Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Upon waking, Jarrod promptly threw off the quilt and stood up.
Alec urgently stopped him, saying, “Mr. Schultz, the doctor said you need to rest.”
“I need to find Nicole! Have you continued the search for her?”
Jarrod urgently asked.
Alec’s eyes darkened as he answered, “We found Miss lawrence.”
“Where is she?” Jarrod’s eyes, bloodshot from the seawater, remained intense. He looked at Alec and asked, “Is she in the hospital?”
Alec met his gaze and said plainly, “Miss lawrence is dead. I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, a heavy thud echoed as Jarrod staggered back and collided with the bed.
Jarrod couldn’t believe it. Nicole had passed away. How could that be?
Just yesterday, she had attempted to strangle him in the car. How could she be gone overnight?
Jarrod’s bloodshot eyes lost focus. His voice trembled as he asked, “Where is she?”
After hesitating for a while, Alec replied, “Mr. Schultz, it’s not advisable to see her in person. Miss lawrence didn’t fall into the sea. She fell off the cliff and hit the rocks. Her body was badly disfigured.”
Nicole’s body had been taken to the funeral home, but it was too damaged to be fixed. Her body was severely damaged, and one of her legs was missing, likely dragged away by an animal.
Jarrod’s heart shattered at the news. He insisted, “I want to see her right away.”
On the way, Jarrod maintained a facade of calm. Images of Nicole flashed through his mind, and the reality of her passing remained inconceivable.
Even with Alec confirming the torn clothes and belongings were Nicole’s, Jarrod refused to believe she was gone. Jarrod said to himself perhaps Nicole despised him so much that she chose to disappear under this cover.
Whether she was alive or dead, he had to see for himself. Otherwise, he would not believe it.
In the dimly lit morgue, a lifeless form lay shrouded beneath a pristine white cloth.
Once a fearless individual overseas, Jarrod approached with hesitant steps. Despite his past feats of tearing wolves apart with bare hands, an unsettling tremor now coursed through his fingers.
With deliberate hesitancy, Jarrod unveiled the covered figure.
In an instant, a lightning bolt seemed to strike his brain.
An eerie silence suddenly enveloped the room.
Jarrod seemed to suddenly go deaf, unable to hear anything. He didn’t dare to acknowledge it, nor did he want to face it.
Even amidst the gruesome injuries, the facial outline hauntingly resembled Nicole.
“No, this can’t be! I’ll expose your deceit, Nicole!” Jarrod’s eyes turned scarlet red. He lost it and started trying to take the clothes off of the remnants.
Witnessing the turmoil, Alec intervened urgently, “Mr. Schultz!”
When Jarrod lifted the clothes, a small red mole on the slender waist caught Jarrod’s eye. Its stark contrast to the mangled remains fueled his desperation.
Jarrod couldn’t help but cough up a mouthful of blood. A splatter of red stained the white fabric.
The red mole starkly contrasted with the disfigured body, emphasizing the cruel reality that Jarrod couldn’t deceive himself about any longer. Nicole was gone.
“Ah! Why?” Jarrod held the mutilated body tightly and knelt on the floor. His cries of pain filled the entire room.
In the aftermath of his roar, heavy panting filled the air.
Jarrod, who hadn’t shed tears since childhood, now knelt beside Nicole’s lifeless body, mourning the irrevocable loss.
“Nicole, please don’t leave me. Come back… I won’t confine you any longer. I’ll set you free. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault…”
Jarrod pleaded, his face pressed against the bony remnants.
At the sight of the corpse, Alec felt his scalp tingle. Honestly, the disfigured face was more terrifying than Jamie’s. Jamie looked somewhat scary now because of her injuries, but at least she was not dead.
Nicole’s corpse was severely mutilated, exuding a gloomy aura, especially from the hollow eye sockets that seemed ready to suck one in the next second.
Jarrod, who didn’t like Jamie, especially her disfigured face, now felt no disgust as he hugged Nicole’s badly mutilated body in his arms.
“Nicole, please come back. I will give my life to you…” His pleas resonated, but the woman in his arms remained eternally silent, lost to the grasp of death.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open with force, breaking the heavy silence in the room. A high-pitched cry pierced the air.
