From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 106- No need

Bert had arranged lunch with great thoughtfulness. He took into account Lilian’s needs as a pregnant woman, as well as the fact that Renata was still recovering from a serious illness. The dishes he ordered were carefully chosen, and when the food was served, Bert introduced each dish one by one—especially pointing out which ones were suitable for Renata, emphasizing them in particular.

His attentiveness made Renata look at him twice.

After lunch, Lilian dragged them around for a bit more shopping before the four of them finally headed home.

Naturally, Bert drove Catherine and Renata back first, then took Lilian with him as he left. Once Catherine and Renata were home, Renata couldn’t help but sigh with admiration.

"That young lady from Burg Eltz has such a lovely personality—no trace of arrogance at all. She’s really very likable."

"Yes, she truly is a good person," Catherine agreed. What Renata said made perfect sense to her. Thinking again of Lucca, Catherine couldn’t help but reflect that these two women—Lucca and Lilian—were complete opposites, and at the root of it all lay differences in upbringing and family education.

No wonder Lilian had found such a beautiful love with Morrison. And no wonder Lucca could only resort to stealing other women’s boyfriends. Their fates were written into their personalities. A young woman must first cultivate a good character if she hopes to win a good man.

Who would be willing to spend every day with a woman who was spoiled and willful? Even if a man were initially drawn to beauty and desire, time would inevitably breed weariness and resentment.

Only character and inner grace could truly keep a man’s heart. Relying on beauty alone had never been a proper or lasting path.

After a moment’s thought, Renata added, "Her elder brother seems quite nice too—mature, steady, and very caring toward his sister."

Because Renata suddenly mentioned Bert, Catherine’s heart skipped a beat. And when Renata went on to praise him, Catherine felt a subtle sense of relief. If Renata could speak well of him, that meant she approved of him too.

An inexplicable sweetness welled up in Catherine’s chest. It was hard to put into words—the feeling of someone she cared about being acknowledged by the person closest to her, warm and gently intoxicating.

That evening, Lilian and Morrison returned to the Mosfamily home for dinner, bringing along the gifts Lilian had bought for Mr. Mosand Linda. Naturally, both of them were deeply touched.

This gathering was mainly to celebrate Karl’s successful proposal, so Mr. Moshad prepared an especially lavish dinner. Morrison and Marylin had also returned from Manchester, and as everyone sat chatting together, Morrison complained about how Lilian had been dragged out shopping all day by Bert. Hearing this, Karl beamed and made a suggestion.

"Lilian, since your brother is on his own, why don’t we invite him to join us for dinner tonight? And if we could also invite the young lady who designed the ring, that would be perfect."

Karl and Marylin were both extremely grateful to Bert and Catherine for designing the gown and the ring. Although the proposal and the acceptance had been their own choices, they had to admit that the beautiful dress and the dazzling ring had made the moment far more romantic and moving. They wanted to treat the two of them to a meal as a gesture of thanks.

But as soon as Karl finished speaking, Morrison was the first to protest.

"If you want to thank them, can’t you do it privately later? Today is a family gathering. What does it look like to invite outsiders?"

Morrison had absolutely no desire for Bert to come. Bert had already monopolized Lilian for the entire day, and Morrison was still fuming. Now Karl wanted to invite Bert over for dinner—was he really his own brother?

Linda immediately came to their defense.

"How is Lilian’s elder brother an outsider? By your logic, wouldn’t that make Lilian an outsider too?"

Morrison, "..."

What kind of life was this? Not a single person in the whole family ever took his side.

Ignoring his darkened expression, Linda turned directly to Lilian.

"Call your brother—and that young lady who designed the ring. Invite them both to come over."

Karl’s successful proposal had put Linda in an excellent mood. She had always loved lively gatherings and preferred the house to be as full as possible. Besides, Bert was Lilian’s brother—it was perfectly natural for him to join them for dinner.

Lilian took out her phone.

"My brother should be fine, but the young lady who designed the ring probably can’t come. Her mother isn’t in very good health and was just discharged after surgery. She’ll likely stay home to keep her mother company. And she’s quite shy—this kind of occasion would probably frighten her."

Though they hadn’t interacted many times, Lilian had a fair understanding of Catherine’s temperament.

Lilian’s first call was to Catherine. Just as expected, Catherine politely declined, citing the exhaustion from a day of shopping and the need to take care of Renata. When Lilian called Bert, he initially didn’t want to go either. But Linda was so warm and enthusiastic—she even took the phone and insisted on inviting him herself—that Bert found it hard to refuse and eventually agreed.

Morrison stormed upstairs to sulk.

After hanging up, Lilian soon followed him upstairs as well—naturally, to coax him.

On such a happy day, it simply wouldn’t do to let him stew in his frustration alone.

Morrison was in the bedroom he shared with Lilian, pretending to read. His tall frame was propped casually against the bed, a book held in his hands, his posture convincing enough—but his mind was nowhere near the page.

When he saw Lilian push the door open and come in, he immediately lifted the book and turned his head to the other side.

How could Lilian fail to see through his awkward sulking? But when one person raises the bar, the other often raises it higher. He was angry, so she simply stepped forward and called out sweetly,

"dear—"

In an instant, Morrison’s anger dissipated by more than half. Lilian walked over and deliberately leaned lightly against him, asking in a soft, coaxing tone,

"What’s wrong, hubby?"

