Harbor of Heartbreak

Chapter 9

Late one night, Ethan and I had just returned from a party when we saw Alexander standing under a streetlight, holding the same white roses he had always carried.

I had barely stepped out of the car when the sky behind me suddenly erupted with a thousand rainbow-colored fireworks.

Ethan had tortured himself by watching the video of Alexander proposing to me over and over again.

Back then, I was young and naive. I had been so dazzled by the fireworks display that I happily accepted his proposal.

Now, as the fireworks went off, catching my attention, Ethan couldn't take it anymore. His insecurities flared, and he stormed over to Alexander, starting a brutal fight.

"Alexander Crawford! You shameless homewrecker! Hanging around here every day, hoping my fiancée will notice you. I've never seen someone so pathetic and clingy in my entire life!"

"If I'm clingy, then what does that make you?" Alexander snapped, standing his ground. "Claire and I were together for nine years. If she hadn't lost the ability to have children after that accident, I never would've agreed to let Natalie keep the baby."

He paused, his voice taking on a more self-assured tone. "Let me tell you something, Claire is just confused right now. She thinks I don't love her, that I cheated. She's only accepting you as a backup. Once I win her back, she'll break up with you and come back to me."

Ethan's laugh was cold and full of disgust. Without warning, he punched Alexander to the ground.

When I lost the baby in the car accident, it was Ethan who dropped everything to be by my side, staying with me through the sleepless nights until I was well again. Alexander, on the other hand, had used "work" as an excuse, but secretly, he'd taken Natalie to Prague, wining and dining her through the whole city.

Despite my attempts to stop them, the two men kept fighting like animals. Just then, two local police officers drove by and saw the chaos.

One of the officers locked eyes with Alexander, then quickly stepped out of the car, broke up the fight, and took all three of us to a nearby hospital without saying a word.

At the hospital, I was pushed into Alexander's room, though I had been focused on Ethan the entire time.

It was then I realized, everything that had happened tonight had been a part of Alexander's scheme.

He'd gone to great lengths just to get me alone.

With an amused expression, I asked him, "Was all this really necessary?"

With two broken ribs, Alexander looked at me through red-rimmed eyes and smiled sheepishly.

His voice was hoarse as he said, slowly, "Claire... I've missed you."

"I've missed you so much... I've nearly lost my mind."

As the doctor came in to treat his injuries, I noticed a tattoo on Alexander's chest.

It was a design I had made for our family of three when I first got pregnant, a sun, moon, and stars.

I remembered how Alexander had dismissed it, saying, "The moon? Someone like you doesn't deserve that."

With Ethan sent away for the moment, Alexander seized the opportunity. He walked up to me and grabbed my wrist tightly, not letting go.

"Claire, I want to apologize to you in person," he said, his voice full of regret. "I'm sorry, darling. It was all my fault. I'll do anything to make it up to you. Please... forgive me."

Before I could respond, his phone rang right on cue.

It was Natalie calling.

Without hesitation, Alexander put the call on speakerphone.

"Alex! Help me, Alex! Your assistant just barged in with some men. They, they've taken me to the hospital! The baby... they want to get rid of it!"

As I listened to Natalie's desperate cries, Alexander didn't even flinch. He just smiled at me, his gaze intense.

"Natalie, I already know you drugged me that day. This child cannot be kept. And those rumors you spread about my wife being infertile? I've had them completely erased."

He paused, eyes darkening. "The price for slandering my wife? The doctors won't give you anesthesia during the procedure. From now on, you'll never be able to have children."

There was a long, breathless silence before Natalie's frantic voice came through again, barely audible.

"Mr. Crawford! Mr. Crawford, I was just confused! I didn't mean to, please, you can punish me however you want, just spare our baby! Mr. Craw, ! Ahhhhh!"

The scream on the other end of the line made me frown instinctively. I blinked, my expression changing.

Seeing my reaction, Alexander immediately ended the call.

He gently took my hand and pressed it against his cheek, his face pale.

Looking at me with what seemed like real affection, he said, "Claire, I'll have them send you the surgery video later. After you see it with your own eyes, maybe... just maybe... you'll forgive me. Even just a little."