Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
In truth, the story wasn’t that beautiful.
Mommy swallow never saw her baby swallow again before she passed away.
That final scene was merely a vision before her death.
It was possible that baby swallow had perished in that great fire long ago.
Humans became the most intelligent beings on Earth because they were optimistic and committed to protecting the weak, embellishing the world with beauty.
At that time, Casey had no idea that she would soon lose her precious daughter. Later, she was imprisoned and lost another child, marking her with lifelong scars. She had lost all hope, but now…
Her daughter had come to find her!
Casey, overwhelmed with emotion, grabbed Jimena’s hand. “Jimena, where did you find this? Please, tell me, it’s very important!”
Jimena, taken aback by Casey’s fervor, replied slowly, “Madam, it was part of a gift. The last time I was here, I saw it on the table outside, wrapped in silk with that phrase embroidered on it.”
“A gift…” Casey paused, pondering, and then a sudden pain gripped her head.
Seeing Casey’s distress, Jimena quickly became concerned. “Madam, are you okay? Please, sit down.”
Jimena gently helped Casey sit on the bed, watching her closely, piecing things together. “It was the day I mentioned someone was getting married. That’s when I saw it on the table outside.”
At Jimena’s revelation, Casey pinched her palm hard, trying to manage her chaotic thoughts. She asked, “Jimena, you mentioned last time that it was which family getting married, marrying a young lady from Ambrosia?”
Jimena responded, “Madam, it was the Clifford family from the north of the city.”
Noticing Casey’s confusion, Jimena elaborated, “The Clifford family is well-known locally, just as prominent as the Maxwell family. They all know Davey, and their family is large and influential.”
Casey’s eyes widened slightly. The Clifford family knew Davey? Could Davey know something as well?
Suddenly, Jimena added, “Oh yes, that gift must have come from the Clifford family. Who else could afford such an extravagant gift?”
Casey asked further, “You said the bride was very beautiful, didn’t you? Can you remember what she looked like? Do you think…”
Casey paused, her voice filled with hope. “Does she look like me?”
Jimena looked at Casey with eyes full of sympathy and shook her head.
“Madam, I didn’t see the bride myself. I wasn’t invited to the Clifford’s wedding. It was my friends who worked there who told me she was very beautiful.”
Casey was slightly disappointed, yet she was convinced it was Likely to be Audrey. After all, she was the only person in Aurora who knew this story. Interestingly, it was the same story Casey had edited when telling her daughter.
Casey had Jimena acquire the Angelica Sinensis, after which a young woman from Ambrosia married into Aurora and delivered a gift related to the swallow story. Even if this bride wasn’t her daughter, she had to be someone connected to her daughter. Or perhaps it was Erick.
It had to be Erick. Erick must have found the missing Audrey, and she told him the story.
The more Casey thought about it, the more convinced she became, her heart swelling with hope. She turned to Jimena and whispered, “Jimena, can you help me?”
Jimena looked at Casey, puzzled, unsure of what she was asking.
“Can you help me?” Casey repeated.
Casey handed over a piece of rough embroidery, saying, “Could you deliver this to the bride for me?”
Jimena’s expression shifted, and she quickly declined. “I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”
Jimena returned the embroidery to Casey, her complexion slightly pale as she whispered, “I can’t do it. I’m sorry.”
Davey had strict rules about this. If it went unnoticed, that was one thing, but if it were exposed, the consequences would be dire.
Jimena wouldn’t dare take such a risk, not even with ten lives to spare.
Previously, Jimena had assisted Casey in purchasing Angelica Sinensis, and she had only done so in disguise. At that time, Casey was feeling homesick, and even if they were caught, it wasn’t likely to be fatal.
This time, however, it was different. Casey asked her to deliver the embroidery to the Clifford family, specifically to the bride, and it certainly involved that bride. The task involved outsiders, something Davey would never condone. Despite her usual courage, Jimena couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Suddenly, Casey rose from her bed and knelt before Jimena. “Please… Please, Jimena.”
Jimena nervously tried to help Casey up, saying, “Ma’am, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but I’m really scared of Davey. He…”
“It won’t happen.” Casey took Jimena’s hand firmly and reassured her, “You don’t have to go yourself. Just find someone trustworthy to deliver it.”
Casey then promised, “As soon as the bride gets it, I assure you she’ll take you and your whole family away from Aurora, to anywhere you wish, and she’ll also provide you with a lot of money.”
Upon hearing this, Jimena hesitated. Leaving Aurora was her biggest dream.
Jimena yearned for a place with fair laws, where people weren’t judged by their status, a place where she could feel safe. She was tired of being seen as a mere commoner. Ambrosia seemed like the perfect escape. In Ambrosia, even those who couldn’t read wouldn’t go hungry, and those with skills could lead a better life. Her family wouldn’t be branded as lowly commoners, scorned by others.
