From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 89-I have something to tell you.

After Catherine left, Lucca stomped her foot in fury, cursing viciously.

She had originally come to mock Catherine for choosing a man with such a disgraceful past as Bert. She never expected Catherine to turn the tables on her—that calmly, that simply—making anger rise in Lucca’s chest like a fire climbing up dry wood.

All her life, she had never once won against Catherine. Not even after stealing Catherine’s boyfriend Gerald. Not even after becoming Channing’s legitimate daughter. Standing before Catherine, she still felt no sense of victory.

Lucca stood before the sink, staring at her twisted, furious reflection in the mirror, mind racing with ways to strip Catherine of everything. Two years ago, she had used a particularly vicious trick to ruin Catherine’s reputation. Catherine had been disgraced—but somehow, she still hadn’t fallen. In Lucca’s eyes, Catherine should be living miserably, with grief etched across her face. Only then would Lucca feel satisfied.

The restroom door pushed open. Someone walked in. Lucca forced down her negative expression—until the woman stopped beside her and said,

"Hi, Miss Channing. Honestly, I admire our boss too. A lot of us think he’s charming and attractive. And honestly? The way you slander him... it’s really just a case of sour grapes. Pretty pathetic."

Lucca whipped her head around angrily. But the woman only shrugged, gave her a disdainful look, then went into a stall and closed the door. Furious, Lucca slammed the restroom door open and stormed out.

She felt cursed these days. Everyone seemed to have something snide to say to her. And she ground her teeth, blaming everything on Catherine. Ever since Catherine returned to the country, her life had been turned upside down. Why couldn’t she have just stayed in Australia forever?

The one who mocked Lucca was Amy. After hearing the heavy slam of the door, Amy pursed her lips.

"Look at her. Zero class."

Her phone chimed—it was Bert’s reply to the audio message she had sent earlier:

Raise approved.

Just three simple words, but they made Amy’s heart blossom with delight.

A boss who understands exactly what his employees want—such people are rare.

As for Bert, when he received Amy’s audio message and listened to it, he couldn’t stop the faint smile that tugged at his lips.

It seemed he owed Lucca a thank-you. If not for her provocation, he might never have known that Catherine held him in such high regard. And the things she had said—her feelings for him were unmistakable now. It was no longer just his one-sided wish.

However, regarding the part where Lucca exposed his past, he felt it was necessary to speak with Catherine. Not to explain or make excuses, but to be honest—because he had indeed been that kind of man, and he had indeed done those things.

He had truly been unforgivable once.

But for her, he was willing to change completely from this moment on.

When Catherine, Amy, and Silvia finally finished the designers’ conference, it was already midday. The three of them planned to grab lunch together before heading back to the company.

But the moment they stepped outside, they saw Bert waiting at the entrance. His sleek black car and his mature, quietly magnetic presence drew quite a few glances from the designers leaving the venue.

As his subordinates, the three women couldn’t help but fangirl a little. Then Silvia leaned closer to Amy and whispered,

"Why is Lord Washington here?"

Amy didn’t answer. She simply turned her head toward Catherine.

Catherine herself was baffled—she had no idea what Bert was doing here.

But Bert, upon spotting them, had already started walking over. He stopped directly in front of Catherine, lowered his gaze, and asked in a gentle voice,

"Lunch together?"

He phrased it like a question, but it was clear he had already made the decision.

Catherine awkwardly glanced at Silvia and Amy. She hadn’t expected Bert to approach her so openly—right in front of them. He wasn’t even trying to avoid suspicion. She had no idea how they would interpret this...

Amy, who already knew Bert’s intentions, wasn’t surprised at all. Silvia, on the other hand, stared with wide, shocked eyes. Amy gave her a quick look, grabbed her hand, and pulled her aside.

Silvia was confused.

"Hey—Amy, what are you doing?"

Then, as realization dawned on her, she gasped and stammered,

"Wait, don’t tell me Catherine and the big boss are actually—"

She didn’t finish the sentence. But remembering the ring she had seen on Bert’s hand that morning, she quickly put two and two together. Their relationship was clearly not ordinary.

She stopped resisting and let Amy pull her away, following obediently.

The big boss, she thought, was full of tricks. That morning—had he called her into his office on purpose, just so she’d see the ring?

Catherine watched Silvia and Amy leave and felt like she couldn’t clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River. Annoyed, she looked up at Bert and whispered,

"What are you doing?"

Bert’s expression was grave and serious.

"I have something to tell you."

Then, without giving her any chance to refuse, he took her by the hand and led her toward his car. There were too many people passing by, and Catherine didn’t want to cause a scene by pulling and tugging with him in public, so she got into his car.

Just then, Lucca walked out and happened to see Catherine getting into Bert’s car. Rage surged through her so sharply that she almost ground her teeth to dust. Sometimes Lucca truly couldn’t understand—why Gerald, or Bert, or any of them, would fall for someone as dull and unremarkable as Catherine. Shouldn’t someone as gorgeous and radiant as her be the one people liked more?

A person’s way of thinking determines the height from which they view the world. Someone as narrow-minded and selfish as Lucca naturally assumed everyone else shared her narrowness, her selfish preferences. She had no idea that, whether it’s men or women, character was what mattered most.

Bert drove Catherine to a secluded restaurant. "Secluded" referred only to the quiet, remote location; inside, the place was packed. The steady stream of customers could only mean they came because of the restaurant’s reputation.

Bert led Catherine straight into a private room—clearly, he had made a reservation in advance.

As soon as they stepped inside, Bert took hold of Catherine’s hand. She tried to pull away, but his grip only tightened.

Catherine could only lift her eyes to meet his. His gaze was heavy, solemn, as he said:

"About those accusations Lucca made against me—"

"They’re all true."

"I did those things. And yes, I used whatever means I had."

Bert confessed everything without the slightest hesitation, leaving Catherine stunned, momentarily unable to react.

Thinking back, it must have been Amy who overheard her conversation with Lucca and relayed it to Bert. That was why he had been waiting for her outside right away.

But still... most people with a past that shameful would try to hide it, wouldn’t they? Yet here he was, laying everything bare without the slightest attempt to conceal a thing.