Filed to story: My Husband Regrets Divorcing Me (Audrey & Cornell)
Unbeknownst to her, the man restraining her was one of Jarrod’s bodyguards, assigned for Nicole’s safety.
Aware of Hallie’s connection to Jarrod, the bodyguard was careful not to injure her but firmly prevented her from attacking Nicole again. His primary directive was to ensure Nicole’s safety.
Faced with the volatile situation, the bodyguard had already alerted Jarrod about the ongoing conflict as soon as it escalated.
Still seething with anger, Hallie sneered at Rhett, “I knew it! Nicole, you’re despicable. You ended things with my cousin just days ago, and now you’re already with another man? You’re nothing but a shameless homewrecker!”
Nicole, stung by the harsh words, regretted not retaliating more when she had the chance.
Rhett, maintaining a stern demeanor, responded, “Madame, slander is a serious accusation and a criminal offense. You’ve accused my client of being a homewrecker without any proof, which constitutes defamation. We will take legal action.”
Rhett added, “And another thing: Your daughter was recently detained for assaulting my client, and here you are, spreading false accusations. Are you looking to be detained as well?”
Rhett’s composed and clear response made it apparent to the onlookers that Nicole might not be the guilty party here.
The crowd, initially swayed by Hallie’s dramatic claims, started seeing the truth behind the accusations. Hallie was driven more by vindictiveness than fact.
The elder bystanders, wise to the ways of the world, began to leave, muttering among themselves, “Let’s step back. We don’t know the full story, and it’s wrong to make judgments.”
Observing the crowd’s dispersal, Hallie was livid. She exploded, yelling, “Idiots! This woman has destroyed my family! My daughter’s future was bright, but now she’s marred by a criminal record, all because of this vile woman. You all are fools!”
Hallie’s rant left the onlookers in shock, not expecting to be the targets of her fury.
She continued to berate the crowd, shouting, “What I’m saying is the truth, you bunch of idiots!”
Initially sympathetic, the crowd now found themselves at the receiving end of Hallie’s scorn.
Speechless and taken aback, murmurs of discontent started weaving through the group.
“No wonder she says, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ With that rudeness, her daughter’s behavior is no surprise!”
“Exactly, if her daughter were truly blameless, she wouldn’t have ended up detained,” another bystander added.
Hallie was momentarily lost for words. She hadn’t expected public opinion to turn against her so swiftly. In a burst of fury, she yelled, “You don’t understand! This woman is the reason my daughter is suffering. This woman is the culprit here, not the victim!”
However, the crowd was no longer receptive to Hallie’s claims.
Her aggressive demeanor only served to alienate them further.
“You boast about your connections and power? How then did your daughter get detained if she’s innocent?” an elderly woman retorted sharply.
“Exactly,” another elder added. “We lack money and power, yet we aren’t detained. What does that tell you?”
Seeing the situation escalate, the property management stepped in. “Let’s all go home. This is no place to gather for a spectacle.”
Meanwhile, Jarrod was deep in a critical meeting regarding international energy, discussing significant deals with global leaders. Conor received a call about the unfolding drama and looked visibly troubled.
Despite the importance of the meeting, Jarrod had made it clear that any developments concerning Nicole were to be relayed to him immediately.
After hesitating briefly, Conor decided to take the risk and entered the meeting room. He walked up to Jarrod amid the surprised looks of everyone present and briefed him on the urgent situation.
Jarrod quickly set aside his documents, grabbed Conor by the arm, and instructed, “You take over the meeting!”
Conor was left dumbfounded. He wondered how he could possibly take charge at such a significant meeting, but before he could voice his concerns, Jarrod had already left, the door closing swiftly behind him.
Gathering his composure, Conor faced the senior executives, who were looking at him expectantly. He explained, “I apologize for the interruption. Mr. Schultz had urgent matters to attend to. Thank you for your understanding.”
His earnest expression temporarily eased the tension in the room, showcasing the demanding and versatile nature of an assistant’s role.
The meeting then proceeded without further interruption.
Meanwhile, back with Nicole, she, Rhett, and Hallie were in the mediation room, led there by the property management.
Despite Nicole’s desire to disregard Hallie, Hallie was persistent, accusing Nicole of slapping her and demanding retribution.
As tensions escalated among them, Jarrod entered the room.
Hallie, seeing Jarrod, mistakenly thought he had stopped caring for Nicole and felt emboldened. She broke down in tears and falsely accused Nicole. “Jarrod, you must stand up for me. This woman not only insulted me but also hit me.”
Nicole, maintaining a composed demeanor, looked almost amused by the allegations, curious to hear Jarrod’s response amidst the unfolding drama.
Jarrod, showing clear disinterest, fixed his gaze on the nearby bodyguard. His command was sharp, “What are you waiting for? Remove her now.”
Feeling the intensity of Jarrod’s stare, the bodyguard responded swiftly, “Understood, Mr. Schultz. I’ll handle it immediately.”
Hallie, misinterpreting Jarrod’s directive as support for her, grasped his wrist enthusiastically. “Jarrod, you’re the best. Remember, we’re family. That woman is nothing. Doreen has been suffering terribly, losing weight, crying over your indifference…”
Before Hallie could articulate her thoughts fully, she found herself being ushered away by the bodyguard. Puzzled and irritated, she exclaimed, “Hey, hey! You’ve misunderstood. Jarrod instructed you to remove that woman and her lawyer!”
