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“What’s your theory?”
“Well, when some of your patients are so young, and they can barely hold their head up, you have to learn to read them. Most of the time, a headache is a symptom. If I just treat a kid because he claims his brain hurts, I’m already failing him.”
This woman is good, and maybe her father is right.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
“For?”
“Your sister.” She tilts her head toward the clinic. We’re outside in the garden waiting while Anya is with Dr. Decker and Nat’s dad.
This morning, I called the doctor with the information I gathered from Mitch. It’s not that I don’t believe Anya, but I fear there’s more to her behavior. Fortunately, there’s a therapist among the people who came to vacation in Luna Harbor.
“We’ll do the best we can,” she assures me. “If you want, we have time to go to my office and run a few blood tests. I can check your thyroid.”
“I thought I was pregnant,” I mumble. “It freaked me out, but it gave me hope. Someone would be around. A little person I could love unconditionally. I wouldn’t be alone anymore.”
“First of all, I’m sorry. Then, I have to remind you that we all love you, and you’re not alone,” she says. “I wondered why you just left without caring about your things, or us. There’s my answer.”
“I don’t belong here.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true.”
“If this was a kingdom, you’d be like the princess waiting to be crowned as queen.” She presses her lips, hiding a smile. “Iskander is no prince, but the man is the next in line to be the ruler of Luna Harbor.”
“We’re not together, and this is definitely not some weird empire.”
She laughs. “The man adores you. He’s not good at dealing with feelings, but we all see it. Have you told him about the baby?”
“There’s no baby,” I remind her.
“There’s not?” I look up, spotting Iskander pushing the stroller with Rumi.
“If that’s not the face of a man brokenhearted by the news, I’m eating my stethoscope,” she says, heading toward him. “I’ll take her from here. We’ll go and visit Bri and Keaghan. They’re playing with the puppies. My son is going to love meeting a new friend.”
“We should go home and come back when they’re done,” he suggests, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
I look toward the building that’s only a few feet away from us. “What if they need me?”
“I want us to talk.”
“There’s no baby, Iskander. You can drop the act.” I almost choke on the tears because earlier, when I saw I had my period, I realized I wanted the baby more than I wanted my next breath.
He extends an arm, taking my hand and pulling me to him. When he gives me a hug, I can’t help but cry. I shouldn’t. It doesn’t matter. Still… I can’t stop sobbing. It’s maybe the second or third time this week. I’m not a crier, but lately, everything is making me release tears like they’re leaves in the middle of fall.
“I wanted him or her, too,” his warm breath whispers, hugging me tightly.
Nathalie is right. I feel the brokenness in his voice. His words make me cry even harder. I don’t know what to say or if I can even talk.
ChapterThirty-Two
Iskander
How doyou deal with the loss of someone who never existed?
There’re too many pressing things happening around me to even consider my feelings. Anya is in surgery. Dr. Decker found a tumor in her brain. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know if it has shrunk in size due to the chemo treatments or how long it’s been there.
