Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
The room fell silent.
Audrey felt as if she had been struck by Lightning, completely stunned. “Dead…”
Her lips trembled as she struggled to form the words, “You’re saying Cornell… He’s dead?”
“Yes.” Erick paused, his voice hoarse after a long silence. “He’s dead…”
Audrey’s entire body froze. Tears streamed down her face, unchecked and rapid. “How could it be…”
Audrey couldn’t accept it, whispering in disbelief, “No, it’s impossible… Erick, Cornell had talked to me a while ago. He promised to wait for me…”
“Cornell had passed away, Audrey.” Erick embraced Audrey, and the siblings wept together, their sorrow profound and raw.
Through her tears, Audrey’s mind replayed the scene. She saw the cold steel door marked “Mortuary.” Pushing it open, she was confronted by a stark, lifeless form on the metal examination table, concealed by a white sheet.
Audrey’s body shook violently at the sight. “Cornell…” she cried out, her voice filled with agony. Her heart felt as though it would shatter. Why… Why…
She silently implored, “God, can’t you see what you’ve done?”
At that moment, Katie’s haunting words echoed in Audrey’s thoughts.
Cap?tulo 981:
“You are a deadly ominous woman for Cornell! You two together is a mistake! You will ultimately be his downfall…”
Each word struck Audrey like a curse.
“No… No…” Audrey’s anguish overflowed. “Give Cornell back to me God, please! I’ll stop loving him! Just bring him back… Please…”
If their being together with love was indeed a mistake, she was willing to forsake it and never dreamt of being with him anymore. She simply wished for Cornell to do well alive.
“Wake up, Audrey. Wake up!” Dimly, Audrey sensed someone calling her name. Struggling, she opened her heavy eyelids, and a blurred figure slowly came into focus. It was Erick.
“Audrey, you’re finally awake Erick’s voice was shaky with emotion, but it couldn’t mask his overwhelming relief.”
Just now, Audrey had been shouting and crying in her sleep, her pleas of “No, No…” It revealed a state of utter vulnerability that deeply affected him.
Audrey’s gaze was distant and bewildered. Then, she heard her own hoarse, strained voice. “Erick, he…”
Erick seemed to instantly grasp Audrey’s unspoken words. He tightly clasped her hand, reassuring her, “Don’t worry. Cornell is still receiving emergency treatment. Luis brought the best specialists to work on him!”
For a moment, Audrey was stunned. Had she heard right? “You…”
Her throat pained with each word, but Audrey pressed on, each syllable a struggle, “You said, he…”
“He won’t die. Luis mentioned that if Cornell gets through the next two days, he’ll likely recover.”
Erick saw the pain in Audrey’s expression, and hurried to explain further before she could inquire, “And there’s hope for the poison he was exposed to as well.”
Erick helped Audrey sit up and brought her some water to ease her throat, continuing without pause, “A friend of Luis, a medical expert, has identified the components of the poison. They’ve found an antidote but it lacked a rare herb, one only the witch of Aurora possessed. It was difficult to obtain, requiring some effort. However, Luis found a small glass bottle on Cornell, within which was the immortality potion that Katie had hidden, intending for Cornell to take to delay his end. The needed herb was inside that bottle and has been extracted. Now, all we need is for Cornell to wake up and take it.”
Audrey listened as if it were a fairy tale. Her recent dream had felt so vivid, so achingly real. The icy white sheet, the lifeless body beneath it, and the overwhelming grief.
She remembered every detail. But now, reality had shifted dramatically. Could it be that God had truly heard her desperate prayers? And offered Cornell a second chance?
Audrey closed her eyes, then opened them again, making sure everything around her was tangible. She looked at Erick and gestured toward her abdomen.
Erick immediately understood. “The babies are fine. It’s just that you were severely shocked and malnourished. The doctor recommends a week of bed rest.”
Erick gazed at Audrey’s slightly rounded belly and softly added, “These little ones are really resilient. It seems they’ll be quite the protectors for their sister one day.”
Audrey lowered her eyelids, lost in her thoughts.
With consideration, Erick asked, “Are you tired? Rest a bit more. I’ll be right outside. Just call if you need anything.”
Audrey nodded. Once Erick had left, she mulled over everything silently. She wished to dismiss her recent nightmare. Yet, the profound pain she felt when she heard Cornell’s death haunted her as something profoundly real.
Now, discerning reality from illusion felt increasingly elusive.
The following day.
