CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53- AMAZING

He was clearly trying to buy clothes for her—because if the clothes were for his sister, they definitely wouldn’t be suitable. His sister was pregnant now; there was no way she could wear these. And he even asked for the smallest size, which was her size. Catherine could never accept clothes from him.

Setting aside the fact that he was giving her clothes for no reason, just the brand alone would make Renata suspicious. With their current financial situation, there was no way she could afford anything from this price range.

So she simply stood beside him like that, both hands clutching his arm, her small face tilted up, eyes filled with anxious refusal.

Bert lowered his gaze to look at her. She was such a sensible girl—sensible in front of her mother, sensible in front of everyone. But the more sensible she behaved, the more it made Bert’s heart ache.

Her concerns weren’t something he hadn’t thought about. A girl whose mother had just fallen seriously ill and had even sold their house—yet suddenly dressed head-to-toe in luxury brands. Anyone would gossip. And what kind of gossip? Nothing more than the assumption that she had found some wealthy man and traded her body for all of it.

There were times when Bert wanted to simply confess his feelings, to win her heart, so they could be together openly. Then he could love her, protect her, give her the best the world had to offer, rightfully and confidently. But at other times... he felt it was better to take things slowly, step by step.

Right now, her heart clearly didn’t have room for him. He had tested that just now. Or perhaps Renata’s recent illness had made Catherine completely lose the mood for romance.

He looked at her for a long moment before ultimately deciding to wait—to keep everything under control.

And if she thought the mall clothes were too expensive... then he would just design a few sets for her himself. No brand, no price tag. Even if Renata saw them, she wouldn’t suspect they were luxury items.

Her hands had originally been gripping his arm. He gently turned his hand and held hers instead, wrapping her soft fingers in his palm as he began walking toward the men’s clothing store.

Catherine froze the moment he held her hand. After a brief daze, she tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip—his palm warm, broad, and firm, not allowing her to escape.

Her face instantly flushed red as he pulled her into the men’s store.

A store clerk approached enthusiastically.

"Is there anything the two of you are looking for?"

"Shirts. And suits..."

Bert stood there expressionless, completely ignoring the clerk. Catherine, face still burning, answered instead—speaking while trying to tug her hand free from his.

The clerk led them to the shirt section. Rows upon rows of shirts made Catherine’s head spin.

Thankfully, these were for him, so she thought he could choose them himself. But when she turned around, she saw him sitting on a nearby sofa meant for customers to rest—his every gesture composed and elegant, impossibly calm.

Catherine stared at him in disbelief.

"Aren’t you here to buy shirts?"

He lifted his eyes lazily toward her.

"You’re the one paying me back. Shouldn’t you be the one choosing?"

What he said was so reasonable that Catherine was left speechless.

"But I—"

Catherine tried to protest, but he had already picked up a magazine from the side table and lowered his head to read. His long legs crossed with effortless elegance, his posture calm and aloof—making it perfectly clear he intended to let her handle everything.

Catherine felt a headache coming on. How was she supposed to buy men’s clothes? Even when she was dating Gerald, she rarely bought anything for him. And at least back then, she knew Gerald’s size. Now she had absolutely no idea what size this man wore...

She looked toward the sofa again—he wasn’t paying her the slightest attention, leaving her alone to face the endless rows of shirts.

Catherine could only resign herself to the task. She decided to pick the color and style first; size could be handled by the store clerk. After all, they sold men’s clothes all day—they could easily estimate a man’s size.

Bert appeared to be calmly reading, but in truth, he heard every move she made over at the shirts.

He had insisted she choose because he wanted to wear whatever she picked.

He heard her uncertain voice asking the clerk:

"What do you think of this white one?"

The clerk responded with a cheerful smile,

"With a figure as perfect as your boyfriend’s, he’ll look good in anything."

The corners of Bert’s lips curved instantly. Then he heard Catherine rushing to clarify,

"He’s not my boyfriend, please don’t misunderstand."

The clerk clearly didn’t believe her.

"Oh, don’t be shy. You two walked in holding hands."

Catherine was instantly at a loss for words. Bert lifted his eyes and saw her standing there, cheeks tinted pink, lips pressed together—her expression a mix of helplessness and annoyance, as if upset to be misunderstood about their relationship.

Because of the interview earlier, her hair had been tied up in a simple ponytail—clean and neat. From Bert’s angle, he could see the graceful line of her pale neck and the soft, tranquil beauty of her profile. She looked like a quiet painting.

His Adam’s apple moved slightly before he lowered his gaze again.

He himself felt it was hasty—deciding she was the one after only a few days. But every moment spent with her afterward only reaffirmed that decision.

He couldn’t explain what exactly was so good about her.

She just... suited him.

And that was enough.

Catherine finally picked out two shirts and brought them over for Bert to try—one white, one light blue.

She chose the white one because, as she scanned the row of various white shirts, she couldn’t help but recall what Riley had once said about men in white shirts: only when a man can wear a simple white shirt well does it prove his looks and aura.

She also remembered that he had been wearing a white shirt today, which looked good on him. Choosing another white one would ensure he’d look good and also avoid any awkwardness.

Besides, she thought, having a few white shirts wasn’t a problem. Catherine recalled seeing him in the office, standing close enough that she noticed his white shirt had subtle patterns. So she picked a pure white one—simple, no ornate embellishments—matching her own sense of style.

The light blue shirt, on the other hand, was a bit of a gamble. In all her encounters with him, she realized she had never seen him wear this color before.

Catherine felt completely at a loss and somewhat panicked.

Even if he were to help her choose, just giving a rough opinion would have sufficed—but he sat there, completely indifferent.

Wasn’t he afraid she might pick something that didn’t suit his taste? In Catherine’s eyes, his fashion sense was impeccable...

But she couldn’t worry about that now. She just wanted to get it over with, so she grabbed the two shirts and approached him, using the sizes recommended by the clerk.

"Um... could you try on these two?"

Her opening was awkward as she stood in front of him, trying to sound casual.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over her small face before settling on the two shirts in her hands.

Catherine felt increasingly uncomfortable. She shoved the shirts into his arms.

"Go try them on," she said, then turned away, pretending to continue browsing.

Behind her, Bert glanced down at the two shirts in his arms, a subtle smile tugging at his lips. He picked them up and walked gracefully to the fitting room.

The white one would be fine, he thought. The light blue shirt... worn on him, it might make him look a little younger.

Once Bert stepped into the fitting room, Catherine finally felt a slight sense of relief. But then she overheard a few clerks whispering among themselves.

"That man’s body is amazing. Shirts look so... sexy on him..."

"Right, right! Broad shoulders, narrow waist, sculpted hips—total model physique. And those abs..."

One of them laughed, clearly fangirling a little, and the other teased,

"He’s wearing a shirt, though. How do you even see his abs? Did you touch them?"

The first clerk replied,

"Touch them? You can tell just by looking!"