In came Audrey. She knelt on the floor beside Nicole’s lifeless body.
As Audrey’s trembling hand reached out to touch Nicole’s badly mutilated face, tears welled up in her eyes, and she began to sob inconsolably.
The next moment, a sharp clap echoed through the room as Audrey’s hand met Jarrod’s face with a resounding slap.
Audrey had used all of her strength on the slap.
The force behind it left a vivid red mark on Jarrod’s cheek.
Through gritted teeth, Audrey cursed, “Jarrod Schultz! You heartless bastard! Nicole wouldn’t have taken her own life if it weren’t for you.”
Jarrod fell on the floor, cradling what remained of Nicole in his arms, seemingly unaffected by Audrey’s anger.
“You even took her child away. She wanted to keep it. She wanted to keep your child! You… You heartless monster!” Audrey continued.
Jarrod trembled violently when he heard those words. Nicole wanted to keep their child? The realization hit him like a sledgehammer.
“She wanted to keep the baby… Ha-ha…” Suddenly, Jarrod burst into laughter, tears mingling with the bitter taste of blood in his mouth.
“Give Nicole back to me! leave her alone!” Audrey didn’t pity Jarrod at all. She shoved Jarrod away and said in disdain, “Don’t touch her with your filthy hands. Spare us your hypocritical act. You are not worthy of her.”
At her words, Jarrod’s eyes sparked with intensity. He raised his hand abruptly, his voice hoarse but laced with cruelty. “Don’t even think about it. She is mine!”
Caught off guard, Audrey stumbled backward, but Cornell swiftly reached out to steady her.
“What are you saying? You are out of your mind. Nicole would rather die than be with you. She doesn’t want you near her. let her go!” Audrey yelled.
Despite Audrey’s attempts to distance Jarrod from Nicole’s body, Cornell held her firmly from behind, preventing her from doing so.
Having known Jarrod for years, Cornell sensed Jarrod was losing control. Fearing Audrey might be accidentally harmed, he cautioned in a hushed tone, “Don’t act impulsively. You could get hurt.”
Jarrod clung to Nicole’s lifeless body without moving for a day and night.
It wasn’t until Alec urged Jarrod home that Jarrod uttered something unsettling, “I’m taking her back with me.”
Jarrod intended to bring Nicole’s body to the villa where they shared countless memories.
Alec’s expression changed instantly, and he said in a trembling voice, “Mr. Schultz, the body is badly mutilated…”
“Arrange a time with the funeral home and have them set up an ice coffin at my place,” Jarrod instructed.
Alec was left speechless when he heard that. He couldn’t believe his ears. Jarrod was insane. Jarrod must have lost his mind. Was Jarrod planning to keep Nicole’s corpse at home?
However, Alec refrained from saying anything and complied with Jarrod’s instructions.
The burial date was set, and Audrey and others gathered for the ceremony.
Little did anyone know that the coffin contained nothing but emptiness, and Nicole’s body was not inside.
After the mourning, Audrey left without a word to Jarrod. She couldn’t stand being in the same room as him since she found him hypocritical and undeserving of pity.
During their journey back, Cornell’s phone rang. It was Matteo calling to inform Cornell that Cecilia hadn’t been feeling well these past two days and wanted to see him.
Audrey overheard Matteo’s words and abruptly reached for the car door.
Suddenly, a sharp noise was heard. The car skidded to a halt after a sudden brake.
Once the car stopped, Cornell seized Audrey’s hand, exclaiming, “Are you out of your mind?”
In a foul mood, Audrey brushed off his hand. “Fuck off! Don’t touch me!”
Although Audrey’s nail cut the back of his hand, Cornell seemed unfazed.
“Don’t be foolish. We are in the middle of the highway. Where do you think you are going?” Cornell said softly.
Audrey retorted coldly, “You are off to see your child’s mother, aren’t you? Go ahead. I can get back by myself.”
“What on earth are you talking about?” Cornell held her hand firmly and said angrily, “I have told you that the baby isn’t mine.”
After Nicole’s tragic end, Audrey found herself engulfed in a sense of despair. She couldn’t contain her impatience when confronting Cornell.
“Cornell, do you take me for a fool? If the child isn’t yours, why is she calling you? I have sent the divorce papers to your email.