Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Nicole’s lips remained firmly sealed, refusing to utter a word.
Jarrod’s voice, dripping with derision, whispered in her ear, “Let him come. He’s seen us together before.”
Nicole felt numb all over, tears falling silently. “I won’t beg for mercy.” She said firmly, “Jarrod, you can’t defeat me. We won’t beg you for mercy.”
The setup on the rooftop had been planned meticulously. Nicole was aware that Jarrod had intended to kill Roscoe from the beginning and then make her suffer. Giving in would only inflate his ego. She wouldn’t grant him that pleasure.
“Go on. Do it, you killer!” Nicole suddenly screamed, provoking a laugh from Jarrod.
Jarrod’s hand gently stroked her cheek, his tone chilling yet soft as he said, “Nicole, are you trying to provoke me? If I plan to kill someone, it will seem like an accident, just like this flowerpot…”
“Nicole…” Roscoe finally spotted Nicole alongside Jarrod. His expression instantly hardened, and he rushed forward.
Jarrod laughed and said, “Such a good-looking face. It would be a pity to ruin it.”
“No…” Nicole didn’t even get to finish her word.
There was a “smash” sound, marking the noise of the flowerpot shattering.
Roscoe, rushing toward them, crumpled to the ground.
Nicole’s vision went fuzzy, and she couldn’t make out anything clearly. “No!” She screamed in anguish and shoved Jarrod away forcefully. She then lunged for the balcony railing, intending to leap off.
Jarrod’s eyes narrowed into slits, and he grabbed her sleeve, clutching it tightly. He hadn’t thought she would actually go through with it. She was genuinely prepared to die for Roscoe! How could she…
How dare she!
At that moment, jealousy ignited a fiery rage in Jarrod’s eyes. A wave of fear washed over him. Nicole truly seemed beyond his grasp now… He pulled her back forcefully, embracing her tightly, and screamed, “Are you out of your mind?!”
A fall from three stories wouldn’t be lethal, but for someone as fragile as Nicole, it either killed her or left her severely injured.
She was truly willing to jump off without hesitation. She was serious about her vow to die with Roscoe.
Nicole, resembling a lifeless doll, had an empty stare, her eyes devoid of any spark. After everything with Jarrod, to reach such a point, who wouldn’t feel despair?
Jarrod was livid. “Just for this man, you’re willing to die? Nicole, have you lost your mind?”
He simply wanted her to surrender. Why was that so difficult? The flowerpot didn’t strike Roscoe’s head. He had it aimed at Roscoe’s legs, merely as a warning. As for Roscoe’s collapse, it merely highlighted how weak he was.
Although Jarrod deeply desired to kill Roscoe, somewhere within him, he hesitated. It wasn’t the fear of committing murder.
Jarrod was accustomed to dealing with corpses back in his days abroad, his hands stained with blood. He never flinched on this regard. What he truly feared was that Nicole might actually follow through on her vows. He was merely gambling on this, and evidently, he had lost, completely.
“Jarrod, compared to him, you are nothing.” Nicole’s voice was hollow, devoid of warmth, crisp, and clear.
For Nicole, Roscoe represented a beacon of hope in her new life, a light in her darkness, an oasis in her desert. His compassion and steadfastness had slowly healed her, a person too shattered to really live. Now, with her last hope taken from her, life seemed pointless.
Nicole’s eyes lacked any glimmer of light. Darkness enveloped her.
She felt like a solitary boat in a tempest, capsizing and plunging into the abyss. Her entire world turned utterly dark.
In the hospital room, Nicole lay motionless on the bed, deep in slumber for the past three days.
Jarrod kept a vigilant watch, ensuring the doctors checked on Nicole’s condition hourly.
Nicole’s condition hung precariously in the balance. The doctors forecasted she could only live over a decade if all went well, yet her life could slip away at any moment.
One particularly frank doctor, speaking of Nicole’s fragility, faced Jarrod’s fury with a brutal assault.
Jarrod’s accusations of incompetence flew as he stripped the doctor of his medical dignity.
Alec intervened swiftly, brokering a million-dollar settlement to quell the storm.
For the average person, such a sum was life-altering, and the doctor, overwhelmed, accepted it readily.
The hospital staff learned a hard lesson. Jarrod couldn’t stomach the truth. Responses became vague, especially regarding mortality, to avoid Jarrod’s wrath.
Some lucky souls escaped with their lives and a hefty settlement.
Others weren’t so fortunate, meeting a violent end for their honesty.
As a result, everyone tiptoed around Jarrod, fearing the consequences.
Regarding Nicole’s prolonged unconsciousness, the doctors offered vague explanations, hinting at the power of will to sustain life.
“A strong belief can fuel survival,” one doctor remarked, Leaving the rest to speculation.
Jarrod listened intently, seated beside Nicole’s bedside, gently holding her hand. “Nicole, don’t you want to see your mom?”
Nicole drifted in a beautiful dream. In it, her parents were alive, and she remained the cherished heiress of the Lawrence family. She was wedded to Roscoe, and Austin brought boundless joy.
