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 cornerof her book. “The looks. The judgment. The things she said…”
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.”
