CHAPTER 29
The next hours dragged by, each one stretching longer than the last. Beth did her best to keep her head down, but the steady hum of whispered comments about her marriage to Bryce was impossible to ignore.
Most weren’t said directly—just loud enough to make sure she heard.
Some came wrapped in fake smiles and backhanded compliments. Others were outright cruel.
It amazed her how catty women could be, especially when they felt slighted. None of them had been dating Bryce, but judging by the way they acted, you’d think she’d stolen someone’s fiancé.
Not everyone was hostile. A few seemed surprised but indifferent.
How she wished Kim or Tasha had been working—they would’ve shut the gossip down fast. Unfortunately, Kim had the overnight shift, and Tasha only overlapped with her for a couple of hours.
The charge nurse, Beverly, didn’t exactly come to her defense, although Beth did overhear her hush a few nurses and remind them to get back to work.
But Crystal… Crystal was the worst.
Tall, blonde, and stunning, she’d worked her way through nursing school as a Hooters server and was proud of what landed her that job. She also never hid her flings with Bryce. Today, she was all too eager to remind Beth of them.
“I’m just saying,” Crystal had loudly told another nurse while passing Beth’s station, “without her having the two main assets he likes most, I give it three months.”
Beth’s jaw clenched as her gaze instinctively dropped to her flat chest.
Just when she thought the day couldn’t get worse, the paramedics rolled in two college students. One had a split eyebrow and the other had a possible wrist fracture. They were flanked by two buddies—loud, rowdy, and clearly still drunk from whatever party they had come from.
“You’re cute,” one of them slurred at Beth as she tried to assess the patient. “Can I get your number... and maybe a sponge bath?”
Beth ignored him, focusing on the injury, but their commentary only escalated. The other one leaned close, practically breathing down her neck as he laughed at his buddy’s jokes.
“I hope that blonde nurse with the rack comes in. You know, the one we passed earlier?”
Beth’s tone remained calm and clipped as she stepped back and moved to the doorway. “Can I get some assistance in here, please?”
Within seconds, Bryce and Crystal walked in just as one of the drunk guys grabbed Beth’s wrist, not letting go.
Bryce’s voice was low, deadly calm. “Get your hands off my wife.”
The words cracked through the noise like a whip.
His posture remained relaxed, but Beth saw it—the fury simmering behind his eyes. Without a word, he stepped in and gently tucked her behind him.
She immediately shook off his protective hold, finding it unnecessary.
“I’m fine,” she said, her tone clipped as she stepped right back up to her patient.
Crystal, to her credit, handled the situation like a pro, moving in to assist while Bryce kept the other two guys distracted—cracking a joke, keeping things light, never once losing his cool.
It was only after the guys were wheeled out and the room was clear that Bryce pulled Beth aside to check on her.
“You, okay?”
Beth hesitated. She was fine, technically. But the heat in Bryce’s eyes, the way he had been so protective of her moments ago, stirred something fierce and tender inside her.
“I’m okay,” she whispered, wishing they were alone.
He didn’t say anything else—just leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the scar along her hairline. Right there in the hall, in front of everyone before making his way to his next patient.
The gesture undid her. In the most tender of ways.
Then Crystal spoke.
She’d been watching the sweet exchange between husband and wife, lying in wait like a viper ready to strike the moment Bryce was out of earshot.
“Aww, isn’t that cute? You think he’s all worked up about you?” Crystal’s voice dripped venom, her smile the kind that chilled you to the bone. “Honey, that man is territorial over whoever’s warming his bed—until he’s done with them.”
Beth froze.
“You should’ve seen him go full alpha one night at the club when I flirted with another guy.
The way he growled, ‘She’s mine,’ and knocked the poor guy out with one punch?
” Crystal gave a dreamy sigh. “Hottest. Thing. Ever. Almost as hot as when he took me back to his place and proved it—in every sense of the word.”
Beth’s world tilted.
She was going to be sick.
Crystal’s words unraveled her. Fragments of thoughts and memories crashed over her—Bryce telling her she was the only one he’d ever brought to the loft.
Their unresolved conversation about his past. The teasing.
The flirting. The charm that came so easily to him.
All of it now mingled with the vivid, ugly image Crystal had painted.
Was their marriage just a game of cat and mouse? Once the thrill of the chase was over, would he still want her?
Beth sucked in a breath and pressed a trembling hand to her stomach as the fear settled heavily in her chest—
What if it was just a game to him?
