Crossroads

Chapter 55

“Wait, just a moment…”

Stephanie abruptly halted the taxi, but soon, a tinge of embarrassment crossed her face as she said, “Never mind, please continue.”

“Miss, you seem a bit pale,” the taxi driver remarked, casting a concerned glance her way.

Phanie offered a strained smile and assured him, “I’m alright.”

Her gaze drifted to the left window of the car, her expression tinged with disappointment.

A fleeting uncertainty gripped her, ‘Was it him, or was it not?”

“Why am I even concerning myself with him?” she murmured, her head bowed in frustration.

Upon returning to her suite in Royal Park Hotel, Stephanie checked the time. It was already eight in the evening.

Restless, she suddenly recalled something and rushed to the bed, grabbing the hotel phone to dial the internal line. “Hello, has anyone visited me during my absence?”

Despite the polite response from the hotel staff, her disappointment deepened. “Oh, I see. Thank you.”

She was even worried that he might miss her while she was out at the milkshake shop and had rushed back for him.

“Wait, why would I be worried that he missed to catch me here?” she thought.

An inexplicable stir of emotions coursed through her, leaving her bewildered.

“What is he so busy with?” Stephanie pondered, perched at the bed’s edge, eyeing her suitcase hesitantly. “Should I wait for him to return to Havencrest with me?”

Finally, after washing her face in the bathroom, she made a resolve. If Dominick failed to contact her tonight, she’d secure a flight back to Havencrest the next morning.

“Is it work or another’s company that consumes him?”

Knowing Dominick’s demanding schedule and the weight of responsibilities atop his shoulders, Stephanie couldn’t help but empathize with him. She often saw him working late into the night in his study

She was his wife, but

it she grappled with expressing

ssing her concern for him amidst his hectic life.

Lying on the bed, Stephanie scrolled through her phone, hesitating with something. “Would I disturb him now if I called him?”

Suddenly, a sharp pang

gwracked her abdomen, causing her to double over and drop her phone.

“Ouch, it hurts…” Stephanie winced, her complexion drained as she clutched her midsection.

Labored breaths escaped her as the pain intensified.

Beads of cold sweat dotted her forehead as trembling overtook her frame, thwarting her attempts to rise

Stephanie gasped, grappling with the agony. Perplexed by the sudden onset of discomfort despite her normalcy throughout the day, she mumbled, “Why is this happening

10:37 Sat

Chapter 55

her blurred vision toward her phone on the

Dominick…

and helplessness gripped her heart, yet his name echoed

the edge of the bed, using her

to reach

breaths came in disarray, her body weakened. With a sudden twist

her forehead, and her lips that were now bleeding from being bitten, she crawled forward in a frenzy, finally reaching

dial his number.

out

to the Royal Park Hotel. I’m not

to?” The call connected, but it was a woman

and flirtatious, carried a hint of intimacy. “Dominick is busy

for you right now. Is there anything you

was

felt something choking her throat,

floor, clutching the phone tightly in her right hand, feeling utterly hopeless and humiliated. With another wave of pain in her

she looked down, her face turned

her breath, unable to suppress the frantic thumping of her heart, she was met with a

was only one thought echoing in her

as she uttered incoherent whispers. She was overwhelmed with fear, forgetting the pain in her body as a

she losing her

even her breaths became uneven. Panic seized her, clouding her mind as she continued to call

save

out almost desperately, shouting into the phone, “Jessica, give the phone to

Chapter 55

don’t want the baby, but I want, and I can raise

disturb your lives. Please, I beg you, save me…” She choked

save

you have dialed is turned

cold, automated voice repeated, each iteration plunging Stephanie’s heart into the abyss, as if there was no hope of

“Save me…

legs as the heavy scent of blood filled the room. Was that the smell

at the phone screen, her trembling fingers poised

it remained

screen illuminated the room,

the entire suite in an

“Save my child…”

“What’s wrong?”

woman lay on the bed, her voice

something urgent to

finding no missed

leave me alone in the

him about to leave, she panicked. She scrambled from the bed without a care

been in an accident and your body is weak. You must stay in the hospital for observation tonight, so you can’t leave,”

nurse’s insistence, Jessica was adamant, clutching Dominick’s right arm tightly, her voice faint

don’t leave.”

her tear–stained face, his expression a mix of

your duty to accompany your girlfriend. Sir, you should stay with her. Plus, you bear some

just left Elite High School when, by a twist of fate, his car collided with the one driven by Jessica at a turn while he was answering

is she?” He looked up at the

stern gaze, calmly stating, “She’s fine physically, with a minor concussion and a fractured right wrist. She shouldn’t exert herself for

How could I rest?” Jessica tore up in anxiety. “What if the crew thinks I’m

10:37 Sat, 22 Jun

Chapter 55