Because Lilian was pregnant, the moment she leaned on him like that, Morrison was startled. He sat up at once and pulled her upright with him, his handsome face tightening slightly.

"How can you lie on someone like that in your condition?"

Lilian laughed quietly to herself in triumph. Good—he was talking to her now.

Morrison sat on the bed, and Lilian simply leaned into him, settling herself onto his lap. She lifted her arms to wrap around his neck and complained in an aggrieved voice,

"Well, whose fault is it for ignoring me?"

There was hardly any anger left in Morrison’s heart now, though he still voiced a mild protest.

"Do you even have your husband in your eyes anymore?"

Wasn’t there only her brother left now? Listening only to him, revolving around him, worrying endlessly about his lifelong happiness.

Lilian laughed, her smile sweet and radiant.

"How could there not be you? You’re the most important person to me."

Perhaps because she had spent so much time with Morrison, she had learned quite a few ways to soothe and coax someone. Lilian was now very good at it—sweet words and honeyed promises came easily to her. Hearing her say that he was the most important person in her heart made Morrison feel as though flowers were blooming inside his chest.

And Lilian wasn’t just saying nice things to placate him—she truly meant every word.

To her, Morrison was naturally the most important. He was the man she loved with all her strength, the father of the child she carried, the person she intended to walk through life with. How could he not matter?

Still holding onto his neck, she continued softly,

"You know my brother’s had a hard life for the first half of it. That’s why I really want him to find a good place to belong as soon as possible. So lately I’ve been prioritizing him—but that doesn’t mean you’re not important to me."

"I love you, Morrison. I love you very, very much."

Lilian gazed deeply into Morrison’s eyes as she said this, her voice thick with emotion, then leaned in and kissed his lips of her own accord.

Morrison was completely disarmed, left lightheaded by her affection. By the time Bert arrived later, there was not a trace of negativity left in him—he even greeted Bert with a smile.

Bert had long known that among everyone in the Mosfamily, Morrison was probably the one who welcomed him the least. In fact, one reason Bert had agreed to come to dinner was precisely to irritate Morrison a little.

Even though Morrison and Lilian were now loving and reconciled, and Morrison had turned over a new leaf, Bert still couldn’t forget the outrageous way Morrison had broken up with Lilian back then. The memory alone made him want to provoke him.

So he came without restraint—only to find Morrison smiling at him. Bert even thought he was seeing things at first. But it was real. And soon enough, he understood why.

Judging by that blissed-out expression on Morrison’s face, Lilian must have worked her magic on him again. He really didn’t have much backbone.

Still, Bert had to admit that the Mosfamily atmosphere was genuinely lively and warm—something he had always longed for, yet never truly had. And, truthfully, he enjoyed it.

Dinner passed in a cheerful, harmonious bustle. But just as it was about to end, Bert received a phone call. His expression changed instantly—into something no one there had ever seen before.

The gentle, refined façade vanished, replaced by something ruthless and violent.

His handsome face seemed to freeze over, and his entire presence sank into a chilling, ominous darkness.

A terrifying storm was gathering in his eyes. In a voice cold and vicious, he said to the person on the other end of the line,

"Keep an eye on them. I’m on my way."

He hung up, forced his emotions back under control, and addressed everyone at the table.

"Sorry. Something happened with Catherine. I need to go check on her."

With that, he stood up and was about to leave when Morrison hurried over and stopped him, his expression equally grave.

"Do you need help?"

Though Morrison was usually displeased with Bert and constantly competing with him out of jealousy, when something truly went wrong, he was always the first to offer assistance.

Bert glanced at Morrison and replied calmly,

"No need. I’ve already arranged everything."

Then he left.

Watching Bert’s retreating figure, Morrison lifted a hand to rub his arm and exaggeratedly shivered, then laughed and said to Lilian,

"Whoever was stupid enough to offend him is probably going to die a miserable death."

After that, he added with a hint of schadenfreude,

"Really, of all people they could’ve offended—why him?"

Having experienced Bert’s methods firsthand, Morrison felt deep sympathy for whoever had laid a hand on Catherine.

It didn’t take much guessing to figure out who it was—most likely that self-destructive second daughter of the Channing family. Morrison had already heard Lilian describe how she had stood up for Catherine and humiliated Lucca at the mall earlier that day. Other than Lucca, who else could harbor such deep hostility and hatred toward Catherine? 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Bert sped all the way to Catherine’s house. It was Catherine herself who opened the door for him.

Inside, the already small living room felt even more cramped with several people packed into it.

Renata had been settled into Catherine’s bedroom and hadn’t come out. In the living room, aside from Catherine, there were two burly men. At their feet, each was crouching over a man whose hands were tied behind his back. Both men had fierce-looking tattoos exposed on their hands and the backs of their necks—one glance was enough to tell they were no decent sort.

The moment Bert entered, the first thing he did was stride over and viciously kick both men to the ground. One of them coughed violently, nearly unable to catch his breath, a clear sign of just how brutal and heavy Bert’s kick had been.

Bert was the type of man who planned every step carefully and thought several moves ahead. As early as when Lucca’s life began to fall apart while Catherine’s only grew better and better, he had already made thorough arrangements—secretly placing people around Catherine to protect her. Of course, he had never let Catherine notice.

Lucca had once been capable of something as despicable and filthy as drugging Catherine. There was no doubt she would be capable of doing something even worse now.