Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Taking his time, Jarrod leisurely wiped the tears from her face and said, “Since you’re uncertain, let’s wait here until you’re ready, shall we?”
“Click.” The sound of the door unlocking made Nicole shudder.
“Don’t leave.” Nicole held onto Jarrod, straightened up, and her clean, pretty fingers reached for his belt.
She had been intimating with Jarrod on many occasions. She knew exactly how to satisfy him. Every action she took was precisely calculated to arouse him, sending a continuous rush of pleasure through his brain.
Jarrod was aware that he had completely subdued Nicole. This version of Nicole, so vulnerable and appealing, was utterly irresistible to him.
“Thud.”” A muted thud echoed.
Jarrod pinned Nicole against the crystal-clear glass.
Nicole, catching sight of Roscoe on the other side, tensed up completely, like a tightly wound string. “Don’t…” Her weak and broken cries fell to the floor, unheard.
The sound of Jarrod’s labored breathing seemed devilish as he taunted, “Nicole, look what your stubbornness leads to. After all your struggles, you still end up beneath me..”
His demeaning words and actions mixed together, grinding down what little was left of Nicole’s dignity. She felt reduced to less than human. Merely an outlet for release, or worse, treated like a neglected animal.
The pain was so intense that Nicole even curled her toes.
In this grim scenario, no joy was found. Only pain dominated. Both were expressing deep, unresolved rage.
Time seemed to drag, replaying Nicole’s life in slow motion. Before she met Jarrod, her life was joyful, like a garden in full bloom.
After meeting him, it turned endlessly dark. Perhaps it was time to stop dragging others into this bleakness. Before she lost consciousness, Nicole considered this.
But clinging to her earlier plea, Nicole weakly murmured, “You had promised me to let him go…”
Her words only provoked harsher treatment from Jarrod.
Eventually, Nicole could no longer stand and slid down slowly.
Her collapse stirred no compassion in Jarrod. He believed he had been merciful enough. They were after his life. And he desired only Nicole.
Jarrod draped his suit jacket over Nicole’s bruised form, covering the traces of his frenzy. After this ordeal, he was convinced Nicole would never think of betrayal again. That was his objective.
In his view, if he couldn’t possess something fully, he preferred to destroy it. If things became unsustainable, he would be the one to end Nicole’s life, not allowing her to be with another man.
When Nicole regained consciousness, it was two days later. Her body, already delicate as porcelain, had been thoroughly crushed and battered, nearly broken.
As she came to, her first reaction was to desperately search for Roscoe.
Seeing Nicole silently weeping, a nurse hurried to fetch Jarrod.
Jarrod walked in from outside, and Nicole immediately questioned him, “What about Roscoe? Did you release him?”
Jarrod’s expression turned stormy instantly. “Nicole, do you think I have endless patience?” Her first actions upon waking were to cry and inquire about Roscoe.
Regardless of Jarrod’s irritation, Nicole simply grasped his fingers, asserting, “You made a promise. You can’t go back on your word.”
Internally seething, Jarrod struggled to maintain his composure. The doctor described Nicole’s condition as akin to a hollowed-out tree trunk, seemingly intact on the outside but thoroughly devastated on the inside. She needed careful attention and less stress. Perhaps then, she might live a few more years.
Enraged by the doctor’s prognosis, Jarrod demanded that the hospital director dismiss the doctor. What sort of incompetent doctor was he?
How dare he make such statements? How could Nicole’s condition be this critical? Nicole was merely in her twenties. How could her life be reduced to just a few years?
Yet, the doctor’s remarks sowed a seed of doubt in Jarrod’s mind. He abhorred such pronouncements and chose not to hear them anymore, nor did he seek additional medical opinions for Nicole. Nevertheless, he quietly arranged for a nutritionist to oversee Nicole’s dietary needs.
A variety of health supplements were meticulously prepared for her.
Too distressed to read Jarrod’s mind, Nicole persisted, “Jarrod, I’m asking you a direct question.”
Without realizing it, Nicole had clasped Jarrod’s whole hand.
This act slightly lifted Jarrod’s spirits. He responded calmly, “Don’t worry. He’s not dead. His father took him back to recuperate.”
Nicole’s anxious heart began to ease. Once she recovered, she could confirm this herself. Plus, she doubted Jarrod would lie on such a matter.
“Also, his father wanted to express his thanks for you.” Jarrod added in a taunting tone, “He thanked you for sparing Roscoe.”
Nicole knew Roscoe’s father wasn’t genuinely grateful. His message was a covert instruction for her to stay away from Roscoe and cease all contact.
Nicole hadn’t intended to reach out to Roscoe anyway. Knowing he was safe was sufficient for her.
Jarrod, taking a large spoonful of nutritional soup from the nurse, dismissed the latter with, “You can leave now.”
