From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 128- Can you feel it

Over the past few days, a wave of cold air had swept into Burg Eltz on a large scale, causing the temperature to drop sharply. At night, it even fell to around zero degrees.

The latest weather forecast said that snowfall was possible in the coming days, reminding everyone to keep warm.

When Catherine had rented this apartment, she had deliberately chosen one with heating, so staying at home wasn’t cold at all for her.

She sat at her desk and took out the sketches she had drawn of weddings and wedding rings, continuing to add color and make revisions. These past few evenings, whenever she had free time, she had been busy with this. If she pushed herself a little more tonight, she would be able to finish everything.

In truth, Catherine didn’t quite know why she was so determined to complete this imagined wedding scene. Deep down, she was actually harboring a quiet hope—hoping that one day she might have such a beautiful wedding of her own.

When she finally finished both sketches, she stared at them for a long time. They were truly beautiful: an ancient, majestic castle; an exquisitely carved pumpkin carriage; vivid, romantic flowers...

Just as she was lost in these lovely fantasies, her phone rang. It was Bert calling.

Catherine answered.

"What’s wrong?"

She didn’t understand why he was calling again when they had already spoken on the phone earlier.

His low, magnetic voice came through.

"Come downstairs. I want to see you."

At first, Catherine was startled. But then she heard soft, flowing music faintly playing on his end—the familiar album he often played in his car—and she realized that he had actually driven over.

She didn’t know what to feel. She felt both heartache that he had come out so late on such a cold night, and surprise and delight at his sudden appearance. Just like he missed her, she missed him too after not seeing him all day.

It was just that out of reserve, she hadn’t expressed her longing, nor would she do something as impulsive as crossing half the city in the middle of the night to see him.

Clutching her phone, she said hurriedly,

"I’ll come down right away."

She ended the call and quickly pulled on her down jacket. Underneath, she was wearing soft, warm fleece loungewear. She didn’t bother changing, wrapping herself in the jacket and heading out as she was.

Catherine moved quietly as she opened the door and walked, afraid of waking Renata. If Renata found out she was going downstairs in the middle of the night to see Bert, she would definitely think it inappropriate.

As she passed through the living room, Catherine glanced toward Renata’s bedroom. The lights were already off—she was probably asleep.

Since the surgery, Renata’s health had declined significantly. Given her age and the severity of the brain surgery she had undergone, her energy and stamina were no longer what they used to be. She went to bed early at night and couldn’t get up too early in the morning.

After quietly leaving the apartment, Catherine jogged all the way downstairs, her heart filled with an urgent desire to see Bert.

When she ran out of the building, she realized it was snowing. The snowfall wasn’t heavy—it seemed to have just started. Tiny snowflakes drifted down lightly, fluttering through the cold, silent night, creating a scene that was both beautiful and romantic.

From a distance, she saw Bert’s car parked there. Catherine took a deep breath and ran over.

She opened the car door and climbed in. The interior was warm and cozy. Turning to look at Bert, her expression shy yet happy, she asked,

"Why did you come over so late?"

Bert let out a soft laugh.

"Didn’t I say it already? I missed you."

Under the gaze of his dark eyes, Catherine didn’t know where she found the courage, but she leaned forward and gently kissed him. She wasn’t as straightforward as he was with words to express love and longing, but a kiss was more than enough to convey how she felt.

Bert immediately covered her lips with his own, his hand reaching up to cradle the back of her head as he deepened the kiss.

Before long, their breathing grew unsteady. Catherine tried to push him away, but he didn’t seem satisfied at all. Instead, he simply lifted her and had her straddle his lap, adjusting the seat backward with one hand while pulling her head down with the other to continue kissing her.

Under Catherine’s down jacket, she was wearing loose, soft loungewear. Bert’s hand slid in unimpeded, fully enclosing her soft curves in his hot, possessive palm.

The temperature inside the car was too high, and the heat radiating from their bodies was even more intense. When the kiss finally ended, fine beads of sweat had already formed on Catherine’s forehead. Bert pulled off her down jacket and tossed it onto the passenger seat, holding her close and continuing to kiss her.

Catherine had wanted to protest, to tell him to put her down, but he showed no intention of stopping. In the end, she could only let him do as he pleased.

She didn’t know what other people were like when they were in love. But when she had been with Gerald, things had rarely ever reached this kind of dizzy, overwhelming intensity.

With Bert, however, she was completely out of control. All her reason and awareness rose and fell with his rhythm. Every time they kissed, they ended up entangled without meaning to, more than once coming dangerously close to crossing the line.

Catherine didn’t know whether it was because his kissing was too skilled or because he was simply too good at provoking her. All she knew was that every time she kissed him, she no longer felt like her usual self.

There was a clean, crisp scent of men’s body wash on him. She remembered him saying earlier that he was going to take a shower—he must have driven over right after that.

When he finally loosened his hold on her again, Catherine realized they couldn’t stay like this any longer, or something really would happen. Slightly breathless, she pushed at him gently.

"Put me down..."

When she spoke, her voice was soft and pliant, so much so that even she felt embarrassed.

He ignored her words, his gaze burning as he looked at her.

"Can you feel it?"

He pressed her lightly toward his lower abdomen. Of course she could feel it—she had felt it from the very beginning. That was exactly why she had been so eager to get off his lap.

Her face burning, unable to meet his heated gaze, Catherine buried her face against his chest. Nestled there, she deliberately tried to tease him.

"I can’t feel anything. Nothing at all..."

If he was going to act shameless, then she would deliberately refuse to cooperate.

But to her surprise, he pressed her down again, asking wickedly,

"How about now? Can you feel it this time?"

The sudden pressure made Catherine cry out softly, and she immediately felt his body stiffen.

She quickly lifted herself out of his arms, looking at him with concern.

"What’s wrong?"

Bert glanced at her darkly before finally letting her go.

"Get down."

She didn’t know that her cry just now had nearly been his undoing. He had wanted nothing more than to take her right there, but the time and place were all wrong. The only thing he could do was release her and put some distance between them.

Catherine returned to the passenger seat, her face flushed as she straightened her clothes. Bert picked up a bottle of mineral water, opened it, and handed it to her.

"Do you want some water?"