Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
A sensation of something descending through her lower abdomen gripped her Had her baby failed to live after the torment she had been through?
A mouthful of blood escaped Nicole’s lips. Her fingers clenched so tightly that blood oozed from her grip.
Jarrod! What a bastard! How could he be so cruel as to dispose of his own child? How dare he!
At the hospital, Jarrod remained at Jamie’s side.
Jamie, after a detailed examination, was unharmed. The fork had missed his artery.
In the chaos, Jamie had pressed his hand against the wound, making the bleeding appear more severe than it was.
Traumatized, Jamie repeatedly expressed her fear that Nicole wanted to kill her, and opted to stay in the hospital for a few more days with Jarrod by her side.
At that moment, Jarrod left the room to stand alone in the hallway for a moment.
He was about to light a cigarette when his phone rang. Alec was on the line.
“Mr. Schultz, I went to pick up Miss Lawrence as instructed, but Mr. Clement’s men had already secured her medical parole.”
Had Cornell gotten Nicole’s medical parole? Jarrod pondered for a moment and tied up loose ends. Audrey must have talked to Cornell and asked for help.
He remembered Cornell’s call the night before, which he had neglected due to Jamie’s distress.
This had to be the subject of that missed call.
He had never intended to hold Nicole for very long. Doing Cornell this favor felt right to him.
“Forget it. Take care of unfinished business.”
“It’s done. The case against her has been dropped.”
“Good.”
After a pause, Alec added with concern, “But it appears that Miss Lawrence suffered serious injuries…”.
At that instant, a doctor, hurrying with a stretcher, passed Jarrod.
“Sir, please step aside.”
Jarrod shifted, his eyes briefly meeting the gurney as he asked Alec, “What did he just say?”
“Miss Lawrence was injured at the detention center,” Alec replied.
A moment passed without a response.
“Mr. Schultz, are you there?”
Jarrod let go and his phone dropped to the floor.
He stood, stunned and motionless, staring at the scene before him.
On the gurney, covered in blood, lay Nicole.
Her face was deathly pale, in stark contrast to the dark blood under her fingernails. Her arm hung lifelessly from the gurney.
Blood soaked her lower body, and the horror of her ordeal was evident on the white cloth.
Jarrod felt a sudden, stabbing pain in his temples.
He rushed forward, clutching the edge of the gurney, disbelief etched on his face.
He needed confirmation.
The doctor, frowning, tried to pull Jarrod’s hand away.
“Sir, you are obstructing our emergency treatment!”.
Jarrod’s refusal to pull away caused the doctor to push him harder.
“Please don’t obstruct our efforts to save her!”.
Jarrod’s mind came to and he slowly loosened his grip. But then, a weak grip grabbed his hand.
“Nicole!” Jarrod’s voice was a mixture of shock and surprise.
Nicole’s eyes widened, the whites tinged with red. She looked up at him, unmoving.
“Jarrod, you’ve gotten what you wanted. You killed our son yourself.”
Nicole’s voice, rough and strained as if burned by flames, was barely audible. Her words were hard to make out.
Jarrod, reading her lips, felt as if struck by lightning.
Was the child he had tried to eliminate his own?
Nicole’s blurred vision did not allow her to make out his expression. She saw only shadowy figures. Her hand slid weakly downward.
“Jarrod,” she whispered.
“My last wish is that you be cursed with sickness and loneliness for the rest of your life….”.
Her voice, full of hatred, despair and disgust, was hoarse and weak.
Jarrod watched her lips closely, deciphering every word the others could not decipher.
He felt as if her bloody hand was choking him, and his hand stiffened in response.
After a moment, Jarrod spoke through gritted teeth, his voice strained.
“Nicole, stop talking about death! You’re not scaring anyone.”
The doctor interjected urgently, “Sir, the patient is bleeding. Your actions are endangering her life.”
To the medical team, Jarrod appeared deranged.
They did not understand why Jarrod was trying to communicate with a patient who could only make wheezing sounds due to her damaged vocal cords.
Finally, Jarrod let go. He remained motionless, then picked up his phone from the floor and followed the medical team.
Outside the emergency room, Jarrod’s hands were shaking uncontrollably.
He had thought that confining her to the detention center would only limit her freedom, teaching her a lesson for defying and harming the untouchables.
How could things have ended up this way…..
What did Nicole mean by accusing him of killing his own son?
A sharp pain, like a needle, struck his temple. Leaning against the wall, he dialed Alec.
“Find out everything that happened to Nicole in the detention center.
If you miss a single detail, you will be tortured to death.”
The medical team dragged on for eight grueling hours.
“Jarrod, you got what you wanted. You killed our son yourself.”
Nicole’s voice, rough and strained as if burned by flames, was barely audible. Her words were hard to make out.
Jarrod, reading her lips, felt as if struck by lightning.
Was the child he had tried to eliminate his own?
Nicole’s blurred vision did not allow her to make out his expression. She saw only shadowy figures. Her hand slid weakly downward.
“Jarrod,” she whispered.
“My last wish is that you be cursed with sickness and loneliness for the rest of your life….”.
Her voice, full of hatred, despair and disgust, was hoarse and weak.
Jarrod watched her lips closely, deciphering every word the others could not decipher.
He felt as if her bloody hand was choking him, and his hand stiffened in response.
After a moment, Jarrod spoke through gritted teeth, his voice strained.
“Nicole, stop talking about death! You’re not scaring anyone.”
The doctor interjected urgently, “Sir, the patient is bleeding. Your actions are endangering her life.”