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 his

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

to

With a sudden twist on the bed,

from being bitten, she crawled forward in a frenzy, finally reaching

dial his number.

and trembling, called out his name

Park Hotel.

The call connected, but it was a

is busy with me right now, and

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

was

something choking her throat, making it hard to

frantic heap on the floor, clutching the phone tightly in

down, her face turned ghostly white, her eyes

to suppress the frantic thumping of her heart, she was met with a horrifying sight–a dark

only one thought echoing in her mind, and it was her

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

her child to

Panic seized her, clouding

me, save my

the phone, “Jessica, give the phone to Dominick! Give it

Chapter 55

don’t want the baby, but I want, and I can raise my child

won’t disturb your lives. Please, I beg you, save me…” She choked on tears as she pleaded in a

save my

you have

each iteration plunging Stephanie’s heart into

“Save me…

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

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

remained motionless, her eyes tightly

illuminated the room,

the entire suite

“Save my child…”

“What’s wrong?”

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

urgent to attend

his phone and glanced quickly, finding no

don’t leave me alone

without a care for the IV drip and threw

in an accident and your body is weak. You must stay in the hospital for observation tonight, so you can’t leave,” the nurse said, rushing to her aid as she got up from the

right arm tightly, her voice faint with

don’t leave.”

glanced at her tear–stained face, his expression

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

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 turn while he was answering

she?” He looked up at

stern gaze, calmly stating, “She’s fine physically, with a minor concussion and a fractured right

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

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Chapter 55