Hope Logan thought she had known heartbreak. As the daughter of Brooke Logan and veteran of love stories marred by betrayal, she had endured more than most. But nothing compared to the silent implosion of her world when she revealed her pregnancy to Carter Waltonâonly to be met not with joy, but disbelief and rejection.
It began with the smallest signsâfatigue, dizziness, a gnawing nausea she tried to ignore. But when the second pink line appeared on the pregnancy test, there was no denying it. She was pregnant. And the father was none other than Carter, the man with whom she had shared one night of tenderness in a moment of emotional wreckageâlong before their lives unraveled in different directions.
Carter had been her friend, her confidant, andâbrieflyâher lover. In that fleeting moment, they had both felt something real. But as Hope stared at her ultrasound photo, heart thudding with a mix of awe and terror, she realized how much had changed. Carter wasnât the man he once was. Whispers of his entanglement with Daphne Roseâcalculating, ambitious, and always close by his sideâonly deepened her fears.
Summoning all her courage, Hope walked into Carterâs office, the envelope with the scan in her trembling hands. He looked surprised. Maybe even hopeful. But that moment of softness evaporated the instant she told him. His first response was a dagger: âAre you sure itâs mine?â
That sentence shattered her. She had expected hesitation, not accusation. Carterâs quick apology couldnât repair the damage. He said little else. No embrace. No reassurance. Just cold silence and the visible retreat of a man cornered by consequences he wasnât ready to face.
Hope left that office feeling more alone than she ever had. Not because she lacked support, but because she realized she would have to face this journey without the father of her child. Carter wasnât ready to fight for her or their unborn baby.
Meanwhile, the world kept spinning around her. At Forrester, secrets brewedâabout Electraâs virginity, Willâs confusion, and Lunaâs trap, crafted with Sheilaâs help. In the backdrop, Ridgeâs indecision between Taylor and Brooke created emotional fault lines, and Liamâs worsening brain tumor loomed like a ticking clock.
But through all this, Hope stood tall. Her child was not a mistake. It was a miracle. And she would protect itâwith or without Carter.