From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 199- Shameless

However, thankfully, they had found each other at last. Hand in hand, they could now walk through the rest of their lives together, leaving behind the gray and shadowed past that once haunted them.

How could such love—so pure, so beautiful—not move those who witnessed it?

Even the guests seated below the stage were filled with emotion. How much more so the two people at the center of it all? When the wedding ring was finally slipped onto Catherine’s finger, and when Bert finally drew her into his arms and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, there was only one thought in their hearts:

In this lifetime, nothing but death would ever part them.

Catherine’s bouquet was eventually caught by Amy. Laughter and blessings surrounded her immediately—everyone knew she was now dating Morrison’s secretary, Sean.

After their first clash—an encounter that had begun with mutual irritation—Sean had started pursuing Amy in earnest. At first, she hadn’t felt much for him. But Sean was persistent, patient, and sincere. As they spent more time together, Amy gradually realized he was a genuinely good man. In the end, she accepted his feelings, and the two of them were now deeply in love.

Holding the bouquet, Amy joked that she would try her best to get herself married soon as well. Morrison, who had also attended the wedding, recorded her words on the spot and casually sent the video to his secretary, Sean.

In his opinion, Sean could start preparing a proposal.

After the wedding, the others returned home, while Bert and Catherine stayed behind for their honeymoon. Catherine had never in her life enjoyed such a carefree and leisurely vacation. And now, newly married, she was in exceptionally high spirits.

During one intimate moment on their honeymoon, Catherine spoke to Bert with a trace of disappointment in her voice.

"Riley is already pregnant... so why am I still not?"

They had been teased about having children at the wedding as well. Yet until now, she still wasn’t pregnant.

Catherine longed to have a child with Bert. There was no complicated reason—she simply felt that when a relationship had reached this point, it was only natural to welcome a child to complete and carry on their love.

Their married life was frequent and passionate enough. So why hadn’t she conceived? Catherine even began to worry that something might be wrong with her body. Looking at Bert with unease, she asked softly,

"Could it be... that I can’t get pregnant?"

Bert had been about to kiss her ear, but at her words, he immediately frowned.

"Don’t talk nonsense."

The more she thought about it, the sadder she became.

"Then why haven’t I gotten pregnant? We—we’re together so often..."

Bert shifted, pulling her into his arms with a serious expression.

"I’ve been using contraception. So it’s not that there’s anything wrong with you."

Catherine fell silent.

She had always been rather passive in bed, and she had never really thought much about contraception. In her mind, their relationship was mature—if a child came, then so be it. She hadn’t even realized what precautions he had been taking.

She only knew that sometimes he finished inside her, and sometimes he used protection. She had been too lost in the moment to understand that he had been preventing pregnancy all along.

When the realization sank in, she felt even more upset.

"Why were you preventing it? Don’t you want a child? Don’t you want to have one with me?"

Seeing her distress, Bert quickly explained,

"I’ve seen how hard pregnancy has been on Riley. And Lilian suffered a lot before, too. I didn’t want you to go through that—not yet."

He pulled her closer and sighed softly.

"I don’t want you to suffer."

Of course, Bert longed for a child of their own as well. But after witnessing Riley’s severe pregnancy symptoms—her constant nausea and exhaustion—he had grown hesitant.

The thought of Catherine enduring that kind of hardship made his heart ache.

A child would be wonderful. But even without one, he felt they would still be complete. So he had quietly continued taking precautions.

Catherine, however, did not see it as something unbearable. Wrapping her arms around his neck, her small face firm with resolve, she said,

"What’s so terrible about it? Pregnancy comes with these things."

"I can handle it. And who knows? Maybe I won’t even have strong reactions."

Not everyone suffered the way Riley did. Many women passed through pregnancy with little discomfort. As Riley herself had joked, she must have been too energetic in her first twenty years of life—so heaven had sent the baby in her belly to keep her in check.

Catherine looked at him with earnest, hopeful eyes. Bert could feel her longing for a child—and in truth, he shared it. It was just that, at this stage, between the child and her well-being, he cared more about her comfort. He didn’t want her to endure unnecessary pain.

Yet for Catherine now, the desire for a child outweighed everything else. And in the end, he could only respect her choice—to have a child that belonged to the two of them.

His gaze grew deeper.

"You’re really not afraid of the hardship?"

"Not at all," Catherine replied, her eyes steady and unwavering. "Because it would be our child. No matter how hard it is, I won’t be afraid."

Bert let out a low chuckle and rolled over, pinning her beneath him once more.

"Looks like I’ll have to work a little harder from now on," he murmured. "The sooner I do, the sooner I can make your wish come true."

Catherine shot him a mock glare.

"Shameless at your age!"

Yet her body had already arched instinctively, leaning into his warmth, welcoming his closeness.

Bert lowered his head and kissed her, and soon the two of them melted into each other again.

Married life for Catherine and Bert was simple—but deeply happy.

They didn’t need extravagant romance or dramatic gestures. Being together with the person they loved was happiness enough.

On weekdays, they went to work separately. Catherine managed Channing’s affairs while still focusing on her true passion—jewelry design. With her fresh, distinctive style, she gradually restored Channing Jewelry’s reputation, which had once been thrown into chaos by Lucca.

As for business operations and management, she studied diligently and slowly grew more confident and capable. With Uncle Carry helping at her side and Bert supporting her from behind the scenes, she had nothing to fear.

In the evenings, they sometimes returned home for dinner—usually cooked by Bert. Other times they would dine out and enjoy good food together. Occasionally they caught a movie. On weekends, they drove out to the suburban villa to spend time with Renata.

Renata lived there quite comfortably on her own. The air was fresh, the surroundings peaceful, and there were no troublesome people to disturb her. She recovered quickly, and during a follow-up visit to the hospital, the doctor confirmed she had fully regained her health.

Once her body returned to normal, however, Renata devoted herself to one primary mission...

Pressuring them to have a baby.

Almost every weekend when Catherine and Bert visited, Renata would ask Catherine the same question:

"Still no news?"

Catherine felt so pressured that she was beginning to develop psychological trauma from it. Sometimes she didn’t even want to go see Renata anymore—the stress was overwhelming.

Eventually, Bert went to speak to Renata on Catherine’s behalf, gently protesting and asking her not to keep bringing it up. After all, shouldn’t these things happen naturally?

But Renata simply replied,

"My health is finally back. I’m just waiting for you two to hurry up and have a baby so I can help raise it. Otherwise, why do you think I worked so hard to recover?"

For once, Bert found himself completely speechless.