Carter

Chapter 20

 Carter's pov-

" Come on, sweetheart. Just give me one more push." the nurse said. I let out a scream and pushed as hard as I could. I could literally feel my vagina ripping in two. But it was all worth it when the room filled with the sound of a crying baby. " Congratulations, you have a beautiful baby boy." she said, laying him on my chest.

For the first time in a long time a smile broke out on my face. A real, genuine smile. I stared down at my son and could already see the similarities between him and I. I'm so happy he looks like me. He has my eyes, my nose, my lips. Hopefully he'll get my personality and not his fathers.

I gently stroked the knuckle of my finger over his cheek, " Bonjour, mon petit amour." I whispered, tears of joy falling from my eyes. His little eyes blinked open and he slowly looked up at me. He let out a few unintelligible sounds before his tiny hand reached up and took hold of my finger. I was shocked at how tight his grip was.

" Je t'aime tellement. Je promets que je te protégerai toujours. Personne ne te fera jamais de mal." - " I love you so much. I promise I will always protect you. No one will ever harm you." I whispered, gently squeezing his finger back.

" Have you come up with a name yet?" a nurse asked. I've had names picked out for a while. Melina if it was a girl, Miles if it was a boy.

" Miles. His name is Miles."

" CARTER!" My eyes snapped open to see Ace knelt in front of me. His eyes were wide with horror as he glanced down at my naked, bruised body. He wasted no time stripping off his shirt and slipping it over my head. I could feel myself shivering, even though I'm not cold. Tears were sliding down my cheeks, falling onto his shirt.

" Baby, who did this to you?" he asked in a whisper, his hand hovering over my knee. He was unsure whether he should touch me or not. I didn't answer him, I couldn't. Exhaustion was quickly taking over me and I didn't fight it. I let my head loll back, my eyes slowly blinking close. I could see Ace's mouth moving but couldn't hear what he was saying. I let myself fade off.

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Ace's pov-

I felt my heart drop when I walked into the conference room and saw Carter. Her clothes were in pieces, scattered around the room. She was tucked into the corner of the room, her knees drawn to her chest. She had herself wrapped in a tight little ball yet I could still see the way her body was shaking.

I ran to her side, kneeling down on the ground so I was level with her. Her eyes were closed with her head resting on top of her knees. " Carter, baby?" My voice comes out in barely a whisper. I could feel my stomach churning. I can't believe I let this happen to her. I was supposed to protect her. I never should have left.

" Carter?" I said a little louder but still got nothing in return. I felt my heart spike at her unresponsiveness, worried she might have a serious injury. " CARTER!" I shouted, placing my hand on her arm. Her eyes flew open and she just stared at me. I was quick to remove my hand from her arm, slightly taken aback with her. I wasted no time stripping off my shirt and covering her with it. I couldn't stand to see all the new and old bruises covering her body. It makes me sick to think about the things that've been done to her.

Tears streamed down her face, soaking my shirt. " Baby, who did this to you?" I asked in a whisper, scared to speak any louder. My hand was hovering above her knee. My first instinct was to use touch to comfort her but I stopped myself, knowing it would probably make things worse. She never answered me. Instead I watched as her head slowly swayed side to side before her head lolled back and her eyes fluttered closed. Her body went limp.