Warner strode over to Elle as Emmett left. "Elle, to think that I didn't take you seriously. I was wrong"
Elle smiled modestly. "Thank you, Warner."
"We do belong together," Warner told her. "And you showed me who we could be, together again." He descended on to one knee, holding out an open box to Elle. Inside, there was a dazzling ring – a four carat, princess cut diamond. Elle was shocked. It was exactly what she had dreamed of no longer than a year ago.
"Oh, Warner..." Elle said, trailing off in surprise.
"Will you marry me?" he asked, his beautiful eyes looking up into hers. "I will never doubt you again."
But Elle didn't know what to say. She was confused. And scared. And completely overwhelmed. She'd loved Warner once, hadn't she? But she loved Emmett, too. At least, she thought she did. But then she thought about it harder. She hadn't even known Emmett for a year. They had a few special memories, but nothing like all of the ones that she'd made with Warner. And wasn't Warner the whole reason she came here? She came here for love, and now that she had a chance to grab it, she couldn't let it go.
She wasn't even thinking about Vivienne when she said, "Yes."
Warner grinned. He had a super model's smile, with gleaming with teeth and no smile lines. He placed the ring on Elle's slender finger, holding her hand as he stood up and kissed her. Elle kissed him back fervently, making up for all of the time the couple had lost over the past year. Warner put his arm around her shoulder as she leaned against him. They made their way back to his dorm room, Elle almost tripping over her own feet as she anticipated the night ahead of her.
Emmett had been watching her and Warner from around the corner. Not stalking, he told himself. Just... watching curiously. He knew Warner would try to get back with Elle after the amazing trial she'd just won against all odds. He could almost see it in his head. Warner proposing, Elle smiling sadly and letting him down easily, Warner leaving, feeling dejected, and Elle rushing back into Emmett's arms.
It began to play out the way he had thought, until he saw something that made his head spin. He saw Elle's lips take the shape of the one little word; the one he thought she'd never say. He saw them kiss and rush off to Warner's dorm room. He couldn't let himself think about what they were about to do.
He was astounded. Elle, the girl he'd come to know, the blonde he'd helped achieve great things, the woman he knew he loved – she'd forgotten all of her new morals and limitations and ran off with her old flame, who'd just become her new fiance.
"Elle... I love you," Emmett whispered uselessly.
The next day, Emmett and Elle walked hand-in-hand everywhere, obviously pleased with whatever they'd accomplished the night before. The other students at Harvard tried to hide their disgust, but couldn't seem to keep a straight face whenever Warner and Elle cuddled up together in class. Even if Warner noticed the dirty looks, Elle sure didn't. She was constantly so high off of Warner that she didn't pay attention in class, let alone notice the rude stares or ungodly whispers that surrounded her.
Emmett tried to talk to her, tried to hang out with her, anything, even just as friends. But she was always too busy with Warner. They were making wedding reservations, picking out colors, deciding on a cake, putting together a music playlist, and all kinds of other preparations.
Elle was never in her own dorm room anymore. Emmett wouldn't have been surprised if he'd walked in there and seen dust covering nearly every surface. And when Elle asked if he could clear out her room and drop all of her stuff off at Warner's, that's exactly what Emmett saw when he walked in. The pink party of a room was dusty, and the smell of Elle's orchid perfume was long gone. Emmett took a box and began piling her clothes into it, wondering why he ever agreed to do this in the first place. Another box, filled with hair products, lotions, and bath soaps. He was so unhappy, watching her slip away piece by piece, day by day. All of her potential that he'd helped her uncover was shrinking back,and she was becoming Warner's little puppet all over again.
Emmett loaded up the last of Elle's belongings into yet another box, and he stacked it on top of the boxes he'd already filled. With slight difficulty, he picked up the three boxes and carried them upstairs and down the hallway, stopping at the room number that Elle had requested. He was about to knock on the door when he heard something from inside that shocked him.
"Get out!" Warner shouted. "I don't want to see you here again! Just leave!"
Sobs, accompanied by shallow, shaky breaths, could be heard almost as loud as the shouting,and they sure weren't coming from Warner. "Warner, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, please, it's not my fau–"
"It is your fault! And now it's ruining my life. How many times do I have to say it, you whore? Get out!" Warner opened his door, shoving Elle out into the hallway and throwing her large bag of clothes on top of her. The door slammed, and the click of the lock seemed like the final toll of a bell.
Emmett immediately dropped the boxes filled with Elle's belongings onto the floor as he knelt down next to her. Elle, hysterically sobbing into the floor, trying to form words that continued to come out incoherently.
"Elle," Emmett said, shaking her shoulders lightly, then harder when she didn't look at him. "Elle, come on, I'll take you back to your room." He opened a box and pulled out one of Elle's blankets. He wrapped it around her and picked her up, carrying her back to her old dorm room that he'd cleared out five minutes ago. Elle bawled into Emmett's shoulder as he placed her on the bed, rushing down to retrieve the boxes that he'd left by Warner's door. Setting them on the floor and shutting Elle's door, he walked over and sat next to Elle on the bed. When this proved to help nothing, Emmett scooted closer, cradling the poor girl in his arms and stroking her silky blonde hair.
This began to help, and Elle tried to breath evenly. She felt the rise and fall of Emmett's chest behind her, and she strove to match her own breathing frequency to his. She finally began to relax as he rubbed soothing circles into her back. It would've been perfect if they could have just sat there, Elle thought, with Emmett comforting her, so that she could just forget about everything that just happened. But she knows he will say it, and she waits until he does.
"What happened between you and Warner, Elle?" Emmett asked, his concern for her clear in his voice.
Elle sighed. Tears were still falling from her eyes, but she was no longer hyperventilating. "He kicked me out," she said simply.
"Elle... I could see that for myself. I meant why was he so angry that he made you leave?"
"He didn't just make me leave, Emmett." She shouldn't have said that. Now she would have to tell him everything. She cursed herself for blondely speaking before she thought.
"No, did he...?" Emmett let his sentence finish itself as he gazed down at Elle's hand. There was no longer a sparkling diamond ring placed upon her finger. Actually, a bruise was forming where it used to be. "Elle, why did he do this?"
"Because," Elle began, her voice starting to shake again, "I'm..."
"Elle, just tell me, please."
The room was silent for a moment. Then, finally, Elle spoke.
"I'm pregnant," she whispered.