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

blurred vision toward her phone on

Dominick…

gripped her heart, yet his

with tears and jaw clenched, she struggled to crawl towards the edge of the

to

weakened. With a sudden twist

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

dial his number.

out his name as if grasping for

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

to?” The call connected, but

“Dominick is busy with me right now,

time for you right now. Is there anything you need me to tell

call was

to utter a word, felt something choking her throat, making

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

turned ghostly

suppress the frantic thumping of her heart, she was met with a horrifying sight–a dark red pool gushing from between

thought echoing in

overwhelmed with fear, forgetting the

she losing her child to

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

me, save

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

Chapter 55

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

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

me, save

have dialed

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

“Save me…

fixed on the dark red pool between her legs as the heavy scent of blood filled the room. Was

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

woman beside it remained motionless, her eyes

illuminated the

entire suite in

“Save my child…”

“What’s wrong?”

lay on the bed, her voice sweet

urgent

finding no missed calls. Yet, an inexplicable

me alone

She scrambled from the bed without a care for the IV drip and threw herself at him. “Don’t

in the hospital for observation tonight,

right arm tightly, her voice faint with

don’t leave.”

tear–stained face, his expression a mix

interjected, “It’s your duty to accompany your girlfriend. Sir, you should stay with her. Plus,

twist of fate, his car collided with the one driven by Jessica at a turn while he was answering

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 for

could I rest?” Jessica tore up in anxiety.

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Chapter 55