He did not move.
“She is confused,” he said quickly. “This is not what it looks like.”
The woman shook her head, her voice breaking. “I told him I cannot do this. He said I had to.”
I turned to her, ignoring my husband entirely.
“Are you safe right now,” I asked.
She hesitated, then whispered, “He gets angry when I do not listen.”
The room felt smaller.
Matthew tried to speak again, his tone sharp. “You are making this worse.”
“No,” I replied. “You already did that.”
She told me how he had promised stability, how he said his marriage was empty, how he threatened her job and reputation when she refused to end the pregnancy. She told me he had taken her phone, that she was afraid to leave.
I dialed emergency services without looking at him. When officers arrived, the atmosphere shifted immediately. Questions were asked. Pills were identified. The young woman was offered protection and medical support. Matthew’s calm collapsed under scrutiny.
When they asked me if I wanted to file a report, I looked at the woman on the bed and saw someone who could have been me in another life, silenced by fear and manipulation.
“Yes,” I said. “I do.”