From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 141- keeping her company

That was why Riley felt so lost. Catherine asked her again,

"Are you sure there were no signs at all before? With your personality... could it be that he hinted at it, but you just didn’t notice?"

After so many years of friendship, Catherine understood Riley’s character perfectly. She was far too blunt and unobservant—if Ford had been quietly doing things for her, Riley really might have overlooked them completely.

Hearing this, Riley couldn’t help frowning and thinking carefully.

"Well... when Renata was hospitalized last time, he did speak up for me in front of the director. That’s why the director let me leave so easily. And the return was rushed—he even helped me book the flight..."

"See? That’s exactly it. There must have been plenty of things before that—you just ignored them."

Catherine said this because there was no way Ford’s feelings had come out of nowhere. He had even said himself that it was all premeditated. Riley scratched her head again.

"I really didn’t think that much about it. I just assumed it was normal help between friends..."

She had known Ford for at least a year. Apart from this most recent incident, she couldn’t remember the others at all—because she’d never taken them to heart.

Catherine asked again,

"So what are you planning to do now?"

Riley looked miserable.

"How would I know? He told me to meet him tomorrow morning. I’ll deal with it then."

Riley had caved mainly because Ford threatened to visit her parents. The key point was—she was absolutely terrified of getting beaten to death by her mother.

Seeing her gloomy expression, Catherine gently comforted her,

"When you get to the bridge, the boat will straighten itself out. Stop thinking about it for now and get some sleep."

With that, she got up and went out to turn on the water heater to prepare hot water for Riley’s shower. Riley rolled around on Catherine’s bed a few times in frustration.

Yeah—when you get to the bridge, the boat will straighten itself out. She didn’t believe Ford could really hold a knife to her throat and force her to do anything.

Wait—

After rolling around a few times, Riley buried her face in Catherine’s blanket and sniffed hard.

She seemed to smell men’s cologne...

So when Catherine returned to the bedroom, the first thing she encountered was Riley pointing at the blanket with a suspicious expression.

"I smell men’s cologne on your blanket. Confess—what did you two do on this bed?"

Catherine was mortified. She walked over and slapped Riley’s hand away.

"What nonsense are you talking about? We didn’t do anything."

Riley didn’t believe her.

"Yeah right. If you didn’t do anything, why does it smell like a man?"

Catherine couldn’t hold out any longer. Her face red, she said,

"He lay on it for a bit... and we... kissed..."

As she spoke, she walked over and lifted the bedsheets, preparing to change the bedding.

She had planned to replace them anyway—and with Riley staying over tonight, it was even more necessary to put on fresh ones.

Riley laughed uncontrollably as she came over to help.

"Still trying to argue? You should’ve just told the truth!"

Catherine shot her a glare.

That was just how the two of them were—completely different personalities. Catherine lived cautiously, while Riley was free and uninhibited. Maybe it was precisely because of these opposite traits that they were drawn to each other and became friends.

While Riley was showering, Catherine called Bert. Her voice was full of guilt.

"Riley’s in a bad mood... can I not come over tomorrow? I want to stay home and keep her company..."

Riley was going to meet Ford tomorrow. Catherine’s excuse about陪ing Riley was just that—an excuse. In truth, she really didn’t want to go to Bert’s place. Just thinking about what might happen there made her panic, so she tried her hardest to wriggle out of it.

"No."

Bert answered with just two words—brief, firm, and leaving no room for refusal.

"If Riley’s in a bad mood, she should face the reason she’s upset. Do you think just keeping her will magically make her feel better?"

He spoke sharply on the other end of the line, then suddenly asked,

"Is Riley at your place right now?"

The topic changed so abruptly that Catherine answered instinctively,

"Yes, she came over a little while ago."

He asked again,

"She’s staying over tonight?"

Catherine replied honestly, 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Yes. It’s already so late, and she came specifically to crash here."

His tone grew heavier.

"Don’t tell me you two are sleeping in the same bed?"

"Of course we’re sleeping in the same bed. Where else do you think she could sleep in my place?"

Catherine could more or less tell what he was bothered by. When it came to certain things, he could be extremely petty—calculating over every little detail.

But Catherine didn’t think there was anything wrong with sharing a bed with Riley. They were both women, and they’d slept together countless times before, especially back in their school days when they would squeeze into one bed and chat all night long.

Bert issued his order bluntly,

"Make her sleep on the floor."

Catherine, "..."

There was no way she could do something like that—especially when Riley was her best friend.

Bert stewed in anger on the other end. Catherine’s silence told him everything; he knew she wouldn’t do it. In fact, he’d known all along that she wouldn’t. Still, he couldn’t help being upset. Even though Riley was a woman, it didn’t matter—he simply couldn’t accept Catherine sharing that kind of intimacy, sleeping side by side, with anyone other than him.

And yet, there was nothing he could do about it. Catherine might be gentle and quiet by nature, but she had her own firm principles.

In the end, the call concluded with Bert swallowing a bellyful of anger. Catherine still slept with Riley as planned, completely ignoring his displeasure.

Later, Catherine did try to coax him gently, telling him that Riley was her best friend and that it was impossible to make her sleep on the floor. But Bert remained sulky, and there was nothing more Catherine could say.

The two best friends chatted for half the night. The next morning, when Riley headed out, Catherine went out with her as well, telling Renata that she was going on a date with Bert. Renata, of course, had nothing to say—on a weekend, what else would couples do if not go on dates?

Riley drove Catherine to Bert’s place first, then headed off to meet Ford herself.

When Bert opened the door for Catherine, he was wearing a bathrobe—pure black, exquisitely made. Draped over his broad, well-built frame, it looked undeniably sensual and alluring.

What was more, the robe hung open at the chest, revealing a generous expanse of his honey-toned muscles at a single glance. Catherine’s face flushed instantly. Did he really have to be this blatant?

She had guessed correctly—Bert was deliberately dressed this way to remind her what they were going to do later.

Catherine had already been feeling awkward and uneasy. With him dressed like this, her heart raced uncontrollably, her cheeks burning, and she had no idea how she was supposed to face him at all.