CHAPTER 34
Crystal stopped. She didn’t turn her shoulders rigid.
“I’m sorry our marriage hurt you,” Beth said softly. “But even if Bryce had married you, it wouldn’t have filled the void you’re trying to numb.”
Her words were tender, laced with empathy—something Crystal had never experienced before.
“I see the pain in your eyes. I see how you lash out because you don’t know how else to cope. But Jesus—oh Crystal—Jesus can take that pain. If you let Him. He already paid the price to heal you.”
Crystal still didn’t turn around, but in the mirror beside the door, Beth saw the shimmer of tears.
Beth’s voice stayed steady despite the erratic pounding in her chest.
“You don’t have to live like this,” Beth said gently. “Romans 10:9 says, ‘If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead—you will be saved.’”
Silence blanketed the room—thick and heavy, like the moment was holding its breath. Then, a whisper.
“Why are you doing this?” Crystal’s voice wavered, her face blotchy, eyes glassy with unshed tears. “Why are you being kind to me?”
Beth didn’t flinch. “Because Christ was kind to me first.”
Crystal turned, hesitant and vulnerable. “You can’t really think… He’d love someone… like me. Do you?”
“He already does. The next move? That’s yours to take.”
“I… I don’t know how to pray,” Crystal admitted. Her voice trembled as she wiped her nose on the collar of her scrubs. “What do I even say?”
Beth’s eyes stung. Compassion welled in her chest so deeply, she wasn’t sure how to hold it all.
“There’s no ‘right’ way to pray,” she said softly. “Just talk to Him—share your fears, your desires… your heart. He already knows your thoughts, but He loves to hear your voice.”
Beth motioned to the couch.
“Do I have to pray out loud?” Crystal asked, sinking into the couch as far away from Beth as she could.
“You don’t have to,” Beth said gently. “But if you want to, I won’t judge.”
Crystal closed her eyes. “God… I… I’m sorry, I can’t—” Her eyes popped back open, wide with trepidation. “I don’t know how to do this. What if I do it wrong?” Her head dropped as shame crashed over her like a wave.
Beth reached out, laying her steady hand over Crystal’s trembling one. Her words were just above a whisper.
“Oh hon, you can’t do it wrong. The Bible says God will not despise a broken and contrite spirit… and darlin’, that’s you.”
Crystal didn’t try to pray out loud again. Instead, she squeezed her eyes shut and allowed the tears—and the words—tumbled out of her like a flood.
If You really know everything about me, then You know how awful I am.
The things I’ve done. I hated how my mother treated us—using us, gaslighting us, only caring about getting what she wanted…
I’ve become the person I hated, and I hate myself now.
I don’t know how You can forgive me when I don’t even know how to forgive myself.
But if Beth can be this kind to me after everything I’ve done—after what I tried to do today—and she says it’s because of You? Then that’s what I want. I want You.
I want that void she talked about filled. I’ve listened to her for years talk about You and Your Bible, and the small part of me that wished You were real… started to believe.
I don’t want to be this person anymore. If You’re really real—like I think You are—please help me. Please forgive me. I want to belong to You.
Tears streamed down her face as she slowly turned to look at Beth. Her eyes were different now clearer than before, as if
years of pain and anger had slipped out with her tears.
“Is this… for real?”
Beth’s smile was soft. “Oh, it’s real, alright. How do you feel?”
Crystal blinked. “Different. I don’t know… lighter?”
“Peace,” Beth whispered. “That’s what I feel too.”
Crystal gave a small chuckle as she swiped at her cheeks. “Whoa. I’ve never felt this way.”
Beth caught her breath. The smile Crystal gave her—it wasn’t her usual show-stopping grin. This one wasn’t for attention. She was still stunning, obviously, but now that beauty felt… softer. Realer. Like it finally matched something good on the inside.
“So what do I do now?” Crystal asked, hands fluttering around her like she was trying to catch the feeling. “Like… do I need to do something else to hold on to this? This peace? ‘Cause man, I like it.”
“Take it one day at a time,” Beth said, her voice warm with both tenderness and experience. “There’ll be hard days—days when you struggle to find that peace again…”
Her voice trailed off as her own memories surfaced—those lonely weeks of spiritual fog, when even God’s nearness felt far away.
“…But you’re not alone anymore,” she continued softly. “God never promised us a life without pain—but He did promise to walk through it with us.”
A fresh wave of emotion washed over Crystal. Her beautiful brown eyes shimmered—not with pride or seduction, but with something Beth had never seen in her before.
