The sun had barely dipped behind the LA skyline when Carter Walton’s world began to unravel. Just moments after slipping a diamond ring onto Hope Logan’s finger, surrounded by candles, jasmine, and love, the dream he’d been building shattered with the sudden return of a ghost from his past—Daphne, standing at the edge of the Forrester rooftop, pale and trembling.

Hope’s whispered “Yes” still echoed in the air when Daphne stepped forward through the stunned crowd and dropped a bombshell: “I’m three months pregnant… and the baby is yours.”

In an instant, the soft glow of celebration turned into a storm of silence and disbelief. Hope, radiant in her rose-colored dress, went cold. The moment—the perfect engagement, the symbolic beginning of forever—was now poisoned by a truth Carter hadn’t expected, or perhaps had chosen to forget.

Daphne, clutching a small duffel bag and her courage, revealed a secret that rewrote their love story. A single night, two winters ago—a moment of weakness and longing—had left her pregnant. It had been a comfort-seeking embrace between two lonely people. And now, that moment was growing into a life Carter had helped create.

Hope’s heart crumbled. Her memories with Carter—of long nights spent dreaming together, of his support when her family fell apart—now felt tainted. The man she trusted with her future had a past that had finally caught up. A past that now had a heartbeat.

Carter’s breath hitched as he looked between the two women: one, his bride-to-be, now devastated and uncertain; the other, the mother of his unborn child, scared but resolved. “Hope, I never meant for this to happen,” Carter said, voice rough with regret. “But I can’t deny the truth. I have to take responsibility.”

Daphne’s voice broke as she added, “I’m not here to take you away from her. I just couldn’t hide it anymore. This child deserves to know who their father is.”

The onlookers—their colleagues, friends, and family—stood in stunned silence. Brooke Logan, Ridge, Steffy… all watched as the fairytale turned to tragedy. Hope, struggling to speak, finally turned away. “Don’t try to fix this now,” she whispered, shaking off Carter’s hand and fleeing down the marble stairs like a grieving ghost.

Later that evening, Carter found himself in the quiet study at Spencer Publications, seated across from Daphne. Her hand rested on her belly as she confessed everything: how scared she’d been when the test turned positive, how she ran rather than destroy his life, and how she could no longer pretend it didn’t matter.

Carter was torn. He still loved Hope. But now, there was a child—a life—growing because of a mistake he couldn’t take back. “I’ll be there for you and our baby,” he promised. “But I’ve built my life around Hope.”

Daphne’s eyes, filled with tears, didn’t plead. They challenged. “Then you have to choose, Carter. Because you can’t have us both.”

The scandal didn’t stay hidden for long. Overnight, fashion blogs and tabloids exploded with headlines. The engagement was thrown into chaos. At Forrester Creations, Ridge called an emergency PR meeting while Brooke tried to comfort her daughter. But Hope couldn’t be comforted. She stood at the edge of her future, staring at a skyline that suddenly looked foreign.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Hope told her mother, voice hoarse. “I don’t know if I can love a man who’s bound to someone else… and to a child that ties him to her forever.”

Brooke, ever the voice of strength, responded gently. “Only you can decide that. But don’t make your choice based on fear. Make it based on who you are.”

Ridge, recalling his own tangled history with Brooke and Taylor, pulled Carter aside. “You’ve got two women, Carter. But only one future. Be honest. Be brave. Because whoever you choose, you’ll live with that choice for the rest of your life.”

That night, Hope waited alone in a quiet studio at Spencer Publications, surrounded by sketches and candlelight. Carter entered, face lined with exhaustion and emotion. “I love you, Hope,” he said. “But I can’t pretend this baby doesn’t exist. Daphne will always be part of my life now.”

Hope’s voice trembled. “Then tell me why I shouldn’t let you go.”

Carter knelt beside her. “Because I believe we can build a future that includes this child without losing what we have. I’m asking you to take a leap with me. It won’t be easy, but I want to build something real. With you.”

Hope’s eyes filled with tears. “You’re asking me to embrace a life I never asked for. To be strong enough to love a child that reminds me of your past.”

“I am,” he said simply. “Because I can’t walk away from either of you.”

Time froze between them. The rooftop garden, once a place of celebration, now held only uncertainty. Hope looked at the engagement ring still on her finger and thought of all the promises Carter had made. Could she still believe in them?

Outside, the city lights sparkled like the future they once dreamed of. And in that stillness, Hope’s heart reached a crossroads. She could walk away—grieve the life she thought she’d have—or she could risk everything for love, even when it came in unexpected forms.

Her choice—whatever it would be—would define more than her own life. It would define the family they might become, and the love they’d all have to fight for.

And as the final light faded into the LA night, one question still lingered: Will Carter choose Hope… or Daphne?