Crossroads

In the guest room on the first floor of Reed Villa, Claire grabbed her phone and glared at the image of a man and a woman on the screen. "Courtney, look at this... What should I do now?"All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

She looked anxious as she pulled on Courtney, who had just entered the room. "Courtney, I can't believe Kevin confessed his feelings to Stephanie. What should I do now?"

Although the video didn't capture Stephanie's and Kevin's conversation clearly, his declaration, "Give me a chance, I was wrong" was loud enough, and gossip- hungry netizens had already started imagining all sorts of sentimental scenarios.

Courtney was shocked by the scandalous video, exclaiming. "Weren't they emotionally estranged and already divorced? How dare Stephanie still try to compete with you!"

"Courtney, what should I do? I have a daughter now, and even if I were to marry someone else, people would look down on me," Claire asked urgently.

Courtney scolded her, "I told you, you're not mature enough. You've been back in the country for over two months, carrying Kevin's child, yet you've wasted all this time and still haven't secured him. However, Stephanie, who is a divorcee, has married Dominick and become a part of the Wellington family." When she said the last part, her tone tinged with envy.

Claire responded, "Do you think I haven't mentioned getting a marriage license to Kevin? I've brought it up several times, but he always says he needs to think about it, and he never looks happy when I mention it. Courtney, didn't you teach me not to push men? I'm afraid of pushing him too hard."

She then shook Courtney's arm and pleadingly said, "Okay, enough is enough, Courtney. I'm really anxious now. Please give me some advice."

"You"

're really useless," Courtney said with an air of arrogance and a hint of smugness. "Back when Stephanie's mother was the first heiress of the Clark family, I managed to drive her away just the same. Stephanie is nothing. She's stubborn and doesn't try to please others. Her grandmother and father don't like her, she has no one to support her and can't cause much trouble. Stephanie is easy to deal with."

After saying that, she paused, and a sinister look crossed her eyes. Afterward, Courtney ominously added, "The most valuable thing about Stephanie right now is the child she's carrying. You just need to...

Claire's eyes widened slightly as she listened to Courtney.

"Could this really work?" Claire became frightened. “What if..."

"What if what? Don't tell me I didn't teach you what to do. If you're not ruthless enough, you won't be able to take anything and will end up crying with your daughter. Now, stop bothering me," Courtney coldly instructed.

With that, she walked out, immediately switching to a flattering smile as she cozied up to Gary, calling him to dinner like a dutiful, kind wife.

Meanwhile, Claire stood by the door with her right hand clutching her phone tightly, her heart pounding chaotically.

Suddenly, she lowered her head and quickly tapped the phone screen, and soon, the videos were forwarded to another phone.

:66%0

Just then, a phone chimed and vibrated a few times, indicating a new message had arrived.

At that moment, Vincent was in the ninth-floor VIP hospital room. She called Dominick, who was in the bathroom, "Dominick, you've just received a strange message. Just like the last photo, it was sent from a satellite phone SIM card."

He chuckled teasingly, "Dominick, this might be another photo for you to catch someone in the act."

Dominick changed out of his hospital gown into a neat shirt and trousers, stepping out of the bathroom.

He glanced at Vincent and urged, "Hurry and check out of the hospital." Upon seeing Dominick seemingly unconcerned about the new message, Vincent didn't dwell on it, only smirking more mischievously. "Hmm? Dominick, are you missing Stephanie so much that a day apart feels like an eternity? You've ignored her for two days, and now you can't wait to rush back to the hotel to see her, right?"

Since Dominick was allergic to mangoes, the doctor had him hospitalized for an IV treatment.

He was furious and thought, 'It's all Stephanie's fault. Why does she have to drink mango-flavored milkshakes out of all the choices?'

Recalling Stephanie's dejected expression, Vincent laughed even more sinisterly. "Dominick, when I told Stephanie that you didn't want to see her these past days, she was really upset and promised she wouldn't dare court you or try to kiss you again."

Upon seeing Vincent laughing so overly, Dominick really felt like hitting him.

However, he didn't lose his temper. Instead, he imagined Stephanie's pleading look and felt a strange urge to laugh.

Soon after, Dominick and Vincent walked side by side, preparing to leave the hospital through the lobby on the first floor.

However, just as they were passing through the main entrance of the hospital, they walked by a young man engrossed in a video on his phone.

"I think the real reason this video is going viral is that the woman in it has a stunning figure," the young man chuckled as he chatted on WhatsApp with a friend and replayed the trending video.

Suddenly, the young man shouted defensively, "Hey, what are you doing?! Are you stealing my phone?!"

Dominick had snatched the phone from him in one swift move. The young man then reached out but couldn't retrieve his phone as Dominic was six feet and one inch tall. When he saw Dominick's face darken slightly, he became somewhat frightened.

Vincent frowned in confusion and moved closer to Dominick, about to ask what had happened.

At that moment, Dominick's expression suddenly turned grim, and he furiously threw the phone onto the polished marble floor of the hospital lobby. He seemed as if trying to hold back an explosion of emotions. Dominick quickly pulled out his own phone and clicked open the anonymous message he had just received.

