From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 200- too ruthless

When they had time, Catherine would also visit Channing with Bert—usually once a month.

Under Tracy’s care, Channing was slowly recovering. However, due to the nature of his illness, the progress was painstakingly slow. With Bert exerting quiet pressure in the background, Tracy did not dare slack off in the slightest when it came to taking care of him.

The first time Catherine and Bert went to see Channing, Tracy had visibly lost weight. She looked haggard, stripped of the glamorous radiance she once carried. It was obvious she had truly been putting in the effort.

Caring for someone who had suffered a stroke and could barely manage daily life was no easy task. On top of that, Channing harbored resentment toward Tracy for her past infidelity, and he vented his bitterness by making things even harder for her. Tracy dared not protest. She could only endure it. All the comfort and luxury she had once enjoyed had been given to her by Channing—but now, in her later years, the frustration and humiliation she bore also came from him.

As for Lucca, she had moved to A.T. with Channing and Tracy. However, Catherine and Bert had never once run into her. They had heard that she now drifted among different men—today someone’s lover, tomorrow supported by another older man—sustaining herself that way.

When she first arrived in A.T., she could have started over honestly, found a normal job and rebuilt her life. But she had grown accustomed to a life of luxury. Now that the three of them had no money of their own—Channing’s expenses entirely funded by Catherine and Bert—and Tracy’s modest savings reserved for her son, there was little left for Lucca to spend.

And so, she chose to trade her body for money. The men she kept company with were nearly Channing’s age. But they were willing to pay. And she allowed herself to sink further into that path.

One evening, after Catherine and Bert finished dinner and a movie, they noticed a car trailing them on the way home. Bert tried to shake it off several times but couldn’t. Catherine saw the coldness on his face, the restrained anger beneath it.

Peering carefully into the rearview mirror, she frowned slightly.

"That car... isn’t it Gerald’s?"

Bert didn’t answer, but the tension in his expression made his displeasure unmistakable.

Catherine couldn’t understand why Gerald was following them. She had long since cut all ties with him. She was married now. What was he trying to accomplish?

After the two cars continued in that tense procession for a while, Bert calmly took out his phone, his voice sharp.

"Hello? Yes, I’d like to report a drunk driver on XX Road."

Without hesitation, he reported it to the police and gave them Gerald’s license plate number.

From the way Gerald’s car swerved and drifted, it was clear he had been drinking. Bert could even see, through the reflection in his mirror, Gerald’s unsteady posture in the driver’s seat. There was no doubt he was intoxicated.

Bert also knew that it was only under the influence of alcohol that Gerald dared to behave this way—more precisely, to harass Catherine like this. Sober, Gerald would not have had the courage.

Gerald had too many things to consider when he was clear-headed: Bert’s methods, Catherine’s cold indifference toward him, his own pride and reputation, the wounds in his heart. And Gerald had always been the type who could never truly let go. Only when fueled by alcohol could he act out of line.

Catherine said nothing when Bert called the police. She simply glanced at him.

She stood firmly on his side. Drunk driving was illegal. Reporting it was justified. In Catherine’s eyes now, whatever Bert did was right. She trusted her husband without hesitation.

Besides, she found Gerald’s behavior distasteful. They had been out of contact for so long—why follow them like this? If he had something to say, wouldn’t it be better to say it openly rather than lurk behind them in the dark?

Not long after Bert made the call, the sound of a patrol car siren pierced the night. In the rearview mirror, they saw Gerald’s car pulled over. Bert curled his lips in a cold smile and pressed the accelerator, driving away.

That night, after Catherine had fallen asleep in his arms, Bert made a call to Gerald in the early hours.

"So," Bert sneered coldly as soon as the line connected, "how did it feel getting stopped by the police?"

Gerald gave a low, humorless laugh on the other end.

"Quite an experience. First time in my life. Thank you."

He had indeed been drinking that night. And it was the alcohol that drove him to follow Catherine and Bert. He had watched them dine together, watched them walk hand in hand into the theater, watched the way Bert doted on her, watched the way she smiled in Bert’s embrace—radiant and carefree.

