Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Carried by Jarrod’s robust arms, Nicole found herself being ushered into the car.
Without hesitation, Jarrod instructed the driver to raise the partition and speed toward the hospital.
In her half-dazed, half-resisting state, Nicole did not hear the car’s destination.
Her reddened eyes shot a glare at Jarrod, and her voice was raspy as she questioned, “What do you want?”
With a disdainful look, she warned, “Jarrod, if you dare to touch me, I swear I’ll kill you!”
Her words dripped with venom, a testament to her deep-seated hatred.
Jarrod’s hand slowly clenched into a fist, his gaze shifting from tense to inscrutable. “Kill me?”
He suddenly laughed, lifting Nicole’s chin. “Dying by your hand doesn’t seem so bad.”
Despite his gentlemanly appearance, the ruthlessness in his speech revealed the wildness beneath his skin.
His hand shifted from Nicole’s jawline down to her neck, his fingers hovering over her skin in a teasing manner.
Despite herself, Nicole heard a small moan escape her mouth. At the moment, even the slightest of touches made her feel as if her entire body had turned to water.
Jarrod’s lips curled into a mocking smile. His firm fingers continued down her neck, tracing the outline of her collarbone. “Are you going to take your clothes off, or should I do it for you?”
When Nicole heard his shameless words, her eyes blazed with fury. Her clenched hand quivered lightly, highlighting the stark contrast in strength between men and women, especially now when she felt weak and powerless.
Jarrod’s deep gaze was filled with aggression. It was a look that Nicole knew all too well. It was a familiar nightmare that haunted her dreams. It was clear that he wanted her.
“Aren’t you uncomfortable?” Taking Nicole’s silence as consent, Jarrod let his fingers wander down to her shirt, and began to undo the buttons.
Wearing wet clothes for too long could cause one to catch a cold, a fact that Nicole was well aware of. But the thought of what would happen if she got undressed now was unimaginable…
Biting down on her lip until the taste of blood spurred her into action, Nicole suddenly reached out to grab him, a desperate measure in the confined space of the car.
However, her agility proved no match for the sober-minded Jarrod.
Jarrod firmly caught her hand, his eyes darkening for a moment before he let out a cold laugh. “What are you trying to do?”
Nicole continued to struggle, but it was no use.
With his strong grip, Jarrod directed her hand downward, between her legs.
“Nicole…” Pressing his forehead against hers, Jarrod looked into her eyes, at the same time steering her hand without pause.
When he spoke, his voice was low and strained, and his breath was heavy on her face. “I didn’t want to do this, but since you insist, I’ll oblige…”
Unable to contain her anger, Nicole cried out, “Jarrod, I hate you!”
She was like a dam that was ready to burst at any moment. With her hand still moving under his control, she cursed, “You’re not human.
You’re a beast!”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Jarrod said casually, his lips curling up into a smirk. “After all, being human comes with too many constraints. I would rather live freely as a beast.”
The two engaged in a silent struggle within the cramped car.
Nicole’s hair was matted with sweat on her forehead, and her eyes were bloodshot. Her hand continued to move between her legs, numb and mechanical under Jarrod’s incessant guidance.
Then, without warning, Jarrod suddenly leaned toward her. His handsome face twisted in madness as he parted his lips, letting his teeth fiercely latch onto her soft neck.
This seemed to be the trigger that finally set Nicole off. Deep under the effect of the chemical agent, she quivered uncontrollably.
After a moment, when she finally stopped shaking, she heard Jarrod’s husky voice next to her ear. “Did you really come that fast?”
He lifted her chin with his free hand and, with a meaningful look at her, added, “See, you still have feelings for me.”
The feeling of Jarrod biting down lingered on Nicole’s neck, and her hand was damp and sticky, making her flinch with disgust.
Defiantly looking up at Jarrod, she hissed, “You damn well know what’s going on with me!”
Even though she was under the influence of the chemical agent, she couldn’t accept the fact that she was aroused by a mere bite on her neck. Especially when it was from Jarrod, the devil she hated with all her guts.
Overwhelmed with grief, Nicole extended her hand and slapped him hard.
