Chapter 208: Too Much Love for Harriet
Quinlan's face changed with anger. She suddenly stood up and slapped Harriet hard across the face.
Harriet had no idea she would suddenly strike and was completely unprepared, taking the slap full force.
After delivering the slap, Quinlan felt much better. "Bitch, I had to hit you!"
Harriet slowly turned her head back, a flash of coldness in her eyes, and said with a smile, "You're right!"
Just as Quinlan was about to speak, she took two hard slaps to the face.
Quinlan was stunned by the blows. "You dare hit me?"
Harriet said nothing but lifted her foot and kicked Quinlan's knee.
Quinlan screamed in pain and dropped to her knees.
She looked up, glaring at Harriet with resentment. "Harriet, how dare you hit me!"
"Isn't that what you said?" Harriet tilted her head. "Bitch, I had to hit you!"
Just as Quinlan was about to get up and hit back, there was a knock at the door.
"Harriet?" Tristan's voice came from outside. "Are you in there? Why have you been gone so long?"
Quinlan quickly stood up and limped toward the door. She opened it and looked at Tristan with tears in her eyes. "Tristan."
"What happened?" Tristan frowned. "Where's Harriet?"
Only then did Harriet walk over.
When Tristan saw her, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?"
Harriet smiled. "No, I'm not."
"What happened?"
Before Harriet could speak, Quinlan rushed to complain tearfully, "Tristan, Ms. Getty heard some rumor from somewhere that I want to have your baby, and she just started hitting me."
Tristan's brow furrowed slightly.
Harriet looked at Quinlan calmly, quietly watching her performance.
Quinlan cried, "Tristan, I've worked hard for you in a foreign country for so many years. Even if I haven't achieved much, I've put in the effort. I never expected that as soon as I returned home, not only would I be slandered with dirty rumors, but I'd also get beaten. Is there no justice?"
Tristan noticed Harriet's left cheek was slightly red and frowned. "Did she hit you?"
Quinlan's hands clenched into tight fists. She was in such a state, yet Tristan chose to ignore it, all his attention on Harriet!
"I'm fine." Harriet smiled calmly. "I paid her back double."
Tristan took her hand. "Let's go back first and talk about it."
The three of them returned to the private room. When Finnegan saw them, he almost spat out his drink. "What happened? Did you two get mugged?"
Quinlan wiped away her tears with a tissue and sat down without speaking.
Tristan looked at her. "If someone spread dirty rumors about you, you should have cleared it up face to face. Fighting in the bathroom - what kind of behavior is that?"
Quinlan said aggrieved, "Tristan, I'm the victim. Are you blaming me?"
Tristan said, "I know Harriet. She wouldn't hit you first, so the one who struck first could only be you."
Quinlan's fingers trembled.
Tristan said flatly, "I'll find out where the rumor came from and give you justice, but if you dare lay a hand on her again, you know the consequences. This dinner ends here. That's it."
With that, Tristan took Harriet's hand and left.
Quinlan sat there in a daze, watching their backs disappear through the doorway in disbelief.
Finnegan looked at her. "Quinlan, are you okay?"
Quinlan withdrew her gaze blankly. "Finnegan, why has Tristan become like this?"
"You mean, why would Tristan, who's always been so cold, treat Harriet differently, even favor her?" Finnegan took a sip of his drink. "Aren't you the one who should understand him best? After all, you're the same as him - both in love with someone else."
Quinlan was slightly stunned. "What do you mean by that?"
Finnegan spoke directly. "You like Tristan, but because of your relationship as cousins, you've never been able to openly express your feelings."
"Plus, all those years, Lark was always clinging to Tristan. She saved his life, and Tristan toward her... though he didn't reciprocate, there was still something different about it. So you didn't dare express your love even more. You could only silently work hard behind him, helping his career, to prove you could be an asset to him."
"But you never expected that after a car accident, Tristan would marry such an ordinary woman, much less that Tristan would fall in love with her, right?"
Quinlan lowered her eyes, neither confirming nor denying. Since she could remember, she knew she was adopted by the Stewart family. She also knew that the reason the Stewart family adopted her from an orphanage after Gemma gave birth to Tristan was to groom her to be Tristan's wife.
Although Tristan didn't know about this, from childhood to adulthood, she had always thought of herself as Tristan's future wife. She held herself to strict standards - not only did her grades have to be good, but she had to excel at etiquette and music as well.
All along, she had indeed considered Lark her biggest rival. In terms of looks, she was no worse than Lark. But in terms of ability, Lark couldn't compare to her.
So she had to prove herself, which is why she spent years abroad secretly managing properties for Tristan.
Even Gemma didn't know she was working for Tristan overseas, much less that Tristan privately owned a huge business empire.
Quinlan had originally thought that as long as she let Tristan see her strengths, she could naturally shed the identity of cousin and stand beside him as a woman.
But she never expected he would suddenly get married.
After his car accident, she wanted to return home, but she was so busy with work abroad that she couldn't get away.
But just a few days later, she received news that Tristan had married his caregiver.
She simply couldn't accept this fact.
Gemma comforted her, saying a caregiver wouldn't last long in the position of Mrs. Lancaster.
If Tristan didn't wake up, Gemma would immediately make Harriet leave.
But a month later, Tristan miraculously woke up, and Haven couldn't possibly let Harriet go.
Quinlan could only wait and continue working for Tristan abroad, waiting for Lark and that woman called Harriet to fight it out.
Two years ago, Tristan finally got divorced, and Lark had disappeared without a trace.
Her chance had finally come. She returned home more frequently and even applied to work back in Emberfall.
She thought it was finally her time, but she never expected Harriet to return home too.
Even more unexpected was that Tristan had already fallen hopelessly in love with Harriet.
A man so cold-hearted could actually love another woman so passionately!
What did her twenty-plus years of admiration mean then?
She regretted so much not expressing her feelings earlier. If she had declared her love sooner, everything would have been different.
"Quinlan," Finnegan continued, "we've been friends for many years, so I still want to remind you - Harriet isn't as ordinary as you think. At such a young age, her medical skills surpass even Mr. Jones's. Do you really think she's an ordinary person?"
"I don't need to tell you how high Tristan's standards are. The fact that he loves Harriet so deeply shows that Harriet has a personal charm that other women don't have."
"These past two years, Tristan never went looking for Harriet because he loved her too much - the more he loved, the more he avoided it."
"Without Harriet around, he became celibate, which proves he's different from Owen. Tristan is a devoted man, and Harriet is his only one."
"So Quinlan, as a friend, I don't want you wasting your time and energy on a married man. After all, it's not right."
Quinlan's expression stiffened.
She gathered her wandering thoughts and put on a perfect smile. "Finnegan, I've never said I have improper feelings for Tristan. I'm just his cousin, a work partner, nothing more."
Finnegan nodded. "That's good to hear."
On the way home, Harriet didn't say much, just stared blankly at the night scene outside the car window.
The two returned to Lakeside Gardens.
As soon as they entered, Harriet was embraced from behind by Tristan, his kisses raining down on her neck.
"What are you doing?" Harriet struggled. "I haven't showered!"
"You said this afternoon we could continue tonight."
Harriet's face flushed.
Back in the lounge, he had been so insistent that she could only placate him for the moment.
Harriet was a bit speechless. "Tristan, is this the only thing on your mind?"
"Who says?" Tristan turned her shoulders around and kissed her, confessing between kisses, "You're the only thing on my mind."
The two kissed their way to the master bedroom, clothes already scattered on the floor.
Tristan impatiently reached for the bedside drawer to get a condom.