From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 160- future wife and mother-in-law

"For those who offend you or hurt you, confronting them in such a direct and blunt way is the most foolish course of action."

Bert lowered his gaze and lectured Amy in a measured tone.

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Amy was sharp enough to grasp his point immediately.

"I do. Don’t provoke them face-to-face—just trip them up from behind."

Bert laughed. She really had learned his ways well.

That had always been his style: it was best not to provoke him. But if someone did, he would make sure they paid for it—quietly, from the shadows.

Since Amy clearly understood his intent, Bert didn’t say anything further.

"All right. You may go. Just be more careful in the future."

Amy was stunned.

"That’s it?"

Bert raised an eyebrow at her.

"What were you expecting?"

Amy paused, then turned and left. She had fully expected to be scolded harshly—or even fired. After years in the workplace, she knew all too well that when an employee angered a client, most companies would sacrifice the employee to preserve the client relationship and save face.

But Bert hadn’t done that.

By keeping her, he was choosing to offend the client instead.

For a moment, Amy felt a rush of complicated emotions. Her resolve to remain loyal and work even harder for Bert grew stronger than ever. She had to admit—Bert truly knew how to win people’s loyalty.

For Bert, offending a vulgar, low-quality client was a trivial matter. What truly mattered was retaining a capable subordinate like Amy and ensuring her unwavering dedication going forward. Amy was an outstanding designer—once she was secured, better clients would naturally follow.

After Renata and Catherine had been staying at Bert’s place for two days, during dinner that evening, Renata spoke up at the table.

"This afternoon I got a call from the aunt downstairs. She said the heating pipes have been repaired and the heating is back to normal. I think it’s time for us to move back."

Renata had her own considerations for saying this. After all, she and Catherine had moved in only because of an unexpected situation at home, and Bert had described it as a temporary stay. They couldn’t reasonably continue living there indefinitely.

Although Renata understood Bert’s intentions—he hoped they would stay—he hadn’t stated things outright, and without clear words, it didn’t quite feel appropriate.

The moment Renata said this, Bert understood what she meant. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked at her seriously.

"Since you’ve brought this up, I’d like to have an honest talk with you," he said. "Cici and I are already thinking about marriage. To be honest, I wish I could register our marriage with her immediately, but there are still steps that can’t be skipped. I’m preparing for them now."

What Bert referred to as "steps" was, in fact, the proposal.

He intended to have only one marriage in his lifetime and to marry only this one woman. So when it came to the wedding, he wanted to give Catherine everything—every single detail—without omission. Even if she herself didn’t care much about formalities, they were an expression of his devotion.

After laying the groundwork by expressing his intention to marry Catherine, Bert continued and formally renewed his invitation.

"So I hope you’ll continue living here—not as temporary guests, but as my future wife and mother-in-law. Stay here as you rightfully should, and give me the chance to take care of you."

Those words were filled with sincerity. Especially the phrase "future wife and mother-in-law"—it struck deeply at Catherine’s heart and instantly raised Renata’s regard for him to its highest point.

Renata had never truly insisted on moving out in the first place. After hearing what he said, she turned to Catherine instead and said,

"Then get in touch with the landlord and return the apartment."

Catherine nodded.

"Okay."

And just like that, Catherine and Bert’s cohabitation officially began.

Although Renata was living with them, and although Catherine still insisted on keeping separate bedrooms from Bert, it didn’t affect Bert’s happiness in the slightest. At night, either he would go to Catherine’s room, or Catherine would end up being shamelessly coaxed into his. In short, it could be said that every night was filled with indulgence.

That morning at breakfast, Catherine was clearly low on energy. With a single glance, Renata noticed the faint, ambiguous kiss mark peeking out from the collar of her daughter’s round-neck loungewear. After a moment’s thought, she spoke up:

"If you two are going to live together, then just live together properly. There’s no need to put on an act every day like you’re staying in separate rooms."

Watching them pretend nothing was going on day after day was exhausting enough for Renata as it was.

Since they had already decided to get married, and since they liked each other so much, there was nothing wrong with being together before the wedding.

Catherine hadn’t expected her mother to suddenly say something like that. She froze on the spot, then flushed bright red in embarrassment. She picked up the bowl of porridge in front of her, took a few hurried gulps, and stood up to flee back to her bedroom.

"I’m full. You two take your time."

So it turned out her mother had long known that her relationship with Bert was no longer "innocent"—yet Catherine had been pretending these past few days that nothing had happened between them...

Just thinking about it made Catherine feel utterly mortified.

Bert glanced in the direction Catherine had left, then smiled at Renata.

"You go ahead and eat. I’ll go check on her."

With that, he stood up and followed Catherine out. To be honest, being called out so directly by his future mother-in-law left Bert feeling a little awkward as well.

Inside the room, Catherine paced back and forth with her face burning red.

It was just too embarrassing. Seriously—since when had her mother become this blunt? She could have pulled her aside and quietly said that she already knew about what was going on between her and Bert, that she didn’t mind them sleeping together or anything like that.

But no—she had gone and laid it out in the open. Just thinking about it made Catherine want to crawl into a crack in the floor.