After the nurse departed, Jarrod settled himself beside Nicole and began to feed her, spoonful by spoonful, with patience that seemed uncharacteristic.
“I don’t want to eat.” Nicole was visibly reluctant.
“Is it because I’m the one feeding you?” Jarrod inquired. His voice was steady, but his eyes revealed his true feelings.
Nicole knew better than to provoke Jarrod. Being confined by him would only complicate her situation further. She had vital tasks to attend to. Keeping this in mind, she stifled her nausea and continued eating.
Jarrod appeared pleased. As he continued feeding her, he abruptly remarked, catching her off guard, “The doctor mentioned you had a cesarean section five years ago.”
At this, Nicole began coughing intensely. Her body didn’t scar easily, and the mark from the surgery had been effectively minimized with advanced scar removal treatments, making it virtually invisible.
However, a thorough medical examination would reveal its presence.
“What’s the hurry?” Jarrod patted her back, his expression remaining impassive, and then he continued, “Nicole, you didn’t secretly keep that child, did you?”
At that moment, Nicole felt as though she had been struck by lightning. Jarrod’s tone was not inquisitive but assertive. She tried to remain composed and answered, “Jarrod, have you lost your senses? You know what happened to that child, don’t you?”
Yet, Jarrod remained skeptical, his tone icy as he persisted, “Nicole, the child from five years ago wasn’t terminated, was it?”
Back then, Jarrod was too shocked to confirm whether the bloodied scene was indeed his child. Given the situation, when Nicole told him, he believed her.
With today’s advanced technology, Jarrod felt Nicole wouldn’t dare to claim another’s child as his. So, he believed the claim of the miscarriage of his child.
However, a conversation with the doctor the day before raised Jarrod’s suspicions, prompting him to investigate the doctor who had allegedly conducted the abortion on Nicole five years ago.
What he found was alarming. The doctor in question had felt suddenly dizzy during the procedure and, assuming an abortion was minor, had let a nurse step in. The procedure went well, but it wasn’t the doctor who carried it out. Whether the procedure had been tampered with remained a mystery.
Jarrod attempted to track down the nurse, only to find out she had moved abroad and disappeared, flaunting newfound wealth before she left. This suggested that someone had paid the nurse off.
The more Jarrod pondered, the more he sensed something wasn’t right.
At the time Nicole was said to have the abortion, it was too early for a cesarean section. The doctor back then had described it as a medical abortion with a follow-up cleaning, so it didn’t add up that doctors now found evidence of a cesarean.
It was impossible for Nicole to be carrying someone else’s child at that time. The undeniable truth was that Nicole had secretly given birth to the child.
Jarrod suddenly grabbed Nicole by the collar, giving her no time to react, and demanded, “Nicole, where have you hidden my child?”
His intense, oppressive tone left Nicole dazed for a moment. The very next second, she raised her hand.
“Smack!” A loud slap echoed as Nicole’s hand struck Jarrod’s face with force.
Jarrod’s face twisted to the side from the impact. Immediately, his handsome features turned icy cold. “Nicole, you’re seeking death…”
“Jarrod!” Nicole cut him off sharply, her voice booming. “The nerve of you mentioning that child! Yes, I kept him.”
Nicole confessed she was the one who had paid the nurse to secretly keep the child. Back then, the doctor had insisted on a procedure, but the nurse had noted, “This child is resilient. It might survive.”
Half-conscious, Nicole had clutched the nurse’s hand, whispering faintly, “Five million. Please save my child!”
At that time, Nicole handed over the Star Sea Diamond, a ten million worth gift from her father, Wesson.
Partly motivated by money and also moved by pity, the nurse managed to keep the child.
Later, Nicole cleverly manipulated Jarrod’s ego, responding to him in a way that made him never doubt what had really happened, and he believed her completely. Then came the accident at sea, where, by some miracle, the child survived.
Eventually, Jarrod emerged from his shock, overwhelmed by a surge of emotion. He grabbed Nicole’s shoulders and demanded, “Where? Where is the child?”
“Jarrod, have you forgotten about my illness then?” Nicole replied.
“At eight months pregnant, my condition deteriorated, and I had no choice but to undergo a cesarean section. He was too weak and struggled to get the nutrients he needed from me. At last, he didn’t last a week in the incubator.”
Jarrod’s face showed his heartbreak. An eight-month-old child, gone just like that?
Nicole added with a cold laugh, “If you had believed me about my illness instead of continuing to stress me out, would our child have died from malnutrition?”
Jarrod pressed his lips together, lost for words.
“So, what are you trying to say now?” Nicole’s tone was unforgiving.
“Are you trying to show that you’re a heartless killer who caused your own child’s death?”
After a painful silence, Jarrod finally said, “No, that’s not what I meant…”