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?”

Stephanie let her hair down, dismissing the thought.

door for Oscar. He stood straight, and his expensive black

the door

him and quickly grabbed a dry towel. “Take off your coat. Are you soaked through? Why would you come all this way in the rain? Something wrong?”

dried his curly hair. Then, be

his clear blue

“There’s a thunderstorm”

lit, and Oscar continued to stare at her. After a few more seconds, he sighed and added. “You get

Stephanie snapped back, irritated by

Then, he laughed

smiled, his

smiled, and the sight of it now

stop laughing? Stephanie yelled, and

who could spar with him

lit room. All the lights were on, yet she claimed not to be

Chapter 269

eyes seemed to deepen. He loved to see her

he

perceptive. He had picked up on her discomfort within

racing with paranoid

kept glancing

herm

stiffly, clearly brushing

tell him about the haunted apartment. She’d never hear the end of it. And with

of hungry. Want some pasta?” Stephanie said as she opened the fridge and pulled out the leftovers from that morning, planning to hear them in the microwave.

portion, and actually pretty

can of chowder and started cooking.

the side, watching him maneuver around the cramped kitchen. She couldn’t help but say again. “You don’t have

Whether working or cooking, he always moved efficiently. Watching him cook was surprisingly captivating. His serious expression when he stirred the chowder with a long spoon

failure she was as a woman, feeling guilty as she glanced at the pile of three or five plates at the side. They were the dishes she used for takeout a couple of days ago.

better of her,

some clams from the fridge. cleaning

playing around,” he said, looking at her with a hint of helplessness.

flush. She glanced down at her hands, covered in soap bubbles. It seemed like she was indeed playing around.

playing. Stephanie retorted stubbornly, but she just rinsed the dishes and put

one causing problems, leaving Oscar to clean up her messes without a word of

the small living room, each with a bowl of clam chowder. Oscar had added some kind of

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 bowl of clam chowder instead.