His Destructive, Toxic Love

So this is what it was stressing him out. This was the incident Brock had mentioned to Eliza. Aaron had flung Brock into the sea.

Aaron admitting his mistake on his own showed he had a clear conscience. Maybe she shouldn't doubt him or suspect any ulterior motives. Eliza stayed silent for a moment.

Aaron continued, "I was just playing catch with him. The wind was crazy strong, and I lost my grip. Then the wind flipped the yacht. I was scared you'd blame me... I'm really sorry. I owe Brock an apology too."

"If it wasn't for me slipping and causing Brock to fall into the sea, you wouldn't have had to beg Casper to rescue him. And he wouldn't have taken advantage of the situation to make such an unreasonable request to you..." Aaron, clearly upset, grabbed Eliza's hand, pulled her in close, and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, Eliza. Can you forgive me?"

Eliza's body resisted the hug, but she didn't push him away. "Aaron, you said it was an accident. With that storm, no one could control what happened."

"I was out of my mind to lie to you then." He gazed at her deeply, eyes full of remorse. "Can you forgive me?"

"Brock is fine," she said with a slight smile.

"Don't worry. I'll get Casper to release you as soon as possible."

Eliza gave a faint smile and didn't say anything more.

Aaron's phone vibrated. He took a call and then said goodbye to Eliza.

Eliza watched his car drive away and thought for a moment, then told the cab driver, "Follow that car, please."

The cab trailed Aaron's car at a safe distance, turning into a cozy little steakhouse.

She quietly followed Aaron in. She'd been to this steakhouse before. Aaron must have set up a meeting and booked the VIP lounge in the back. She saw him open the door; someone came out to talk to him.

It was Zach.

Aaron and Zach together? That was unexpected.

They chatted easily, like it wasn't their first time meeting. As the lounge door closed, both of them disappeared from Eliza's view.

Eliza walked back and was lost in thought. Was the situation getting more confusing, or was Aaron becoming more unpredictable?

Aaron meeting Zach didn't necessarily mean anything, but there were too many puzzling aspects. Could it be they shared some hidden secret? She just couldn't figure it out, or understand it.

After sorting out Brock's school situation, Eliza finally had one less worry.

The newly established auction house didn't have much work yet She spent her days idly at the office. After work, she would help the household staff with cleaning and cooking.

Casper rarely came home for meals. Sometimes, she'd stay late at the office on purpose before heading home.

"Ms. Valerie, these are the items prepared for the upcoming auction

Please take a look, and if

everything's in order, I'll move on to the next steps."

It was Noel, a recent college recruit. He was young and energetic, and always arrived early and left late with a positive attitude.

Eliza took the list he handed over, glanced at it, and signed her name. "Looks good."

She handed it back to him and asked casually, "Working late again?"

"Just trying to get familiar with the workflow as quickly as possible." He scratched his head sheepishly. Ms. get?"

Valerie, why haven't you left