Genuine remorse.
“Beth, I’m… I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me? I came here to seduce your husband. To hurt you—and you… you could have ruined me. But instead, you gave me a gift I can never repay.”
Beth’s eyes stung with tears. “I didn’t give it to you.
Jesus did. I just pointed you to Him.” She paused, then added with a gentle smile and a small shrug, “But yes—I forgive you.” She tilted her head slightly.
“Trust?” Her smile faltered just a little, honest and real.
“That’ll take time. But forgiveness? That’s already done. ”
She reached for the Bible Bryce now kept on the coffee table and flipped through it, tucking a small slip of paper inside to mark a page.
“Take this.” She held it out to Crystal, who hesitated—almost like she wasn’t sure if she had the right to touch it.
Beth met her eyes, steady and kind. “Start reading. There’s no wrong place to begin, but I’d suggest the book of John. It’s where my Grandma started with me.”
She offered it again.
This time, Crystal reached out and took it with both hands—cradling it like something fragile. Precious. Like something that finally belonged to her.
“You should come to church with us sometime,” Beth said softly.
It wasn’t just an invitation to a building—it felt like an invitation into her life and her family. God’s family.
“I will,” Crystal whispered as they stood from the couch. “And Beth… seriously, thank you. For everything.” She hesitated. Her eyes flicked away, then back. The words she’d held back finally spilled out, heavy and honest.
“I lied. Bryce didn’t invite me here. I just... made it up.”
Beth nodded. “I know.”
She considered adding thanks for admitting it but held back, not wanting to take away from the fact that her trust in Bryce had never wavered.
Crystal looked down, ashamed. “I really am sorry.”
“I’m not,” Beth said, her voice gentle but thick with emotion. Her throat tightened, but her words didn’t waver. “What you meant for evil… God used for good. He’s done that a lot in my life lately.”
Crystal felt a little silly smiling again, but it was like she couldn’t stop. Like the peace inside her was too big to keep in.
“Can I…” She hesitated, glancing down, remembering why she’d come here in the first place. Her voice was smaller when she finished. “Could I give you a hug?”
Beth didn’t answer with words. She just opened her arms wide.
They embraced—no words were said. When they pulled apart, Crystal tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear, still humbled, still shaken.
She gave a small shake of her head, like she couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.
Then, she walked to the door.
She paused with her hand on the knob, glancing back to where Beth still stood by the couch. Their eyes met. Crystal gave her a small, endearing little wave. Slipping on her shoes as she slipped out the door, she left with a satisfied smile in place.
The door clicked shut behind her.
Left alone in the office, Beth stood frozen for a beat—then her knees gave out, and she collapsed onto the couch as if someone had pulled the plug, letting everything drain out of her. Her body felt heavy, limp, spent—every emotion she’d held back now gushing to the surface.
One hand lifted to cover her mouth. The other pressed to her stomach. And then the sobs came.
Tears soaked her cheeks—joy and pain tangled together, stress pouring out of her in wave after wave.
She was crushed. But not destroyed.
Broken. But not abandoned.
Her hope was in the Lord.
Beautiful things come from a crushing weight. Sand. Diamonds. Coffee!
And now—this.
Beth closed her eyes and prayed. She let every swirling thought, every weight, every aching moment drain into the only One who could hold them all. She thanked God for giving her the words to point Crystal to Him—for the strength to speak His truth when it would’ve been easier to harm.
In Ephesians, Paul talked about making the gospel known with boldness.
Wow, Lord… thank You for giving me that boldness today.
But now that the moment had passed, Beth felt like she could fall apart. Her hands trembled in her lap. Her chest rose and fell too fast, too shallow, like her body was just now catching up to the trauma her heart had lived through.
The adrenaline was gone and all that was left was awe. And exhaustion.
Lord… I never would’ve imagined this. It all happened so fast it almost didn’t seem real.
Crystal? Of all people. It was crazy to see how something cracked open in her and she finally let the light in.
” She was here to hurt me… instead, she found You.
And I’m ashamed to admit it, but I never once prayed for her salvation.
Not really. I prayed for strength to endure her.
For patience not to snap. But not for her soul.
You saw her, Lord. You always saw her. You loved her—even when I couldn’t.
The next words slipped out—quiet, but impossible to hold back.
“I’m sorry, Lord… for thinking You wouldn’t reach her. For thinking You couldn’t.”
She rested in the quiet, the weight of grace soft against her soul.