From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 176- uneasy

Lilian and the others offered their congratulations, and Catherine raised her glass to them with a smile.

"Thank you."

After getting drunk at Dave’s house last time and being taken to a hotel by Bert—where he drove her nearly to exhaustion—Catherine no longer dared to drink much. One more time like that and she really would collapse.

Every time she thought of that day, she felt he was terribly cunning. He had even told Renata that he was the one who drank too much and couldn’t drive—when in truth, it was just an excuse to take her to a hotel and indulge himself.

After dinner, when it was time for fruit, Bert went to the kitchen to cut it, and Catherine followed to help. She didn’t know what came over him—he suddenly pulled her into his arms and lowered his head to kiss her. They had been together so long and shared far more intimate moments, yet every time he kissed her, her heart still raced and her breathing grew unsteady.

When the kiss ended, Bert’s hand slid through her soft, silky hair, resting at the back of her neck. In a low voice, he asked,

"You don’t want to meet my mother?"

Catherine hadn’t expected him to notice such a subtle emotion. She gently shook her head.

"It’s not that I don’t want to... I just think about how she treated you, and I feel upset for you."

Bert understood her feelings. When he faced Channing’s cruelty toward Catherine, he had felt the same anger, the same injustice, the same ache for her.

Perhaps, in each other’s eyes, they were the best. They loved one another so deeply that they could not understand why people like them failed to receive love from their own parents.

After saying that, Catherine quickly added,

"But don’t worry. I’ll definitely respect her."

Bert smiled. Even without that promise, he knew she was not someone who would make things difficult for others.

What he feared was that his mother might make things difficult for her.

His mother was not easy to get along with. And compared to the women she had once chosen for him, Catherine was vastly different—especially in terms of family background.

His mother had always been someone who pursued wealth and luxury, craving material comfort. Otherwise, she would never have stayed with Daniel, knowing full well he was already married with a family.

Later, when she tried to arrange Bert’s marriage, the women she chose were all daughters of prominent families.

Part of the reason Bert had resisted those arrangements so fiercely was that he had never yearned for marriage. But another part was his deliberate rebellion against his mother’s vanity. He refused to let his marriage and family become tools for her pursuit of status and material gain.

That was why, as he prepared to take Catherine to meet his mother, Bert could not help but feel uneasy.

However, he would never allow anything that might hurt Catherine to happen.

A few days earlier, he had already called his mother and told her that he planned to bring his girlfriend to meet her. The very first thing she asked about was Catherine’s family background, and he answered honestly, without hiding anything.

He even took the initiative to explain the connection he and Catherine had shared two years ago. He knew his mother would surely have someone investigate Catherine behind the scenes, so he chose to lay everything out himself—leaving her no reason to criticize or look down on Catherine.

After hearing it all, his mother had no response. She remained silent on the other end of the line.

So he continued calmly,

"Take some time to think about it. I’ll call you again later to confirm."

Then he ended the call.

For him, whether his mother agreed or not, the woman he would marry was Catherine—no one else.

If his mother refused to accept her, then he would treat the trip to America as a vacation. He would show Catherine his company there and the places where he had once lived. As for his mother, they simply would not meet.

If, however, his mother was willing to accept Catherine, then he would bring her to pay a proper visit.

Still, Bert believed his mother would think carefully about what he had said.

He was thirty-six years old—not twenty-six. Every decision he made was not a moment of impulse, but the result of careful consideration.

And once a decision had been made after such thought, it was not something easily changed.

He believed his mother would be able to sense how firm his feelings for Catherine were. If she still cared about him as her son, she would choose to accept Catherine.

That was why he had suddenly wanted to kiss her earlier. More than anything, he hoped that the woman he had chosen would be acknowledged by his parents. His father’s side was no longer an issue—only his mother remained.

Catherine was so wonderful. If his mother rejected her, she would surely be hurt. The thought alone made his heart ache.

The two of them were still holding each other in the kitchen when Morrison walked in to pour water for Lilian—and caught them in the act.

Flustered, Catherine quickly pushed Bert away and hurried out, forgetting all about helping with the fruit.

Morrison came in holding his cup and looked at Bert with a mischievous grin.

"Seriously, can you stop being so desperate? You’re hugging and kissing her right in the kitchen."

Bert shot him a look, too lazy to respond, and turned back to cutting the fruit.

But Morrison wasn’t done. He leaned closer and continued teasing,

"Well, I guess you have no choice. You’re getting old—better make the most of these last years while you still can. Otherwise, you won’t be able to move later."

After saying that, Morrison burst into laughter, feeling that he had finally managed to get one over on Bert.

Bert hadn’t planned to respond, but Morrison seemed determined to ask for trouble. Bert kept his focus on slicing the fruit and replied without even lifting his eyes,

"If I remember correctly, you’re only two years younger than me. If I’m no longer young, then you’re not doing much better."

Morrison: "..."

This was the very definition of laughing too soon.

He had been thrilled, thinking he’d finally found a chance to tease Bert—only to forget in his excitement that he wasn’t exactly young himself. He was about to turn thirty-five...

He could only blame himself for marrying such a young wife—it made him feel young all the time.

Having lost the verbal battle once again, Morrison huffed, poured himself some water, and walked out.

Later, when the conversation turned to the name Morrison had chosen for his and Lilian’s baby, Lilian said with obvious distaste that he wanted to call the child "Chance."

Laurent laughed.

"Doesn’t that mean ’prosperity’? And it even contains your name. It shows how deeply he cares about you—how nice."

Lilian rolled her eyes dramatically. No matter how she looked at it, she still felt the name wasn’t pleasant.

Morrison was deeply grateful that Laurent understood the meaning behind the name and smiled at him.

"Laurent, at least you get me."

In his moment of pride, he forgot their seniority. Dave, wearing a stern expression, reminded him,

"Shouldn’t you be calling her Laurent too?"

Morrison protested,

"I wanted to make her my sworn little sister, but you stole that chance. Otherwise, you’d have to call me brother."

Lilian shot back at her husband,

"Good thing you didn’t—otherwise my brother would have to call me xxx."

Everyone burst into laughter. Lilian laughed so hard she nearly doubled over at the absurd image.

Catherine laughed along, feeling genuinely happy. The warm, joyful atmosphere felt wonderful—this was what a real family felt like: talking, teasing, and sharing laughter together.