With such an opportunity before her, Davey’s threats suddenly seemed less daunting.
Besides, Davey hadn’t harmed anyone lately. Maybe he was becoming less volatile, or perhaps she just hadn’t witnessed it.
In any case, this prospect deeply moved Jimena!
Jimena looked at Casey, her mind made up. “Madam, I’m willing to help, but how much are you offering?”
Money could sometimes wield great power.
Jimena had served in Aurora for over twenty years. Despite being a qualified doctor, she was never shown any respect. She had worked in the homes of the wealthy, where people looked down on her from their lofty perches.
In Aurora, even middle-class families had their own family doctors.
Jimena had never wanted that role, nor had she wanted to join the Glyn family, but circumstances had forced her hand. Now, an opportunity to shed her commoner status had presented itself. Who wouldn’t want to seize the chance to rise above?
Casey hadn’t expected Jimena to ask about the money. The amount she had in mind was substantial, but she was out of touch with current prices. If she could get out, she planned to offer an amount that would match the external value.
After some thought, Casey quoted a figure that had been substantial twenty years earlier. “I can offer you five million.”
“Five million?” Jimena was shocked. She then scoffed. “Madam, five million wouldn’t even buy the clasp of a necklace in your collection.”
Jimena knew the value of Casey’s jewelry. Each piece was worth tens of millions, all exceptionally high quality.
This was a side of Jimena that Casey had never seen before. The greed that had been lurking beneath the surface finally erupted.
“How much are you asking for?” Casey inquired.
Jimena, realizing Casey was out of touch with current prices, replied, “Eighty million.”
Jimena had initially thought to ask for a hundred million, but feared asking too much might jeopardize the negotiation. She voluntarily dropped the price by twenty million, settling on eighty million, which seemed fair.
Casey was taken aback, yet found the arrangement to her liking. She wasn’t fond of being in debt to anyone. The arrangement was straightforward. She provided the funds, and Jimena completed the task. She nodded in agreement. “I agree.”
Casey’s assets outside were valued between five and six billion, all in real estate. If necessary, she could liquidate some to pay Jimena.
Once they agreed on terms, Jimena tucked the handkerchief into her undershirt and said, “Madam, I need a guarantee first. I’ll ensure the embroidery is delivered. My role is solely to confirm its receipt by the intended party. Whether or not your plan succeeds, you must honor our agreement.”
Jimena was adamant about not being left without compensation if the plan failed. There was no benefit in such a one-sided deal, and she wasn’t naive enough to offer help without securing her own interests first. This was a risky business.
Jimena’s kindness toward Casey wasn’t purely out of gratitude for past help. Rather, she recognized that Casey was trapped and in need of a friend. And she fit that role perfectly.
So, Jimena assisted Casey by buying Angelica Sinensis and various other items, not out of sheer generosity but to establish a beneficial relationship. She considered their interactions an equitable trade. Everything Jimena did had an underlying motive.
For Jimena, Casey’s trust in her had reaped surprising dividends.
Davey, for one, treated her a bit gentler, which set her apart from the rest.
Even more intriguing, whispers of her association with the influential Glyn family had reached the ears of several high-ranking officials. These power brokers, driven by their own desperate health scares, sought her out in secret, their hands extended with offers of hefty sums for her healing touch.
Yet, the influx of money was merely a bandage on a deeper longing.
Despite the financial gains, Jimena was tethered far from the elevated life she longed for. The constraints of her current existence mocked her. A true superior life was still beyond her reach.
International borders remained closed to her, her travels limited to brief, domestic escapes.
Jimena, calculating and ever watchful, saw in Casey a simplicity, a purity almost childlike in its naivet?.
Casey’s minimal contact with the outside world left her uncorrupted, seemingly unaware of the depths of human deceit.
To Jimena, this trusting and transparent Casey was the ideal target for her schemes.
“But I…” Casey faltered, her voice laced with hesitation. If she couldn’t venture beyond her golden cage, how could she possibly retrieve the money for Jimena? Furthermore, her purse was empty and to suddenly ask for money would surely raise Davey’s suspicions, a risk neither of them could afford.
“I understand,” Jimena interjected smoothly, reading the worry etched on Casey’s face. It wasn’t just about the money. Casey couldn’t even step outside without permission.
Jimena knew well that Davey, though affluent, tailored his generosity to suit Casey’s cloistered life, providing for her needs but never handing over cash. After all, Casey lived comfortably in her luxurious confinement, where the need for money was virtually nonexistent.
Jimena had a clear goal in mind. “I want that blue diamond necklace,” she declared, her eyes sparkling with determination.
Casey blinked, taken aback, her mind scrambling to place the piece among the myriad of jewels Davey had gifted her. He had lavished her with countless ornaments, each of which she had carelessly removed after he adorned her with them. None of them seemed worthy of her wearing permanently, or so she felt.