His Destructive, Toxic Love

"It wasn't me. I know how valuable that screen is; why would I ever do such a thing?" Nova's eyes darted between Marian and the servants. "Tell him, was it me who broke it? Marian, you're in charge here. What do you say?"

Marian didn't dare lift her head, let alone speak. She hunched her shoulders and stepped back.

Nova's voice grew more hysterical and upset. "Marian, was it Eliza who said she didn't want to see the wedding stuff and broke it in a fit of rage? I even tried to talk her out of it, you know. I told her, this is a testament to your marriage, a symbol of your love. You can't just break something so important over a couple of arguments. You all saw it, right?"

The servants were silent as the grave.

Casper's cold gaze fixed on Marian. "So, who broke it, Nova or Eliza? You only said it was broken over the phone, but who did it?"

"It was, it was..." Marian stammered, trembling.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

"Who is it?" Casper's voice was like a death knell.

Marian, with trembling eyes, looked at Nova, who sent a malicious glare.

Marian closed her eyes, then reluctantly pointed at Eliza. "It was, it was her."

Eliza's eyes widened in shock. She understood why Marian and the servants, all afraid of Nova's retaliation, wouldn't speak the truth. But why did they blame her?

"What do you have to say?" Casper strode up to Eliza, gripping her wrist. "Did you have to break it just because it was a wedding gift from my mother? Do you know what it represents?" Eliza shook her head. She didn't know what it represented. All she knew was that she hadn't done it.

"This wasn't my doing. Are you all trying to frame me?"

"Is everyone blind?" Casper shook his head, disappointment flashing across his face. "Since it's broken, you'll have to pay for it."

Eliza couldn't afford to pay for something with a seven-figure price tag. She would have willingly taken the blame if it had been her doing. But it wasn't.

"I told you, this wasn't my doing." Her lips pressed tightly together, her eyes wide.

Nova, afraid Casper might soften,

chimed in, "Casper, where would Eliza get the money to pay? Maybe she csn apologize to your mother tomorrow. She was just momentarily annoyed with you; your mother won't hold it against her."

"She has the nerve to face my mother?" Casper dragged Eliza to the broken screen. "Since you can't afford to pay, you'll have to fix it. You'll bear the consequences if I don't see it whole by tomorrow."

Eliza was thrown to the ground. The palm of her hand was cut by the shards of the thinly framed glass that held the embroidery.

"Ouch..."

Blood dripped from her palm onto the delicate embroidery, staining the intertwined magnolia flowers with crimson. Pain spread through her limbs. Her heart grew colder by the second. "Oh dear, Eliza, you're bleeding..." Nova limped over, leaning on her cane, and picked up the ruined embroidery with mock sadness. "...this embroidery is ruined now."

Casper's expression darkened. He gave Eliza a cold look and then went upstairs.

Nova threw the stained embroidery

back at Eliza's feet. "Eliza, you still think you can compete with me? I can destroy you in minutes," she laughed arrogantly. "None of the servant's here dare to speak the truth. They only say whatever I tell them to say. Even Marian has to follow my lead."

Nova bent down, continuing to provoke Eliza. "If I'm unhappy here, you'll be the first to suffer. Isn't that fun?"