Crossroads

"I'm spending Christmas at Wellington Villa this year..."

It was late at night, and Stephanie had been feeling down all day. Unable to sleep, she wandered out to the backyard to relax. herself.

Gazing at the precious flowers and exquisite pergolas in the Wellington Villa garden, she thought everything felt surreal to her. She never imagined herself living in such a magnificent place.

"No wonder those women look at Dominick so eagerly... Stephanie felt that life with Dominick after marrying him was truly luxurious.

A gust of night wind blew, causing Stephanie to shiver and rub her hands together. She felt it was really cold.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

"What are you doing here?" Suddenly, a deep voice sounded behind her.

Stephanie immediately became alert.

She turned around to see Dominick striding towards her, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

Stephanie wondered why he had come back. Wasn't he supposed to stay at the hospital with Jessica?

It was silent all around with dim moonlight tonight. Only the orange streetlights in the garden illuminated the scene. Dominick noticed her slightly reddened cheeks from the cold wind.

"Why aren't you sleeping at this hour and standing here!" He sounded somewhat impatient.

She wanted to retort that it was her freedom, but she didn't dare.

"After 10 o'clock at night, you should go back to your room and sleep!" Dominick seemed to see her through, ordering her coldly.

"Why should I!" She couldn't help but exclaim, feeling indignant.

She thought he was so gentle with Jessica, but he scolded her as soon as he came back. She wanted to know the reason.

mar.

Dominick's expression grew even more complex. Taking a step forward, he said, his voice inexplicably tinged with anger, "Do you think it's suitable for a pregnant woman to wander around at night?"

"I didn't..." She was about to retort but then remembered that she had indeed gone out for a while just now.

Dominick looked down at her hands, which were red from the cold, becoming even more impatient. Without saying much, he pulled her towards the house straightway.

He noticed that her hands were indeed cold, and Dominick became more anxious.

Suddenly dragged by him, Stephanie was quite dissatisfied. "Hey, let go. I can walk by myself..."

Dominick listened to her protest behind him, very upset. He led her into the house and immediately let go of her.

11:24 Fri, 21 Jun Chapter 37

"Go back to your bedroom!" His voice sounded somewhat impatient.

Stephanie looked at his sullen face, feeling even more resentful.

"I won't sleep!"

She puffed up her cheeks and replied.

"You!" Dominick's face darkened with anger. He was infuriated that she dared to talk back.

"Stephanie, remember your last plea to me! You said you would reflect on how to be a good mother, but you wandered around late at night. Do you have any common sense?"

Stephanie pressed her lips, not daring to retort again, looking down, and feeling somewhat ashamed.

Seeing her suddenly silent, as if she were truly reflecting, Dominick felt both angry and helpless.

"Go back to your room and rest." This time, his tone was a bit more gentle.

"I'm not sleeping," she insisted.

Dominick narrowed his eyes, staring at Stephanie.

He had known Stephanie was troublesome and hard to deal with...

"Stephanie, what do you want to do..." Dominick remembered others advising him not to make things difficult for Stephanie. Looking at her, he grew angrier the more he thought about it, suppressing his temper as he questioned her.

"I'm hungry," Stephanie felt embarrassed by his gaze, looking down at her toes, and muttered. "Your grandfather said pregnant women shouldn't eat too much, but I have a big appetite..."

Dominick's cold face froze for a moment. He was infuriated by her comment about having a big appetite.

Looking down, Stephanie didn't dare to look at him, feeling embarrassed as she was unable to sleep due to hunger....

"No, don't call the chef," she whispered, noticing Dominick about to summon someone and immediately stopped him. "I don't want to wake anyone up in the middle of the night, and besides..."

She looked a bit guilty. "I don't like eating those tasteless nutrition meals, which are even worse than oatmeal!"

Dominick thought Stephanie was really picky!

Dominick's face darkened with anger, and he stared at her with complex emotions for a long time...

Stephanie wasn't quite sure what was happening, but the two of them eventually sneaked into the kitchen.

Originally, she thought she could sneak into the kitchen while everyone was asleep and find something to fill her stomach, but Dominick actually helped her cook pasta! Stephanie was pleasantly surprised.

"You can cook?" Dominick glanced at her, gesturing for her not to get in the way.

Stephanie couldn't. She was basically useless in the kitchen. Despite years of practice, she still couldn't cook pasta properly.

Stephanie obediently stayed in the corner, watching Dominick bring out some pasta, cut some beef, and even marinate the beef with some spices to make it flavorful.

Thinking back to the trout with beans Dominick stewed a few days ago, she was surprised. She didn't expect him to be such a good cook.

"Dominick, do you have a special hobby for cooking?" she exclaimed.

Dominick's hand holding the knife paused for a moment. He turned to her with a puzzled look, seeming a bit annoyed, and ignored her.

Stephanie noticed his slightly angry expression, quickly adding, "Actually, men who can cook are amazing, really. I used to think. about marrying a chef."

