimes, life's just unfair to men."

Dillon: ...

What's with Mr. Casper suddenly waxing poetic?Property © NôvelDrama.Org.

Love... it really does a number on a good man.

"Mr. Casper, if she wasn't meant to be yours, forcing it won't make it sweet. Living in bitterness every day, isn't that worse?"

Casper got it.

That's why he chose to let go.

It hurt, of course, but he believed time heals all wounds.

Eventually, he would move on.

Monday.

Eliza woke up early.

She hadn't slept well the night before.

Dreamt all night long.

In her dreams, she saw her parents, Robin, and Casper-the man she fell for at first sight on that bridge.

They were a happy family; she and Casper had a son and a daughter, everyone's faces glowing with joy.

The dream startled her awake.

Such happiness-how could it ever be hers?

Her mom died so tragically, her dad was ill with dementia and could hardly take care of himself, and though Robin was in a top-notch rehab center, that was probably as good as it would get. A broken family, a failed marriage.

Having a child was already a silver lining amid her misfortunes.

Dreams like that could never come true.

After splashing her face with cold water, she tidied her short hair and rushed out the door.

The weather was gloomy.

Monday mornings meant everyone. was hurrying to work; the roads

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Luckily.

She had left early and wasn't too late when she arrived at the city hall.

She hadn't expected Casper to be there so early and felt a bit apologetic. "Sorry, traffic was bad."

"No worries, let's go."

His face was expressionless.

His tone, indifferent.

She noticed the brown paper bag in his hand, likely carrying the divorce papers.

Quickening her steps, she caught up with him and walked into the city hall together.

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things up, given it was just signing some papers.

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But no.

He went to the self-service kiosk, took a number, and sat down to wait with her.

The divorce process moved quickly, and the couples ahead of them left one by one. Eliza sneaked a peek at the number in Casper's hand.

Number 18.

The current number was 17, so their turn was next. She suddenly felt a bit nervous. 'Bang.'

Out of nowhere, all the lights in the hall went out.

A wave of confusion spread.

Nobody knew what had happened.

A staff member soon came out to explain, "Sorry, there's been a power outage due to a line issue. Half of Falconridge is without power, and t won't be fixed anytime soon. We can only process up to this point for today. Please come back another day. We'll announce on our official page when services are back to normal."

A power outage?

Eliza felt a bit down.

They were so close, and now this.

What luck.

"Do you have time tomorrow?" Eliza asked Casper, a bit awkwardly.