However, the bodyguard had not misunderstood as Hallie had assumed. He understood perfectly that Jarrod had deemed Hallie the troublemaker, not Nicole.
Throughout this critical period, Hallie had been boasting of her connections to the Schultz Group and menacing anyone who challenged her.
Unmoved by Hallie’s protests, the bodyguard firmly escorted her away.
Hallie, unable to accept what was happening, clung to Jarrod, pleading, “Jarrod, do something! Aren’t you going to remove her? She’s your cousin! How can you choose her over your own family?”
Tears streaming down her face, Hallie continued to implore, “Please, say something!”
Jarrod, firm and resolute, finally responded, “Hallie, I’ve told you before. She’s my wife, not some stranger.”
Seeing that his previous explanations had gone unheeded, Jarrod declared coldly, “This is the last time I’ve shown you respect. You and Doreen are going abroad. Our ties end here.”
Jarrod acknowledged the past kindness from Hallie during harder times. Therefore, he had carefully arranged for Doreen to go abroad to avoid further scandal.
Doreen’s actions had not only wronged Nicole but had also entangled her with the Hamptons, a family known not to forget or forgive easily.
Meanwhile, Vicki and Lowe faced their consequences, imprisoned without bail. Their futures looked grim. Lowe’s involvement in serious crimes was likely to earn him a lengthy sentence, potentially over a decade, while Vicki’s secretive dealings had finally caught up with her, ensuring a significant prison term was also in her future.
The extent of their sentences would heavily depend on the Hampton family’s influence.
Even with the Hamptons’ willingness to save Vicki, her future looked bleak, ruined by her past evil deeds.
Doreen had been the least involved and had been detained for only a month, owing in part to Jarrod’s efforts.
Jarrod had sent lawyers to negotiate for Doreen, a gesture that neither Doreen nor Hallie appreciated. To them, Jarrod was a traitor. They assumed he had sided with Nicole and intentionally put Doreen behind bars, even distancing himself from them.
What Doreen and Hallie didn’t know was that the Hampton family had a vindictive nature, and they had already blamed Doreen for Vicki’s ruin. If they decided to seek revenge, the consequences would be severe.
The Watts family also posed a threat. Doreen had only spent a short time with them, but her failure to win Roscoe over turned her into a twisted woman. Many members of the Watts family had been offended by her rude and spoiled behavior.
At present, the Watts family’s power was in decline, and those who had once leeched off their status and influence found themselves at a loss after being driven out by Roscoe. Unable to let go of their accustomed high life, they might resort to desperate measures.
If Doreen remained in Ardlens, it wouldn’t be unlikely for her to cross paths with those from the Watts family who held a grudge and were looking for revenge.
Right now, the best course of action was for Doreen and Hallie to lie low abroad. It was the only way to avoid trouble.
However, neither Doreen nor Hallie understood Jarrod’s good intentions. They were convinced that he had been bewitched by Nicole and was doing everything in her favor.
As she was being taken away, Hallie, seething, protested, “How could you do this to me? Have you forgotten how good I was to you? I helped you when you were nothing! I can’t believe you’re treating your family like this just for that woman!”
It was a feeble claim. The help Hallie had thrown in Jarrod’s face amounted to a paltry sum of a few thousand dollars. She considered herself kind enough not to add fuel to the flames while Jarrod was down and out. Perhaps back then, she had still been human enough for charity.
However, Jarrod’s acts of repaying the kindness far exceeded the value of that small amount of money from long ago.
But Hallie didn’t see things that way. As entitled as ever, she felt that the world owed her everything she desired. Now that Jarrod was a wealthy man, she expected him to give her more. She wanted him to stay unmarried and without children so that all his assets would be left to her.
Greed ran much deeper than anyone could imagine, and endurance for old times’ sake only served to feed it.
If Jarrod hadn’t continuously repaid Hallie out of gratitude and a sense of familial obligation, Hallie and Doreen wouldn’t have developed such a warped sense of entitlement.
After Hallie was whisked away, the commotion gradually fizzled out.
Seeing that Rhett was there, Jarrod knew Nicole must have had something to discuss to summon Rhett over.
“Have you decided?” Jarrod asked.
“Yes,” Nicole replied evenly.
Jarrod waited for Nicole to speak. Instead, Rhett pulled out a document, saying, “Mr. Schultz, this is the agreement drafted per Miss Lawrence’s instructions. Please review it.”
Jarrod took the document and read through it.
The terms Nicole had laid out for keeping the child were similar to Jarrod’s earlier proposal. Her conditions included finalizing their divorce within a week of the child’s birth, leaving no room for delay. It was clear that Nicole had no attachment to their calculated marriage beyond the child.
Apart from this, Nicole insisted on living in her own apartment until the child was born. The setup would grant her freedom, ensuring that Jarrod wouldn’t be able to interfere in her life, including her visits with Austin. Their relationship would be practically divorced, with only the paperwork pending after the child’s birth.
To ensure Jarrod wouldn’t back out, Nicole insisted on involving lawyers and notarizing the agreement. She was all too familiar with Jarrod’s tendency to renege on promises.
Nicole’s choice to keep the child wasn’t just about Jarrod’s proposal. Her mother’s better condition and her own change of heart had led her to this decision.