"Oh," he casually responded, recalling some past events, his expression complex and restrained.

Stephanie felt he was a bit different tonight and thought it might be because of Christmas.

"Dominick, can you make fried food?" she asked cautiously.

He glanced up at her, clearly seeing Stephanie's greedy big eyes.

Dominick was annoyed. "There are no shrimps!" He didn't know why he bothered to respond to her.

"I saw there are many fish in the small pond at home, brought over from Arcanium..." She sounded excited. "Fried fish is delicious!"

Mix flour, eggs, and water into a batter, remove the gills from the live fish in the pond, dip them in the batter, fry them in oil until golden brown, and then a plate of fried fish was ready.

"Dominick, you're really amazing!"

Stephanie was excited. She took the large bowl of pasta from him and picked up two pieces of fried fish with a fork, tossing them into the pasta. "I'm easy to satisfy. You don't need to bother making sauce for me." Her mouth was watering Dominick looked at her excited expression, feeling annoyed. He couldn't believe she actually had the nerve to say she was easy to satisfy. Stephanie carried her delicious meal to the dining table and began to eat voraciously while Dominick stood by, watching her eat contentedly.

Suddenly, his expression became serious. He didn't know what had come over him tonight. He actually helped her with such a boring cooking task. Stephanie finished her meal, feeling especially good. She approached him and thanked him sincerely again.

"Are you full? Satisfied?" Dominick looked at her smiling face, feeling frustrated, and ordered, "Go to bed now!" Stephanie immediately changed into her pajamas and lay down on the bed obediently.

11:24 Fri, 21 Jun Chapter 37

She held the blanket, her face beaming with happiness and a hint of disbelief.

Dominick cooked pasta for her and even made the fried fish she had been craving for a long time. She wished he could be this nice every day.

After Dominick took a shower, she was already asleep in bed. Under the dim light, her brows relaxed, and there was a faint smile on her face.

Compared to before, she seemed less vigilant.

Dominick, looking at her, was momentarily lost in thought. He lifted the blanket and lay on the other side, only to discover that she had separated the bed with a long pillow.

Feeling a surge of annoyance, Dominick, with a dark face, crossed over the pillow and directly pinched her nose with his right hand as if punishing her by depriving her of breath.

Stephanie felt extremely uncomfortable, struggling to breathe, her face wrinkling Instinctively, she waved her hands. "Let go of me. Let go of me," Dominick realized she would resist even in her sleep.

Seeing her distressed expression, Dominick released her. He chuckled lightly with indulgence.

He adjusted the room's air conditioning temperature, removed the long pillow dividing the bed, tugged at her blanket, then dimmed the bedside lamp and closed his eyes to sleep.

He had been busy since Stephanie was abducted, and Jessica also suddenly returned. He didn't have a moment to rest. Tonight, in fact, he was more tired than her.

Though he slopt deeply, Dominick was always alert, even while sleeping.

Around four in the morning, he felt Stephanie suddenly curling up beside him, trembling slightly He opened his eyes and looked at her, "Stephanie!" Dominick was instantly awake, startled Stephanie, her eyes still closed, didn't respond, but her face appeared pale, covered in cold sweat.

Frowning, Dominick checked her forehead. It was burning hot Immediately getting out of bed, Dominick grabbed the phone. "Get the doctor here right away..

Upon hearing that Dominick had called, the private doctor of the Wellington family hurriedly arrived, looking nervous.

"What's going on?"

Seeing the doctor's serious expression while examining Stephanie, Dominick felt anxious. "What's wrong with her!"

Dominick was very worried. Stephanie had been fine before going to sleep but suddenly developed a high fever in the middle of the night. Feeling Dominick's displeasure, the doctor nervously asked, "Mr. Wellington, did Mrs. Wellington catch a cold recently?"

11:24 Fri, 21 Jun Chapter 37

"...I just caught a bit of night wind." Already awake on the bed, Stephanie spoke, dazed, her voice hoarse and groggy.

Fearful of Dominick's reprimand, she hastily explained, "But I wore thick clothes tonight."

Dominick looked at her reddened cheeks and weakness due to the fever and turned annoyed. He then turned to the doctor. "She" caught a chill when she jumped into the river last week."

Stephanie almost forgot about it.

Feeling even more anxious, she reached out and tugged at and tugged at his sleeve, pleading, please don't tell your grandfather. I beg you, don't tell him..."

"Dominick,

"I've deleted the videos. My grandpa won't know," He looked at her fearful expression and whispered.

"Mr. Wellington, if that's the case, Mrs. Wellington shouldn't be too tired during this time."

Dominick knew that clearly, which was why he had canceled the wedding

"Mr. Wellington, did Mrs. Wellington eat anything unsuitable tonight?" the doctor asked again.

After a moment's thought, Dominick confessed, and the doctor was shocked. "Mr.

Wellington, she shouldn't eat fried fish while pregnant." Luckily, she didn't eat much!

"She wanted to eat...."

The doctor internally complained that he couldn't spoil her like this.