Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Audrey felt like her heart was empty, the agony almost too much to bear.
Then, Matteo’s phone buzzed. He looked shocked. “It’s Mr. Clement!”
Matteo set the phone to speaker mode. Audrey, shaking, swung between tears and laughter. “Cornell, cut it out. You made a promise to me…”
Audrey’s voice was careful but desperate, trying to make sure Cornell understood her.
“You promised to stick to my side.” Holding back tears, she insisted, “You gave your word, Cornell.”
“Audrey.” Cornell’s voice cut through the howling wind, steady and distinct. “I’m sorry. I can’t stick to my promise,” he admitted.
“No!” Audrey’s voice trembled. “No, Cornell, listen to me. I don’t accept this Audrey had never acted so desperately, her screams hiding her fear.
She couldn’t face the thought of losing Cornell. “No, Cornell, please. Janey… Janey needs you. I’m begging you, please!” Despite Audrey’s desperate pleas, all Cornell could offer was an apology.
Audrey was on the brink of losing her mind. “Cornell, hang in there. I’m on my way to you!”
Without waiting for an answer, Audrey dashed to a car, yanked the driver out, slammed the door shut, and took off. The inside of the car was dead quiet.
The next second, a huge explosion rocked the car and the ground below.
Audrey was left staring, shocked and deafened, unable to hear anything for a while. Gradually, she looked up to see a huge black mushroom cloud forming in front of her.
A deadly silence took over everything.
The smell of explosives seeped in through the SUV’s windows, slowly filling up the space and telling the harsh tale of what had happened.
When the shaking stopped, Audrey let out a loud cry from deep within her.
“Ah!” she wailed in agony, her head banging against the steering wheel uncontrollably.
“Madam!” Matteo swiftly turned off the engine for Audrey, his body trembling, in disbelief of the event, but he remembered Cornell’s last orders.
Audrey’s voice was rough, hardly louder than a whisper. “Take me to…”
Audrey was shaking uncontrollably, struggling even to breathe. Her chest hurt so much that it felt Like it was going to end her.
Knowing her unfinished words, Matteo gently put Audrey in the back seat and started driving.
Not five kilometers away lay the entrance to the sea.
Audrey couldn’t take her eyes off the dark water. Was this the right place?
As Audrey tried to get out of the car, her legs wouldn’t hold her, and she fell.
“Madam…” Matteo rushed over to help Audrey stand.
But Audrey pushed his hand away and made her way toward the dark smoke coming from the sea.
Matteo stayed close behind, watching her walk into the water, before stepping in to stop her. “Madam, don’t go any further…”
With a voice made rough as though burned by smoke, Audrey demanded, “Why? Why?”
Matteo was visibly shaking, trying to hold back his emotions as he barely got the words out. “The SUV was set to blow up the moment you got out of the driver’s seat. The safety team did everything they could, but the only way to stop it involved putting something heavy in the driver’s seat within the last five minutes, and we couldn’t do that without the right tools.”
Overcome with emotion, Matteo wept. ir. Clement decided to stop the countdown himself to take your place…
Cornell had sacrificed his own life to save Audrey’s.
Audrey stared at the section of the sea darkened by the explosion, frozen in place. She whispered to herself, “Could he still be out there in the water?”
Trying to swim toward that area, her movements were frantic, but Matteo grabbed her, holding her firmly in place. “Madam, you can’t do this! You’d be disregarding Mr. Clement’s effort to protect you.”
“Matteo, he’s alive. He had promised he wouldn’t leave me alone. Why isn’t anyone trying to rescue him? Please, we need to get him out… The water’s freezing…”
Tears welled up again, large and heavy, falling into the icy sea.
Audrey kept saying under her breath, “I can’t bear the thought of him cold and alone in the water… He shouldn’t be there…”
Matteo cried, unable to keep his eyes open. How could there be anything left to find? The explosion was massive.
Yet, driven by her desperation, Audrey moved deeper into the water, sobbing. “Cornell, let’s go back home…”
Suddenly, she dived into the cold sea without a second thought.
“Madam!” Matteo shouted, panic-stricken, and without hesitation, he jumped in after her.
Holding Audrey close, Matteo swam back to shore.
Once they were back in the car, Audrey was shivering, her body ice-cold from the seawater.
Half-conscious, Audrey clutched Cornell’s coat left in the car, whispering faintly, “Cornell, please come back…”
Audrey drifted in and out of sleep for what seemed like ages. She dreamed of wandering aimlessly through an endless, dark ocean, searching for Cornell.
The sea was pitch-black, icy, and devoid of light.
Audrey swam until she could no longer, feeling lost and desperate.
Just as Audrey was about to give up, she heard a familiar voice calling out to her. “Audrey…”
Despite the enveloping darkness, that voice was crystal clear. It was the one she had been longing to hear.
It gave Audrey the strength to swim upward, finally seeing a sliver of light. She pushed herself toward that light.
The noise of a sliding door pulled Audrey back from the depths of her dream. She opened her eyes slowly, fighting the heaviness in her head.
As her sight came into focus gradually, she saw a tall, striking man walking toward her. His deep, calm eyes seemed to jolt her mind awake.
Tears streamed down Audrey’s face uncontrollably. “Cornell…”
With a mix of eagerness and disregard for anything else, Audrey stumbled to her feet and rushed toward him.
He caught her gently, whispering, “Be careful.”
Audrey hugged him close, burying her face in his chest. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she found herself at a loss for words.
He gently rubbed her back, his voice soothing. “You seem thinner. Haven’t you been eating well?”
Audrey was too overwhelmed to talk. She simply held onto him, sobbing non-stop.
He let out a sigh, sounding utterly helpless. “Audrey, you need to be strong, okay?”
Audrey just shook her head. She wanted to tell him, “I don’t want to be strong. I just need you by my side.” But her words wouldn’t come out. It was as if something was stuck in her throat.
Bending down, he softly wiped her tears with his thumb, whispering, “Come on. Don’t cry. Your eyes are puffy like walnuts.”
Audrey attempted a smile, yet the tears kept flowing.
“Audrey, I’m really worried about you,” he admitted.
Audrey’s body shook, feeling a chill to her core. She realized something. Her hands tightened into fists, clutching at the air.
Audrey watched him walk away, his figure blurring and fading until it disappeared. She couldn’t see him any longer.
“Cornell!” she finally shouted.
But all Audrey saw and felt were the bare white walls and the chill of the room. Nothing more…
“Audrey!” A voice Audrey knew all too well called out.
Audrey turned her head almost without thinking. The door swung open, and there was Nicole.
Nicole hurried over and wrapped Audrey in a tight embrace, tears in her eyes, saying, “You’re finally awake…”
Audrey had lost a great deal of weight.
After a long embrace, Nicole pulled back and shared, “Erick’s back, and Janey’s with Annis. They haven’t been told yet…”
Audrey took it all in silently. Then, after a thoughtful pause, she asked, “How long was I out?”
Nicole, caught off guard by the question, replied, “Seven days.”
Audrey blinked slowly, digesting the information. To her, those seven days had felt like a lifetime.
Erick came by for a short visit. Nicole helped Audrey freshen up before Erick had to leave.
With a warm towel, Nicole tenderly cleaned Audrey’s face, Audrey’s calm demeanor hiding a profound sadness.
Audrey didn’t resist. She ate her meals, took her medicine, and ended up staying another week in the hospital.