Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Now that his attention seemed to be on her, she reasoned it was time to turn the tables to her advantage. Her body was merely a vessel, expendable compared to her loved ones.
“I’m relying on the fact that you’re infatuated with me,” Nicole stated bluntly.
“If you help me out with this, I’ll allow you to have your way with me. But if you say no, just know that I’ll keep pushing for Austin’s custody.
I’ve already taken care of Vicki, and I won’t hesitate to deal with anyone else who gets in my way. I’ll fight as hard as I need to.”
Jarrod moved closer quietly, each step intentional.
Nicole faced his cold, intimidating stare, her heart racing. It was hard not to feel nervous. If Jarrod chose to attack her here, in his own place, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Are you threatening me?” Jarrod’s voice, deep and authoritative, echoed through the room, intensifying the tension.
Nicole’s hands tightened into fists as she looked him in the eye.
“It’s not a threat, but a proposition. I need your protection for Roscoe because he had saved Austin’s life. If not for him, Austin and I would have died on that sea cliff years ago. We owe him our lives.”
Nicole understood Jarrod’s weak spots well. Provoking him now could put Roscoe at even greater risk. Her priority was to ensure
Austin’s safety, and then to secure protection for Roscoe. While this was an easy task for Jarrod, it posed a huge challenge for her and Roscoe.
In the unpredictable environment of Ardlens, surviving without solid support was nearly impossible.
Furthermore, Nicole knew she had made many enemies along the way.
Though she didn’t go looking for trouble, she had to confront it head-on.
If it weren’t for Jemma’s advice last night, Nicole might not have shifted her perspective so quickly.
Jemma had advised, “Relying only on yourself doesn’t make you noble. If it leads to misery, people will just laugh at you. Wise people take every legal opportunity that benefits them. The right path is the one that helps you. Why bother with what irrelevant people think…”
Nicole knew Jemma meant to give her sound advice. After so many setbacks, it was time to adopt a smarter strategy, to protect her loved ones in a different way. This approach would also make life easier for those she wanted to protect.
Nicole snapped back to reality, locking eyes with Jarrod. “I need you to settle this debt for Austin’s sake. You owe it to Austin and me.”
Among all the difficulties and pain from the past, Jarrod was at play. They all owed Austin greatly.
“I don’t owe Roscoe anything,” Jarrod responded. His words implied he acknowledged a debt to Nicole and Austin, but not to Roscoe.
Jarrod assumed without Roscoe’s intervention, perhaps Nicole and he would not have faced such trials. And Austin might have been born under his watchful care, receiving the finest medical attention.
Nicole stayed calm despite his rejection. “So, we can’t reach an agreement?”
It felt like a fierce tug-of-war, where any show of weakness could mean defeat.
Nicole couldn’t afford to back down. Leaving Roscoe behind just to save Austin was unthinkable. Jarrod’s refusal to recognize the debt to Roscoe was crucial for her. Without Roscoe’s intervention, she and Austin might not have survived.
Roscoe was a decent and gentle man who treated Austin Like his own and showed Nicole immense respect.
Nicole simply couldn’t leave Roscoe behind. If she didn’t stand her ground today, Jarrod would learn her boundaries, potentially endangering Roscoe.
Nicole was certain Jarrod would not harm Austin. Her worries were more about the potential dangers associated with Jarrod’s circle, not Jarrod himself.
Therefore, her stance was not about neglecting Austin’s safety but about maintaining her principles and not forsaking those who had supported her. This was the same principle she taught Austin.
Jarrod looked at Nicole intently for a long moment. Then, he announced, “Your clothes will be brought to you. Get dressed and come downstairs.”
With that, he left the room.
Nicole let out a sigh of relief. She then fell back onto the bed, exhausted. Although Jarrod had not explicitly consented, he had not firmly rejected her either. His response left some room for negotiation.
Shortly after, a housekeeper knocked and entered with clothes for her.
Nicole dressed in the outfit provided. The housekeeper had already laid out breakfast on the table and mentioned, “Miss, Mr. Schultz requests that you have your breakfast before coming downstairs.”
Nicole was unsure of Jarrod’s intentions, but her stomach grumbled from the fatigue and discomfort of the previous night.
The breakfast aroma was simply irresistible. She sat down and ate, feeling somewhat at ease.
Downstairs, Nicole found Jarrod lounging on the couch, legs crossed, absorbed in the newspaper. In front of him was a cup of iced Americano.
