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

complexion, she turned her blurred vision

Dominick…

her heart, yet his name echoed relentlessly

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

to

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

the pain from her scraped back, the disheveled 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 the screen several times

dial his number.

out his name as if

Royal Park Hotel. I’m not

The call connected, but it was a woman who

voice, sweet and flirtatious, carried a hint of intimacy. “Dominick is busy with me right now, and

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

was hung

word, felt something choking her

of her eyes as she lay in a frantic heap on the floor, clutching the phone tightly in her right hand, feeling

turned

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

in her mind, and

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

she losing her child to

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

save my

almost desperately, shouting into the phone, “Jessica, give the phone to Dominick! Give

Chapter 55

baby, but I want, and I can raise

I beg you, save me…” She choked on tears as she pleaded in a

save

you have

repeated, each iteration plunging Stephanie’s heart into the

“Save me…

legs as the heavy scent of

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

the woman beside it remained motionless, her eyes

illuminated

entire suite

“Save my child…”

“What’s wrong?”

room, a woman lay on the bed, her voice sweet as

urgent to attend

no missed calls.

me alone

the bed without a care for the IV drip

the hospital for observation tonight, so you can’t leave,” the nurse said, rushing to her aid as she got up from the

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

don’t leave.”

her tear–stained face, his

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

just left Elite High School when, by a twist of fate, his car

looked up at the

Jessica before meeting Dominick’s stern gaze, calmly stating, “She’s fine physically, with a

started. How could I rest?” Jessica tore up in anxiety. “What if

10:37 Sat, 22 Jun

Chapter 55