Crossroads

Chapter 269

Stephanie rushed inside, quickly sliding the glass door shut behind her.

The wind and rain battered against the glass. Soaked to the bone. Stephanie opened her right hand and looked at loose

at the small screw that had fallen

It was early evening, and the st

storm was raging outside with flashes of lighting and booming thunder.

The bright lights inside the room offered a small comfort. She tried to convince herself the screw had simply loosened on its own.

Stephanie cast one last glance at the gloomy balcony, shook off her unease, and headed to the bedroom to change her outht

But her heart was still filled with anxiety and insecurity

She double–locked her bedroom door and turned on every light. The storm outside was a stark contrast to the silence in her room. Even the

sound of her own ragged breathing seemed loud and clear.

Stephanie peeled off her damp clothes and towel–dried her face and hair. She reached for fresh clothes on the bed, her eyes f

falling on the faint scar on her abdomen, a remnant of the C–section.

She stared at it, her cool fingers tracing the nearly invisible line. Oscar had given her some kind of cream, and even the stretch marks had vanished.

It was as if her pregnancy and brief marriage to the Wellington family had been nothing but a dream. All traces were gone, and Dominick had disappeared from her life…

Suddenly, her phone buzzed, shattering the silence.

Her nerves were on edge. She glanced at the phone on her vanity table and hurried over. It was Oscar calling

“Babe, I’m outside,” he said.

Stephanie fraze for a moment before responding “Oh, hold on a sec. She hung up, quickly dressed, and checked her appearance in the vanity mirror.

Suddenly, something caught her eye, and she stared at her reflection.

Stephanie gathered her hair into a bun and lifted her chin, tilting her head to the side. On the smooth skin of her neck, just below her left earlobe. was a faint reddish mark.

Her fingertips brushed against the strange mark. It looked like a hickey.

“A hickey?”

dismissing the thought. It must

He stood straight, and his expensive black coat was drenched through, water droplets clinging to his hair

inside, closing the door behind him.

“Take off your coat. Are you soaked through? Why would you come all this way in

towel and roughly dried his curly hair. Then, be

his clear blue eyes and paused

“There’s a thunderstorm”

at her. After a few more seconds, he sighed and

I’m not scared!” Stephanie snapped back,

Then, he laughed

blue eyes that were almost mesmerizing. When he smiled, his eyes crinkled at the comers, and even his pupils seemed to

and the sight

laughing! I said stop laughing? Stephanie yelled, and her cheeks flushed with

with him like this. It was an unspoken bond between them.

yet she claimed not to be afraid. But he

Chapter 269

in his eyes seemed to deepen. He loved

he

He had picked up on

racing with paranoid thoughts.

however, kept glancing towards

herm

stiffly,

haunted apartment. She’d never hear the end of it. And with that strange mark on her neck, she was even

of hungry. Want some pasta?” Stephanie said as she opened the fridge and pulled out the leftovers from

this morning. It’s a decent portion, and actually pretty tasty,” she added,

Oscar just grabbed a can

She couldn’t help but say

on his task. Whether working or cooking, he always moved efficiently. Watching him cook was surprisingly captivating. His serious expression when he stirred

five plates at the side. They were the dishes she used for takeout a couple of days

got the better of her, and

washing the dishes. Meanwhile, Oscar didn’t pay attention to her efforts, taking some clams from the fridge. cleaning them, and adding

at her with a hint

glanced down at her hands, covered in soap bubbles.

she just

was often the one causing problems, leaving Oscar to clean up her messes without a

room, each with a bowl of clam chowder.

all stuck together. It must have been sitting out for a while. It’s awful” Stephanie took a bite of the microwaved pasta and immediately grimaced, switching to her