CHAPTER 29 #2
Bryce let out a low curse, his tone sharp. “What. Did. She. Say?”
Beth couldn’t look at him. She stared at her hands, fingers trembling slightly. “She told me… about the things you two used to do.”
Bryce went rigid beside her, but she kept going, her voice hollow—pain laced in every word. For once, there was no nervous stumble in her speech. Only heartbreak.
“She said there was a night at the bar… where you knocked out a guy because you were territorial over her. Then took her back to your place and ‘proved it’—her words.”
Beth made air quotes as she echoed it, her voice catching. “She said our marriage was just a game to you. That once the thrill of the chase wore off, you’d grow tired of me… and want me to leave.”
Bryce stilled. Her words echoed in his head, lining up with the moments when he’d flirted and teased and called himself territorial. He was beginning to understand now—this was her fear. The one she’d never said aloud. The one he’d been brushing up against since the beginning.
His heart twisted.
He touched her hand gently, then leaned closer, his voice quiet but fierce. “Lizzy, I will never grow tired of you. Not at work. Not in this marriage. Not in this life.” His gaze searched hers. “I love you. I love you more than I’ll ever be able to express in words.”
She blinked rapidly, emotion threatening to spill over—but not from pain this time. From hope.
Bryce reached for her other hand. “As for what Crystal said… none of that was true. That night at the bar? We’d gone out a few times, sure, had some fun—but she wanted more.
She started flirting with some guy to make me jealous.
I walked over to say I was leaving. She got mad when I didn’t react the way she wanted. ”
“She wanted you to fight for her?” Beth guessed softly.
He nodded. “She wanted me to hit the guy. Be possessive. Claim her. But I don’t play games like that. I reminded her we were never serious—she knew that from the start. She left with the guy. I left. Alone.”
Beth exhaled a shaky breath, relief and shame mingling in her chest. She believed him.
Her voice wavered. “I got so upset earlier… I threw up.”
Bryce didn’t even look surprised. “When?”
“In the bathroom,” she said quietly, looking away. “After Crystal... I thought I was holding it together, but I’m not. Not really.”
Bryce gently cupped her face, his thumb brushing the corner of her eye. “I’m so sorry you were treated that way.”
She nodded slowly, her throat too tight to speak.
He didn’t say another word—just pulled her into his arms and held her there, steady and sure, until her breathing evened out and the tears subsided.
She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears.
Then he kissed her forehead—soft, reverent.
He didn’t push. Instead, he said gently, “Earlier—I asked you to come by for a reason. After what you just told me, I still want to talk to you about it. But if you don’t feel up to another hard conversation, I can wait.”
Beth straightened, wiping at her face. “No… now’s fine. Tomorrow might be worse.”
He hesitated, then reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “After living with you for a week, I’ve developed a few suspicions… and what you just told me confirms them.”
“Suspicions?” Beth’s brows knit together, confusion softening her voice. The way he was talking—gentle, cautious—it sounded like he was trying not to spook a wounded animal.
“There’s a specimen cup and a pregnancy test in the bathroom,” he said softly. “I think you’re pregnant, sweetheart.”
She froze, staring at him—beyond shocked.
Her mind spun.
That had been her biggest fear in the beginning. But as the days passed—filled with joy, tension, and every emotion in between—she’d let the thought drift to the back of her mind. Too much else had taken priority.
“I just think we should check,” Bryce added gently, his fingers brushing her chin. “It might still be too early, but I know you didn’t want to run blood work.”
He didn’t say more. Didn’t pressure her. Just waited.
Beth didn’t respond, just rose quietly and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Minutes later Beth came out and reclaimed her seat on the couch. Bryce was standing nearby, watching her carefully, but she didn’t say a word. She set her phone face-up on the small table between them, the timer already ticking down.
Then she picked up her book, but she didn’t read, didn’t speak. Just stared at the timer like it might detonate when it got to zero.
Bryce paced the room like a man walking a tightrope—measured steps, one eye always on her.
The five-minute wait felt longer than her entire shift.
When the alarm finally chimed, Beth stood, arms stiff at her sides. Bryce fell into step beside her, and together, they walked into the bathroom.
She stopped just inside the doorway, arms crossed tightly, hovering like a spectator.
“I can’t look,” she whispered.
Bryce stepped forward and checked the test.
He froze.
For a single, breathless second, everything stilled.
Beth’s chest tightened—until she realized he wasn’t frozen in fear.
The tension in his shoulders didn’t just sag in relief. It uncoiled into something else entirely.
Joy.
He turned slowly, expression lit with something deep and wide and warm.
Beth wasn’t prepared for that.
She’d braced for panic. Or relief. Even disappointment.
But joy?
The lump in her throat rose before she could stop it.
Then, slowly, the weight she’d been carrying all day—of judgment, shame, insecurity—lifted just enough for her to breathe again.
They weren’t pregnant.
There wasn’t another weight to carry.
There was still time. Time to discover who they were as a couple, without another layer added.
Bryce stepped forward and cradled her face in both hands, his touch gentle, reverent. She thought he might kiss her forehead—he always kissed her forehead.
But this time, he kissed her mouth—soft but certain, pouring everything into it.
It wasn’t a kiss of lust or even celebration.
It was love. Steady and sure.
When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers and voiced a breath against her lips.
“You’re going to be a mom.”
Beth’s eyes widened, shock stealing her voice.
Wait…what?
She pulled back like she’d been slapped, blinking at him, certain she had misunderstood. But then she saw the truth in his eyes—clear and devastatingly sincere.
They were pregnant.
A beat passed. Then another.
Then she turned.
Without a word, she walked out of the bathroom like she was moving through water—each step slow, disconnected, her body ahead of her mind.
Without a word, she gathered her things, moving as if in a trance. She didn’t meet his eyes. Didn’t speak. Didn’t even look back.
She just walked out of the office.
Quiet. Shaken. Numb.