Crossroads

Chapter 208 

Stephanie woke up to the morning light. 

It had been a long time since she had slept so soundly. She stretched her arms comfortably under the light blanket, staring blankly for a moment before turning her head to look at the spot next to her. 

It was empty. He wasn’t there. 

However, the bed next to her was still a bit warm. Did Dominick come back last night? 

Getting up from the bed, with her big belly, she was languid. Her mind was still groggy. She stared at the spot next to her for a while, uncertain herself. 

“I thought he wasn’t coming back last night,” she murmured. She knew Vincent had invited him out in the middle of the night. 

Lately, their relationship had been awkward and hard to explain. It had been a long time since they had shared the same bed. 

‘What time did he come back to the bedroom last night?‘ she thought. 

She looked up at the clock on the wall, which showed 8 AM. 

For the Wellingtons, this was already late. Although Dominick didn’t have to go to the company recently, feeling the residual warmth of the bed, he had only just woken up. He had slept in until around 8 AM. 

He seemed really tired lately. 

Stephanie felt a bit unsettled. After a quick wash–up, she grabbed her phone and headed downstairs. 

As soon as she reached downstairs, Sandra greeted her. “Good morning, Mrs. Wellington. Would you like to have breakfast here or at the main house?” 

“Has Grandpa already had breakfast at the main house?” 

“Mr. George Wellington always gets up at five and has breakfast at six. Mrs. Mary Wellington and Ms. Wellington have already had breakfast with him.” Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Stephanie felt a bit guilty hearing this. 

Ever since she got pregnant, Dominick had told George that she didn’t need to join them for breakfasts. Since then, she had been sleeping peacefully. 

He had actually helped her a lot. 

Because of his attitude, even the servants treated her with special respect. 

“Um, Dominick… He…” She started. Her words were awkward and hesitant. 

“Mr. Wellington just woke up not long ago as well. He went to Nightingale Villa to discuss some matters with Mr. George Wellington. He should be back soon for breakfast.” 

Seeing her hesitant expression, Sandra smiled, “Mrs. Wellington, why don’t you wait and have breakfast with Mr. Wellington when he returns?” 

“Alright,” she agreed immediately. 

Sitting on the sofa in Breeze Villa’s first–floor living room, Stephanie sipped half a glass of lightly salted water and glanced towards the door. She wondered what Dominick was discussing with George. 

“Maybe it’s about the baby,” she muttered as she pulled out her phone. 

A WhatsApp message from Molly popped up, sent at 6 AM. SnugglePig sent: [Stephanie, your sons are due next month. What should I give them? I’m so nervous right now.] 

Stephanie chuckled and replied: [Why are you nervous? You’re not the one giving birth.] 

SnugglePig replied: [Stephanie, how dare you sleep so late? Has no one gossiped about you?] 

Modern bad habits. Molly was sure Stephanie had just woken up and was checking her phone first thing. 

StephForce typed: [The baby’s dad is an accomplice, so I’m not worried.] 

Stephanie fell into contemplation. Lately, Dominick seemed to be looking quite exhausted. 

SnugglePig replied: [Where will your sons‘ one–month celebration be? It won’t be at Wellington Villa, right? I’m a bit scared to go. There will be of people, won’t there?] 

A few more messages from Molly brought Stephanie back to the present. 

SnugglePig typed: [And one more thing, you promised to let me be your sons’ aunt. Will the Wellingtons be okay with that? What about the keed family?] 

Molly seemed increasingly excited. [Oh no, Stephanie, I suddenly feel like your sons might be out of my league. What if the twins don’t like me?)

StephForce replied: [You’re overthinking it.] She added an eye–roll emoji. 

This response made Molly think of something else, and she became serious, 

SnugglePig typed: [Did you tell Dominick about those strange things you encountered and the bracelet found under the hospital bed 

Stephanic’s smile froze. She held her phone tightly, not replying immediately. 

StephForce replied: [Let’s not worry about it now. We’ll deal with it after the baby is born.] 

Knowing that Stephanie had been troubled lately and was even more anxious as her due date approached, Molly tried to comfort her. You and your husband should sit down and talk things through calmly.] 

“He doesn’t want to talk with me.” Stephanie read Molly’s comforting words, feeling a touch of bitterness as she tugged at the corners of her lips. 

At this moment, she heard footsteps approaching from behind. Sandra suddenly called out to her. “Mrs. Wellington, it looks like Mr. Wellingon might be delayed with Mr. George Wellington. Why don’t you go ahead and eat first? Don’t keep the baby hungry. 

After waiting for thirty minutes, she decided it was best not to wait any longer. 

“Okay.” She glanced towards the door unconsciously and responded indifferently. 

She sent Molly a message.

 Then she prepared to put down her phone and head to the dining room. 

Just as she was about to close WhatsApp, she noticed several unread messages. One of them was a long voice message from Vincent, sent at 3 AM the previous night. 

As she stood up from the sofa and followed Sandra, she played the long voice message without much interest in what he had to say, 

“Stephanie, you witch!” A furious roar came through the message. 

The volume was so loud that even Sandra, who was walking ahead, turned around in surprise. Stephanie felt embarrassed and was immediately annoyed at Vincent. Was he drunk last night and throwing a tantrum at her? 

Frowning slightly, she continued to listen to his tirade. 

“What did Dominick do in his past life to deserve you? He must have committed serious crimes or owed you millions of dollars. Otherwise, why would he marry someone like you?” 

His words were spoken so rapidly that he choked, paused for a second, and continued his angry rant. 

“Stephanie, you’re nothing but trouble! Look at other people’s wives. Do you know how to be gentle and considerate? Do you understand what it means to be virtuous and good? You can’t even match the passion of a nightclub hostess. Why did Dominick marry you? What’s the benefit? You don’t even care when he’s sick…” 

In the end, she vaguely heard Scott sighing, “Vincent, do you want to be thrown into the river?” 

The voice message ended. 

Stephanie stood frozen, clutching her phone tightly. 

Sandra had heard the message clearly, too, and her expression was complex. 

Vincent was Dominick’s most straightforward friend, but this was the first time she had heard such a scathing outburst. 

Given Dominick’s personal matters, the servants wouldn’t dare comment. 

Sandra coughed lightly to break the tension. “Let’s go have some oatmeal before it gets cold,” 

“Okay, Stephanie replied absentmindedly. 

Sitting before the dining table, she quietly ate half a bowl of plain oatmeal and a few bites of steak with green peppers and shrimp. Chewing mechanically, she found the food tasteless. 

Her gaze fell on the empty bowl and cutleries across from her. Sandra had prepared them for Dominick, who was still with George and hadn’t had breakfast yet. 

Just as she put down her cutleries, she heard light footsteps from the front door. Her face lit up with anticipation, and she quickly turned to look. 

She thought Dominick had returned. 

To her surprise, “Yvonne,” she said, clearly not expecting her.