Erica turned her head and saw Laura standing in the doorway, one hand on her heavily pregnant belly, a cup of water in the other.
Carter's face changed instantly into something gentle. He crossed to her.
"Why did you come out? It's cold out here. Go back inside."
Laura didn't move. Her eyes went past his shoulder and settled on Erica.
"Are you and my husband acquainted?"
The air went silent.
Carter opened his mouth, but Erica got there first.
"We are."
She looked at the gift bag in Laura's hand and gave a small smile.
"Those cufflinks you sold me — I'm the one who gave them to him."
Laura's eyes went wide.
"He and I were together for five years."
The color drained out of Laura's face in an instant.
The cup shattered on the floor, shards of porcelain scattering everywhere. She stumbled back a step and caught the doorframe, lips trembling as she looked at Carter.
"Carter, is it true? Were you two together for five years?"
Carter's face went ashen, fury churning at the back of his eyes.
He spun around and closed the distance to Erica in a few strides.
Crack.
His hand landed hard across her face.
She staggered into the wall with a dull thud.
Her head rang, her vision blacked out for a moment, and something warm slid slowly down from her temple, staining half of what she could see red.
Before she could steady herself, a large hand clamped down hard around her throat.
Carter's fingers tightened, pinning her whole body against the wall.
"Didn't I tell you? Don't run your mouth. Don't set her off!"
Erica's hands went to his fingers on instinct, trying to pry them loose, but he didn't budge.
The suffocation rose over her like a tide. Her feet kicked uselessly against the floor, her nails dragging bloody streaks across the back of his hand, and still Carter showed no sign of letting go.
Her vision began to blur, the ringing in her ears louder and louder.
She looked at his twisted face and it struck her, suddenly, as utterly unfamiliar.
Was this the Carter who had once held her like she was precious?
The Carter who'd said, "Anyone who dares upset you, I'll never let them off"?
The Carter who'd said, "You're the only one I'll love in this life"?
The dark closed in thicker and thicker, and she felt herself starting to give out.
And then —
"Ah! My stomach — it hurts so much!"
Carter's grip froze.
He looked back and saw Laura clutching her swollen belly, her face white as paper, sliding slowly down the doorframe as fine cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
"Laura!"
Carter let go of Erica's throat in an instant and rushed over.
With nothing to hold her up, Erica sank limply to the floor, dragging in gulp after gulp of air, her throat raw and burning.
She lifted her eyes and through the blur saw Carter kneeling beside Laura, gathering her carefully against him, his voice frantic to the point of breaking.
"Laura, how do you feel? Where does it hurt? Look at me, look at me!"
He fumbled his phone out of his pocket to call 911, his other hand gripping Laura's and pressing it to his own cheek.
"Don't be scared. I'll get you to the hospital right now. You and the baby are going to be fine, do you hear me? You'll be fine!"
He hung up, lifted Laura into his arms, and started toward the elevators.
He passed right by Erica without a single glance.
The elevator doors closed, and Erica was left alone, sitting in the empty elevator hall.
She leaned against the wall, the blood from her forehead already reaching her jaw, and at last she made up her mind. She took out her phone and sent a text.
"Dad, I'm not marrying Carter. I'll go through with the arranged match."