Over the years, Jarrod’s routine of skipping breakfast and starting his day with just an iced Americano for energy had not changed.
Noticing Nicole, Jarrod put aside the newspaper, finished his coffee in one swift gulp, stood up, and walked toward the door.
Uncertain of what Jarrod intended, Nicole followed him.
By the time Nicole reached the door, Jarrod had already gotten in the car, the back door open, with the driver ready to close it after her.
Nicole lowered her head, climbed into the car, and sat on Jarrod’s right side.
The driver closed the door and started the car.
Nicole looked confused. “Where are we going?”
Jarrod answered shortly, “To the city hall.”
“What?” Nicole’s eyes widened in shock. She asked, “Jarrod, what are you saying?”
Jarrod stopped what he was doing, turned to her surprised face, and said mockingly, “I’ve agreed to your terms.”
“But you said all I needed to do was stay with you…” Nicole was baffled. This “stay” certainly did not mean getting legally married.
Moreover, why would they marry? She did not want to marry Jarrod at all!
Jarrod stretched out his legs, resting his hand elegantly on his thigh. “Do you think I want a kept woman? If I wanted one, I could choose anyone. I already told you.”
His gaze was piercing. “I want Austin’s mother. You will be the one.”
“I refuse to marry you!” Nicole exclaimed. “Jarrod, there’s no way I’m marrying you. You must be crazy!”
She could not understand how Jarrod could make such a rushed and impulsive decision. Desperate, she turned to the driver. “Sir, please stop the car.”
The driver ignored Nicole’s request since his loyalty was to Jarrod.
The driver thought to himself that if anyone was crazy, Nicole was the one. A man of Jarrod’s status proposing marriage to her, and she turned it down?
If the high society women of Ardlens knew, they would line up for a chance to marry Jarrod. This woman clearly did not recognize what was good for her…
Seeing the driver ignore her, Nicole turned back to Jarrod. “Jarrod, tell him to stop the car!”
“Stop the car,” Jarrod instructed, and the car pulled over.
Then, maintaining his relaxed position, Jarrod lazily asked, “Have you decided yet?”
Before Nicole got out of the car, she stopped in her tracks at Jarrod’s words.
Jarrod’s lips parted slightly. “Nicole, if you leave the car right now, our agreement ends, and believe me, there will be no second chances.”
He seemed to understand her well, adding indifferently, “I won’t force you. Please, think it over.”
Nicole didn’t budge. Her body seemed to have turned to stone at that moment. She was uncertain of what stepping out of the car might lead to, but the idea of marrying Jarrod seemed utterly preposterous. How could she possibly marry this man?
They were enemies! Despite the fact that they were Austin’s parents, the deep-seated animosity between them was unchangeable.
Nicole didn’t want to marry Jarrod, not in this lifetime, and she wouldn’t even consider it. Considering for even another second felt like a betrayal to her late father.
What had driven her father to his fatal leap from that building? Who had cornered him into such despair? Jarrod was partially at play. These were undeniable truths that left no room for debate.
Taking a deep breath, Nicole placed her hand on the door handle and declared, “I’m very clear about it. Jarrod, I don’t want to marry you.”
She then opened the door. Just as she was about to step out of the car, Jarrod’s chilling voice came from behind her. “So, you can accept to be my lover, share my bed, but not be part of my family?”
Nicole shivered slightly. Jarrod had pierced through to her deepest thoughts. Her agreement to his proposal was merely a temporary safeguard for Austin and Roscoe.
Lacking a better plan at the moment and with Austin’s safety at risk, she felt compelled to compromise.
Once the immediate danger was mitigated, she intended to leave Jarrod.
Entangling their identities further would only complicate her eventual departure, a scenario she couldn’t stomach, being permanently linked to Jarrod’s name.
With his acute perception, Jarrod understood all these unspoken thoughts in Nicole’s mind.
That was precisely why he set conditions that would tightly bind Nicole to him. Yet, his consideration couldn’t be uttered aloud since Nicole hated his core, a fact that he fully grasped.
Jarrod had forced himself not to show any kindness toward Nicole in case she might leverage it. His attempt to compensate for his previous mistreatment of her was one thing. However, he could never bear her departure from his side.
Now that Jarrod had seen through that Nicole was the only one he desired, with the complexities of their shared past, his only option was to ensure she couldn’t leave his side.
Merely having her stay by his side wasn’t sufficient. She had to be legally recognized as his wife to be truly bound to him.