Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
His upbringing and pride wouldn’t allow him to stoop so Low again.
It seemed best to return to the Ardlens and grant her the peace she wanted.
After learning that Cornell had departed, Audrey didn’t seem to care much.
She continued her routine of strolling around every other day. Stefan was always by her side.
At dinner, the dishes on the table were all prepared to suit Audrey’s preferences. Yet, she merely toyed with her food, lacking enthusiasm.
Stefan came in and said, “Shall we eat?”
Audrey looked up, slightly confused. “Stefan, why are you here?”
A servant took Stefan’s coat to hang it up.
Stefan responded, “I came to dine with you.”
Recently, Stefan has been busy with legal formalities to distant himself from his family and establish his own household. He employed the excuse of preparing to register their children abroad.
The Clifford family rule allowed members to set up their households once married, but few chose to leave Aurora.
In Aurora, the Clifford family wielded power and offered plentiful opportunities. It was easy to achieve almost anything. Those who opted to establish their own households elsewhere were truly making life difficult for themselves.
However, Stefan’s views were fundamentally different from theirs.
The Clifford family members were naturally sly and deceitful, with a tendency for aggression. In the early days of the Clifford family’s establishment, nearly half of their belongings were stolen.
The founding members of the Clifford family were outright bandits who, over time and through many conflicts, eventually rebranded themselves as sophisticated, wealthy elites.
At its core, the Clifford family would resort to any means, including arson and murder, if it furthered their interests.
Stefan refused to partake in such corrupt acts. Leaving the Clifford family was something he had longed for, and it was also his mother’s dream.
Stefan’s mother came from an educated family but was married off to Stefan’s father against her will. After Stefan was born, she wasn’t favored among the other wives, and Stefan’s father naturally abandoned her.
Stefan’s mother lived in constant sorrow until she took her own life with a silk scarf when Stefan was eight years old.
The night before her death, she told Stefan, “My only wish in life was to leave this family, and soon I will fulfill it. Don’t hold it against me. If you find no happiness here when you grow up, be brave and leave. I will always support you.”
The following day, Stefan understood that his mother’s method of “leaving” was through her tragic suicide.
Stefan sat next to his mother’s lifeless body, while his father barely gave them a glance. At that moment, he vowed to one day escape the family’s grasp.
As Stefan grew up with his male relatives, he never stood out. That was because he chose to hide his true capabilities and pursue a career in education.
In truth, Stefan wasn’t just a brilliant student but also shrewd, adept at handling international trade and thriving in various domains.
His father, always a daring and decisive man, showed little interest in nurturing Stefan, who had become a mild-mannered scholar. So, he barely cared when Stefan decided to forge his own path.
In his father’s view, what could Stefan possibly achieve away from Aurora? Just teach and make a meager income? Was that enough to support a family? He assumed that once Stefan encountered difficulties, he would return to Aurora to rely on him.
His father had modest expectations for Stefan, yet he was curious about Stefan’s wife and her elder brother.
The Foster family was quite prominent in Swynborough, and although Landen didn’t attend the wedding due to poor health, he was eager to discuss expanding the shipping business with Stefan’s father.
Partly to honor the Foster family, Stefan’s father turned the wedding into a lavish event, also subtly expressing his interest in his new daughter-in-law. This way, no one in Aurora would dare trouble Audrey.
At this moment, Stefan had just washed his hands and sat down at the dining table.
The servant laid out the tableware and then quietly left, giving them privacy.
Stefan picked up a vegetable, tasted it, and remarked, “Not bad. You might want to try this. It’s good for the babies.”
Audrey tentatively tried a bite. It tasted like wax for her, but she continued eating for her babies’ sake.
Stefan tasted each dish first and if he liked it, he recommended it to Audrey.
Influenced by him, Audrey ended up eating more than usual.
When she was nearly finished, Stefan put down his fork and shared some news. “Mr. Clement had his surgery, and there were no complications. He’s recovering now, and it looks like the outcome might be better than we expected.”
Audrey didn’t reply. But deep down, she felt a weight Lift from her shoulders, Knowing he was doing well confirmed she had made the right decision.
Stefan didn’t tell Audrey to stop worrying. Instead, he looked at her and said, “Audrey, the most important thing for you right now is your own well-being. When you’re happy, the babies feel it too.”
Audrey knew this was true. A mother’s mood could affect her unborn child. Yet, happiness eluded her. The highlight of her day was video chatting with Janey. Days had gone by since they had distributed gifts to each household, yet there was still no word from her mother.
Erick had been returning home late from his searches for their mother across Aurora, finding no clues.
