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

turned her blurred vision toward

Dominick…

and helplessness gripped her heart, yet his name echoed relentlessly in

clenched, she struggled to crawl towards the edge of the bed, using her elbows for support. Her trembling hand reached out for the phone on the

to

a sudden twist on the bed, she tumbled to

pain 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 reaching for her phone. Her trembling fingers swiped the screen several times

dial his number.

and trembling, called out his name as if grasping for

come to the Royal Park Hotel. I’m not

to?” The call connected, but it was a

of intimacy. “Dominick is busy with me right now, and we’re quite occupied. He’s spending the night with

doesn’t have time for you right now. Is there anything you need me

call was

something choking her throat, making it

heap on the floor, clutching the phone tightly in her right hand, feeling

face turned ghostly white, her eyes

heart, she was met with a horrifying sight–a dark

in her mind, and it was

uttered incoherent whispers. She was overwhelmed with fear, forgetting

she losing her

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

save

“Jessica, give the phone to

Chapter 55

can raise my child by myself…”

won’t disturb your lives. Please, I beg you, save me…” She choked on

me, save

you have

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

“Save me…

dark red pool between her legs as the heavy scent of blood

phone screen, her trembling fingers poised to dial 911, but suddenly,

remained

screen illuminated the

entire suite in

“Save my child…”

“What’s wrong?”

woman lay on the bed, her voice sweet as she addressed the man outside the ward

urgent to

his phone and glanced quickly, finding no missed calls. Yet, an inexplicable agitation

don’t leave me alone in the hospital.

bed without a care for the IV

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 tightly, her voice faint with pleading,

don’t leave.”

her tear–stained face, his expression

your girlfriend. Sir, you should stay with her. Plus, you bear some responsibility for this

had 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

is she?” He looked up

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

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

10:37 Sat, 22 Jun

Chapter 55