Beth just stared at him, unfocused, unseeing.
Leaning in, Bryce brushed a kiss to her forehead before whispering in her ear, “Baby, you’re in shock. Come back to me.”
Then, moving his lips to hers, he pressed a soft kiss on her lips.
With a hiccup, Beth melted against him, his touch grounding her in a way nothing else ever had.
“No,” she whispered. “I haven’t taken any tests since the first one I told you about,” she hiccupped again. “I don’t know why they’d think I was pregnant.”
Lynn’s heart began to race. Watching the way Bryce handled her sister, the tenderness, the care—she knew Beth didn’t need her protection anymore. She had a much bigger, much more intimidating bodyguard now.
Suddenly, being cooped up in this room was suffocating.
“Oh, geez, Beth. You are so naive,” Lynn blurted out.
Beth flinched, but Lynn was already pacing. “Those women don’t know anything. They just assumed because you got married quickly, you must be pregnant.” Her agitation was evident as she moved toward the door.
“Lynn, wait—” Beth reached for her, but Lynn didn’t stop.
“Whatever. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she muttered, storming out.
Beth made to follow, but Bryce’s voice stopped her.
“Let her go.”
Bryce’s jaw tightened. “What they did is not acceptable.”
“It’s not,” Pastor Steve agreed, his voice edged with quiet pain. “If you’ll allow me, I’d like to address it this morning from the pulpit.”
Beth hesitated, her throat tight. She could still feel the weight of the stares, the lingering whispers pressing in on her like a suffocating fog. The church—her church—had always been her safe haven. These walls had held her in every season of life, a place where she was known, loved, and encouraged. A place where she had belonged.
Until today.
The humiliation cut deeper than anything she had ever experienced. She had never been the subject of gossip, never seen people she admired and trusted turn on her so quickly, so viciously. She had always believed the best of them.
She believed they would support her, stand by her, correct her in love if she ever stumbled. But this?
This wasn’t love.
Her whole world felt like it had cracked wide open.
“Beth,” Bryce said softly, his fingers brushing against hers. “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want me to take you home?”
“No,” Beth admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. Sheexhaled slowly, shaking her head as if trying to physically clear the weight of it all.
It hit her then—this new, unfamiliar pull to escape. To shut it all out and run. She hadn’t noticed it before, but then again, she’d faced so little emotional pain in her life. Maybe it had always been there, just lying dormant. But today, with Bryce beside her—his steady presence grounding her in a way she hadn’t expected—staying felt like the braver choice.
“But running isn’t the answer,” she said, steadier now. “I came here to hear the last sermon in the series on David. I don’t want to face them, but I refuse to hide in shame.”
Bryce’s grip tightened, anchoring her further. “I’m proud of you.”
So was she. At least, she wanted to be.
But right now, all she felt was shattered.
As Pastor Steve and Tami stepped away, giving them a moment of space, Beth stood in the quiet and let the shock begin to settle. The initial sting was still there—sharp, raw, aching—but something else was creeping in beneath it. A deeper kind of hurt. One that wouldn’t fade as easily as humiliation.
Is this what Lynn sees?
