Crossroads

Holding her blanket, Stephanie turned over comfortably in bed and suddenly opened her eyes..

It was already 9 a.m., and she nervously got out of bed...

She felt a bit strange. Normally, she would be woken up at 5 a.m. by Sandra to have breakfast with George. She wondered why nobody had ruined her dreams today.

Sitting on the bed, she glanced around the bedroom and looked to her side..

Dominick didn't come back last night.

Thinking of Dominick, Stephanie felt a bit upset.

Stephanie quickly y got out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. As she grabbed a towel to wipe her face, she suddenly noticed that the injury on her right hand had improved significantly.

Frowning, she carefully examined and sniffed her fingers, detecting a faint medicinal scent.

Stephanie wondered who had applied medicine to her.

re you awake?" Sandra pushed the door open, carrying a bowl of oatmeal.

"Mrs. Wellington, are you

"Did you call the doctor last night?" Stephanie popped her head out of the bathroom and asked Sandra.

Sandra quickly placed the oatmeal on the table, looking worried. "No, Mr. Wellington asked us not to wake you up this morning. Mrs. Wellington, are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine," Stephanie said, her face darkening.

After finishing the oatmeal, Stephanie curled up on the bed in the bedroom, her thoughts in turmoil.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she stared at her injured right hand, wondering if he had treated her with medicine.

She pondered if Dominick came back this morning...

She wondered if Dominick had been with Jessica last night. She suddenly wanted to know.

Feeling uneasy, Stephanie turned around and immediately grabbed her phone, searching for Jessica's name, and a bunch of related news popped up.

Scrolling through the messages, she gradually felt gloomy.

Her gaze fell on a photo on the phone screen, taken in the underground parking lot of Flaming Bar. It only caught Jessica's back instead of her face, but the stern profile of that man beside her....

Stephanie immediately recognized him as Dominick

"They're so impatient, doing this in public..." She bit her lip, feeling uncomfortable.

She glared at the photo, feeling annoyed. "Are you blind? What's good about Jessica? She's had plastic surgery!"

But Dominick just happened to like her, H6%

Vincent had even said that Dominick had only had one girlfriend, and that was his beloved Jessica.

"I won't mention the plastic surgery thing again, lest I get scolded by him again." Stephanie felt irritated and threw her phone aside.

The door suddenly opened as she tossed her phone onto the bedside table.

Stephanie instinctively looked up, and he was looking at her by the door.

Their eyes met, both looking a bit gloomy, and they remained silent.

Stephanie turned away first and moved to the head of the bed as if hiding something. She picked up her phone and immediately deleted the browsing history.

She didn't want him to know that she was checking the rumors about Jessica and him.

She didn't want him to know, didn't want to feel more humiliated.

Dominick didn't know what she was thinking, just stared at her and walked towards the bed.

"Why did you go to Flaming Bar with Vincent last night?" he suddenly asked in a deep voice.

When Stephanie heard him mention last night's events, her face darkened. "It's nothing," she replied perfunctorily.

Dominick looked at her eyes, growing angrier, and tried to soften his tone as he spoke, "You're not allowed to go to Flaming Bar..."

"Why?" Stephanie suddenly looked up at him.

"Are you forbidding me from going out because of the Wellington family's rules? Or is it because you're afraid I'll embarrass you?"

Thinking of last night and the car sex photo just now, she became resentful and defiant.

"Ms. Carter is a top movie star. Her news is all over the internet and magazines. I look so much like her. Why can she...

"You're not like her!"

His voice sounded strange, but he blurted it out.

Dominick looked at her, his gaze tinged with melancholy as he coldly warned, "When I say no, it means no! From now on, Stephanie, a bodyguard will keep you safe whenever you go out. Stop causing trouble all the time. I don't have time to keep an eye on you."

She couldn't understand the cold and somber emotion in his eyes and suddenly felt a bit aggrieved. Every he used different standards to treat her and Jessica.

She didn't want to argue with him. She kept reminding herself that she had no right to care about these things, but sometimes, she just couldn't help it.

She always cared.

Though he was indifferent, sometimes, she wanted to pretend to ignore his tenderness towards her but greedily wanted to get it.

Stephanie looked down, her eyes slightly red.

She e got out of bed and walked to the wardrobe to wear a coat, she said softly, her tone noticeably cold.

then head headed towards the door. "I'll go downstairs to accompany Grandpa,"

On the other hand, Dominick gazed at her with a gloomy look. Just as she reached the bedroom door, he suddenly called out to her,

"Stephanie."

Stephanie paused but didn't turn back.

She waited for his command. She thought that apart from ordering her, he wouldn't say anything else.

"That cake." he asked, his tone containing some restrained emotions.

Upon hearing the word "cake," Stephanie jolted and turned to look at the table in the left living room, almost forgetting that she had ordered a birthday cake yesterday.

"That's something I suddenly wanted to buy for myself!" she raised her voice as if denying something.

Dominick was slightly taken aback by her words.

Stephanie then hurried to the table, picked up the specially ordered tiramisu, and turned around, throwing it directly into the nearby trash can.

