Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
“Cornell…” she pleaded.
But it was too late.
Her hand barely grazed his trouser hem when she saw him lift his polished leather shoes and bring them down mercilessly.
The hard soles crushed her hand, and Cecilia’s fingers felt like they were being shattered. The intense pain whitened her face as she screamed in terror.
“Cornell… What’s happening? I… I’m Cecilia…” she cried.
But Cornell’s sympathy for Cecilia had evaporated, his protection for her squandered.
Crack! The cruel crunching of her fingers under his feet echoed ominously, a sound as chilling as the approach of death itself.
Cornell’s expression was icy, his eyes glinting with a malice reminiscent of the devil. He declared, “I’ve made it clear that Audrey is my bottom line, yet you persist in crossing it.”
Cecilia’s agony triggered a flood of tears. Desperately, she cried out, “It’s not as you think… Don’t listen to Nicole… I didn’t do it…”
Her words quivered, lacking conviction.
Cornell crouched before her, forcefully turning her face toward him.
His tone was icy as he asked, “You think I’d trust Nicole?”
This question sparked a glimmer of hope in Cecilia. Tears the size of beans streamed down her cheeks as she pleaded mournfully, “Cornell, if you don’t believe her, why are you doing this to me? I never said those things. It’s your child. How could I call it a bastard?”
Suddenly, Cecilia froze in place.
Cornell had clicked on a video and played it in front of her.
“You and that little bastard… It’s better that it’s gone…”
Her harsh speech and brutal expression were captured clearly.
Cornell had set up a camera to protect Audrey, a feed only he could access. After Nicole’s departure, he activated the surveillance footage but found himself unable to watch more than a brief segment.
This was Cecilia, the one he had always thought nothing more than a kind and naive girl. He had been treating her well for years. How could she be so vicious?
Cecilia was terrified, feeling as though she had plunged into a freezing dungeon, her body shaking uncontrollably.
“Cecilia.” Cornell articulated each word with a chilling tone, “Do you believe you’re clever enough to fool me?”
“No, it’s not true… It’s all fake…
” Cecilia stuttered, her complexion paler than a sheet of paper.
She raised her eyes to Cornell’s flawless visage. He seemed unchanged, yet to Cecilia, he appeared foreign and frightening.
“Fake?” His Lips curled into a semblance of a smile, but his grip on her jaw was unyielding.
“Are you claiming your illness is a fake, or perhaps this entire abduction as well?”
Cecilia’s eyes widened at Cornell’s words, and her mouth gaped open.
She was in utter disbelief.
All the while, she firmly believed that her plan was foolproof.
Whether it was her fake illness or the kidnapping scheme, she ensured there were no loopholes.
So, she thought Cornell must be lying to her, trying to fish something out of her.
She convinced herself that it must be the case.
Cecilia endured the excruciating pain and continued to play dumb.
Tears streamed down her face like a waterfall.
“Cornell, what are you talking about? I don’t understand…”
“Oh, really? Then, I will make you understand. The drug you took in was delivered to you from Swynborough. Also, in the area where your kidnappers’ car crashed and exploded off the cliff, Matteo found a car passing by at that time. The dash cam footage clearly showed that the car lost control because the brakes malfunctioned. Well, several people risked their lives to demand ten million dollars, yet the car they drove away was with faulty brakes.”
Cornell paused. Then, he asked calmly, “Cecilia, do you really think you can treat me like a fool and lie to me just because those men are dead?”
As he spoke, he sounded calm and indifferent. It was as if he was only talking about what to eat for dinner.
But every word he said sent a chill down Cecilia’s spine. The cold penetrated deep down her bones.
Cecilia shook her head desperately and said sorrowfully, “No, Cornell.
It’s not like that. Please let me explain…”
When a teardrop of Cecilia’s fell on Cornell’s wrist, he felt an inexplicable disgust surge in his heart. He pushed Cecilia away violently.
Caught off guard, Cecilia was pushed back forcefully.
There was a loud thud.
It turned out that her back hit the corner of the cabinet heavily.
The pain was so intense that she felt her spine shattered.
“Ah! Cornell, it hurts. It hurts so much…”
Cecilia’s face contorted in pain. She was uglier than a monster.
But no matter how miserable she looked, she couldn’t evoke an ounce of sympathy from Cornell.
“Cecilia, you know that I hated manipulative games the most. I tolerated you before because I thought I owed you my life. But now that I’ve paid off that debt, it’s my turn to settle the score with you.”
Actually, Cornell had already suspected that Cecilia had done something evil. But every time, he deluded himself into believing that she was still the innocent and kind-hearted girl in his memory.
Because of this, he didn’t want to think about it or investigate further. But when the truth presented itself to him, his first thought was how he would face Audrey.
Audrey had told him countless times about Cecilia’s true color. But he always refused to believe her.
When Cornell thought of Audrey’s sadness and despair, he felt his heart was clenched by an invisible giant hand. It was too painful.
Audrey was hurt seriously because of him.
And it was his leaving her that caused her to lose their child.
That baby wasn’t only Audrey’s. It was also his.
Cornell stared at Cecilia fiercely with eyes full of resentment. It made Cecilia feel she was a condemned sinner awaiting judgment.
Finally, Cecilia felt fear surge in her heart.
She pleaded between sobs, “Cornell, please don’t do this to me. I only did those things because I love you so much. I don’t want to lose you. I said those words because I was jealous of Audrey. Why can she have you? I’ve known you longer than her.”
Cornell’s eyes turned cold and weary upon hearing this.
“Cecilia, I have nothing left for you apart from gratitude. Don’t you understand it?”
These words made Cecilia’s heart fall from hell into an even deeper darkness.
“No, Cornell! That’s impossible! You are lying!”
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She couldn’t believe what Cornell had just said.
“Cornell, you are lying to me, right?
How can you say you never love me? You’ve treated me well because you love me. I know that. I can’t believe this!”
Cecilia was deeply in love with Cornell’s good looks and honorable status.
Just one look from him could stir her imagination, making her fantasize about countless scenes.
But she never thought that one day, her imagination would be shattered.
In front of Cecilia, Cornell took out his phone, called Matteo, and ordered, “Matteo, contact Triclinium Hospital. Miss Murray is mentally unstable. She needs urgent treatment.”
While listening to him, Cecilia felt something was off.
She knew Triclinium Hospital. It was a mental hospital in Ardlens.
Her mind instantly went blank, and her hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. Cornell was actually planning to send her to a mental hospital!
She was not crazy. Why would he send her there?