He stared intently at the couple on the phone screen and then suddenly clenched his phone as if he wanted to crush it. Afterward, Dominick turned back toward the hospital ward, striding away.

Vincent, having no idea what had transpired, hurried after him. "Dominick, what on earth happened?"

The young man furiously grabbed his arm and raised his voice, demanding compensation, "Pay up! You snatched my phone and damaged it! Do you think you can just leave?"

Vincent sensed that something was seriously wrong with Dominick and wasn't in the mood to deal with the young man, so he shouted, "How much do you want?

Name your pricel"

But this remark only infuriated the young man further, who then burst out shouting. "Don't think I'm scared just because you have some money. I'm calling the police. You're not going anywhere!"

Vincent was held up by the young man and couldn't leave immediately.

He looked anxiously at Dominick's retreating figure and wondered, 'What's going on? He looks really angry!

Meanwhile, Dominick pressed the elevator button furiously for the sixth floor with a menacing look.

When the elevator doors dinged open again, he headed straight for one of the wards.

Dominick pushed the door of the room open with a bang, causing Stephanie, who was inside, to immediately look up in alarm.

She thought in shock, 'Dominick?'

At that moment, Stephanie was in a hospital gown, and her face was pale and weak. She was really surprised to see Dominick suddenly appear in her ward.

Yet, she noticed something odd about Dominick. Stephanie pondered, 'It seems that he is very angry?"

Stephanie asked, "Dominick, how did you know I am in the hospital?"

She had been unconscious for over ten hours and hadn't had the chance to inform Dominick about what had happened. Now, the first thing Stephanie saw upon waking up was him. She was moved.

He was usually not very talkative, but this time, as he looked into Stephanie's eyes, he spoke in a restrained tone. "Everyone knows you're in the hospital. How could I not know?"

"Ms. Reed, you're awake." At that moment, a nurse walked in with a smile, ready to change her IV fluid.

The nurse didn't forget to remind her, "Ms. Reed, saving others is important, but you also need to take care of your own health."

Stephanie's mind was still a bit foggy. She looked at the nurse and then turned back to Dominick, who was standing at the foot of her bed, confused.

She was even more perplexed. "Last night, I...”

"When you were brought in last night, you already had a fever of 103.3 Fahrenheit. Swimming vigorously in the river in this cold weather caused you to suddenly feel sick, leading to your coma," the nurse said earnestly. "Our chief doctor checked on you and said that the child inside you is only about 7 weeks. Your dive into the river last night was too much for the fetus to bear...

Upon hearing that, Stephanie's face turned ashen, and she placed her right hand on her flat abdomen. "Then... My baby..."

"A 7-week-old fetus is very fragile. How could you have no sense of safety as a mother? The fetus was greatly affected and you

nearly miscarried," the nurse replied gently. Upon seeing Stephanie's face grow even paler, she added comfortingly, "Now all we can do is try to save the pregnancy. Please, let's not have this happen again. The baby could easily suffer complications after birth..."

Dominick, who had been standing by the hospital bed, suddenly said harshly, "There's no need to save the baby."

He stepped forward, glared down at Stephanie on the bed with his piercing eyes, and commanded in a cold, measured tone, "Remove the baby. There's no need to save the pregnancy."

Upon hearing Dominick's ruthless words, Stephanie's lips trembled in fright. "Dominick, I... I don't..."

He immediately interjected, "Stephanie, do you even have the right to say no?"

Dominick menacingly walked over to the bedside, pressed his hands down on Stephanie's shoulders, and pinned her to the bed before looking down at her with a distant, cold gaze.

He coldly scolded, "Stephanie, have you ever taken the baby seriously? Have you ever care about the baby's existence? You've nearly miscarried time and again. You just treated it as a burden, instead of a life!"

Stephanie weakly retorted with a pale face, "That's not true!"

She thought anxiously, "I never saw the baby as a burden, I just...didn't consider it at the time..."

Dominick then abruptly let go of Stephanie as if disgusted. When he clearly saw the guilt in her eyes, he grew even angrier, saying: "There are plenty of women who could bear my children. This child was just an accident anyway, and I don't want it now! And you, Stephanie, you don't have the right either...

"Remove the child from her womb!"

Dominick's heavy footsteps echoed as he stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.

In the oppressive silence of the hospital room, his cold voice continued to echo again and again.

"I don't want it now. And you, Stephanie, you don't have the right..."

"Remove the child from her womb..."

Stephanie lay listlessly on the bed and just stared blankly at the white ceiling of the ward.

She thought, 'Remove the child?"

This child was a surprise for Stephanie, completely altering her life's course. She had never planned E

to marry Dominick or become a part of the Wellington family.

She then thought that without the baby, she could return to a normal life.

Stephanie tried to convince herself not to be too upset and to remind herself that she was never meant to be in his world.

When the ward door opened again, two men in doctor's coats entered and said coldly, "Ms. Reed, please come with us to the operating room..."

11:22 Fri, 21 June Chapter 28

Stephanie looked at them, her body trembling uncontrollably as she slowly got up from the bed.

With a complex expression on her face, she fiercely ripped off the IV from her arm.

"No!" Stephanie shouted in a hoarse pushed past the two men, and fearfully ran out the door.