From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 152-self respect

Catherine hurriedly stopped him.

"Forget it. I’ll call myself. I’ll just stay."

She compromised and took out her phone to call her department manager. If Bert personally called to ask for leave on her behalf, everyone would know she was with him.

Half an hour after lunch, Catherine poured Bert a glass of water and urged him to take his medicine. Bert frowned slightly.

"I’m not taking it."

Catherine was puzzled.

"Why not? Your cold isn’t completely better yet. Even though the fever’s gone, you still need to keep taking the cold medicine."

At that moment, Bert was half-reclining on the sofa, dealing with work. On the soft ottoman beside him were several documents his assistant had delivered that morning. Since he hadn’t gone to the office, a backlog of work had piled up.

Bert wanted to finish as quickly as possible so he could free up time to be with Catherine. Their relationship had undergone a real change today, and he didn’t want her to feel that now that he’d "gotten" her, he no longer cherished her—such as by burying himself in work.

As for Catherine urging him to take his medicine, Bert deliberately decided to tease her. After finishing the document in his hand, he set it aside, reached out to pull her into his arms, and murmured against her ear in a low voice,

"I don’t want to take medicine. I only want to eat you."

Catherine, "......"

"Can you be serious for once?"

She struggled to get up from his lap.

"Hurry up and take your medicine."

All Catherine cared about was getting him to take it. She also felt he was becoming more and more shameless lately, constantly saying things that made her blush so hard she didn’t know how to respond.

Bert’s hands started to wander.

"If I take the medicine, will you let me eat you later?"

Catherine was completely unable to answer that. Red-faced, she swatted at his mischievous hands, but he seized the opportunity to wrap his arms around her slender body, making her let out a soft, involuntary sound.

In the end, Bert did take the medicine—after carrying her into the bedroom and devouring her as well.

Catherine couldn’t withstand such fierce demands. While protesting that he was overdoing it, she eventually sank into a deep sleep.

Bert held her in his arms, feeling both satisfied and tender toward her. He knew he was exhausting her, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d been restrained for so many years—now suddenly indulging, it was hard to keep control.

Thinking about how she would have to leave that evening, Bert felt utterly unwilling. But she lived with her mother, Renata, and with Renata’s temperament, she would never allow Catherine to stay out overnight. And given Catherine’s personality, she probably wouldn’t dare tell Renata that their relationship had reached this stage.

So Bert thought that perhaps he should speed things up—propose and get married sooner. Once everything was legitimate, he could live with her openly and properly, and they could lead a calm, peaceful life together.

Bert felt it was necessary to push Gerald a bit, to get him to hurry up and marry Lucca. After ruining Lucca’s marriage, Bert would then propose to Catherine, letting Lucca—left with nothing—see with his own eyes that Catherine had found happiness. Such a stark contrast, one in heaven and one in hell, would surely hurt Lucca even more.

Catherine slept deeply, while Bert quietly plotted all of this in his mind.

After dinner, Bert drove Catherine home. When they reached downstairs at her place, he turned off the engine and looked at her.

"Today, both times, I didn’t take any precautions."

Catherine’s face flushed, and she looked at him shyly, not knowing what to say.

Bert continued,

"In principle, I don’t want you to take emergency contraception—it’s too harmful to your body. So..."

At this point, his eyes were calm and serious.

"If you get pregnant, then have the baby. We’re getting married anyway."

"What do you think?"

He then asked her gently,

"After all, you’re still young and in the middle of building your career. I’m not sure whether you’d be willing to have a child for me at this age. Of course, I’m not exactly young anymore."

They had been discussing a serious topic—marriage and children—but when he said that last sentence, Catherine couldn’t help but laugh.

This man was truly cunning. He could have just said that he wanted to get married and have children soon, yet he laid out so much groundwork first. That final line about not being young anymore gave away all his intentions.

After only a brief moment of hesitation, she looked at him and said softly,

"If there really is a child, I’m willing to give birth to it."

She had no real reservations. Getting married and having children didn’t mean she had to give up her career. And if they truly did have a child, just as he had once said, Renata would surely be more than willing to help take care of the baby, so it wouldn’t affect her work at all.

Family, career, and children could all coexist—why wouldn’t she welcome that?

She answered without the slightest hesitation, and Bert was deeply moved. He took her hand, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her gently.

Thank you, my girl. Thank you for being willing, at the most beautiful age of your life, to marry me and have children with me—thank you for giving this old man a home.

After Bert left, Renata happened to be heading downstairs for her exercise, so Catherine went down with her and walked a few laps together.

Renata had once advised her not to become intimate with Bert too quickly—but today...

Catherine didn’t really have the courage to bring it up, so she chose to stay silent. It wasn’t that she wanted things to turn out this way; she simply had no resistance to Bert at all. He treated her far too well...

Of course, Catherine hadn’t given herself to him lightly just because he was good to her. She could clearly feel his sincerity—his desire to spend his life with her—and that was why she made that choice.

Renata didn’t say much about it. She only mentioned that Channing had called her earlier that day, saying nothing more than the usual apologies and pleas for forgiveness and reconciliation. Renata had hung up on him directly.

Perhaps he was afraid that if he showed up in person, Renata would take harsher measures again, so he only dared to call. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Renata shook her head.

"I really don’t know how he can be so shameless and grovel like that. For money, can someone really give up all dignity and self-respect?"

From Catherine, Renata had learned that Channing was seeking forgiveness purely for Bert’s money, and she found Channing’s money-first mentality utterly despicable.

Renata then said quietly,

"Right now, I just wish there were a place—like a paradise removed from the world—quiet and peaceful, where I could live freely on my own without anyone bothering me."

Catherine didn’t agree with her.

"But wouldn’t you be lonely all by yourself?"

Renata laughed.

"When you reach my age, you’ll understand. The quieter life is, the better. Liveliness belongs to you young people in the end."

Hearing Renata say this made Catherine feel a bit heavy-hearted. She knew that Renata’s desire for solitude came from deep loneliness. Catherine couldn’t help thinking that maybe she really should have a child sooner—if Renata helped take care of the baby, perhaps she wouldn’t feel so lonely anymore.

The very next day, Gerald announced that he was going to marry Lucca. As soon as the news broke, it immediately stirred up another wave of heated discussion—after all, Lucca’s reputation had already been thoroughly ruined by then.