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?”

thought. It must have been from sleeping on it

asked as she opened the door for Oscar. He stood

the door behind

frowned at him and quickly grabbed a dry towel. “Take off your coat. Are you soaked through? Why would you come all this way

the towel and roughly dried his curly hair. Then, be locked eyes w

her with his clear blue eyes and paused before murmuring.

“There’s a thunderstorm”

face remained expressionless. The house was brightly lit, and Oscar continued to stare at her. After a few more seconds, he sighed and added. “You

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

Then, he laughed

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

the sight of

stop laughing? Stephanie yelled,

was the only one who could spar with him like this. It was an

the brightly lit room. All the lights were on, yet

Chapter 269

to deepen. He loved to see her worked

wrong?” he asked

He had picked up on her discomfort within minutes of

with

however, kept glancing

herm

said stiffly, clearly brushing him

it. And with that strange mark on her neck, she was even more resolved to keep

opened the fridge and pulled

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

can of chowder and started

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

moved efficiently. Watching him cook was surprisingly captivating.

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

better of her, and she stepped

taking some clams from the fridge. cleaning them, and adding them to

stop playing around,” he said, looking at her with a

her cheeks flush. She glanced down at her hands, covered in soap bubbles. It seemed like

but she just rinsed the dishes and put them

Oscar to clean up her messes without a word

glass coffee table in the small living room, each with a bowl of clam

out for a while. It’s awful” Stephanie took a bite of the microwaved pasta and immediately grimaced, switching to her bowl of clam