As time went by, Audrey and Erick began to wonder if the purchase of traditional medicine they learned about was just a coincidence.
But then, how coincidental was it that the man seen buying the medicine on the surveillance video was a man wearing glasses?
Yet, the man was extremely careful and vanished soon after leaving the street, without leaving any trace.
Moreover, as Cornell’s leg injury worsened, Audrey’s appetite started to decline. She couldn’t help feeling somewhat responsible for his condition.
In truth, Audrey had unknowingly fallen into a trap she had set for herself. Sometimes, being too kind-hearted could end up harming oneself. The stress kept building up, each one weighing on her until she felt suffocated.
Audrey tried to eat more, but forcing herself led to severe vomiting.
This approach was clearly not working.
She began to feel resentful, worrying that she wasn’t able to properly care for her children, and questioned her ability to be a good mother.
Yet, she hadn’t shared these feelings with anyone. Erick and Stefan were both preoccupied, and she, heavily pregnant, felt limited in what she could do. She believed the least she could do was not bother them.
But now, Stefan had spoken, and Audrey knew he might have noticed something. She felt compelled to speak up because if she didn’t, she thought she might explode.
It was a typical self-preservation tactic. She sensed something was amiss and determined to help herself.
“Stefan, I’m sad. I always feel like I’m not doing anything right, like I’m just a burden to others. I don’t even know if I can be a good mother. I’m not sure if I can raise three kids properly,”
Audrey admitted, releasing a breath she’d been holding.
She even agreed with Katie’s remarks. They seemingly rang true.
Unintentionally, she had become a burden.
It was only then that Stefan realized Audrey’s situation might be more serious than he initially thought. He and Erick had been preoccupied with their own matters, overlooking the emotional sensitivity that accompanies pregnancy. Stuck in her room, waiting for news, it was likely for Audrey to feel completely useless.
“Audrey,” Stefan said, sitting across from her and gently taking her hand, and looked into her eyes.
“Audrey, you’re actually doing really well. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You care about our feelings and keep your worries to yourself to spare us, while still doing your best to take care of yourself. Think about how well you plan everything. How could you not be a great mother? And look at Janey, how healthy and adorable she is. Doesn’t that show you can be an excellent mother?”
When Stefan brought up Janey, Audrey momentarily put aside her sadness, and her mood brightened. Stefan had a point. Janey was indeed thriving. The thought of Janey made the idea of raising children seem less intimidating.
Stefan reassured Audrey gently, “Remember, Erick, Laden, Janey, I, and many others who care about you are all excited about the babies. You really don’t need to worry.”
Audrey found Stefan’s words, as a psychology teacher, especially soothing and comforting. A simple chat had noticeably lifted her spirits.
“Stefan, thank you. I see things more clearly now,” Audrey responded, her perspective brighter. She understood that her main focus now was to look after herself and the babies, and that it was the right approach.
The following day, Stefan discussed Audrey’s state with Erick and urged him to keep her updated about the investigation. He knew Erick simply refrained from burdening Audrey, yet not having any updates might increase her anxiety.
Learning about Audrey’s distress made Erick anxious. He had been so engrossed in the investigation that he had overlooked Audrey’s emotional well-being.
Lately, Erick felt overwhelmed, without a single lead out about the investigation. No hints of their mother’s whereabouts were detected after delivering those gifts, just like everything else, leading him to doubt their decisions.
Maybe the man buying the medicine was just a random occurrence, or maybe Casey had died long ago. Both possibilities were grim.
Erick spoke with Audrey about the situation, sharing all the details as Stefan had recommended, even though they hadn’t made any progress.
Audrey listened quietly and then asked, “Erick, can I take a look at that surveillance video?”
The only lead they had was the man with glasses captured on the video.
Erick hesitated, worried about stressing Audrey during her pregnancy, but it was obvious that she was deeply concerned.
He transferred the video to a tablet and sat next to Audrey as she watched it intently, even though he himself had reviewed it over five hundred times, examining every detail of the street corner where the man had vanished. There were no leads. It was as if the man had disappeared into thin air, baffling everyone.
Audrey set the video to repeat and watched it over and over.
She noticed something strange about the man in the screen, especially his attire. His black coat had unusually high shoulder pads.
Such padding was often used to make someone appear more substantial, but on his slim, frail frame, which barely reached 5.6 feet, the padded shoulders seemed almost ridiculous.
Other than that, as Erick had said, there were no obvious signs of suspicion.
However, Audrey wasn’t ready to give up. She kept her eyes on the screen time and again. Erick left to answer a phone call, which took him about thirty minutes. Upon returning, he found Audrey still nestled into the couch, clutching a pillow and observing the screen with keen interest.