From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 121- I missed you so much

She had thought he was the kind of man who was generous and gracious—so why was he suddenly being so petty about this?

Bert’s reply came almost immediately.

"Then if you marry me someday and we live together, seeing each other every day, does that mean that if we meet today, we won’t need to meet again tomorrow?"

Catherine’s attention was instantly caught by the phrase "if you marry me someday." It made her recall his very first confession, when he had said he was dating her with marriage in mind.

So... did he really mean it? Was he genuinely thinking about marriage with her—and not just saying sweet words?

Before officially entering this relationship, Catherine had always carried a deep fear of marriage. But now, imagining him as her future husband, she found that the resistance in her heart wasn’t as strong as she’d expected.

In a society where marriage had left so many people disillusioned—men cheating, women cheating—Catherine still chose to believe that pure love and faithful marriages existed. More than that, she wanted to believe that he could give her such a love, and such a marriage.

Because she was lost in those thoughts, Catherine didn’t reply to Bert right away. Not long after, he called her. She took her phone and stepped outside the office to answer.

"Where are you eating?" Bert asked from the other end.

Catherine told him the location. She and Riley had a private restaurant they both loved, and whenever they met for dinner, that was always their go-to place. That was why Riley had texted her earlier: Same place as always.

Bert asked again, "Aren’t you going to introduce me to your best friend?"

"You two already know each other, don’t you?"

Bert and Riley had met before, but Bert said, "This would be the first time meeting her as your boyfriend."

Catherine was starting to feel overwhelmed by how relentlessly he pressed her. A hint of pleading crept into her voice. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Can we do that another day?"

That evening, Catherine desperately wanted to talk to Riley about everything that had been happening between her and Bert lately. She wanted Riley’s thoughts and advice on their relationship—and those kinds of conversations were clearly not meant to be had with Bert present.

Most girls probably felt the same way. There were so many things about a boyfriend that you desperately wanted to share with your best friend right away, as if only after hearing her opinion could you feel truly confident about continuing the relationship.

Bert, on the other hand, felt a deep sense of disappointment about not being able to see Catherine that evening. Now that they were officially together, he wanted to see her every moment he could. He had restrained himself all day at work, looking forward to finally meeting her after hours—only to find that Riley had already made plans with her.

That alone annoyed him enough.

And when he thought he might at least tag along and have dinner with them, she turned him down again. His mood sank even further.

Deep down, Bert knew that girls had their own secrets and private conversations that weren’t meant for men. Still, being sidelined on the very first day of becoming her boyfriend felt unbearably unfair.

They were still in the honeymoon phase, and she was already choosing someone else over him. If this was how it was now, what would happen once the passion faded? Would he end up being cast aside every day?

Jealousy surged within him. He had never been particularly magnanimous, and in matters of love, he was even more prone to keeping score. Clenching his teeth, he muttered a curt goodbye to Catherine and hung up.

Catherine stood there holding her phone, restless for a long moment. She could tell he was angry. So... what was she supposed to do now?

But she genuinely felt that he had no reason to be upset. She wasn’t meeting another man—just her best friend. Was even that unacceptable? Did being with him mean she wasn’t allowed to have friends anymore?

Thinking this way, Catherine suddenly felt like she didn’t want to deal with him at all. She put her phone away and returned to her work.

Meanwhile, on the other end, after hanging up in anger, Bert waited for Catherine to call him back. Even if she still didn’t want him to join her for dinner with Riley, at least she could call to coax him a little. He was certain his anger had been obvious enough. Surely she could call and tell him not to be mad—or something along those lines.

But he waited the entire afternoon.

And by the time it was time to get off work, her call still hadn’t come.

Bert was so angry that he couldn’t calm himself down at all. Had she failed to notice that he was upset? Or had she noticed—and deliberately chosen to ignore him?

If it was the former, Bert thought he might still be able to forgive her.

If it was the latter... then she was in serious trouble.

Recalling the restaurant Catherine had mentioned earlier, he could only vaguely remember how its name was pronounced. He had no idea what the actual name was, and he wasn’t very familiar with Burg Eltz in general. The few restaurants he knew there were all high-end places—and Catherine and Riley’s dinner was definitely not happening somewhere that fancy.

He summoned his assistant and asked about the location Catherine had mentioned. The assistant was a true Burg Eltz local, and with their help, Bert quickly found the restaurant. Once he set the destination in the navigation system, he grabbed his car keys and left.

He hadn’t intended to intrude on Catherine and Riley’s dinner. But after being treated this way, Bert simply couldn’t swallow his anger. So he decided to show up uninvited. Once he was already there, she wouldn’t have the nerve to drive him away, would she?

After work, Catherine headed straight to her dinner with Riley. She took the bus, which meant she arrived a bit later. Bert, driving, got there much earlier—but he didn’t go inside right away. He waited in the car, only getting out after he saw Catherine arrive.

Catherine had never expected him to follow her, so she didn’t pay any attention to the parking lot at all. She walked straight into the restaurant. Riley had already arrived and had even booked a private room. Catherine found that a little strange—normally, they always sat in the main dining area when they came here together.

It wasn’t until she entered the private room that she understood why Riley had chosen it.

Because Riley had brought a man with her.

The moment Riley saw Catherine, she rushed over and threw her arms around her.

"Cici, I missed you so much!"

She even leaned in and made exaggerated kissing sounds against Catherine’s cheek. Catherine was long used to Riley’s enthusiasm and simply smiled without saying anything.

Riley took Catherine by the hand and led her forward, introducing the man with an unmistakably suggestive smile.

"Cici, this is the super handsome guy I told you about before."

Catherine looked momentarily blank. Lately, her life had been filled with Bert’s presence, to the point where other men barely registered with her at all. Seeing her reaction, Riley hurried to clarify.

"Oh, come on—he’s the one I mentioned on the phone! The good-looking, great-bodied, rich guy! I brought him here specially so you could meet him. Well? I’m a good friend, aren’t I?"

Catherine: "..."

She had completely forgotten about that.

She had honestly thought Riley was just talking casually back then...