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 vision toward her phone

Dominick…

yet

clenched, she struggled to crawl towards the edge of the bed, using her elbows

to reach

body weakened. With a sudden twist on the bed, she tumbled to

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

dial his number.

Dominick…” Her voice, weak and trembling, called out his name as if grasping for

come to the Royal Park Hotel. I’m not

but it

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

you right now. Is

was

utter a word, felt something choking

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

turned ghostly white, her eyes widening

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

in her mind, and

overwhelmed with fear,

losing her child to a

and even her breaths became uneven. Panic seized her, clouding her mind as she

save

phone to Dominick! Give it to him! My child! Ask him

Chapter 55

baby, but I want, and I can raise my child by myself…” Her voice

save me…” She choked

me, save

phone you have dialed

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

“Save me…

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

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

it remained motionless, her

screen illuminated the room,

the entire suite

“Save my child…”

“What’s wrong?”

on the bed, her voice sweet as she addressed the man outside the ward window, sensing

something urgent

phone and glanced quickly, finding no missed calls.

alone in the hospital.

panicked. She scrambled from the bed without a care for

hospital for observation

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

don’t leave.”

glanced at her tear–stained face, his expression a

Sir, you should stay with her. Plus, you

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

He looked up at the

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

Jessica tore up in anxiety. “What if the crew thinks I’m slowing

10:37 Sat, 22 Jun

Chapter 55