From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 120- Worthy of being my woman

Bert offered Catherine only a brief explanation.

As for the two sums he had already given Channing earlier, Bert chose to keep that from her.

His intention was to acquire Channing Group this way, and then present it to Catherine as a proposal gift. Though the company was riddled with problems—seen by many as nothing more than a sinking mess—that didn’t concern him. With him at the helm, and with the backing of both Morrison and Dave’s conglomerates, he was confident Channing Group would soon be revived.

The "Uncle Carry" from Channing Group—the one who had previously come to interview at Bert Tech—was someone Bert had deliberately selected as Catherine’s future right-hand man. That was precisely why he had allowed Carry to remain at Channing Group.

Carry had worked there for decades and was deeply familiar with its tangled internal relationships. Recently, Bert had already begun discreet discussions with him, aiming to resolve as many hidden issues as possible before placing the company into Catherine’s hands—so that she would inherit a Channing Group that was clean, stable, and full of life.

When Bert mentioned sending Channing to seek reconciliation with Renata, Catherine was initially surprised. But almost immediately, she understood his intent.

"You’re sending him to my mom to get humiliated, aren’t you?"

At first, Catherine had worried that Renata might not be able to fully let go. But after the incident where Renata had called the police without hesitation, Catherine knew that Renata’s disgust for Channing had reached its limit—there was no lingering affection left to speak of.

So hearing that Bert had sent Channing to plead with Renata no longer unsettled her. Renata would never accept him. Channing going there would amount to nothing more than self-inflicted humiliation.

Clearly, Bert had seen through Renata’s nature long before she had. That was why he had made such a demand in the first place. He knew that a woman as resolute as Renata would never accept a man as morally bankrupt and selfish as Channing.

After hearing Catherine’s words, Bert’s lips curved into a faint smile.

"Worthy of being my woman."

Her sharpness was beyond doubt. Upon first hearing that he had sent Channing to Renata, she hadn’t questioned his judgment or resented him for dragging Renata into the matter. Instead, she had immediately grasped that he was sending Channing to be humiliated.

That alone made her worthy of his deep devotion.

It also revealed how completely she trusted him—trusted that he would never make a decision that could harm her or Renata. That trust brought Bert a quiet sense of reassurance.

If all his efforts had been met with sharp accusations instead, much of that happiness would have vanished.

And now that she understood him so well—and he treated her with such care—who could deny that this, too, was a beautiful kind of relationship?

Bert’s words left Catherine feeling slightly flustered. Who’s your woman, exactly? she thought. After all, there wasn’t anything truly defined between them yet.

She glanced at the minimalist clock on the wall and hurriedly excused herself.

"It’s getting late. I should head back to work."

It was indeed time to return for the afternoon, so Bert didn’t try to stop her. He simply nodded.

"All right."

Catherine hurried back to her office.

Not long after she sat down, Silvia rolled her chair over, leaning in with a mischievous grin.

"So—what exactly were you doing in the big boss’s office?"

"Lunch," Catherine replied calmly as she powered on her computer, deliberately ignoring the suggestive look in Silvia’s eyes. "What else would it be during lunch break?"

Silvia wasn’t convinced. Still smiling, she pressed on.

"Oh? Nothing adults usually do together? Which base did you get to?"

Thanks to Riley, Catherine knew exactly what Silvia meant by "bases." Her mind instantly flashed to that intimate, heated kiss. She cleared her throat lightly, then reached out and spun Silvia’s chair back toward her own desk.

"Silvia, you’re disgusting. Go do your work."

She hadn’t been working long when a message from Riley popped up.

Cici, I’m back! Let’s have dinner tonight—I’ve got a surprise for you.

Catherine frowned slightly in confusion.

What surprise?

Riley replied, full of mystery.

A big surprise. Haven’t seen you in days—I miss you. Let’s meet at the usual place at 6:30 tonight, okay?

That was just how Riley was—open, straightforward, never shy about saying she missed someone.

Catherine replied:

Okay.

Truth be told, Catherine missed Riley too. Ever since Riley started working as a model, she’d been constantly flying around—shooting magazines in one city today, walking a runway in another tomorrow, then heading off somewhere else for a pictorial the day after. She rarely stayed in Burg Eltz for more than a few days at a time, so it was only natural that Catherine wanted to see her.

Not long after Riley’s message, another one came in—this time from Bert.

Dinner tonight?

Catherine couldn’t help but smile helplessly. Why did both of them have to ask her out at the same time?

After a moment of hesitation, she turned Bert down. There had to be some sense of order, after all.

Riley just invited me to dinner—she got back from out of town today. Sorry...

Compared to Bert, Catherine truly wanted to have dinner with Riley more at this moment.

It wasn’t just because Riley had just returned and they hadn’t seen each other in days. Catherine also wanted to talk—to tell Riley about everything that had happened recently, and to let her know that she and Bert were now officially seeing each other...

Besides, Catherine felt that she had already had lunch with Bert earlier that day. Was it really necessary to have dinner together as well?

Didn’t one need to maintain a bit of novelty, after all?

Bert replied almost immediately:

As someone’s girlfriend, when your boyfriend’s interests conflict with someone else’s, shouldn’t you choose your boyfriend first?

Bert’s counterquestion left Catherine momentarily speechless. After thinking it over, she still felt the need to reason things out for herself.

"But there has to be some sense of order, right? Riley asked me first. And besides, didn’t we already have lunch together today? We don’t have to eat together again tonight, do we...?"

Catherine was genuinely torn. One was her closest friend; the other was her newly appointed boyfriend. Did he really have to force her into such a choice?