From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 102- he had to teach her.

His life had never been particularly entertaining to begin with. When he wasn’t working, he spent most of his time at home. That was why, on weekends, he often chose to stay at his villa in the suburbs. Out there, he could go hiking, do some fishing, or kill time at a nearby golf course. The air quality was better too.

Now that he was in the city, he found himself terribly bored, unable to think of anywhere suitable to pass the time.

He didn’t enjoy gathering friends to play cards or go drinking, and bars were places he had always kept his distance from. If he had to name a form of recreation, the only one that came to mind was going for a swim.

"Shopping with my mom, buying her a few clothes."

As Catherine listened to his low, sexy voice, she felt a string in her heart being plucked out of rhythm. A faint blush crept across her face.

In front of her was a spotless full-length mirror. From its reflection, she noticed her flushed cheeks—and even more embarrassingly, the shy expression she wore while talking on the phone. She hurriedly adjusted her face, determined not to let Renata notice anything when she came out.

"Shopping?"

He asked casually.

"Where?"

Catherine mentioned the name of the mall offhand. She assumed he was just making conversation, asking naturally to keep the chat going—otherwise, the topic would have died out right there.

Then he said from the other end,

"I was actually thinking of asking you to go swimming. But it doesn’t seem like the timing is right."

The moment Catherine heard him mention swimming together, an image flashed through her mind—standing face to face in swimsuits with so little fabric between them...

She couldn’t even bear to imagine it. Flustered, she hurriedly said,

"I—I—I can’t swim, so let’s forget it. And today I want to spend time with my mom..."

Because she was so embarrassed, she rejected him in one breath. She could hear the smile in his voice on the other end.

"It’s fine if you can’t swim. I’ll teach you another day."

Then, before she could respond, he continued, 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Nowadays, how can anyone not know how to swim? It’s like driving—it’s a basic life skill. You really should learn."

Catherine opened her mouth, wanting to argue that she didn’t even go near water, so why did she have to learn how to swim?

But before she could say anything, Renata came out of the fitting room. Catherine had no choice but to say,

"My mom’s done trying on clothes. I need to help her take a look. I’ll hang up now."

"Mm."

He sounded understanding, and the call ended.

Catherine glanced at the mirror again and saw that her face was even redder than before.

Really—how could anyone not blush when a man invites you to go swimming and casually says he’ll teach you? Especially someone with her personality. As she walked toward Renata, she grumbled inwardly at Bert’s suggestion. He really did know how to propose the most dangerous activities—he could’ve said hiking, at least. Why did it have to be swimming?

As for Bert, learning that she couldn’t swim was a completely unexpected bonus. It gave him yet another perfectly reasonable excuse to ask her out. That aside, he genuinely believed swimming was a necessary life skill. With natural disasters happening so frequently these days, who knew when knowing how to swim might one day become essential?

So—he had to teach her.

Yet just imagining the scene of teaching her to swim was enough to make his body warm and his throat go dry.

Lately, he’d become increasingly aware that a certain desire within him had been growing stronger—so strong that every time he was near her, he had to fight the urge to pull her apart and devour her whole. And since he couldn’t do that, the only way he could release even a fraction of it was by kissing her instead.

Catherine walked over to Renata and helped her assess the outfit she was wearing. Renata looked at her closely and said,

"Why do I keep noticing that your face is always flushed lately? Are you feeling unwell?"

Catherine immediately smiled.

"No, it’s probably just because the heating in the mall is turned up too high. I’m a bit warm..."

Renata looked concerned.

"If you’re feeling uncomfortable anywhere, don’t try to tough it out. Go see a doctor right away."

Just as Catherine constantly worried about Renata’s health, Renata was equally afraid that Catherine might be forcing herself through discomfort.

Catherine shook her head.

"Really, I’m fine."

She quickly shifted the topic to Renata’s clothes.

"What do you think of this one?"

Renata’s attention was successfully diverted, and the two of them began discussing the outfit together.

Clothes in the mall were relatively expensive, but Catherine insisted on buying better-quality pieces for Renata. Catherine herself was still young—she could elevate her overall look and temperament through styling and fit. But Renata was older now, and it was better for her to wear clothes that won out in quality rather than trend.

Catherine had never believed that being poor meant being harsh on oneself or one’s family. Some things simply had to be bought. That wasn’t extravagance—it was about the quality of life. Life wasn’t something to be scraped by; it was something to be carefully tended.

Even without much money, life should still be warm and sunlit. Only then could a person wake up each day with strength and motivation—and only then could they find the power to change their circumstances.

And what people called "running into enemies on a narrow road," Catherine felt, was exactly like this.

When she and Renata stepped into another store, they ran straight into Lucca and Gerald’s mother. The two of them stood close together, chatting animatedly and laughing as they discussed a piece of clothing.

Catherine recalled the last time Gerald had come to see her and said he had already brought up breaking off the engagement with Lucca. Judging from this scene, however, that engagement clearly hadn’t been so easy to dissolve—otherwise Lucca wouldn’t be shopping with Gerald’s mother now.

It was undeniable that Lucca was very good at winning Gerald’s mother over. She was cheerful, talkative, sweet-tongued, and had once been Channing’s cherished darling. It wasn’t surprising that Gerald’s mother favored her.

The moment Catherine saw them, her first instinct was to pull Renata away. She had no desire whatsoever to have any interaction with Lucca—especially with Gerald’s mother present.

But Lucca deliberately went looking for trouble. She stepped forward and blocked their path, lifting her chin as she sneered,

"Well, if it isn’t Renata and my dear sister."

"You two are so poor you had to sell your house to pay for medical bills. How do you still have the money to shop for clothes in a high-end place like this?"

Lucca’s words were vicious and cutting. Several nearby sales assistants immediately turned to look at Catherine and Renata, and because of Lucca’s remarks, their gazes unconsciously took on a trace of contempt.