Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Stefan showed the photo to Audrey. “Is it him?”
The man in the photo had a gloomy expression and malicious eyes.
Audrey immediately recognized the man and confirmed, “Yes, that’s him.”
That was the man who ambushed her five years ago.
Stefan explained, “This man hails from the Maxwell family. It’s difficult to get him to Ardlens because he knows a lot of secrets about the Maxwell family. Once he disappears, the Maxwell family will definitely use every means to find him.”
Audrey was stunned for a moment. Then, she asked, “Is there no other way to catch him?”
“The only way is to capture him in Aurora. I’ll have some people lure him into my traps. Then, you can have a chance to interrogate him.”
Audrey fell silent, pondering this idea. To Aurora?
While she was lost in thought, Stefan continued, “You don’t need to think about it now. This person is valued by the Maxwell family, so he won’t die easily. I will let you know after my people arrange everything.”
Audrey nodded her head quietly. Her mind went blank. She didn’t even realize that Stefan had already left.
Suddenly, Audrey remembered tonight’s dinner appointment with Cornell.
She froze, not knowing what to do. It was early in the morning now.
Their dinner schedule had totally slipped her mind due to the events transpired yesterday.
She didn’t text Cornell, nor did she know if he was looking for her.
It was so late. He should be asleep by now.
Lying on the bed, Audrey kept tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
In the end, she could no longer resist it. She got up, walked to the hotel’s landline phone on the desk, and dialed Cornell’s number. She told herself she would hang up if Cornell picked up after three rings.
But to her surprise, Cornell immediately answered. It was as if he had been waiting for her call.
“Audrey?” Cornell’s deep voice sounded from the other end of the Line.
Audrey was stunned before she asked, “Have you been waiting for my call?”
“Yes. Where are you now?” Cornell didn’t deny it.
“I’m on a business trip out of town. My phone was broken, so I was not able to contact you until now.”
“Are you with someone?” Cornell suddenly asked.
Audrey’s heart skipped a beat. She almost blurted it out when Nicole’s words rang in her mind. She had promised Nicole to keep Austin’s existence from Cornell.
Audrey pursed her lips and replied, “Yes. Just some colleagues you are not familiar with.”
Cornell fell silence.
Thinking it was the poor signal, Audrey asked, “Cornell, are you still there?”
“Yes.” After the brief response, Cornell didn’t say anything more.
Unbeknownst to Audrey, Cornell was sitting in the car and looking up at the dazzling neon lights of the hotel. He asked in a deep voice, Do you want me to go there to accompany you?”
Audrey got nervous and hastily said, “No, it’s okay. I’m going back tomorrow, anyway.”
Her reply was simple, but Cornell felt like he was slapped by an invisible hand.
Hearing Audrey’s reply, Cornell went silent.
Audrey was puzzled by Cornell’s unusual silence tonight. Right when she was about to inquire further, she heard a soft cough. It sounded like Austin was the one coughing.
Startled, Audrey quickly covered the mouthpiece and whispered softly, “I’m going to bed. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
With that, Audrey ended the call.
“Beep…”
Cornell let out a self-mocking smile. The busy tone, playing a mocking melody, seemingly laughed at him. His turmoil inside went beyond words.
Cornell regretted wrapping up the meeting earlier than scheduled all because he was in a hurry to get back to Ardlens. He felt he shouldn’t frantically search for Audrey after failing to reach her by phone. He regretted rushing to Ashfield upon discovering her location.
Just a short while ago, Cornell was reassuring himself. He told himself repeatedly that Audrey and Stefan were probably just sorting out some issue, which was why they ended up at the hotel together.
When Cornell saw Stefan enter with a bag of medicine, his first thought was whether Audrey was sick.
Cornell had a strong urge to barge in, yet he decided to stay put in the car, waiting on Audrey’s call. He was doing everything in his power to avoid doing anything Audrey might loathe.
Just before Audrey called, Cornell was reminding himself, “As long as she says she’s with Stefan, I have to trust her. I can’t let myself get irrationally jealous and upset her.”
But Audrey didn’t mention Stefan. Instead, she mentioned it was someone he didn’t know. So, Audrey lied to her again.
Cornell felt his grip on his phone tighten and then relax. “Just head back,” he instructed.
Matteo, caught off guard, stuttered, “Mr. Clement, are you sure?”
Matteo hadn’t caught what Audrey said, so he was a bit confused.
After all, Cornell had been non-stop all day, rushing back to Ardlens from Berton after wrapping up his meetings. Upon discovering Audrey’s location, he rushed from Ardlens to Ashfield. All that effort was to see Audrey. The sudden decision to return without laying eyes on Audrey baffled Matteo.
“Yeah.” The heavy, disheartened reply came from Cornell.
Matteo, sensing his foul mood, didn’t press further and swiftly got the car moving.
Back in Ardlens, Cornell stepped out of the car, silent.
Matteo, pulling a large box from the trunk, questioned, “Mr. Clement, do you want me to bring this upstairs for you?”
The box was filled with fresh seafood Cornell had picked out himself, having cleared out the seafood market.
Cornell had looked forward to a joyful dinner with Audrey, who had completely forgotten about.
Cornell looked away, his face showing disappointment. “You can have it.”
Matteo, surprised, put the box back in the car.
The next day.
Audrey had breakfast delivered to the hotel room.
After eating, the woman and Austin headed down first, followed by Audrey.
Once everyone was ready, Stefan drove them to the destination, arriving swiftly.
Judd had cleaned the house the day before, even replacing all the bedding and kitchen items.
The woman who took care of Austin expressed her deep appreciation to Audrey. Previously, she worked as a kitchen assistant for the Lawrence family, her life tough. Her husband and only son had passed away in an overseas car accident.
The woman traveled abroad to handle the situation and collapsed from exhaustion, which led to her being hospitalized. There, she met Nicole.
Once Nicole heard the woman’s story, she asked the woman to look after newborn Austin.
This arrangement continued for years, with the woman always treating Austin as if he were her own child.
Audrey got maids for the woman, recruiting more trustworthy bodyguards for Austin. She also arranged for the woman to speak with Nicole on the phone.
Once everything was in place, Audrey shared a ride back with Judd.
Stefan had to rush off because of school commitments.
Inside the car, Audrey set up the new phone Judd had given her and put in her SIM card.
The moment it turned on, Audrey saw several missed calls from a number she recognized, which made her smile. Just as she had expected, Cornell cared for her.
But as she checked the messages, her smile slowly disappeared.
The missed calls had all come before their midnight talk. There had been no attempt from Cornell to reach out to her again after that.
Audrey figured Cornell might be tied up, knowing there were days she herself was too busy to even look at her phone.
She decided to drop Cornell a message. “I’m back.”
After sending it, Audrey asked Judd to make a stop at the fresh market. She wanted to cook the dinner she missed out on making last night, planning to do it tonight.
After spending close to an hour in the supermarket, Audrey had everything she needed.
Back at home, she didn’t let the kitchen staff help her. She handled everything on her own, carefully washing and prepping the food.