From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 133- have a girlfriend

Gerald might not have known this, but Bert had never intended to let him truly marry Lucca in the first place. What Bert wanted was to expose Lucca’s misdeeds once again—right at her wedding with Gerald—so that she would have to watch a marriage that was just about to become reality slip through her own fingers.

Lucca had already lost her job and become the object of public scorn, her spirit dealt a devastating blow. If Gerald were to propose marriage at this moment, she would undoubtedly be overjoyed, convinced that even though she had lost her career and been cursed by everyone, she still had love. That marriage with Gerald would become her entire emotional anchor.

Sometimes, making someone suffer isn’t about relentless blows alone. Giving them hope—only to brutally shatter it—is the most satisfying form of revenge.

To push someone from the pinnacle of happiness straight into hell in an instant—that kind of overwhelming psychological plunge is truly enough to destroy a person. Especially someone like Lucca, who had virtually no capacity to endure such blows.

This was Bert’s second step in destroying Lucca. Just thinking about it sent a chill down Morrison’s spine.

In the end, Gerald made his decision.

"Fine."

"I agree to marry Lucca. But I also hope you’ll keep your promise and leave Company S alone from now on."

After weighing everything, Gerald ultimately chose to compromise.

Even though he was deeply unwilling to yield to Bert like this, he had no other choice. There were simply too many things he had to consider, too many burdens he couldn’t afford to abandon.

Ultimately, it all came down to one thing: he wasn’t strong enough. If he had been powerful enough, he wouldn’t have allowed Bert to trample his dignity so arrogantly. If he had been powerful enough, he wouldn’t have stood by helplessly as his company was crushed by Washington Co. and MOS Corp. without any means of resistance.

Morrison smiled and continued where Gerald left off.

"Of course we’ll honor our promise. But Gerald, you’d better hurry with the wedding—the sooner, the better. I trust you know your company can’t hold on for much longer."

Morrison’s words sounded gentle, but beneath them lay a heavy, unmistakable warning. Gerald’s sharp, handsome jaw tightened. In the end, he said nothing, turned around, and walked out of Morrison’s office.

Morrison let out a long sigh of relief, then picked up his phone and called Bert.

"The task you gave me is done. From now on, please don’t ever make me do something this low again, okay?"

Bert laughed on the other end of the line.

"What’s so low about it? You’re carrying out justice on behalf of heaven."

Morrison was speechless. He really wanted to kneel before Bert—he could twist black into white, tormenting Gerald and Lucca while still portraying himself as some kind of savior.

With obvious disdain, Morrison said, "Fine, fine. I’m done talking to you. In the whole world, only you are ever right."

Then he hung up.

Originally, Morrison had refused when Bert asked him to deal with Gerald. But after considering Bert’s many devious tricks, Morrison decided it was safer to comply. Otherwise, who knew when Bert might start slipping him "small shoes" in front of Lilian.

He remembered how he’d angrily protested back then, asking Bert why he didn’t do it himself—after all, Gerald was his own romantic rival.

Bert had replied coolly that if he did it personally, he was afraid it would dirty his hands.

That remark had nearly choked Morrison to death. What—were his hands not hands, then?

Bert had answered shamelessly that it didn’t matter—after all, they wouldn’t be his hands getting dirty.

Morrison had been so furious he nearly exploded.

Because Catherine’s name had been mentioned during a dinner at the Mo family’s home that day—and because Bert had abruptly left Channing midway through the meal upon hearing it—the ever-curious Linda later asked Lilian and the others about her. Feeling that the relationship between Bert and Catherine had already progressed far enough, Lilian told Linda the truth.

As a result, not long after Linda learned that Catherine was Bert’s girlfriend, Daniel found out as well.

Previously, during the blind date Daniel had arranged for Bert, the name "Catherine" had come up once. Daniel still remembered it. However, at the time, Bert had made it clear that he didn’t want Daniel to continue paying attention to the matter, so Daniel hadn’t brought it up again.

Privately, though, he had done a bit of investigating into this girl named Catherine. To be honest, Daniel wasn’t very satisfied with her background. It wasn’t that Catherine came from an ordinary family—his other daughter-in-law, Laurent, didn’t come from a wealthy or powerful family either, and Daniel had never been someone obsessed with social status or pedigree.

What bothered Daniel was Catherine’s father, Channing. Channing’s reputation in the business world was far from good. Words like "opportunistic," "greedy," and "self-serving" were commonly used to describe him.

That alone made Daniel frown. Even more troubling was the fact that Catherine had been embroiled in such a notorious scandal two years ago. No matter what, Daniel was still a father, and fathers naturally favored their own sons. Of course he hoped his son would find a clean, unblemished girl.

Her first time didn’t necessarily have to be with his son—but at the very least, her reputation shouldn’t be as bad as Catherine’s.

Still, no matter how many reservations Daniel had, Bert had explicitly told him not to interfere. So Daniel could only wait quietly and see how things between the two of them would develop.

Yet now, even an outsider like Linda knew for certain that his son had a girlfriend, while he, the father, had never received any news at all. And from what Linda said, it seemed that Dave and Lilian had known for a long time as well. Daniel immediately felt unsettled. He deliberately set aside some time to ask Bert out. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Father and son sat down in a coffee, and Daniel got straight to the point.

"I hear you have a girlfriend?"

"Yes."

Bert didn’t avoid the topic. He had originally planned to bring Catherine to meet Daniel at some point anyway. Since Daniel had already asked him out, he decided to clarify a few things in advance.

Bert knew that Daniel must have already looked into Catherine—and that he was probably dissatisfied with her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be wearing such a serious expression at this very moment.

If Daniel had been pleased with Catherine, he would already be beaming with joy.

"The man who was with her two years ago—that was me."

Bert understood people’s thoughts all too well. Before Daniel could voice any of his objections to Catherine, Bert first cleared her of the "charge" of having been with another man.

Daniel was so shocked by that sentence that he nearly choked on his coffee.

"What happened?"

Bert then briefly explained what had occurred back then. After hearing it, Daniel was quite angry—especially about Lucca framing Catherine. Daniel was a father himself. If someone had treated Lilian that way, he felt he would have fought them to the death.

His resistance toward Catherine eased considerably. But when he thought of Channing again, he couldn’t help but frown.

"But her father—"

Bert cut him off.

"I’m going to spend my life with her, not with her father."

That simple yet resolute sentence was enough to make his stance unmistakably clear.

Daniel glanced at him. The words he had been about to say instead turned into a different sentence.

"Another day, bring her along and let’s have a meal together."

Daniel had never seen such unwavering resolve in the eyes of his eldest son. Moreover, during this meeting, he could clearly sense that the hostility around Bert had eased considerably—he seemed gentler, more at peace.

Just earlier, when they had first sat down, Bert’s phone had received a message. When he turned to look at it, the corners of his lips had lifted into an unconscious smile.

It seemed that girl truly made him happy.

And if that was the case, what right did he, as a father, have to be so critical?

He had already owed this son far too much. If, from now on, there could be a girl who brought him warmth and care into his life, then all he could do as a father was offer his blessings and support.