Jarrod didn’t dodge, instead taking the slap head-on. When he turned back to face her, half of his face was red. Staring at the hickeys on her neck, he exhaled as if in relief. “That felt good. Are you done though? Do you want to sleep with me?” he asked shamelessly.
Nicole headbutted him with all her might.
As she pulled back, her vision blurred. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was blood dripping from his nose onto his white shirt, making him look more like the demonic fiend that he was.
With the final bit of her strength, Nicole warned, “Jarrod, if you dare to touch me, I’ll castrate you.”
In the hospital ward.
After being injected with detoxifying agents, Nicole had gradually regained some clarity.
Two police officers arrived to obtain a statement from her. After that, they handed her a copy of the injury report that the doctor had filled out. The report read, “Residue in the stomach left by hallucinogens…”
Nicole’s eyes scanned through the document until she saw the words “Body not harmed.” All the tension in her body finally began to dissipate.
Aside from the lingering effects of the chemical agent, her body had not suffered much, but she still had not recovered her full strength, so she had to stay in the hospital for observation for the next twenty-four hours.
After the officers left, Nicole laboriously lifted herself out of bed and went to the bathroom.
The pale and gaunt face she saw in the mirror frightened her. Her eyes were instantly drawn to her neck, where the purplish-red hickey seemed to glare at her.
Nicole turned on the tap for the hot water and held a towel under it, before aggressively wiping her neck with the wet towel.
But her efforts were in vain. With every rub, her neck only turned redder and redder.
Looking at the indelible hickey, Nicole was frustrated to the point of tears. The wound was like an outward reflection of the countless emotions she felt inside.
Her hand holding the towel trembled slightly, and she smashed it on the mirror.
The movement caused a bit of the hot water to splash on her face, but she did not flinch. At the moment, the unbearable heat was the only thing that tethered her to reality.
Nicole turned her gaze to the hot water running from the tap and, as if possessed, reached out and held her hand under it.
In a matter of seconds, her palm was burned crimson.
She was like a machine that couldn’t feel pain. Even as her palm was being scalded by the hot water, all she could do was numbly watch.
At this moment, the door of the bathroom suddenly opened, and Jarrod appeared.
In front of him was the sight of Nicole standing there like a broken puppet, not knowing how to retract her hand from danger.
With his heart leaping to his throat, Jarrod rushed forward and grabbed her hand out of the water. “Are you crazy?”
His touch made Nicole, who seemed to be in a daze till now, explode like a lit firecracker.
In her struggle to shake him off, she ended up accidentally knocking herself on the sink.
Tension was written all over Jarrod’s face as he hurriedly approached her to check if she was hurt.
But before he could touch her, Nicole shot him a wary look like an alarmed cat with its fur standing on end. “Get out of here!”
Then, regardless of his presence, she once again turned on the hot water and continued to wash her hand under it.
With a glint of coldness in his eyes, Jarrod grabbed her hand and turned on the other tap. Then, he firmly held her hand under the cold water.
Nicole finally looked up at Jarrod and said through gritted teeth, “Jarrod, don’t you understand? I need to clean this hand completely!
It’s dirty because you touched it.”
“Dirty?” Jarrod breathed incredulously, his patience wearing thin.
Grabbing her from behind, he forced her to raise her head and look at their intertwined figures in the mirror.
“Take a good look. Can you see clearly? You are now in my arms. I’m the one who changed your clothes. You feel dirty because I touched you?” Jarrod’s eyes were clouded with a mixture of gloom and fury.
He said word by word, “So do you want to kill me or yourself?”
Nicole’s eyes were bloodshot as she stared at the mirror. Tightly restrained by Jarrod’s grip, she couldn’t move at all. At the moment, every fiber of her being was filled with disgust. Even his warm breath on her neck felt like an invasion of space.
Having reached the peak of her anger, she could no longer control herself. She turned her head and bit into Jarrod’s arm fiercely.
Jarrod didn’t even try to dodge. He just let her bite him until she was satisfied.
Blood stained the sleeve of his freshly changed shirt, making him look even more fierce. Clenching his jaw, he sneered, “Why do you waste so much energy?”
By this time, Nicole’s hospital gown was soaked with water, causing it to cling to her body and show off her graceful curves. Paired with her pale face, she evoked a picture of desolation that was heartbreakingly beautiful to behold.