Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
His hands gripped hers tightly, their fingers interlocking. He gradually drew closer to Nicole’s face and murmured, “That earlier kiss was to settle the score from last night. What follows now is my demand.”
Nicole regarded him with suspicion. “What more do you intend to do to me?”
“What else would I do? It’s clear, isn’t it?” Jarrod’s gaze narrowed as he leaned in closer, and whispered, “I’m going to fuck you.”
The kiss that followed was invasive, fiercer and more fervent than before.
This new kiss made the earlier one seem tame by comparison.
Nicole’s eyes widened in shock as she pounded on Jarrod’s chest, struggling against him. She left red marks on his back and neck with her fingernails, but he seemed indifferent to the pain. He forcefully pushed her onto the bed, pinning her down with his body, leaving her no opportunity to fight back.
His kisses deepened, moving from her lips down to her neck, each one infused with a heady, intoxicating desire. His hands wandered from her hair to more sensitive areas, touching her without restraint.
Their entwined limbs and his rough breathing sounded like a man consumed by passion.
Nicole was caught off guard. She panicked as Jarrod’s behavior became unexpectedly aggressive. He had been distancing himself from her lately. His sudden change in demeanor baffled her.
Heavily breathing, Jarrod finally released Nicole, his eyes ablaze with desire. “You are my condition. Surrender to me, and I will acknowledge you as Austin’s mother.”
Nicole was dumbfounded. She couldn’t grasp what Jarrod meant by “Letting her be Austin’s mother.” Austin was her biological son. What was Jarrod trying to imply?
Jarrod was already aware that he had no chance of getting with Nicole. He grasped that he would lose her forever if he didn’t seize this moment.
From the very beginning, he had been vying for Austin’s custody, aiming to use Austin as a means to keep her close.
Whether his actions were seen as underhanded or despicable was irrelevant to him. His sole desire was to keep Nicole close by using Austin.
However, even after losing the custody lawsuit, Nicole showed no signs of yielding.
Jarrod felt a chilling resolve to let go, yet he recognized his resolve was wavering. The full breakdown arrived sooner than he anticipated.
Upon viewing the recording of Vicki’s and Doreen’s attack on Nicole, could he possibly remain unaffected? Far from it. He was devastated, the anguish nearly overwhelming him. He couldn’t bear to see her treated so poorly.
However, Jarrod knew that now was not the time to reveal any vulnerability. He had to maintain a facade of cold-heartedness. It was all because Nicole seemed indifferent to whether he cared or not.
If he were to show his true feelings, he felt his tenderness and pain might cause him to lose her for good.
Jarrod forcefully took hold of Nicole’s face, making her look at him.
“Nicole, have you not ever considered asking me?”
As he pondered this, his frustration grew, almost driving him mad.
“Why not approach me instead when you went pleading with Vicki?”
Did she loathe him to the point that she would rather act desperately than soften her demeanor around him? If this was her stance, then she should not fault him for resorting to sly and contemptible tactics just to force her by his side.
Jarrod tightened his hold on her fingers and declared, “I’m offering you this one condition, this single opportunity. If not, there will be a second Vicki, a third Vicki, and endless others.”
Jarrod berated himself for not taking things further with Nicole. The brief taste he’d had of her had ignited every nerve in his body.
Now, he burned with a desire to pin her down, fuse her with his essence until she could neither escape nor tempt another soul.
Nicole’s drunken slip of the name “Roscoe” still grated on Jarrod, like a thorn lodged under his skin, igniting a desire to find and eliminate Roscoe.
“Jarrod, can you look at me and honestly say you’ve been fair to our son and me?” Nicole challenged him, her anguish etched into her bloodshot eyes. At that moment, she loathed the man looming above her.
“Why must I plead with you? Is Austin not your own flesh and blood?”
“I understand I’ve hurt both of you, but you haven’t given me the opportunity to fix things,” Jarrod countered, feeling the hollow ring of his words reverberate through the air Like an echo in an empty cavern. Yet, his desperation to cling to Nicole overshadowed any semblance of pride or shame.
“Nicole, all I’m asking is for you to be there for Austin as his mother and stay with me. I promise to give you the respect you deserve and try my hardest to make things right for both you and Austin. But if you decline, those opportunities will be lost forever.”
Jarrod’s rationale was frigid and methodical, akin to a shrewd merchant striking a deal. He aimed for a transaction where Nicole’s wishes became currency, traded for her steadfast company by his side.
“Jarrod, why are you behaving like this?” Nicole’s frustration boiled over, her voice thick with emotion. “What we have isn’t love. There’s no genuine connection between us.
The frustration and desperation festering within Nicole had finally erupted like a volcano. She’d exhausted every avenue in her entanglement with Jarrod, unable to sway him and inadvertently endangering Roscoe in the process. Now, she felt trapped in a hopeless situation, utterly lost.