Beth felt like she couldn’t breathe.
“Please move,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. Her sapphire eyes looked brighter than ever against the sudden pallor of her face.
Crystal just stood there and laughed—cold, cruel, and triumphant.
“She said move.”
The sharp edge of Tasha’s voice cut through the tension like a blade.
Tasha appeared out of nowhere, her eyes flashing as she stepped between them. Crystal’s smirk faltered.
Without another word, Tasha gently but firmly took Beth by the arm.
“Come on,” she said, her voice softer now, but still tight with anger.
“Bathroom,” Beth said tightly, barely holding it together. “Now.”
The second the door swung shut, tears blurred her vision. She ducked into the nearest stall and locked it behind her, collapsing onto the closed toilet lid, hands trembling against her face.
“Just breathe,” Tasha said softly from the other side of the stall. “That cat’s had her claws out since your wedding announcement.
Breathe, Beth.”
Beth tried.
But it was no use.
Her stomach twisted violently. She lunged toward the toilet, barely making it in time. The day had officially broken her.
Beth heard Tasha leave at one point, only to return as Beth was washing up. Tasha handed her a travel toothbrush set and some mascara.
“Oh, thank you.” Beth whispered with gratitude, her throat still raw.
“Gurl, that Crystal is petty and vindictive as all get out. Don’t let her get to you, you hear me?” At Beth’s nod, Tasha gave her a quick hug.
“I’ll cover rounds, you take all the time you need in here. When you leave, hold your head up high and don’t let that witch know she got to you.”
By the time Beth’s shift ended, she felt hollowed out.
The nausea had passed, but the ache in her chest remained. She hadn’t seen Crystal again after the bathroom, but the damage had already been done. Every whisper, every glance, every cruel word lingered in her mind like bruises she couldn’t cover.
Her eyes burned as she slipped into Bryce’s office and quietly shut the door behind her. She didn’t bother turning on the lights. The dimness suited her mood.
Crossing to the mirror on the wall, she looked at her reflection—flat scrub top, tired eyes, and a weariness she couldn’t scour away.
She’d never been one to care much about makeup, but for the first time, Beth wondered if it might help.
Could it soften the harshness in her face, or at least hide how close she was to falling apart?
She sat on the couch in the corner, curling her legs beneath her. Pulling a book from her bag, she opened it, but the words blurred on the page.
She just needed to breathe.
The door opened. She looked up as Bryce stepped in. He paused when he saw her sitting there.
“Hey,” he said softly, coming to sit beside her. “Did the day get any better?”
Beth didn’t look at him. “No. Not really.”
“What was the worst part?”
She didn’t sugarcoat it. “It’s a tie between hearing how many of my coworkers you’ve slept with... and hearing about your preferences in bed.”
Bryce winced. “Wow. I knew some of them could be petty, but I didn’t think they’d say that kind of stuff out loud.”
“They didn’t. Not directly. Most of them just made sure I overheard,” she said, her voice quiet. “Crystal, on the other hand, was pretty direct.”
Bryce’s jaw ticked. “I should’ve warned you about her. She’s been nasty ever since I made it clear she wasn’t anything serious. I’m sorry for all of it, for what I did. And for not talking to you about it sooner. You should’ve heard it from me—not from them.”
Beth finally looked at him, her expression heavy. “I knew you weren’t a saint, Bryce. But hearing people tell me who you’ve slept with or place bets on how long it’ll take you to cheat on me… it just hit different.”
“I’ve never cheated on anyone,” he said, his voice firm—angry, even, “and I never will. Especially not on my wife. Not after what my dad did to my mother—and to me.”
“I know.” She sighed. She did know. She believed him. But it didn’t stop the ache. “I wouldn’t have stayed married if I didn’t believe that. But people are cruel.”
Bryce exhaled through his nose, jaw tight. “Crystal’s words were cruel and out of line. If I’d known how far she’d gone, I would’ve stepped in. You told me there was some chatter, but… I wasn’t sure how to handle it without making it worse for you.”
Beth shook her head, her voice quiet. “Crystal went from catty to downright vicious after you and she helped me with those guys.”
She paused, a swirl of nausea and shame catching in her. She knew she needed to tell him what Crystal had said—what it had done to her—but it was still so raw.
Bryce ran a hand down his face. “I don’t get it. None of this is her business.”
“She thinks it is,” Beth whispered, still picking at the corner of her book. “The looks. The judgment. The things she said…”