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

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Chapter 55

pale complexion, she turned her blurred vision toward her phone on the

Dominick…

yet his name echoed relentlessly in her

the edge of the bed, using her elbows for support. Her trembling

needed to

a sudden twist on

from her scraped back, the disheveled hair clinging to her forehead, and her lips that were now bleeding from being bitten, she crawled forward in a frenzy, finally

dial his number.

Dominick…” Her voice, weak and trembling, called out

the Royal Park Hotel. I’m not feeling well.

but it was a woman who

hint of intimacy. “Dominick is busy with me right now, and

he doesn’t have time for you right now.

was hung

felt something choking

from the corners of her eyes as she lay in a frantic heap on the floor, clutching the phone tightly in her right hand, feeling utterly hopeless and humiliated. With another wave of

face turned ghostly white,

to suppress the frantic thumping of her heart, she was

only one thought echoing in her mind,

pale lips quivered as she uttered incoherent whispers. She was overwhelmed with fear, forgetting the pain in her body as a greater terror engulfed

her child to

the phone again, and even her breaths became uneven. Panic seized her, clouding her mind as she continued to call out

save my

“Jessica, give the phone to Dominick! Give it to him! My child! Ask him to send

Chapter 55

I want, and I can raise my child

beg you, save me…” She choked on tears as she pleaded

me, save

you have dialed is turned

repeated, each iteration plunging Stephanie’s heart into the abyss, as if there

“Save me…

dark red pool between her legs as the heavy scent

with tears as she gazed at the phone screen, her trembling fingers poised to dial 911, but suddenly, all

woman beside it remained

illuminated the room,

the entire

“Save my child…”

“What’s wrong?”

lay on the bed, her voice sweet

something urgent

quickly, finding no missed calls.

don’t leave me alone

from the bed without a care for the IV drip and threw

is weak. You must stay in the hospital for observation tonight, so you can’t leave,” the nurse said, rushing to her aid as she got up from

the nurse’s insistence, Jessica was adamant, clutching Dominick’s right arm

don’t leave.”

glanced at her tear–stained face, his expression a mix of

Sir, you should stay with

fate, his car collided with the one driven by Jessica at a turn while

is she?” He looked up at the approaching

young doctor glanced at Jessica before meeting Dominick’s stern gaze, calmly stating, “She’s fine physically, with a minor concussion and

could I rest?” Jessica tore up in anxiety. “What if the crew thinks I’m slowing them down and replaces

10:37 Sat, 22 Jun

Chapter 55