From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 143- What are you doing?

She had to admit that his thoughtfulness was undeniable—but it was precisely that thoughtfulness that made her feel even more miserable. She pushed him away forcefully.

"No need!"

Then she continued rushing toward the door. Bert moved faster, grabbed his overcoat, pulled the door open, and stepped outside first.

With a loud bang as the door shut, the spacious apartment was left with Catherine alone. Her strength drained from her body, she collapsed onto the floor, wrapped her arms around herself, and began to cry softly.

How could this have happened?

How could he be the man from two years ago?

She couldn’t accept it—she truly couldn’t.

All this time, that man had existed in her heart like a dark demon. And now that same person was overlapping with the man she loved so deeply...

As for Bert, once outside, a cold gust of wind swept through the hallway. He lowered his gaze and glanced at what he was wearing.

Well—near-freezing temperatures, a sleep robe with nothing but a long overcoat thrown over it. The coat was thick enough, and long enough, sure—but the chill was still brutal.

He cast a heavy look back at his apartment door, slipped his hands into his coat pockets, and turned toward the elevator.

He planned to wait in the car—at least with the heater on, it would be warmer.

There was no other choice. She was on the verge of a breakdown, and he couldn’t let her go out like that—it was far too dangerous. If it came down to it, he would rather endure the cold himself than risk her safety.

If anything happened to her, it would be devastating—to him, and to Renata alike.

As Bert rode the elevator down, his outfit earned him a one-hundred-percent double take rate. In weather this cold, a handsome man wearing house slippers, a black robe, and an overcoat was simply too unusual not to stare at.

No one was admiring how cool he looked—most likely, they thought he was crazy.

Bert remained unbothered. With lips pressed together, he calmly got into his car, started the engine, and turned on the heater immediately.

After crying alone in Bert’s apartment for a long time, Catherine’s emotions finally began to settle. But once she calmed down, the first thing that came to mind was that he had gone out wearing nothing but a robe—and the weather outside was freezing.

She quickly wiped away her tears, scrambled to her feet, put on her coat, and left. On the way, she sent him a message:

Go home. I’m leaving first.

No matter what, she wasn’t ready to face him right now.

After receiving her message, Bert didn’t go back immediately. He stayed in the car, waiting until he saw her walk out of the building. Her eyes and nose were red—she had clearly been crying—and she looked drained, but overall, her emotions seemed stable now, no longer as collapsed and out of control as before.

He watched as she stood dazedly outside the building for a moment, then took out her phone to make a call. Bert narrowed his eyes, picked up his own phone, and tried dialing Riley.

If she was calling Riley, he could finally relax.

If she was calling someone else, he planned to get out of the car and personally take her home.

Sure enough, when he dialed Riley’s number, he heard the busy tone. That was enough for Bert to be certain—she was calling Riley.

Riley was her only close friend. In a situation like this, going home wasn’t ideal. Talking to Riley was her only option.

Catherine was indeed calling Riley, just as Bert had guessed. Her emotions were in complete turmoil, and she desperately needed someone to confide in—and Riley was the only person she could turn to.

She knew Riley had gone to see Ford, but Catherine couldn’t care about that now. She didn’t have the energy to worry about whether she might be interrupting them.

As soon as the call connected and Riley heard the tears in her voice, she immediately said she would come pick her up. After hanging up, Catherine lowered her head and walked toward the entrance of Dave’s residential complex.

Her mind was too chaotic for her to notice that Bert’s car was slowly following her from a short distance behind.

When Riley received Catherine’s call, she was just being pressed down and kissed by Ford.

Ford had told her to come over to his place. Before that, Riley had been so furious over Ford’s high-handed declaration that they were officially dating starting today that, in a fit of rage, she had actually gotten physical with him. Duke had once forced her to learn some self-defense techniques—things like basic combat and sparring—and Riley felt fairly confident that with her skills, she could land a good beating on him.

Who would have thought that the moment she struck, Ford would take her down instead, tossing her straight onto the bed. He loomed over her and, without the slightest courtesy, bit down on her lip and kissed her fiercely. Riley struggled for a long time but couldn’t break free, so angry she nearly exploded on the spot.

She was the kind of person who followed her instincts and hated nothing more than being restrained or controlled. Now, suddenly trapped by Ford—both physically and in terms of her future freedom—how could she not be furious?

Fortunately, Catherine’s phone call saved her.

Ford had originally intended to snatch her phone and toss it aside, but when he saw that the caller ID said Catherine, he frowned slightly and, in the end, handed the phone back to her. He knew how important Catherine was to her. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Anyone else interrupting his mood could be ignored without hesitation—but Catherine was different.

That was how Riley finally got to answer the call. From the moment Catherine spoke, it was obvious she had been crying, and something was clearly wrong.

"Riley... can you come pick me up?"

Riley immediately kicked Ford off of her. Sometimes the power of friendship was terrifying—she hadn’t been able to break free no matter how hard she struggled just moments ago, but the instant she heard that something had happened to Catherine, she suddenly found the strength.

Ford climbed off the bed with a dark expression, looking like he wanted to strangle her.

That kick had nearly landed somewhere critical. If it actually had, he really would have been stuck with her for the rest of his life—she’d have to take responsibility for his future happiness.

After telling Catherine she’d come right away, Riley turned and glared viciously at Ford.

"I’m warning you, Ford—something’s happened to Catherine. I’m going to get her. If you dare stop me, I won’t let this go!"

Ford was so annoyed he almost laughed. Other people valued romance over friendship; she was the opposite.

Riley had no time to deal with his inexplicable smile. She hurriedly threw on her clothes and was about to leave when she turned around and realized Ford had dressed as well and was following behind her. She instantly bristled.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Ford looked utterly innocent.

"Baby, why are you so angry? I just want to go with you to pick up Catherine. In your current state, you’re not exactly fit to be driving, are you?"

Riley, "...."

First, being called baby gave her goosebumps all over. She was just about to curse him out again, but after hearing the rest of his sentence, the words caught in her throat—because he was clearly worried about her.

So she stood there, cheeks puffed out and glowing with color, completely at a loss for words.

Ford found her current expression particularly adorable. Without the slightest restraint, he leaned forward and, catching her completely off guard, kissed her on the lips. Then he went ahead and opened the door.

"Let’s go. "

Riley, having been sneak-kissed, angrily raised her hand and wiped her lips hard, muttering furiously,

"Are you sick?!"

Was there really something wrong with this man? He’d been kissing her nonstop on the bed earlier, and now he was kissing her again!

Meanwhile, Ford, walking ahead, didn’t mind her scolding in the slightest. Instead, the corners of his lips curved upward.

Yes—what he loved was exactly this side of her. She wasn’t pretentious, never tried to curry favor just because of who he was, and never wronged herself for anyone. She always lived honestly, freely, and happily.

And that freedom and joy seemed to cloak her in a dazzling light, drawing people in without effort. He was just one of many.

When they left the apartment and entered the elevator to go downstairs, Ford naturally reached out to hold Riley’s hand. Riley instinctively pulled her hand back and held it against her chest, frowning as she glared at him.

"What are you doing?"

Ford replied solemnly,

"As an official boyfriend and girlfriend, shouldn’t we be holding hands when we walk?"

Riley was no pushover.

"Who made up that stupid rule? Plenty of married couples don’t hold hands at all—they walk separately. So it’s perfectly natural for a boyfriend and girlfriend not to hold hands."

Ford was left momentarily speechless.