Page 77 of The Library on Plum Island
“Alex!” Harriet’s voice was rough with emotion. “I ruined your life.” She sucked in a shaky breath as the tears fell freely. “Because of me, you lost your hearing, and your immune system was so compromised you got mumps.”
“Wait!” Alex frowned. “You knew about that.”
Harriet nodded. “It just made me feel even more guilty about…” She closed her eyes and drew in a breath. “I know I broke your heart,” she swallowed. “But I broke my heart, too.”
“Harry…” Alex looked at her, confused. “What are you saying?”
“I was so giddy with finally being free of my family commitments,” Harriet told him. “I’d escaped with my best friend and my first love.” She gave him a watery smile. “We went on the adventure to Vegas and woke up back in Boston at college as a couple.”
“We were young and had gone against our parent’s wishes,” Alex remembered. “We even made plans for how we would earn a living if they cut us off.”
“We moved into that apartment near Harvard,” Harriet reminded him. “For the first week, it was heaven, but then we started to fight. By the third week, I realized that we worked better as best friends, but I didn’t know how we’d ever go back.”
“I felt you pulling away, and it terrified me. I realized that I was losing you,” Alex confessed. “Instead of talking about it, I started becoming a super jerk, Alex.”
“Super jerk Alex that I made,” Harriet admitted. “I was like Frankenstein creating a monster and the…” She closed her eyes and blew out a breath. “Alex, I didn’t get vaccinated because I was pregnant.”
“What?” Alex spluttered, his heart lurched, and he stared at her.
“Before I could tell you, I got sick and…” Harriet closed her eyes as she struggled to control her emotions. “I lost the baby. Our baby.” Her face crumpled, and Alex pulled her to him. “Then I nearly lost you, too, when I gave you meningitis. But I thought I’d given it to you before they managed to isolate me.” She swiped her tears away. “I didn’t know you’d found me.”
“I’m so sorry you went through that alone,” Alex’s voice became hoarse, and he ignored the tears rolling down his cheeks. “I’m so, so sorry, Harry.”
“There were complications when I lost the baby,” Harriet sniffed. “And I was also given the verdict that I couldn’t have kids. When I went to visit my uncle, I needed to get as far away as possible. As I not only broke your heart, I ruined your life and lost our baby.”
“You should’ve told me,” Alex swiped the tears from his cheeks.
“You were already going through so much,” Harriet told him. “That day I came to get the divorce papers signed… I couldn’t believe how much you’d changed.” She sniffed. “The shock at no longer knowing who you were. I knew I’d lost my best friend for good, and my first love dissolved when you signed the papers.”
“You two were married?” Daniella’s voice tore them apart as they jumped guiltily.
CHAPTER 15
Daniellaknewshewasgaping, but she couldn’t help it. She also knew she’d eavesdropped on a very private conversation, but again, she couldn’t help it. Daniella didn’t even know how long she’d stood listening to Alex and Harriet’s heartbreaking confessions.
Alex and Harriet’s relationship started to make sense as the pieces to that puzzle were moved into place for her. Her eyes traveled from Alex to Harriet, and she felt her heart start to splinter. When Harriet described the kind of woman Alex fell in love with, Daniella realized Harriet had been describing herself.
I’ve only ever asked two women to marry me.Alex’s words rang through her mind. That was another question Daniella could now mark off her list of questions for Alex to answer.Harriet had been the first woman Alex had asked to marry him, and apparently, she’d said yes,and they’d eloped to Vegas. Alex really wasn’t the big wedding type of guy.Daniella gave herself a mental shake.Don’t be mean, Daniella. These green emotions don’t suit you.
Daniella knew she’d blurted out something about Alex and Harriet being married. Still, her mind was in turmoil, and she hardly realized the words had even left her lips. The only reason she knew they had was because she’d watched Alex and Harriet spring apart, guilt shining in their eyes. While the sharp slice of pain that was filled by jealousy ripped through her, part of her thought,they should feel guilty.But the logical part knew they had nothing to feel guilty about. Alex and Harriet had done nothing wrong.
Harriet wasn’t the third wheel or the intruder here. Daniella was. She was the onetheyhad both selflessly put Daniella and Emily’s safety before their own needs. She swallowed and felt her insides start to turn to jelly in the aftermath of this shocking revelation. No wonder Harriet hadn’t wanted to answer Daniella’s question about her relationship with Alex. Once her insides were liquified goop, her hands, and legs started shaking as she felt her heart crack and burst into shards that scattered through her system.
The pain nearly floored her, but Daniella locked her knees and forced herself to stand firm. She’d just saved a man’s leg by pulling the exposed bone back into place and creating a makeshift clamp to secure an artery without so much as flinching. But here she was, becoming a shaking bundle of emotions. Her body had gone cold for a few seconds, and then, as her blood started flowing, it turned into a flow of hot lava pouring through her veins. Alex and Harriet’s confessions of love for each other had nearly brought Daniella to her knees as the pain exploded in her chest.
“Daniella!” Alex called as he and Harriet jumped apart.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Daniella’s brain clicked into autopilot, shutting off the emotions gushing from her broken heart, and took control. “I came to change scrubs and get my keys as I need my doctor’s bag. There are a few more injuries I need to tend to. The flying glass hit a few police officers as well.”
Her voice sounded calm, unemotional, and flat. At least to Daniella’s ears, it did, and she was hoping that’s how she sounded to Alex and Harriet as well. She held out her hand to Alex.
“Please, may I have my keys?” Daniella’s mind became razor-focused on the people waiting for her medical attention—doctor mode was not fully functional!
“I’ll get your bag for you,” Alex offered, frowning in confusion and worry as his eyes locked with hers for a few seconds.
Those few seconds nearly switched her back to human mode. Daniella had patients to attend to, so she couldn’t afford to deal with the complex emotions swirling inside the other part of her.
“Thank you,” Daniella said to Alex. “That will help save time, as I have to change these scrubs, as the one officer got sick on me.”
