CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 33- UNSTABLE

When Catherine received Bert’s reply, she was sitting at her desk, cradling a cup of ginger tea and sipping it slowly. This time, she had stayed in the kitchen the whole time it was boiling—just to make sure nothing went wrong again.

After drinking the tea, warmth spread through her body, and the irritation she’d felt from being inexplicably scolded by him earlier began to fade.

His reply contained only one sentence:

"Being yourself is what matters most. There’s no need to change just to please others."

Catherine understood the meaning behind his words immediately, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

Having noticed the rings he often wore, she had a sense of his taste. When she worked on the design, she’d instinctively tried to incorporate elements she thought he would like.

Once she finished, though, she’d realized the design didn’t quite match her usual style—but she’d told herself to give it a try anyway. Maybe he would like it.

Catherine, after all, didn’t have much experience designing for others. At times like this, it was hard for her to stand firm in her own ideas; she couldn’t help but be swayed by what she thought would appeal to him.

Now it seemed he had seen right through her attempt to force those elements into the design.

Catherine had no idea what kind of work Bert did—only that his gaze was sharp, almost frighteningly so.

After finishing her tea, she immediately focused on revising the draft, removing every detail she had added just to please him. She worked carefully until she was truly satisfied this time, and only then did she send the new version to Bert.

When the email was sent, Catherine let out a long breath. Dealing with Bert made her feel constantly on edge. She couldn’t imagine how his business partners—or his employees, if he had any—managed to endure someone with such an overwhelming presence.

Catherine didn’t know Bert’s profession or status, but his demeanor, the way he carried himself, spoke of a man born to lead.

Whether he smiled or not, even a simple glance from him carried an intimidating weight—the aura of someone who had held power for years, calm and composed in every situation. It was a kind of steadiness that couldn’t be faked by those who merely pretended to be mature and in control.

Catherine was used to getting up early—especially now that Renata was in the hospital. She rose with the dawn, made breakfast, and headed out. It had rained all through the night, and by morning, the chill of autumn had set in deeply.

That’s how autumn was—one rain, one layer colder, as the saying went. The temperature swung sharply between morning and night. Learning her lesson from yesterday, Catherine wrapped herself in a thick knitted cardigan before heading out, determined not to catch cold again.

While she was still on the bus, her phone rang.

It was a company calling to schedule an interview at nine o’clock that morning.

The name of the company was Bert Design.

Catherine frowned, thinking hard. She didn’t remember ever sending her résumé to a company by that name. Then again, she’d applied to so many places lately—it was entirely possible she’d overlooked it.

Whatever the case, what Catherine most looked forward to these days were calls for interviews. So after confirming the company’s location and interview time, she readily agreed.

When she hung up, she glanced at the clock—it wasn’t even regular office hours yet. The HR department at this company started work this early?

A flicker of suspicion crossed her mind. Could it be a scam company? But then she remembered the address the caller had given her—right in the prime business district of Burg Eltz, occupying four entire floors of one of the most prestigious office towers.

Catherine thought, If it were a scam, surely they wouldn’t go to such lengths or spend that kind of money just to deceive people.

What she didn’t know was that, the night before, the HR team at Bert’s company had stayed up past midnight after receiving the email in which Bert himself had recommended her. None of them could figure out who this girl was—or, more precisely, what her relationship with Bert might be.

It wasn’t hard for them to dig up basic information about this "Catherine," especially that scandal from two years ago, which gave them quite a headache. Still, not one of them dared to ask Bert directly.

From the few design sketches attached to the email, they could tell the girl had some talent. But she also had absolutely no work experience. Considering that nearly all the recent applicants had been well-known designers from Burg Eltz, they honestly didn’t know whether to take her seriously or not.

In the end, they decided it would be best to call her in for an interview anyway. After all, Bert would personally attend the final round—whatever his attitude was then would tell them everything they needed to know.

So, the employee in charge of recruitment called Catherine first thing in the morning.

When Catherine saw the company’s address, she was sure it couldn’t possibly be a scam. Feeling reassured, she brought breakfast to Renata at the hospital, ate with her, and after a few words of goodbye, hurried off to the interview.

The business district of Burg Eltz was lined with gleaming office towers. Catherine had come here a few times recently, but this particular building—the most expensive and grandest one of them all—was a first for her.

While on the bus, she had looked up "Bert Design" on her phone, but found very little information. All she learned was that it was a relatively new design company founded by a young entrepreneur.

Despite its short history, Bert Design had been making waves in the Burg Eltz design scene recently. Several major design projects had been snatched up by its team, drawing considerable attention in the industry.

As Catherine approached the building, she noticed that the ground floor housed a branch of bc Jewelry—one of the stores owned by Channing’s jewelry company. Channing and his brand had once been the talk of Burg Eltz, glamorous enough to open a store right in the heart of the city’s most coveted location.

But what greeted Catherine’s eyes now was a scene of quiet desolation—the shop doors were closed, the place eerily still.

It seemed Channing had been right after all—his company truly had fallen on hard times.

To Catherine, Channing’s decline felt almost inevitable. Between the lavish spending of Tracy and her daughter and Channing’s own greed, it was clear why he was sinking. He was a nouveau riche who had made his fortune in jewelry, yet he’d insisted on dressing himself up as some kind of entrepreneur — and in recent years he’d chased every trend into risky real estate investments.

When a person’s greed far outstrips their ability, ruin is only a matter of time.

She tore her eyes away from the desolate jewelry store and walked into the building with a steady step.

Bert Design occupied the fifteenth through eighteenth floors. Standing at the front desk on the fifteenth floor and looking up at the four stylized letters of the company name, Catherine immediately thought of Bert — that mysterious, cool man.

His name was Bert. Catherine didn’t actually know how the characters in his name were written, but the pronunciation made the association easy; she thought it was a strange coincidence, and so didn’t give it much thought.

The interview itself went fairly smoothly, and in the end Catherine was told to come back in three days for a second round.

One thing puzzled her: other candidates usually seemed to be in and out in ten minutes or so, but she had felt like she’d been in there for more than half an hour.

Still, she was happy to have made it to the next round. Catherine had confidence in her skills, but her lack of work experience had been a real obstacle until now.

Just after she stepped out of the interview room, her phone rang — it was the hospital. Renata had suddenly become unstable and had been rushed for emergency treatment; they told Catherine to return immediately.

Catherine froze. When she’d left, Renata had been fine — and was due to be discharged in two days. How could her condition suddenly become unstable?

Her voice shook as she asked the hospital staff what had happened. They said someone had come to see Renata: a middle-aged man with a paunch.

Catherine knew at once who it was. It could only be Channing.

Tears sprang to her eyes, but they weren’t from sadness — they were from anger.

Her whole body trembled; her teeth chattered. Tears welled up, and murderous thoughts flashed through her mind.

Channing must have said something to Renata, upset her, and caused her condition to relapse.

If Channing were standing in front of her right now, Catherine thought she would slap him so hard she wouldn’t care that he was her father.

What right did such a scoundrel have to call himself a father?

He knew how important Renata was to her, and yet he went to see Renata before she had fully recovered and provoked her.

She had sold the house and dragged Renata back from death’s door — if something happened to Renata because of Channing this time...

Catherine felt certain she would kill him.

She stood there for a long moment, frozen by fury and fear, her face drained pale with worry for Renata.