Crossroads

The rain had stopped.

After Stephanie finished eating the bread prepared by Ryan and Kelly, she thanked the hospitable couple, wanting to head back.

Because it was about Christmas, everyone wanted to be home with their families.

Stephanie stole a glance at Dominick. Originally, they planned to return to Havencrest the day before to spend Christmas with George, Stephanie didn't expect this situation, thinking they needed to hurry back since George could be angry.

Just as Stephanie was about to leave with them, Ryan stopped her. "I think you better stay here with us.

"Last night's heavy rain caused mudslides that buried many fields and cottages, and the surroundings have become ruins. The mountain roads are impassable now..."

Vincent, unusually serious, added, "Stephanie should stay here. The mountains could collapse at any moment, and the flood hasn't completely receded yet. We'll send someone to pick her up once we're back..." After all, Stephanie was pregnant and shouldn't wear herself out.

After a moment of silence, everyone finally turned to look at Dominick.

Dominick glanced at Stephanie, then suddenly strode to her. He took her hand and walked straight to the door without saying much.

"She's staying with me," Dominick said simply.

Vincent and the others exchanged glances, looking at Dominick's cold profile, knowing his decision wouldn't change.

"We're leaving now. We really appreciated you taking us in last night."

Vincent and the others said, and bid farewell to Ryan and Kelly before following their pace.

"Dominick, I think it would be better for Stephanie to stay one more night," Vincent suggested.

As they walked on the rugged and muddy mountain road, they had to be cautious and pay attention to the surroundings.

Dominick tightened his grip on her wrist and seemed not to heed Vincent's words, vigilantly surveying their surroundings as they moved forward step by step.

"She's staying with me," he repeated.

Dominick's intense gaze fell on Stephanie's face... He felt reassured with her by his side.

Stephanie didn't know what he was thinking, Her wrist was starting to ache from his tight grip. She looked up at him. "I...I can actually walk by myself..."

"Stephanie, don't even think about it!" Dominick's voice was firm, immediately rejecting her suggestion.

Stephanie looked frustrated. She didn't understand why he was being so stern. She hadn't even finished her words yet.

After about half an hour of walking, they encountered a shallow river about ten feet wide. This river didn't exist before. It must have been formed by last night's heavy rain, with a large amount of muddy water rushing down from the mountain.

"It's not deep, only about 12 inches. We can cross..." Someone had already stepped into the water and crossed to the other side.

Stephanie watched as everyone crossed the shallow river in an orderly manner, preparing to follow suit.

But suddenly, Dominick turned around, and swiftly picked her up. She exclaimed, "Ah, what are you doing?"

Seeing her squirming, Dominick, annoyed, reminded her, "You have injuries on your feet!"

She stopped moving. Dominick stared at and inexplicably, her cheeks turned slightly red. Stephanie almost forgot about her injuries, which could get infected if they got wet again.

Dominick was six feet one inch tall and had been practicing combat sports since childhood, so he was very strong. Carrying her across this shallow river was an easy task.

However, Stephanie noticed that Dominick held her tightly, and every step he took was steady, as if he were very cautious.

It seemed like he approached everything with a serious attitude. She looked at him from the side and thought this serious man quite handsome.

"What are you looking at?"

Dominick glanced down and noticed she seemed distracted, casually asking.

Feeling guilty as if she had done something wrong, Stephanie immediately turned her head away. "Nothing."

But just as she turned, Stephanie's eyes widened, looking extremely nervous. Her hands reached directly toward Dominick's waist...

"Stephanie, what are you..."

The next moment, Dominick was stunned, even halting his steps, incredulously watching Stephanie in his arms eagerly undoing his belt.

Hearing Dominick's surprised tone, Vincent and the others quickly turned around, all dumbfounded.

"Stephanie, don't be so thirsty..."

Vincent scolded her, feeling that Stephanie was becoming bolder and more audacious, especially unfastening Dominick's belt in such a public setting.

Dominick seemed stunned by her sudden initiative, not daring to stop her.

Ignoring their surprised expressions, Stephanie pulled out Dominick's belt and, without hesitation, fiercely whipped it towards a nearby tree on the right.

11:23 Fri, 21 Jun -

When Dominick and the others saw it clearly, they noticed several venomous snakes in the orchard they were walking through, The snake Stephanie had just struck was about 3 feet long. It was hit in a vital spot by the belt and fell to the ground unconscious.

"Put me down!"

They had crossed the shallow river already. Stephanie broke free from his embrace and hurriedly ran to the unconscious snake, picked up a large stone, and smashed it directly onto the snake.

Seeing the snake completely lifeless, she stood there proudly, hands on hips. "Dare to bite me!"

Meanwhile, the men behind Stephanie were all dumbfounded. Even Dominick couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Women usually feared snakes, especially venomous ones, but Stephanie...