Erick handed Audrey a glass of water and noticed her signaling, her gesture clearly questioning the identity of the assassin.
Cap?tulo 982:
Understanding her, Erick explained, “Based on the police’s ongoing investigation, he doesn’t appear to be linked to the Maxwell family but likely another organization. It’s quite suspicious, and I’m still looking into it. We have guards here, so there’s no need to worry.”
Audrey scribbled on a piece of paper. “Did that person target me?”
Erick nodded in confirmation.
Indeed, the assassin was not after Cornell, nor was he associated with the Maxwell family, but his intent was unmistakably directed at Audrey. This was peculiar. The investigation continued.
Audrey fell into a quiet contemplation. The pain in her heart resonated. The realization that the assassin was indeed after her, and that Cornell was injured when shielding her, deepened her anguish.
The room was heavy with silence.
Erick sensed Audrey’s withdrawing into a solemn, reflective state, burdened with deep thoughts yet reluctant to voice them.
Subsequently, Audrey remained in bed for five full days to rest, wrestling with her feelings and the weight of recent events.
During this time, Audrey never expressed to visit Cornell.
Erick found this odd. He had anticipated that upon awakening, she would insist on seeing Cornell immediately, regardless of her condition, before she could truly relax. Yet, she hadn’t mentioned Cornell at all. This was uncharacteristic of her.
Erick had prepared a slew of strategies to deter her from visiting Cornell immediately, but he found no need to deploy them.
It wasn’t that Erick wanted to prevent Audrey from visiting Cornell.
It was just that her physical state remained fragile, and the battle for Cornell’s recovery continued, with him unconscious day after day.
Even if she went, nothing would change, and there would be time in the future. There was no need to rush now. For now, Audrey’s priority should be resting well and eating well, nourishing the babies inside her.
Surprisingly, Audrey adhered to her dietary and medical regimen without any persuasion needed from Erick, easing one of his concerns.
She followed the doctor’s recommendations diligently, focusing on resting and nurturing the babies. It seemed as if she didn’t care about Cornell.
But how could that be? Erick knew otherwise. Several times, he overheard Audrey crying in her sleep, yelling “No, no…” That heart-wrenching tone made him ache just to hear it.
Upon waking, Audrey would ask the nurse to replace her tear-soaked pillow, concealing this from Erick.
Unsure of her intentions, Erick chose to let it be, pretending ignorance. Once, he subtly tested Audrey’s feelings. “If Cornell recovers, I won’t object to you two being together…”
After all, Cornell had risked his life to protect Audrey, a gesture that convinced Erick of his sincerity.
It was this very fact that made Erick feel Cornell truly cared for Audrey.
Furthermore, the will that Cornell had drafted before his sham wedding had been sent to Erick’s office with updated terms more favorable to Audrey, ensuring her protection should anything happen to him.
Cornell’s wedding with Katie had been a sham, orchestrated to neutralize the threat Lorenzo posed to Audrey.
After learning the entire truth, Erick found himself without any reservation about Cornell. Cornell had honored every commitment he made to Audrey.
Should Cornell fully recover, Erick resolved not to stand in their way.
Cap?tulo 983:
Yet, Audrey remained silent on the matter, leaving Erick puzzled about her thoughts.
During the tense days of Cornell’s coma, the initial period was critical. The doctor issued frequent updates on his precarious condition.
On the surface, Audrey was calm and composed, never bringing him up.
However, on the third night, she discreetly wheeled herself to the ward where Cornell was being treated. But she couldn’t enter the ICU.
Watching Matteo hurriedly moving about and witnessing the distress each time doctors emerged to update on Cornell’s critical state only deepened Audrey’s pain. She felt like a coward, too fearful to hear any updates about Cornell.
For her, no news was preferable to potentially devastating news. She couldn’t bear the thought of facing the scenario from her nightmare. The pain she had endured in the ordeal in her vivid nightmare was excruciating.
It felt as though fate was taunting them, each twist another stab of the double-edged sword they faced.
Days passed, and Audrey’s health improved enough for her to walk independently, her medical indicators returning to normal.
During this recovery period, Erick ensured Victor was constantly by Audrey’s side.
Victor eventually brought news that Lorenzo had been killed by Katie.
More startling was the revelation that Katie too had passed away.
Katie had left behind a little family. Her father was deceased, and her stepmother, who had been ousted by Katie’s dominating presence, returned home gleefully upon hearing of Katie’s demise.