From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 140- responsibility

He leaned back slightly, easily dodging her clumsy attack, and at the same time reached out and effortlessly caught her pale ankle in his hand. There was no anger on his face at all.

"What are you doing? Kicking me right after sleeping together—don’t you think that’s a bit heartless?"

Because her movement had been too forceful, after that kick the blanket barely covered her upper body, shielding her from the collarbone down and only just concealing the tops of her thighs. Meanwhile, his gaze roamed shamelessly over her long, fair legs...

Even worse, they had originally been sharing the same blanket. When she yanked it over, there was almost nothing left covering him. His solid, well-defined male body—hard lines and strength everywhere—radiated a powerful masculine presence as it was fully exposed to Riley’s eyes. For the first time in her life, Riley truly understood what it meant to blush. Embarrassed and furious, she turned her face away and struggled.

"Let go!"

The man’s deep gaze lingered on her flushed cheeks for a moment before he released her hand quite readily. Riley thought she was finally free. She turned, about to scramble off the bed, when he suddenly dragged her back onto it again and rolled over, pinning her beneath him.

"Let’s talk."

Riley snapped back without hesitation,

"There’s nothing to talk about. Don’t worry—I’m not going to cling to you or demand that you take responsibility!"

She assumed he was at a critical point in his rising career, with a wealthy family backing him. This so-called "talk" must be about telling her not to cause trouble or latch onto him. Pride mattered to her, so she blurted it out first.

The moment she finished speaking, she noticed that Ford looked like he wanted to strangle her.

As if it took all his effort to suppress those dark emotions, his expression softened. He looked at her intently and said,

"I like you."

Riley’s mouth fell open in a perfect O as she stared at him in shock, wondering if he’d taken the wrong medication.

Holding her close, he continued seriously,

"I like how straightforward you are, how you’re not pretentious. I like your carefree, genuine attitude toward life. I like everything about you..."

Originally, Ford hadn’t had many special thoughts about Riley. They moved in the same circle and were friends, after all. He was surrounded by all kinds of beautiful women—great figures, stunning looks, even wealthy heiresses with power and status. A girl like Riley wasn’t the standout type.

But the longer he spent time with her, the more he found himself drawn to her personality.

After seeing so many delicate, affected women, Riley felt real and captivating.

In Ford’s eyes, Riley lived freely. She wasn’t overly ambitious, unlike some models who would sleep with one person or another for endorsements or roles, or scheme, compete, manipulate, or hype themselves endlessly.

She didn’t care about any of that. If there was work, she took it; if not, that was fine too. She’d just drag people out to eat, drink, and have fun.

When she was happy, she laughed out loud, never forcing herself into a demure pose just to protect her image. When she was sad, she cried openly. When she was angry, she didn’t hide it either.

Ford still remembered how, some time ago, when Riley learned that her best friend Catherine’s mother was seriously ill and needed surgery, she’d been so worried and distressed that she cried alone for a long time. Later, she kept negotiating with the director to finish filming early so she could rush back and stay with Catherine.

A girl like that was genuinely attractive.

Without realizing it, he’d fallen for her.

Others fell for looks first, then talent, then character. For him, it started with her character—and in the end, he found himself liking everything about her: her personality, her appearance... and yes, her body too. Especially those long legs—certain angles really did make his blood race.

Yet Ford’s words left Riley stunned for a long time. She just kept staring at him, as if trying to peer deeper into his heart.

To Riley, everything he was saying sounded like an alien language. She couldn’t understand any of it.

Him liking her didn’t feel real at all. She had never imagined that Ford would harbor feelings like that for her. She had always treated him as a close buddy...

Seeing through her doubts, Ford said,

"Don’t try to question my sincerity. Everything that happened last night was carefully planned."

"If you’re willing, I can go with you right now and register our marriage."

His gaze was firm, his tone utterly serious.

"Register my ass!"

Riley was completely terrified. She shoved him away hard.

"I’m already annoyed enough—stay away from me!"

Ford didn’t push her any further. He knew she wouldn’t be able to accept this right away. He got up and went straight into the bathroom. He didn’t bother hiding his well-built body at all—he didn’t even put on any clothes, just walked past Riley and into the bathroom like that. Riley was so furious that she grabbed a pillow and threw it at his back.

She ran a hand through her hair, forced herself to calm down a little, then hurriedly put on her clothes and fled out the door.

What followed was him calling her and demanding that she take responsibility, which made her so angry she yelled into the phone,

"I didn’t ask you to take responsibility and that’s already generous enough—now you want me to take responsibility?!"

On the other end, he replied with obvious anticipation,

"Then let me take responsibility for you."

Riley was so furious she hung up immediately. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

After that, she hid for several days. Then he said he was going to visit her parents, and that was when she had no choice but to run to Catherine’s place.

After listening to Riley recount her tangled mess with Ford, Catherine couldn’t help laughing.

"I know saying this might make me sound like a terrible friend, but I really think he’s great..."

Riley lunged over and pinched her.

"Hey, Catherine! How can you side with an outsider like that?!"

Catherine laughed even harder.

"I’m just telling the truth."

Riley waved her hand irritably.

"Enough about my mess. Tell me about you and Bert. How did you two get together so fast?"

That word "fast" made Catherine feel a little embarrassed. She told Riley everything that had happened over the past few days. When Riley heard how Lucca had set Catherine up and how Bert had already arranged for people to save her, she was genuinely moved.

"He really treats you so well!"

Catherine softly agreed,

"Yes, he really is wonderful. That’s why I got together with him so quickly."

Because he was truly worth it—so she gave her heart to him without hesitation.

The two best friends seemed to have found love at almost the same time. The difference was that Catherine loved with certainty and courage, while Riley was still completely lost.

In Riley’s eyes, Catherine’s relationship had developed naturally. Although it hadn’t been long, Bert had laid so much groundwork beforehand, and Catherine had truly felt his care and devotion.

But Ford? There had been no signs at all before. He had suddenly confessed—and even worse, they had slept together before the confession...