Gerald knew Catherine had married Bert. The wedding had been low-key and not held domestically. After Bert’s dramatic declaration of love—buying Channing’s company for Catherine—Gerald had assumed the wedding would be equally grand and ostentatious.

He had been wrong.

He had never truly understood Catherine. Nor had he understood the bond between her and Bert.

When they could have been high-profile, they chose not to be. When they seemed understated, their love spoke louder than any spectacle.

"Ha."

Bert’s voice was icy on the other end.

"Getting stopped by the police feels good, doesn’t it? But watching your ex-girlfriend living happily and sweetly with her husband—doesn’t that feel even better? Painful enough?"

Bert had always known exactly where to press to make it hurt.

He understood perfectly the subtle longing Gerald still harbored for Catherine. And he deliberately used their happiness to drive the blade deeper.

It had been Gerald who failed to cherish Catherine first. Gerald who couldn’t withstand pressure and gave up on their relationship. What right did he have now to linger in regret—or worse, to stalk them?

Silence followed on the other end. But Gerald’s breathing grew heavy, strained—his grief and anger suppressed.

After a long pause, he finally spoke through clenched teeth.

"I just wanted to see how happy she is. I wanted to see how sweet her life is. I wanted to see how well she’s doing—so I can finally give up on her completely."

"Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Gerald was practically shouting on the other end, his voice hoarse with desperation. As soon as he finished, he hung up.

Bert looked at the darkened screen, let out a cold laugh, then turned off his phone and went to sleep.

Surely Gerald would not dare pull such a meaningless stunt again. He knew very well what Bert was capable of. If there were a next time, calling the police would be the least of it. Bert would make sure Gerald regretted it.

Then again, Gerald’s situation wasn’t much better as it was. Bert had run into him once at a business function. Since the wedding scandal, Gerald no longer carried that refined, bright demeanor he once had. He looked worn down—almost defeated.

If not for the responsibility of keeping his family’s company afloat, he might have long since drifted through his days in a haze.

Bert felt no sympathy. If anything, he thought Gerald had brought it upon himself.

And yet, in a way, the person Bert should thank most was Gerald. If Gerald hadn’t given up on Catherine in the first place, Bert would never have had the happiness he had now.

After he and Catherine finally found their way to each other, Bert instructed Morrison and Dave to ease off their pressure on Gerald’s company. From then on, past grievances were settled. Whatever abilities Gerald had, he could use them. In Burg Eltz, they would compete fairly.

Although Catherine now worked at Channing Jewelry, she kept in close contact with Amy and the others. One day, Amy sent her a message, practically bursting with gossip.

"Our Lord of Washington is unbelievable. Absolutely cold-blooded!"

Catherine blinked at her phone and typed back.

"What happened?"

Amy replied quickly:

"I went with him to a banquet the other day. Some shameless woman tried to throw herself at him. Guess what he did?"

Amy was highly capable in her own right. After switching to Bert Design, her performance had been outstanding. Bert valued talent deeply and promoted her directly. As a result, she occasionally accompanied him to Channing-related events.

Catherine had no worries about that. She trusted Amy’s character—open, upright, and principled. Besides, Amy and Sean were deeply in love and nearly discussing marriage. Whenever Amy attended events with Bert, she jokingly claimed she was there to "keep an eye on him." Though Catherine didn’t believe Bert needed supervision at all, Amy insisted men should always be watched.

"So what did he do?" Catherine asked.

Amy replied with barely contained laughter.

"He picked the woman up and tossed her straight into the swimming pool. In the middle of winter! I felt cold just watching."

"Pfft—"

Catherine burst out laughing.

"That’s a bit too ruthless, isn’t it?"

If someone flirted or clung to him, he could have just ignored her. Throwing her into a pool in freezing weather... the thought alone made Catherine shiver.

"I think he was making an example out of her," Amy added thoughtfully. "A warning to all the women harboring any inappropriate fantasies about him."

Catherine smiled softly.

Of course she understood.

He had never once given her a reason to feel uneasy or insecure over such matters.