Whispers Turn to Whimpers: Could He Ever Change?

"Ah! Please help me! It hurts so much!"

Amidst the agonizing cries for help, a crowd gathered, swelling in number.

Sherilyn Gomez stood frozen at the top of the staircase on the second floor, her gaze shifting from the tumbling figure of Caroline Bennett below to her hands, utterly bewildered.

"How did this happen?" she murmured.

Why did Caroline suddenly fall?

"What's going on here?" someone asked.

It was the Johnson family's annual feast, attended by numerous guests. The arriving crowd encircled Caroline, who lay at the bottom of the stairs.

"What happened? How did she fall?"

"She, she..." Despite her pain, Caroline looked up toward the top of the stairs. It suddenly dawned on everyone.

"Sherilyn pushed her!"

"Oh my God! Sherilyn, no matter how much you dislike Caroline, you can't go this far! She's pregnant, for heaven's sake!" "Exactly! That's too much."

the accusations, Sherilyn went pale as she

wanted to explain that she hadn't pushed Caroline. But no one was willing

authoritative voice sliced through the crowd,

Gilbert Johnson, Sherilyn's husband

up,

as piercing as a knife, landing squarely on

flinched, shaking her head. "It

buy it, and his good-looking face scrunched up in disgust and hate. "You think Caroline jumped by herself, huh? Do you think nobody knows you've

left Sherilyn speechless, unable to

into Gilbert's embrace, her voice barely a whisper, "Gilbert, it hurts. It

wrong?" Then, Sylvia Johnson, the family's matriarch, also arrived. "What happened

blood!" Suddenly,

began to spread,

Caroline, terrified, clung to Gilbert, sobbing, "My

Even as he said it, Gilbert's face was ashen, panic setting in. "We must head to the

a fierce glare at Sherilyn, he warned, "You'd better pray the

finishing his words, Gilbert turned

thing then was Caroline and

shaking her head, words failing her,

her mouth