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 her phone on

Dominick…

gripped her heart, yet his name echoed relentlessly in her

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

needed to

With a sudden twist on the bed, she tumbled to the

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 before she

dial his number.

out his

Royal Park Hotel. I’m not feeling well.

call connected, but it

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

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

call was

utter a word, felt something choking her throat,

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

looked down, her face turned ghostly white, her eyes widening

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

was only one thought echoing in her mind, and

her pale lips quivered as she uttered incoherent whispers. She was overwhelmed with fear, forgetting the

she losing her child

uneven. Panic seized her,

save

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

Chapter 55

baby, but I want, and I can raise my child

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

save

phone you have dialed

Stephanie’s heart into the abyss, as if there

“Save me…

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

at the phone screen,

beside it remained

illuminated the

enveloped the entire

“Save my child…”

“What’s wrong?”

moment in the hospital emergency room, a woman lay on the bed, her voice sweet as she addressed the man outside the ward window, sensing

urgent

no missed calls. Yet, an inexplicable agitation

leave me alone in the

bed without a care for the IV

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

insistence, Jessica was adamant, clutching Dominick’s right arm tightly,

don’t leave.”

glanced at her tear–stained face, his expression a

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

High School when, by a twist of fate, his car collided with

is she?” He looked up at the approaching

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

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