But then Jarrod intruded, a shadow in her heart, the root of her anguish and fury. She writhed in torment, screaming. Everyone vanished, including her parents, Austin and Roscoe.
Then, a whisper urged her awake. “Do you want to see them? Open your eyes if you do.”
Nicole’s eyes fluttered open, and Jarrod loomed over her. Waves of pain and sorrow crashed over her as memories flooded back. She winced through demanding, clenched teeth, “Where’s Roscoe? Where is he?”
Jarrod’s expression froze, joy replaced by a sneer. “Waking up and immediately asking for that man?”
Nicole’s frail hand clenched Jarrod’s, desperation evident. “Where is he? Where’s Roscoe?”
Jarrod’s lips twitched, his temper rising, tempted to lie and claim Roscoe had met a miserable end. But he held back, opting instead for a softer approach, wanting to give Nicole hope to live on.
“He’s nursing a leg injury, recovering in the hospital. When you’re feeling up to it, I’ll take you to see him,” he reassured, a hint of concern in his voice.
The doctors had warned against shocking Nicole’s fragile state.
The days of waiting before Nicole finally woke up had transformed Jarrod. He no longer harbored a desire to torment Nicole to her demise. Now, he simply wanted her alive, by his side.
Nicole remained silent, wise enough not to provoke Jarrod when he was trying to be nice. Angering him yielded no good.
“Jarrod, did you mention my mom?” Nicole’s voice lacked vitality.
Back before Nicole left Ardlens five years ago, Dora had been declared brain dead by the hospital. Nicole had made arrangements, ensuring enough funds sustained her mother’s life support before resigning herself to fate.
Since her return, she learned her mother’s ashes resided alongside her father’s, courtesy of Jarrod’s assistance with the arrangements.
Yet, this token did little to quell the vast sea of animosity she harbored against Jarrod.
The dream Nicole had lingered vividly. Dora appeared alive beside her.
Nicole couldn’t shake the nagging doubt. Was her mother truly gone?
Were those truly her mother’s ashes in the urn?
Jarrod hesitated before deflecting. “You must have misheard.” It wasn’t time to broach the topic of her mother since more pressing matters demanded attention.
Nicole accepted his evasion with a passive gaze fixed on the ceiling.
With no expectations, misconceptions were easy to embrace.
“I want to see Roscoe. I’m worried about him,” Nicole insisted.
“He’s fine,” Jarrod replied curtly, his irritation palpable. “The doctors have tended to him, and Roscoe’s family is with him now.”
Nicole’s agitation was evident as her fingers curled. “You informed the Watts family!”
“The Watts won’t pose a threat to him anymore. Quite the opposite, they’re determined to protect him,” Jarrod explained.
Nicole looked puzzled. “How so?”
Pouring a glass of water, Jarrod handed it to her, elaborating, “A direct heir of the Watts family recently perished in a car accident, along with his five-year-old son. With Roscoe now the sole heir, they’re eager to safeguard him.”
Nicole remained unconvinced. Could Roscoe’s father, known for his ruthlessness, truly care about Roscoe? In that cutthroat environment, Roscoe’s value would diminish should another heir emerge.
Seeming to sense her skepticism, Jarrod continued, “The Watts now cherish him. They’ve spared no expense, hiring top-notch doctors for his rehabilitation. Have you heard of the ‘Xstar’ project? It’s a ten-billion-dollar initiative for bone regeneration, and the Watts have invested in it for Roscoe. If Roscoe agrees, he could undergo surgery there. In six months, his hands and feet will be as good as new. He’s a doctor, isn’t he? After the treatment, he could return to surgery, even run a marathon if he desires.”
Jarrod’s point was clear. Roscoe had the option of treatment, but it came with a sacrifice.
Nicole grasped Jarrod’s implication. He wanted her to convince Roscoe to leave her and seek treatment abroad. “I won’t meddle in Roscoe’s decisions. Whether he chooses treatment or not, I’ll honor his choice,” she asserted calmly.
“Do you want him to live with a disability because of you?” Jarrod’s tone carried a simmering anger. “Perhaps you’re unaware, but his leg is already deformed. He feigns normalcy in your presence, enduring the pain.”
Jarrod’s smirk held a cruel edge. “Nicole, are you truly willing to crush his aspirations, to confine him in the need of a crutch for your sake?”
Suddenly, Nicole remembered having asked Roscoe on a snowy day if he had any regrets. He was after all, unable to pursue medicine, to wield the scalpel and save Lives anymore.
At that time, Roscoe had gazed at Nicole with eyes full of warmth, smiling as he said, “Curing the sick and saving lives was never really my dream. I don’t have such grand ambitions. I initially pursued medicine just to be near you. It was my only way to reach you. I believed I had to become a great doctor, to stand by your side, care for your loved ones and your children, and most importantly, you.”
At the thought of this, Nicole replied briefly to Jarrod, “Not everyone is like you. Some people’s dreams are small and simple. They just want to spend a lifetime with someone special, safe, and healthy through the changing seasons.”