As Jarrod’s fingers tenderly grazed her wound, a shadow flickered in his eyes, hinting at a deeper darkness within. “I’ve realized that love, or the lack of it, doesn’t really matter to me anymore.”
His new creed was possession, to hold the one he yearned for captive by his side. Everything else, even love, was merely an illusion, an elaborate charade.
“Nicole, you have three days to make your decision,” Jarrod proclaimed, ascending leisurely to his full height, exuding an aura of collected calm. “Whatever path you choose, it shall be final.”
And just like that, Jarrod pivoted on his heel and strode away, not once casting a glance over his shoulder.
Nicole’s pillow bore the marks of her tears as she lay curled up beneath her sheets.
Jarrod’s words reverberated in Nicole’s mind like a haunting prophecy.
Someone with Vicki’s malice was not rare. It was a harbinger of what awaited others. Even if she had foreseen the need to synchronize the evidence, it would have been futile against the privilege of those heirs.
They held the means to vanish abroad, evading the storm of scandal until it subsided.
Nicole had witnessed such schemes unfold before, familiar with the bitter reality that loomed ahead.
Disillusioned and weary, Nicole succumbed to sleep, a sense of resignation weighing heavily upon her heart.
Weary from the storm of emotions that had battered her the day before, Nicole’s body remained heavy with exhaustion.
Today’s emotional whirlwind had drained her. As she stirred from her slumber, the enticing aroma of food filled the air.
A thoughtful maid had arrived, carrying a tray adorned with an array of wholesome, nourishing dishes.
Despite the maid’s attentive care, Nicole couldn’t shake off the unease that lingered in her presence. “You can go,” she said. “I’ll be fine on my own.”
With a bow filled with grace, the maid accepted Nicole’s polite dismissal. As the maid set down the spoon with precision, she spoke in a tone of genuine concern.
“Miss, you must eat more. Mr. Schultz personally commissioned these costly nutritional dishes. His concern for your well-being is evident.”
With that, the maid silently exited the room.
A bittersweet smile tugged at Nicole’s Lips. While her physical well-being could be tended to with nutritional food, the question lingered. What salve existed for a shattered heart?
Despite her stomach’s protests and the absence of hunger pangs, Nicole compelled herself to consume the meal before her. She understood that preserving her health was paramount. Hunger strikes were for petulant children.
The weak, she knew, couldn’t think clearly or devise effective plans.
Nicole nibbled delicately, savoring each morsel just enough to stave off hunger, but far from what would appease a ravenous appetite.
As the maid tidied up the scarcely touched dishes, Jarrod’s eyes lingered on them. “She didn’t fancy this today. Adjust the menu accordingly,” he directed.
With a nod of acknowledgment, the maid retreated, determined to be more attentive to Nicole’s needs in the future.
Jarrod’s effort to familiarize himself with Nicole’s preferred meals spoke volumes about the significance he attached to her. Nicole was unquestionably special.
The next morning, post-breakfast, Nicole approached the maid with a winsome smile. “Could you please tell Mr. Schultz to come see me?” she inquired politely.
Though Jarrod had granted her three days to contemplate, Nicole felt no need for such deliberation. Austin’s safety could not afford delay.
Before long, Jarrod made his entrance, his arrival suffusing the room with a heavy, stifling aura.
“I accept your conditions, Nicole murmured, her tone tinged with a touch of resignation.”
Jarrod displayed no surprise at her decision. Individuals with tender spots were easily swayed, and for Nicole, her loved ones were her Achilles’ heel.
The mere contemplation of being torn away from her mother or her son was something Nicole couldn’t fathom. With them under his sway, coercing her compliance was child’s play.
Jarrod had abstained from leveraging this due to a pitiful shred of self-assurance. Yet, the outcome had exposed the folly of his assurance, as Nicole harbored no emotional attachment to him.
“But I have a condition,” Nicole stated.
A chuckle escaped Jarrod’s lips at her words. After all, it wouldn’t be Nicole if she didn’t assert herself.
“Very well, proceed,” Jarrod drawled.
Nicole’s steely gaze locked onto Jarrod’s, her every word saturated with purposeful meaning. “I need you to guarantee that Roscoe will be safe for the rest of his life, and that nothing bad will happen to him.”
As her words hung in the air, a tangible tension thickened the atmosphere.
Jarrod’s countenance shifted noticeably, darkening with intensity.
After a pregnant pause, Jarrod emitted a scornful chuckle. “Nicole, how dare you attempt to negotiate with me?”
Jarrod could hardly comprehend her audacity in requesting his protection for Roscoe. Did she truly believe he wouldn’t viciously tear Roscoe apart in a frenzy of rage?
“Enough pretense. You know full well why I make this demand.” Nicole grew weary of dancing around the issue with Jarrod.
With a mind sharpened by clarity, she recognized that safeguarding Austin and Roscoe at Ardlens would remain an insurmountable challenge without Jarrod’s collaboration.