From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 92- a lot of love

The vendor auntie was really something—once she realized he liked hearing compliments about them, she kept piling it on. Catherine couldn’t believe that someone normally as sharp and rational as Bert could actually be swayed by a vegetable seller’s flattery.

When they moved on to buy seafood, they finished getting everything they needed for the day. But then Bert bought even more, dividing it into several portions. Catherine blinked in confusion.

"Why are you buying so much?"

Bert replied calmly, "One for Lilian’s place, one for Dave’s, one for my father, and one for your home."

Catherine never expected him to think so far ahead. She stared at him blankly for a moment before snapping out of it.

"You don’t need to buy any for my home. I won’t be there today, and my mom can’t finish that much seafood by herself."

Seafood had to be eaten fresh. Keeping it too long spoiled the taste.

Bert glanced at her, realized she was right, and removed the portion meant for her house. Besides, now that he knew where this market was, he had plenty of chances to buy for her family in the future.

Once they finished gathering everything they needed, the two drove back. By then, the sun had fully risen, and the whole city had woken—full of noise, motion, and the pulse of everyday life.

Their first stop was Lilian’s home. Lilian, being pregnant, was still asleep, so Morrison came downstairs alone to get the seafood. He beamed at Catherine.

"Good morning, Miss Channing. Out to the market so early?"

For some reason, Catherine felt his "so early" sounded strangely suggestive—like she and Bert had spent the night together...

She hurried to explain, "Yes, Lord Washington and I met under my building at six."

Her deliberate explanation made Morrison look at her with raised brows. When he took the seafood from Bert, he whispered mockingly to him:

"You still haven’t won her over? At this rate you’re going to implode. You’re not young anymore—implode, and you’ll end up with no heirs."

Morrison never missed a chance to tease him. Bert calmly shut the trunk and gave him a cold look.

"As if you aren’t holding yourself back right now."

One sentence, and Morrison was completely shut down.

True enough—he was holding back. With Lilian pregnant, what could he do? She was over four months along now, past the risky stage, so intimacy wasn’t forbidden... but it was restricted.

Positions restricted, strength restricted—and, frankly, so was enjoyment.

And pregnant women always put the baby first. Every time Morrison wanted intimacy, he had to coax and persuade her, only to be reminded not to hurt the baby. His life had turned into a competition with a child who hadn’t even been born yet.

In this brother-in-law versus brother-in-law battle, Morrison once again suffered a crushing defeat.

Grumbling, he stomped upstairs with two bags of seafood, planning to throw himself at Lilian for comfort later.

Bert, composed as ever, continued with Catherine to their next stop—Dave’s house. The portion intended for Daniel had already been given to Morrison to pass along through Lilian.

Catherine couldn’t help asking, "Why don’t you take it to your father yourself?"

Bert’s gaze stayed on the road. His voice was steady. "It’s not appropriate."

Just four simple words, yet they made Catherine’s eyes sting with sudden emotion.

She could see how deeply he cherished the bond he had with Lilian and Dave—otherwise he wouldn’t think of them with such care. And yet, in front of Daniel, he was cautious. He didn’t want to disturb the harmony of Daniel’s current family.

No matter what mistakes he made in the past—so what? No one was doomed to be thrown into hell forever because of one wrong turn.

Besides, being an illegitimate child wasn’t even his fault. He had never chosen his birth.

Catherine had always seen Bert as distant, powerful, almost untouchable. Strict, cold, always in control. But after witnessing his actions and hearing his words today, she realized—

He was just someone who had been deprived of a lot of love.

Someone who had been lonely for a very, very long time.

Because she herself had grown up lacking a father’s love, Catherine understood too well the pain and despair of such absence. That shared experience made her ache for him even more. Her eyes grew warm, and she quietly turned her face away.

The more time she spent with him, the less unreachable he seemed. The more she got to know him, the clearer it became—he had weaknesses, he had fears, he wasn’t some flawless figure standing above the world.

He was just human.

Their second stop was Dave’s home. Dave and his wife Laurent were already waiting downstairs—he tall and handsome, she elegant and warm.

After Bert parked, he stepped out first. Catherine followed, only then realizing that after meeting Morrison and Lilian the other day, coming here with him now meant she had, indirectly, met almost all of his siblings.

Catherine felt Bert was truly cunning—his "plans" just kept coming, one after another. She had no way to defend herself. Somehow, without understanding how it happened, she had met nearly all of his family. Thank heavens Bert hadn’t delivered Daniel’s share in person; otherwise she would have met his father too.

At this point, though, staying in the car would be far too rude. So she could only brace herself and step out.

Laurent approached her first with a bright smile.

"You must be Catherine? I’m Laurent."

Lilian, who could never keep secrets, had already told Laurent everything about Bert. And naturally, Dave learned it from her as well.

However, they had all agreed to keep it from Daniel for now. After all, Bert and Catherine hadn’t formally established a relationship—they were still at the stage where Bert pursued her, but she hadn’t accepted him.

Just moments ago, Morrison had called Dave to say Bert was on his way with Catherine to drop off seafood. It was the weekend, and Laurent had planned to sleep in a bit longer, but curiosity about Catherine made her come downstairs anyway.

Everyone was curious. They all knew Bert’s temperament, so they wondered what kind of woman had captured his heart.

From Lilian’s descriptions, Catherine was a lovely girl.

Laurent, seeing her in person today, completely agreed.

Some girls didn’t need fancy clothes or heavy makeup to shine—they just did. Catherine was one of them. Standing there with her head slightly lowered and a soft smile on her lips, she was like a gentle breeze made visible. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Faced with Laurent’s warm greeting, Catherine quickly and politely replied,

"Hello, I’m Catherine."

Laurent, knowing from Lilian that Catherine was a bit shy, took the initiative to chat, asking harmless questions about their plans for the day. Catherine answered honestly—that Bert was hosting a welcome party and she was only helping him prepare the ingredients.

After listening, Laurent couldn’t help but laugh. No matter how she looked at it, Catherine seemed very much like the hostess helping prepare everything.

Laurent couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly was so good about Catherine, but she felt that Catherine standing beside Bert looked especially harmonious. And most importantly—Bert liked her. With Bert’s personality, if he didn’t like someone, even the most stunning and accomplished women throwing themselves at him would be met with a chilling indifference.

After a brief exchange, they were about to part when Laurent warmly invited her:

"Come have dinner at our place sometime. Thank you both for getting up so early to buy such fresh seafood for us."

Catherine quickly waved her hands.

"That’s Lord Washington’s thoughtfulness. You should thank him."

She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to have dinner with Dave and Laurent, so she simply pushed the credit onto Bert.

Bert walked over and stood beside her, taking over the conversation with ease.

"She’s not doing all this for me. If it were for my sake, those two would give me nothing more than a thank you. They certainly wouldn’t reward me with a lavish meal."

In other words, they wanted to invite her, and he was only catching the benefits by tagging along.

Catherine, who had just successfully taken herself out of the spotlight, was shoved right back into it by Bert’s words. She wanted to choke him for being so sly, but she could only force herself to accept Laurent’s invitation.

"Alright... I’ll visit when I have the time."

Once she finally sat inside the car and they drove off, Catherine had absolutely no desire to speak to Bert.

With that part of their errand completed, Bert headed straight toward his villa on the outskirts, with Catherine in tow.