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?”

seemed absurd. Stephanie let her hair down, dismissing the thought. It must have been from sleeping on

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

closing the door behind

frowned at him and quickly grabbed a dry towel. “Take off your coat. Are you

dried his curly hair.

with his clear blue

“There’s a thunderstorm”

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

I’m not scared!” Stephanie snapped back, irritated by his

Then, he laughed

almost mesmerizing. When he smiled, his eyes crinkled at the comers, and even his pupils seemed to sparkle with a

smiled, and the sight of it now was

said stop laughing? Stephanie yelled, and her cheeks flushed with anger.

with him like this. It

All the lights were on, yet she claimed not to be afraid. But he wouldn’t

Chapter 269

deepen. He loved to see her worked up.

he

up on her

racing with paranoid thoughts.

however, kept glancing towards the

herm

stiffly, clearly brushing

And with that strange mark on her neck, she was

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

and actually

grabbed a can

kitchen. She couldn’t help but say again. “You

and focused on his task. 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

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

got the better of her,

and began washing the dishes. Meanwhile, Oscar didn’t pay attention to her efforts, taking some clams from the fridge. cleaning them, and adding them to the chowder. When he turned his head, he saw Stephanie enthusiastically washing the dishes.

around,” he said, looking at

glanced down at her hands, covered in soap bubbles.

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 complaint. And now

a bowl of clam chowder. Oscar had

sitting out for a while. It’s awful” Stephanie took a bite of the microwaved pasta