From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 130- I’ll make something myself

However, seeing that the position of the two drawings hadn’t changed much, she assumed he hadn’t noticed them, and she finally let out a small sigh of relief.

Watching how nervous she looked, Bert deliberately pretended not to know anything and asked casually,

"What are you holding?"

As he spoke, he stood up and walked toward her. Catherine panicked and, without thinking, stuffed the two drawings into a drawer.

"Nothing. Just some random sketches." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Then, to stop Bert from coming any closer, she pushed at him and said,

"It’s getting late. Let’s hurry up and go to sleep."

But the moment the words left her mouth, she realized how unreserved they sounded. Her face instantly flushed red with embarrassment.

Of course, Bert had to tease her on purpose.

"You’re sure it’s we—sleeping?"

He deliberately emphasized the word "sleep." Catherine clenched her teeth.

"When I say sleep, I mean just sleeping. Literally."

He wrapped his arms around her and chuckled softly near her ear.

"When I say sleep, I also mean just sleeping."

Catherine thought that would be the end of it, but to her surprise, he leaned down again and breathed lightly by her ear.

"Not ’just sleeping’—that would be called—"

He didn’t say the last word out loud. Instead, he whispered it right against her ear, his voice low and faint. Even so, Catherine heard it perfectly clearly, and her face burned hot in an instant.

"You—"

She glared at him, wanting to protest his shameless, over-the-line teasing—what people nowadays would call flooring it without warning—but he took the opportunity to capture her soft lips, sealing off every word she hadn’t yet spoken.

When he finally let her go, Catherine couldn’t take it anymore and begged softly,

"Please... don’t do this—"

If this continued, something was bound to happen. And her mother was right next door—if she heard anything, it would be unbearably awkward.

Bert also knew that if things went any further, the only one who would suffer was himself. He released her and turned to switch off the light.

"Go to sleep."

Catherine didn’t fetch an extra blanket for him, didn’t insist he sleep on the floor, nor did she forbid him from sharing the bed. The two of them simply lay down together, naturally wrapped in each other’s arms, as if this were something entirely ordinary.

For Catherine, it wasn’t about being overly reserved. They had already been intimate so many times; giving herself to him one day felt inevitable—just not tonight.

She had once believed she wouldn’t give herself away too early, but he treated her too well. He allowed her to see their future clearly, freed her from her fears and shadows surrounding love and marriage, and made her truly fall in love with him—and accept him wholeheartedly.

He made her happy. He made her feel loved, teaching her what it meant to be cherished.

Everything he brought into her life was beautiful. She had no reason left to keep resisting him.

The two of them slept soundly through the night, and both woke up early the next morning. Neither of them had the habit of sleeping in. For Catherine, opening her eyes to find the man she loved lying beside her was a completely unfamiliar experience.

Yet there was no sense of rejection or resistance—only a faint sweetness blooming in her heart.

When you truly love someone, you long to share a bed with them, and even more so, you long to wake up every day cradled in their strong arms.

"Morning—"

His lazy voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Catherine replied shyly,

"Morning—"

Once she was fully awake, a practical concern suddenly occurred to her.

"But... what are you going to do about washing up? And your clothes—"

He had arrived the night before wearing casual clothes, never expecting to stay over at her place.

He smiled.

"The company has everything."

The company’s lounge was stocked with spare clothes and daily necessities, prepared for overtime work or unexpected situations.

Only then did Catherine feel reassured.

"I’ll go out first and check on my mom."

As she spoke, Catherine lifted the blanket and got out of bed. Bert was reluctant, but he knew better than to linger—after all, the price of enjoying falling asleep in her arms last night was that he now had to leave in a hurry, before her mother woke up.

Catherine opened the bedroom door and glanced toward Renata’s room. It was quiet; it seemed Renata was still asleep. Catherine quickly returned and said to Bert,

"My mom hasn’t woken up yet. You should go first. Wait for me downstairs—I’ll wash up and come down right away."

Normally, Catherine would prepare breakfast in the morning, but today was a special case. She planned to leave Renata a note saying she had something to do and needed to get to work early, asking her mother to fix her own breakfast.

Bert had no objections. He got dressed and left. Only after seeing him out the door did Catherine finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

She scolded herself silently—this was the consequence of last night’s momentary impulsiveness. Now she felt like a thief sneaking around in her own home...

After a quick wash-up, Catherine changed her clothes and got ready for work. Just then, Renata got up. Catherine hurriedly said,

"Mom, I’ve got something to take care of at work today, so I have to get there early. I didn’t have time to make breakfast..."

Because she was lying, Catherine was clearly flustered—she didn’t even dare meet Renata’s eyes.

Renata glanced at her, slightly puzzled.

"It’s fine. Go on, hurry up. I’ll make something myself."

"Mm..."

After saying that, Catherine grabbed her bag, put on her shoes, and left. Renata was left standing there, frowning thoughtfully.

What guilty thing has that girl gone and done this time?

Catherine jogged all the way downstairs and slipped into Bert’s car. Bert drove off with her, and the two of them decided to have breakfast together first before heading to the office.

Outside, everything was blanketed in white—it was obvious that a heavy snow had fallen overnight. Fortunately, the roads had already begun to thaw.

From the balcony, Renata saw Catherine get into Bert’s car. She lifted her wrist to check the time.

Why had Bert arrived so early today?