Jarrod was not taunting her. He wouldn't need to exert much effort to legally secure custody of the child. Nicole's medical history alone would testify that she wasn't a fit guardian.

"You've always wanted to leave, to be with that man, right?" Jarrod smirked a little, nodding at the door. “There's the door. You can leave right now."

How could Nicole leave? Walking through that door meant fully abandoning Austin and giving up her last chance.

Sitting on the floor, Nicole stared at the paternity report, which revealed a 99.99% match, a cruel irony. Was this child really what Jarrod wanted? No, she suspected the child was just another way for him to control her.

Nicole's eyes glazed over as she managed a bitter smile. “Jarrod, are you trying to destroy me?"

Those words pierced Jarrod like a knife to the heart. He felt as if something was hollowing him out, corroding him from the inside. His love for her was real, but so was his hatred. Why did she always have to be like a venomous creature, always striking out to wound him?

He looked at her coldly. "Do you want to see your mother?"

Nicole's empty heart fluttered weakly. Slowly, she turned her head to him like a puppet and let out her words, one by one. "What did you say?"

"Your mother's alive," Jarrod stated.

Just hearing these words, Nicole deflated like a punctured balloon, all her resistance and defiance vanishing instantly. Jarrod held all the cards now. Her son and her mother.

Nicole was lifted into Jarrod's arms like a limp doll, her head resting under his chin as he inhaled her scent, the very one he had longed to inhale.

“Nicole, you know what I want. Stop being so stubborn, okay?"

Even the doll-like her, held in his arms, could turn his heart, hard as stone, into a complete mess.

Jarrod kissed her hair fervently, his voice raspy. "Do you want me to surrender? I will. Just don't run away anymore. Never again."

For the first time, Jarrod had yielded. Even with two trump cards, he felt utterly powerless against Nicole. The idea that she might not be his, that she could leave at any moment, left him on edge.

Locating Austin brought relief to Jarrod. With Austin, he assumed Nicole wouldn't run away. She would be with him forever.

A sleek black car sped down the asphalt road.

Nicole stared blankly out the window, her eyes reflecting the cold winter night and her own sense of desolation.

From the moment she stepped into the car, she knew things had reached a point of no return. She felt paralyzed, unable to process anything until she saw her mother. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, her mind a chaotic whirl that felt simultaneously full and empty.

Nicole felt like she was losing herself, as if she was suffering from schizophrenia. She had so many thoughts, yet none seemed to be her own.