Vincent was the first to burst into laughter. "Stephanie, you eagerly unfastened Dominick's belt and bravely protected him. Your truly are a heroine."

"Just now, that snake was about to lunge at us."

Feeling teased by them, Stephanie became somewhat angry and shouted at them, "Vincent, say another word, and I'll beat you up!"

"Alright, just a moment ago, we were worried about her, but she's tougher than all of us... Dominick, marry someone who's cute and charming. Stephanie, don't be too violent, or Dominick might dislike you."

Stephanie felt embarrassed by their teasing.

She was just used to taking care of herself, feeling like she shouldn't pretend to be weak. She had always been alone, with no one to rely on, so she had to be strong.

Dominick rubbed her head, bringing her back to reality.

Stephanie smiled, looked up, and unexpectedly met his gaze with a smile, the first time she truly saw Dominick smiling like that.

"Stephanie, I'll rely on you to protect me from now on," Dominick joked, seeming to be in a good mood.

Stephanie flushed, and he took her hand, continuing to move forward.

Despite the desolate state of the village due to the pouring rain, the atmosphere among them was cheerful, filled with laughter and chatter.

"Dominick, can I ask you something?" Seeing he was in a good mood, Stephanie plucked up the courage to get closer to him.

"Can I name our children in the future?" She túgged on his arm, looking at him nervously.

Dominick was slightly distracted when he heard the words "our children," and he looked down at her bright eyes, which were filled with anticipation. It made him want to laugh.

He smiled faintly, "Sure."

Hearing his agreement, Stephanie became even more excited, tightly gripping his arm. "If it's a boy, I'd like to..."

"Our phones finally have a signal!"

The person in front suddenly shouted, interrupting her words. Everyone looked excited because having a signal meant they could contact someone to pick them up, and they wouldn't have to walk on the mountain road anymore. "Scott?" Vincent ahead quickly answered a call. "Dominick, and others, we are now..."

Vincent was about to report a location, but Scott seemed to already know they were trapped in the deserted village and urgently interrupted, "I know. I'm on my way to pick you up..

"Vincent, give the phone to Dominick. I have something urgent to tell him," Scott's voice sounded very anxious.

What's the matter?"

Hearing that Scott had sent someone to rescue them, Vincent felt relieved and glanced back at Dominick and Stephanie.

Vincent chuckled and guessed, "Have you already found out who took Stephanie from the hospital? Those guys are dead meat as Dominick won't let them off..."

"It's not about that. It's something om else... Vincent, give the phone to Dominick nick immediately it's very important!" Scott, on the phone, sounded genuinely urgent, repeatedly urging.

Hearing his tone, Vincent frowned slightly, wondering what could be more important than Stephanie's thing.

But Vincent didn't dare to delay and ran back to hand the phone to Dominick.

"It's Scott. He says it's very important...

Knowing Scott had sent someone to pick them up, Dominick and the others stopped and rested where they were.

Taking Vincent's phone, Dominick turned cold. "What is it?"

He wasn't very interested in Scott's so-called important matter.

As soon as Scott heard Dominick's voice, he became really anxious.

Scott added, "Dominick, I was shocked when I saw her, I don't know much about it... She went over herself. I couldn't persuade her..."

Scott seemed to be disturbed by something. Even his words were a bit incoherent.

Dominick was about to calm him down and ask him to explain clearly, but at that moment, a helicopter flew over, and the noise made it even harder for him to hear Scott's words clearly.

The helicopter quickly landed not far from them.

Dominick and the others knew this must be Scott's team sent to pick them up, but the next moment, they The next were all surprised. As soon as the helicopter landed, a woman hurriedly got off, looking anxious as she ran towards them...

11:23 Fri, 21 Jun Chapter 34Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

When Dominick saw that familiar face, his expression turned to shock. His gaze became more intense. He even suspected that he was hallucinating.

"Dominick!"

Jessica shouted excitedly with her clear and sweet voice.

She went over to Dominick, holding him tightly. "Do you know how worried I've been? Scott asked me to wait for you at the hospital, but I couldn't stay there for even a moment. I...” Her voice choked with excitement. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Resting her cheek against his chest, she was unable to suppress her excitement.

She kept repeating his name, Dominick! I missed you so much. I missed you so much..."

Do inick's stern face froze. He could feel her tea on his chest, a warmth spreading....

"Dominick, Even his hand trembled slightly as he touched her familiar and charming face, his hoarse voice filled with disbelief. "How...how could you..."

"Jessica."

Vincent, however, shouted in astonishment as if he had seen a ghost, "Aren't you dead?" He wondered how she could come back to life.

Stephanie stood beside Dominick, and saw everything very clearly.

The woman was Dominick's "departed" ex-girlfriend.

Stephanie's expression was complex and shocked. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, she released her grip on Dominick's hand...