Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Nicole sat patiently while getting her bandages. The nurse left after finishing her work.
Nicole was about to follow suit when Jarrod walked in. His intense gaze fell on her hands, now wrapped tightly in bandages like a mummy.
“Are you feeling any other discomforts? You should get them checked out.”
“No, I have already been thoroughly examined,” Nicole replied.
She couldn’t help but feel perplexed. Despite losing a lot of blood, her complexion wasn’t pale as usual.
In fact, she looked healthier than ever, almost glowing.
If it weren’t for the searing pain from her wounds, she might have believed she had transformed into some kind of monster.
How could she lose so much blood and still look better than before?
Jarrod observed her closely, realizing she seemed perfectly fine. He said, “Go home and get some rest. I have to head back to the office.”
Jarrod said nothing about the events of that day, leaving Nicole feeling even more uneasy.
“Wait,” she called out as he turned to leave.
Jarrod paused, his gaze locking onto her. “What is it?”
“Is Alec still blaming Roscoe?” Nicole asked, her anxiety clear as day.
Jarrod’s lips curled into a scornful smirk. He shouldn’t have expected anything different.
“So what if he is?” Jarrod snapped, anger flashing in his eyes.
“How do you plan to protect Roscoe?”
“I’m not trying to protect him. I’m just being fair. This isn’t Roscoe’s fault, is it?”
Nicole reasoned. Although she knew it might not be the best time to mention Roscoe, given the circumstances, witnessing their methods had left her deeply unsettled.
If she didn’t confront the issue now, who knew what Roscoe might face?
“Then who do you hold responsible?” Jarrod advanced, his grip tightening on Nicole’s jaw, his anger boiling over. “Is it me? Do you blame me for foolishly trying to rescue you?”
“Nicole, have you ever considered whose woman you are? Whose wife you are, hmm?” Jarrod’s fury, suppressed since that day in the mountains, erupted like a volcano.
“Have you ever considered being fair to me while you defend Roscoe? Do you know how unfair you have been to me?”
Pinned against the headboard, Nicole winced as Jarrod’s grip tightened. “Jarrod, please… Let go… Let’s talk calmly…”
But calmness was the furthest thing from Jarrod’s mind. Every mention of Roscoe fueled a raging inferno within him, a primal urge to tear Roscoe limb from limb.
“Jarrod…” Nicole struggled to make him understand.
“It was your bodyguard who abandoned Roscoe on that day. Roscoe was drugged and defenseless. Was I supposed to stand by and watch him die? I never intended for you to be harmed. I simply believed you were better equipped to avoid danger than Roscoe was.”
Nicole’s explanation seemed to work, and Jarrod’s anger began to wane. Yet, his heart, hardened by her repeated aloofness, could only soften ever so slightly at her words.
“You have learned to lie for him now?” Jarrod sneered, his voice laced with sarcasm.
“I’m not lying…” Nicole implored.
“Really?” Jarrod’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. “You expect me to believe that? You claim you didn’t wish harm upon me, yet you willingly carried out Jamie’s orders, didn’t you?”
Nicole froze with disbelief etched across her face. So, Jarrod knew everything.
He was aware of her deal with Jamie.
He knew Jamie was still alive, disguised as a barmaid after the plastic surgery, and plotting. And yet, he said nothing.
He merely observed her.
A shiver raced down Nicole’s spine. Jarrod always seemed to hold the reins, staying one step ahead of everyone else.
“I didn’t drug you,” Nicole explained. “Jamie’s poison is tucked away in the third drawer of our bedroom. You can go and check it yourself.”
Nicole had never harbored any intention of drugging Jarrod. She knew better than to place her trust in Jamie, a person whose motives she had deciphered all too well.
Jamie and the mysterious people behind her had their schemes in motion. Nicole wasn’t about to be ensnared in their schemes easily.
She only agreed to bide her time and lull Jamie into a false sense of security, all the while aiming to uncover the mastermind behind it all.
Nicole planned to unveil the true identity of the mastermind and their motives.
Jarrod’s expression remained stoic. Her confession did not surprise him. “So, you didn’t drug me because you didn’t fully trust Jamie, right?”
Nicole didn’t say anything. Jarrod was too sharp for his own good. Trying to fool him was nearly impossible. However, she harbored no intention of deceiving him. The truth was always a bitter pill to swallow.