Dominick's eyes widened slightly, his gaze dark and intense as he looked at her.

Stephanie didn't dare to look at his dark expression. Tightly pressing her lips, she briskly walked past him and went downstairs.

Dominick walked to the trash can, looking at the ruined cake with mockery.

He thought she bought it to celebrate for him...

"Yesterday was Dominick's birthday, but we never celebrate Winter Festival..."

In Wellington Villa's hall, George was leisurely sipping his coffee, feeling good as he played chess with Stephanie and talked to her about Dominick.

Stephanie didn't want to hear about Dominick's matters. She kept a straight face and pretended not to know. "Oh, really? So yesterday was his birthday." George looked at the chessboard, casually made a move, and asked, "Brad said you bought a cake yesterday..."

"I threw it away."

Stephanie was somewhat annoyed.

Then, she picked up a Knight without hesitation and captured George's Rook.

"You! What are you doing!"

Having lost a Rook, George immediately shouted at her, displeased, "Do you even know how to play chess?"

"Chess games are ruthless!"

Stephanie glanced at George, feeling that the Wellingtons were all annoying,

"Grandpa, do you want to take back your move?"

George's face darkened Brad, who was watching nearby, chuckled, "Mrs. Wellington, you're really good at chess," he praised.

"Of course, I'm even better at the plano!" Stephanie wasn't modest at all.

"Piano?"

George was still a bit unconvinced, but hearing her mention the piano, he seemed to be lost in thought.

"Do you like playing the piano?"

"I don't like it." Stephanie was very lively since she was a child, and being forced to practice the piano was painful for her,

"But, my plano skills are indeed good. Besides working at the milkshake shop when I was younger, I was often hired as a pianist by high-end I clubs." She talked about her past part-time jobs, feeling quite proud.

George looked at her, seeming to ponder, murmuring, "Then, maybe we should buy a piano..."

"Mrs. Wellington, you absolutely can't play the piano in our house. Mr. Wellington hates the sound of the piano..." Brad interjected nervously as if fearing something.

Stephanie paused, noticing Brad's unusual expression and George's solemn face.

"Why?"

As soon as she spoke, she saw both of them look up simultaneously, their eyes darkening as they looked toward the door...

Following their gaze, Stephanie was surprised. She thought wasn't he supposed to be at work?

Dominick looked as indifferent as usual and didn't even bother looking at them.

With a document in his right hand, he walked past the lobby and headed straight to the study on the second floor.

"Since he doesn't object, then let's buy a plano."

Just as Dominick walked away, George spoke up. Stephanie felt like George was scheming something.

Dominick returned to the study and heard George's last words. "Buy a piano." His expression turned sour as he slammed the door to the study,

"Mr. Wellington, we've reviewed the surveillance footage from Flaming Bar on the

35th floor last night..." the manager from Flaming Bar reported over the phone.

"At 8:05 last night, Mr. Hayes entered Flaming Bar with Mrs. Wellington through the VIP entrance. Later, Mr. Hayes met with someone and instructed a waiter to escort Mrs. Wellington to the top floor..."

The manager of Flaming Bar spoke in great detail, fearing he might miss any information and be blamed.

"Mrs. Wellington suddenly exited the elevator on the 35th floor, following Ms.

Carter."

He hesitated slightly when mentioning Jessica, then added, "Ms. Carter went to a private room with Went to her five other colleagues.

Though outsiders might not understand, most of Dominick's men knew about Jessica's relationship with him, which was why they showed great respect towards Jessica for Dominick's sake.

was a bit hesitant to report it, afraid that Dominick would be furious if he found out, but also afraid of Regarding Jessica's drug use...he was a bit offending Jessica.

10:35 Sat, 22 Jun Chapter 49

However, Dominick didn't get angry. Instead, he impatiently urged in a cold voice,

"I told you to find out why Stephanie got hurt!"

The manager of Flaming Bar was somewhat puzzled.

The manager felt as if Dominick didn't care at all about Jessica's drug use or her affairs with other men.

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"Mrs. Wellington, Mrs. Wellington was mistaken for Ms. Carter by a Ross man named Ross Brown, and dragged her into the men's restroom on the 35th floor." he quickly said nervously.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the phone, Dominick had a cold and stern expression, gripping the phone tighter. "And then?"

Hearing Dominick's tone, the manager felt even more nervous, nashe trying to calm down as he spoken "Although there was no surveillance in the restroom, when we found Ross, he had passed out on the floor... Mrs. Wellington should be fine..."

"Fine? Does she have to be covered in bruises for it to be considered a problem?" Dominick was extremely displeased, scolding harshly, "Find Ross immediately and tighten the security at Flaming Bar. Don't let just anyone in!"

"Yes, yes..." the manager hastily agreed, frightened.

Suddenly remembering something else, he spoke softly. "By the way, Mr.

Wellington, last night Mr. Hayes actually brought Mrs. Wellington to Flaming Bar to see you...

Dominick paused. He was shocked to know she was looking for him.