Crossroads

It happened so suddenly that Stephanie didn't have time to react before she e sank to the bottom of the pool startling the fish into a frenzy.

"Mrs. Wellington! What happened to you?" A maid passing by the corridor was terrified and shouted for help.

'L..I'm Ene."

Drawn from a fresh source, the pool was obvious and about six feet deep. Stephanie was a good swimmer, and although the sudden scare caused her to sink, she quickly surfaced, clutching the edge of the pool and coughing.

The maid, pale with fright, along with a group of others, carefully helped her out of the pool.

"What happened, Mrs. Wellington! Don't worry, the doctor is on the way." They wrapped her in a clean, thick towel, trying to calm her down.

"Im really fine." Stephanie calmly took the towel and began drying her wet hair, waving them off. "You don't need to call the doctor"

"We'll go get Mr. Wellington right away."

"Don't tell Dominick about this Stephanie panicked.

The afternoon sun was starting to set, and George had already returned to South Pavilion for a rest at this hour. With Dominick just out and Stephanie falling into the pool, the maids were at a loss, Stephanie wiped the water off her face, lowered her voice, and explained, "Dominick is very busy. Let's wait for the doctor to check on me before contacting him. But anyway, I'm really fine. It just felt like something suddenly flew at the back of my knees...

Her eyes narrowed as she nervously glanced back.

Behind the pool was a flower bed, along with stone tables and chairs for chess, flower viewing, and fish watching. Nothing seemed out of place.

What exactly had happened just now?

Sining by the pebbled edge of the pool, dripping wet, she couldn't figure it out

"Mrs. Wellington, how did you fall into the pool?"

Seeing that she looked alright, the maid sighed in relief. If anything had happened to her, they would all be in serious trouble

"Did someone push you on purpose. A younger maid speculated.

But who could possibly have the nerve to do that?

The world remained oblivious to this fact, but within the walls of Wellington Villa, Stephanie's safety was paramount to everyone. Dominick's berce protectiveness over her had been evident in his furious outbursts more than once.

Stephanie leaned heavily on the maids who rushed to her aid as she slowly regained her composure, her brows furrowing deeply in contemplation for what felt like an eternity. "No, that's not the case."

No one had pushed her on purpose.

It was as though something had hurtled directly at her with a relentless force that struck her knees unexpectedly-

Yet, despite her thorough scrutiny of the surroundings. Stephanie couldn't discern anything suspicious

"Search meticulously around here. Look for something hard about the size of a clenched fist, weighing perhaps two pounds... Her attempt to articulate the nature of the object was more a reflection of her instincts than a clear observation

"Mrs. Wellington, the largest of these cobblestones weighs no more one pound. There's nothing as huge as you've mentioned."

Perplexed, the maids struggled to understand Stephanie's directives. Clearly, something had impacted her knee moments before her fall, causing her to lose her balance. Why was it proving so elusive now?

"Mrs. Wellington, the doctor has arrived, Sandra, who was responsible for Stephanie's daily well-being, was visibly shaken upon hearing the maid's account of the incident. Though she was relieved that the situation seemed less dire than she had thought, a thorough medical examination was much needed.

Stephanie leaned gently on Sandra's arm, though a hint of defiance flickered in her eyes as she kept glaring back towards the poolside.

I can't believe I slipped on my own, she muttered to herself, refusing to be seen as fragile. Damn it.

"Mrs. Wellington, your safety is paramount now that you're pregnant, Sandra said, sensing Stephanie's frustration. "You don't need to worry about anything else as well investigate this thoroughly. We will not allow anyone to cause trouble at Wellington Villa, Sandra reassured, able to tell what Stephanie was concerned about.

"I'm afraid some people might get away y with it, no matter how hard you try to find them, Stephanie replied, her brow furrowed deeply. She pushed Sandra away slightly, straightened her posture, and began walking back towards the pool.

She stood by the edge earlier. No one had pushed her, yet she had ended up in the depths of the water. In the end, it would be said that it was her own carelessness, but something clearly struck her.

This was especially unsettling when coupled with her recent feeling of being watched by a pair of cerle eyes. Frustration gnawed at her, and with determination, she vowed to get to the bottom of it

"Mrs. Wellington, you just fell into the pool. It may be early autumn, but catching a chill is still a concern. Let's go inside first." Sandra urged from behind, trying to reason with her.

But Sandra and the others hesitated to intervene further, wary of Stephanie's stubbom resolve.

"What's going on here?" George's voice boomed from the corridor as he hurried over, his suit jacket still undone as he leaned on his cane Stephanie felt a twinge of fear at the sight of George. She stood in her spot awkwardly and met his gaze.

Sandra approached gently, and being mindful of George's temper, she explained, "Mrs. Wellington's health and her kits are the most important things now.

"Sure," be reluctantly hummed.

She dared not look at George's darkening expression. Instead, she turned away, sulking, and followed Sandra and the others as they left

"It's impossible! Something definitely hit me!" Stephanie couldn't shake of her doubts, muttering under her breath.

George stood sternly at the end of the corridor, watching Stephanie obediently depart with the maids. Then, he relaxed his grip on the cane in his right hand.

Brad approached after gathering information from the staff, leaning in to explain the situation carefully to George George just listened attentively but offered little reaction.

The autumn winds stirred, gently swaying the edges of George's clothing "There's no need to mention this to Dominick With just that remark, George turned and walked back towards South Pavilion.

Brad hesitated briefly, puzzled by George's indifferent demeanor, Lost in thought, he glanced back towards the direction of the pool where Stephanie had fallen The grand and magnificent backyard of Wellington Villa basked in the late afternoon sun, casting an exquisite glow over its serene beaury. However, in one corner of the pool, where tropical fish lazily swam, the water remained tepid. On the other side, a block of solid ice slowly melted away.

The ice melted, turning into water as if it had never existed before It vanished like a phantom, leaving no trace behind.

No matter how much they investigated, they would find nothing.

"I still don't understand how I fell.."

After a thorough examination by the doctor confirming she was healthy, Stephanie was allowed to return to her room!

Sandra still found the incident peculiar and questioned Stephanie again.

"We've had people searching around and asking nearby servants, but no one found anything suspicious. M Sandra stared at her, instructing her one to take a hot bath and change into pajamas before urging her to rest in bed.

"Forget it. I guess I was just unlucky"

Although Stephanie was unwilling to accept it, she bore no grudge. She om hadn't been injured, but now, whenever she closed her eyes, an inexplicable chill ran down her spine.

Could it be some sort of oment

Seeing Stephanie settle down in bed, Sandra didn't disturb her further. "By the way. Mr. Wellington won't be eating at home tonight..

"He already told me," Stephanie replied.

Sandra smiled, knowing how precious Stephanie was to Dominick.

"Til have dinner brought up directly tonight, so please don't wander around. I'll be downstairs now. With that, she closed the door behind her.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Upon hearing Sandra asking her to stay in her room, Stephanie felt a pang of fru frustration because Dominick said that a lot to her too.

"He's always saying I'm running around and causing trouble. I'm sure he's going to say I fell into the pool due to my carelessness."

Dominick truly disliked her going out. He rarely allowed her to attend public events and preferred to keep her confined within Wellington Villa Stephanie drifted into a drowsy sleep. The sun was already setting outside, casting shadows across the room A sudden sound shattered her dreams. Groping in the dark, she reached for the bedside lamp and twisted it on, only to find a looming figure at the bedroom door..

"Who's there!" Her face blanched in fear.