“You are right. I didn’t trust Jamie. But on that day in the valley, I genuinely didn’t anticipate you getting hurt. With your skills, I figured you could avoid it. I never imagined Alec would end up injured trying to protect me.”
Nicole wasn’t lying. Fate had played a cruel hand. That day, she hadn’t wished harm on anyone. But destiny had its own agenda. Alec’s injury had thrown everything into disarray.
Jarrod looked at her and asked, “Apart from that day, have you ever wished for my demise?”
“Yes,” Nicole replied without hesitation.
Nicole’s expression remained composed as she spoke.
“I understand that many issues between us, including the grievances involving our families, might stem from misunderstandings. Yet, even if they were just misunderstandings, the pain they caused was real.”
Nicole couldn’t simply erase the past hurts just because Jarrod had made some changes. Doing so would diminish her, as if she deserved all the suffering.
“Jarrod, do you really think I can just forget? The best thing you could do is to let me go. It would be better never to see me again rather than trying to keep me tethered to your side.” Nicole went straight to the point.
“You want me to let you go?” Jarrod’s face was unreadable, emotionless. “Then what? You’d run off with Roscoe and take my son with you?”
“I won’t remarry,” Nicole assured. She understood that Jarrod was the type of person who clung to things, unwilling to release them, even if he no longer wanted them himself.
Jarrod laughed coldly. “Nicole, how can I trust you now?”
Trust was no longer part of their equation. Jarrod knew Nicole had been compliant recently only to delve into her father’s case, Roscoe’s affairs, and for the sake of Austin. None of her actions were for him.
Jarrod had tried to deceive himself, but Nicole’s desperate attempt to save Roscoe had shattered his delusion. If he continued to fool himself, he would risk losing everything.
Jarrod fixed his gaze on Nicole, his eyes dark and profound, reflecting a deep-seated melancholy. “Nicole, don’t ever bring that man up again. Avoid any contact with him, or I can’t predict what I’ll do.”
His threat carried a chilling promise.
Nicole trembled, feeling the palpable threat emanating from him. As she opened her mouth to respond, Jarrod sharply commanded, “Come in.”
Two bodyguards appeared at the door, causing Nicole’s anxiety to spike, uncertain of Jarrod’s next move. Ever since the incident in the valley, Jarrod had been unsettlingly calm.
Now, with Alec on the mend, it seemed Jarrod was ready to settle old scores with her.
Jarrod’s voice was as cold as ice when he commanded, “Take my wife home. Ensure she rests well.”
Jarrod paused, his voice sharp as a blade. “And under no circumstances is she to leave the house.”
Nicole felt a chill as if she had been dropped into an icy abyss. Was he planning to imprison her? She stared at him, biting her lip to suppress her trembling.
“Jarrod, what are you doing? You can’t imprison me. You have no right!”
“You misunderstand,” Jarrod said, his gaze cold and calculating as he looked down at her. “I’m concerned about your health. You need to rest.”
Turning away, Jarrod shot a stern look at the bodyguards. “What are you waiting for?”
The bodyguards took hold of Nicole’s arms. Nicole struggled fiercely. “Jarrod, you can’t do this to me! Even if I am your wife, you have no right to confine me. I am not your prisoner!”
Jarrod remained stoic, his back to the door, gazing out the window. He only moved once the door had closed behind them.
From the window, Jarrod watched as Nicole was escorted to the car. His emotions were jumbled and difficult to decipher.
Despite having married the woman he desired, he felt only frustration and anger. He understood the reason: Nicole’s heart was elsewhere.
Caught in a relentless struggle, he found himself unable to harden his heart or to let go, ensnared in a mesh of contradictions. He realized that he could no longer afford to indulge in false hopes.
That night, Jarrod returned home. He stood silently by the bed, watching Nicole with a chilling detachment.
Nicole, pretending to sleep, remained tense, fearful of his intentions.
Eventually, Jarrod climbed into bed, the faint scent of mint from his shower lingering around him. He stayed on his side, making no further movements, apparently there just to sleep.
Nicole, though still wary, eventually let down her guard and drifted off to sleep.
By morning, Jarrod had departed, leaving Nicole to awaken in an empty room. Feeling momentarily disoriented, she realized everything was as it had been.