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

a pale complexion, she turned her blurred

Dominick…

heart, yet his name echoed relentlessly in

crawl towards the edge of the bed, using her elbows for support.

needed to reach

weakened. With a sudden twist

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

dial his number.

weak and trembling, called out his name as

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

The call connected, but it was a woman who

hint of intimacy. “Dominick is busy with

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

call was hung

word, felt something choking her throat, making it hard to

streamed 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 pain in her stomach, she wailed

down, her face turned ghostly white, her

thumping of her heart, she was met with a horrifying

one thought echoing in her mind, and it was

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

her child

the phone again, and even her breaths became uneven. Panic

me, save my

cried out almost desperately, shouting into the phone, “Jessica, give the phone to Dominick! Give it to him! My child! Ask him to send someone

Chapter 55

can raise my child by myself…” Her voice trembled

lives. Please, I beg you, save me…” She choked on tears as

me, save my

phone you have dialed

cold, automated voice repeated, each iteration plunging Stephanie’s heart into the

“Save me…

pool between her legs as the heavy scent of blood filled the room. Was that

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

remained motionless, her eyes

phone screen illuminated

enveloped the entire

“Save my child…”

“What’s wrong?”

a woman lay on the bed, her voice sweet as she addressed

urgent to attend

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

me alone in the hospital. I’m

She scrambled from the bed without a care for the IV drip and threw herself

for observation

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

don’t leave.”

her tear–stained face, his expression a mix

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

two hours earlier, Dominick had just left Elite High School when, by a twist of fate, his car collided with the one driven by Jessica at a

she?” He looked

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

anxiety. “What if

10:37 Sat, 22 Jun

Chapter 55