Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
“Bring her in!” urged Audrey. Then he noticed the coolly handsome figure behind Matteo. Just as he was about to say something to Cornell, the wounded Henley on the floor grabbed his hand.
“Audrey…”
Audrey looked back at Henley and asked worriedly, “Henley, how are you feeling?”
Henley sketched a smile, but blood was dripping from the corner of his lips. The severity of his internal injuries, if any, remained unknown.
“I’m fine… If anything happens to me, can you take care of my parents?
“You’ll be fine!” Audrey firmly disagreed with tears cascading down her cheeks.
“Henley, you’re going to be fine. I know…”
Audrey’s mind was still fuzzy. Exhaustion had overwhelmed her and she teetered on the edge of surrender. Tessa’s knife had left a gash in her skin.
At that critical moment, Henley had appeared out of nowhere. He lunged at Tessa and they both fell down the stairs.
All Audrey saw was the blood strewn across the floor. She had feared the worst for Henley, and the thought that he had died because of her drove her to the brink of despair.
Finally, she found the strength to go downstairs.
There she found Henley, still conscious, though injured. Relief washed over her that he had survived.
Audrey would never forgive herself if anything had happened to Henley because of her.
But soon, relief gave way to lingering fear.
She had narrowly escaped. Just a matter of inches.
He had come so close to death. Had it not been for Henley’s quick rescue, it would have been her lying there motionless, and her face would have been unrecognizable.
Cornell, who was silently watching Audrey sobbing for Henley, felt a heavy weight on his heart.
Ever since she had disappeared, his heart had been in a constant state of restlessness and unable to find peace.
When he thought the wretched body on the ground was Audrey, he felt as if an invisible giant hand was tearing at his heart, and the pain still lingered.
God only knew the overwhelming relief and joy he felt at seeing her alive and with only minor injuries at most. How he wished he could hold her tightly.
But what about her?
His gaze was fixed solely on Henley. Not once did she look away from him.
At that instant, Cornell felt as if his heart was pierced again, and a numbing coldness spread through him.
After the suffering he had gone through to save Audrey, to stand there without attracting Audrey’s attention seemed to him a cruel twist of fate.
The joy that had once lit up his face at seeing her safe and sound slowly faded and left an empty space in his heart.
In a few moments, his expression turned to indifference.
It was as if he had encased his heart in an impenetrable layer of ice and the air around him had turned icy.
At that moment, the sound of sirens broke the deafening silence. Police cars and ambulances had arrived. Medical personnel attended to Henley and carried him away on a stretcher.
Only when the medical personnel approached Cornell with another stretcher did Audrey’s attention finally turn to him. Audrey noticed the severe injury to Cornell’s legs. The wounds had worsened from lack of immediate medical attention and from exertion, which was evident from the persistent bleeding.
His wounds had not been noticeable, partly due to the low light and his black pants.
But under the glare of the emergency lights, the severity of his wounds became apparent. Blood had soaked through the black fabric of his pants, staining them a dark brown.
How much blood had been lost to saturate pure black pants?
Audrey’s face lost color as a wave of pain and anguish washed over her.
This wasn’t like the guilt and self-blame she felt when she feared Henley would sacrifice himself to save her.
For Audrey, the emotions she felt toward Henley were driven by guilt and self-reproach.
With Cornell, however, it was different. Her heart had already softened into a warm, flowing current when he bravely stepped in to save her.
He had risked his life for her not once but twice. Any resentment from the past seemed to dissolve because of his sacrifice.
Besides, in those moments when she thought she was going to die, the only person she wanted to say goodbye to was Cornell.
At least he was the last person she saw before she died. For Reagan, that was enough.
But now, they were both still alive and clinging to the hope that maybe….
Audrey felt a sharp pain in her nose. He longed to reach out and hold it. But when he reached out his fingers, Cornell coolly pushed them away.
Assuming Audrey loved Henley, Cornell was no longer interested in his words or explanations. He simply turned away.
Cornell ignored the medical staff and the pain in his legs. He refused to get on the gurney.
He walked slowly, enduring the pain and making a mental note not to act so foolishly again in the future, especially for Audrey, who was not interested in him. He wanted to engrave in his mind the horrible feelings he was experiencing to remind himself that he would never find himself in such a situation again.
Audrey watched Cornell with sad eyes. His heart ached.
Matteo turned to Audrey.
“Ma’am, Mr. Clement thought it was you lying there motionless. He was in agony moments before until he discovered it wasn’t you.”
Tears threatened to spill over and Audrey did his best to hold them back. She knew Cornell was upset and wouldn’t even let her explain.
“Could you give me an update on his condition at the hospital?”
She tried to control the breaks in her voice.
Being an assistant, Matteo didn’t have much say in this, but he still advised, “Mr. Clement is really worried about you. I think you’d better see him yourself and check on him.” With that, he turned and left, the bodyguards following suit.
Audrey was treated in the ambulance, and once she was done, she was taken to the police station to give a statement.
The evidence of Tessa’s abduction was quite clear. Audrey quickly gave her statement and left the police station.
She had blood stains on her dress, so she had to change before going to the hospital.
He arrived at the hospital and called Matteo, but there was no answer.
She asked around and it turned out that Cornell had been taken to the VIP ward. He had been treated immediately, so he was in no danger.
Audrey could finally relax a little. His phone rang. It was Matteo. It turned out that this was not a good time to pay a visit. There was some noise. It sounded like Cornell’s parents.
“It’s okay. I understand,” she replied. It wouldn’t be wise for her to visit when Cornell’s parents were there.
Audrey turned around and headed up to the second floor to visit Henley’s room.
Henley had just been through surgery and was still unconscious. His parents were overseas, so it wasn’t easy for them to get there. The hospital staff was taking care of him.
Since Henley was injured saving her, Audrey felt responsible for taking care of him. He took a few days off work and stayed by Henley’s side, waiting for his parents.
The doctor walked in.
“Are you related to him?”
“I’m his friend. His parents are on their way. They’ll be here tomorrow.
How is she?”
“Luckily, the fall wasn’t too bad. She landed in a dirt pit. His life is not in danger, but the wooden stick that went through his leg had some mold on it. We will evaluate the evolution when the family arrives.”
The doctor left once he was finished.
That uneasy feeling in Audrey’s chest began to grow again. Why was Henley there at that critical moment and saved her? She would only be able to understand once he was awake.
Audrey stayed by Henley’s side all night, only taking turns with the nurses a few times.
Before dawn, the nurse took turns with Audrey. Audrey took the opportunity to go home. He remembered that Cornell had liked the porridge he had made last time, so he decided to make some and take it with him. By the time it was all ready, it was dawn.
Audrey rushed to the hospital to see Cornell. He had checked with Matteo earlier. There was no one else, apart from him and the nurse, in his ward at that hour.
Matteo opened the door when he saw Audrey approaching.
As Cornell’s long-time assistant, Matteo had learned to decipher Cornell’s expressions and actions. Cornell’s eyes would light up when someone came to visit and darken when the visitor was not Audrey. Obviously, he had been waiting for Audrey’s appearance.
Cornell had been resting. His eyes were closed, but they snapped open when he heard the door creak. When he saw that it was Audrey, he looked away indifferently.
He didn’t seem to be interested in seeing her. Audrey’s face paled, with a mixture of emotions welling up inside him.
He took a deep breath to calm himself and exhaled slowly, regaining his composure. Then he slowly made his way to his bed.