Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Then, Cecilia’s sobs were heard. Holding the phone, Cornell comforted Cecilia gently.
Audrey’s heart ached when she heard that. The sharp pain left her momentarily speechless.
Tears welled in her eyes, silently streaming down her cheeks, their saltiness and bitterness almost tangible.
But she didn’t want to let her grandmother down. In a choked voice, Audrey asked again, “Cornell, can you come back? Please, come back now, okay?”
Her words caused Cornell’s heart to skip a beat.
In his eyes, Audrey had always been strong, and rarely begged him in such a humble way.
His heart immediately softened.
“I’ll be back soon. Just hang in there and wait for me at home, alright?”
Audrey’s voice trembled, “No, you don’t get it, Cornell. My grandma.
“Audrey.” Hearing Cecilia’s pained cry, Cornell couldn’t help but interrupt Audrey.
He thought Audrey was rushing him back because she was unhappy with him being with Cecilia.
But under the circumstances, he couldn’t leave Cecilia alone overseas.
“I can’t leave now, Audrey. Cecilia’s condition is critical at the moment.”
When Cornell realized that he might have been too harsh, he added in a softer tone, “I promise, once she is through the worst of it, I’ll spend more time with you.”
Cornell’s words nearly shattered all of Audrey’s hopes.
She felt utterly dejected.
Did Cornell really think she was vying for his attention?
She felt like a dagger had pierced through her heart. It hurt so much.
Tears welled up in Audrey’s eyes, and she forced a bitter smile.
“Cornell, in your eyes, my grandmother means nothing, right? Do you even care about me? Is that why you can make such a decision without a second thought?”
Cornell couldn’t tolerate this any longer. He retorted coldly, “Audrey, what has gotten into you? Why would you say something like that? What’s the point of it?”
For a moment, it felt like an invisible hand was tearing Audrey’s heart apart.
The pain was unbearable, and she longed to end the conversation right there.
But she couldn’t bear the thought of her grandma passing away with regrets of not meeting Cornell.
So she begged, her voice trembling, “Cornell, I’m not trying to manipulate you. My grandma is dying. She truly wants to see you,”
Cornell furrowed his brow. Through the phone call, he couldn’t see the desperation in Audrey’s eyes. He tried to console her patiently, “I have already told you I’ll visit your grandma. I won’t break my promise. Just be patient and wait for me, okay?”
Audrey bit her lip hard and tried to hold back her tears.
She lost her temper and shouted, “Cornell, I’m not trying to coax you into coming back. I’m telling the truth! Why can’t you trust me?”
“Of course, I trust you, but Cecilia is in a really bad condition.
She had a relapse yesterday, and she can’t stay in the hospital without someone by her side. I can’t just leave her like that.”
Cornell’s firm attitude deepened Audrey’s despair.
Once again, she had overestimated her importance to him.
For Cornell, Cecilia was the top priority.
He didn’t care whether her grandma was sick or not.
Audrey’s heart was broken by him again.
“Cornell, have you ever considered that Cecilia might be using her so -called illness to keep you with her?”
“Audrey, don’t say things like that. Cecilia wouldn’t stoop to do such things,” Cornell countered.
“It might sound absurd, but it always works, right? That’s why she keeps resorting to using the same trick on you. Have you ever wondered why she only has relapses when you are around, not in front of others?”
Audrey almost cried out, her voice bordering on hysteria.
Cornell remained unconvinced.
“It’s just a coincidence.”
Audrey scoffed when she heard that.
“Is it really just a coincidence?
Think about it, Cornell. I don’t believe there are so many coincidences in the world.”
Even over the phone, Cornell could sense that Audrey was in a foul mood.
He massaged his temples and said, “I promise you, Audrey, I’ll fly back as soon as I can once Cecilia gets better.”
Audrey lowered her gaze, looking utterly exhausted. Her heart sank as she asked, “Cornell, didn’t you tell me I was your top priority?”
He had said it right to her face!
How could he toss his promise aside so easily?
How could he be this heartless?
Cornell retorted coldly, “Yes, I did say that, but sometimes priorities need to be sorted out. Right now, Cecilia’s life is hanging by a thread, and you want me to abandon her and rush back to you?”
A bitter smile crept across Audrey’s face.
“Cornell, what does it have to do with you whether Cecilia lives or not? Only you believe what she has done. And if her life really hangs by a thread, why hasn’t her family rushed to see her? Did you ever consider it might all be part of her plan?”
“Cecilia’s family are on their way,” Cornell said in a tone that was as cold as ice.
“Audrey, you have always been kind. Why did you become so vicious?”
Cornell’s words proved the last straw, shattering Audrey’s heart into fragments.
His words were like a dagger thrust into her chest, causing her excruciating pain.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She squeezed a smile on her face and said, “You are right. I’m a vicious woman. I’m being unreasonable.
I’m making a fuss. Go live a blissful life with your good-hearted and sensible Cecilia. We… We are done.”
In a flash, the soft spot Cornell had in his heart for Audrey evaporated.
Cornell had never been one to sweet-talk women. Well, a few times, sure. But now, Audrey’s demands were downright unreasonable to him.
What he hated the most was being threatened by other people.
With his tongue against the back of his teeth, he snapped, “Audrey, can you stop being childish and using the divorce to threaten me again and again?”
However, Audrey was not having it, and his words no longer had an effect on her.
The spark that once flickered in her heart had gone out, extinguished for good.
“I’m serious, Cornell. I’ve been a fool for believing in you time after time.”
“Audrey, you!” Cornell uttered in a fit of anger. He felt an overwhelming urge to smash his phone against the wall. Then, through gritted teeth, he snarled, “I think you need to calm down!”
The instant he finished these words, the call was ended.
Audrey had already disconnected the call.
Cornell was furious and his eyes full of rage.
Bang! Unable to take his frustrations any longer, he hurled his phone against the wall.
Meanwhile, Matteo wandered in and happened to hear Cornell’s heated conversation over the call. After hesitating for a while, he asked, “Mr. Clement, would you like me to check in on Mrs. Clement?”
“No need!” Cornell answered with a deep scowl.
“I don’t want to hear another word about her!”
In his mind, he had indulged Audrey to the point that she had become absurdly unreasonable.
She had even resorted to threatening him with the divorce repeatedly.