CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55- PLANS

Catherine didn’t even know why all these random thoughts kept popping into her head. These sudden flashes of reflection—about safety, about him—made her ears warm, so she hurriedly changed the subject.

"You can pick one of these two," she said.

It was then that he finally pulled his gaze away from her, casually adjusting the shirt in front of the mirror with elegant ease. He added,

"Why not both?"

It seemed he was quite satisfied with the two shirts she had chosen.

Catherine felt like crying. Each of these shirts was expensive, and she had only managed to dirty one of his shirts—but now he wanted both. Did he think she was easy to manipulate?

Bert glanced at her expression and immediately guessed what she was thinking.

She was worried about spending so much money.

To Bert, he could understand her current awkward predicament, yet he still insisted on having her buy him the shirts—and even two of them. In his eyes, even if she spent all her savings now, it didn’t matter. How could he watch her live in poverty or struggle?

One day, she would be his, Bert’s beloved. She would enjoy all his wealth. She would never have to live in hardship again, never have to struggle for a living. So letting her spend a little now on his shirts was acceptable.

If she ran out of money, he had other ways to provide for her—or he could simply marry her, letting her spend his freely and legitimately.

Thinking this way, he loudly instructed a nearby clerk to pack both shirts.

Catherine’s mood...

Looking at the price tags, she felt as if a giant hole had been dug in her heart. And that was just for shirts. There were suits as well. If he insisted on getting two suits, Catherine felt she might as well go home and survive on air with Renata.

From now on, she thought, she really had to keep her distance from rich people. Even dirtying a single shirt would be unaffordable.

Later, when they looked at suits, Bert tried on a few but wasn’t satisfied. He frowned and glanced at Catherine for her opinion.

"Let’s just buy the shirts today. The suits can wait for another day."

Catherine felt a twinge of reluctance.

"There are so many styles... there has to be at least one you like, right?"

She was thinking that if she could just pay off this debt in one go—buying even more expensive clothes, even two suits—then it would be best if they never saw each other again.

After all, from now on they’d be boss and employee. To avoid suspicion, it would be better not to meet at all.

And Catherine thought that he looked good in anything. Any suit would do. Why wait for another day to buy them?

Of course, she didn’t understand Bert’s deeper intentions—how he was deliberately creating opportunities to spend time with her. Bert glanced at the time and gave her a faint look.

"It’s getting late... we haven’t had dinner yet."

The implication was clear: he was hungry, and it was time for dinner.

Catherine finally realized that it was indeed dinner time.

So she could only resign herself and nodded.

"Alright, then let’s just buy the shirts for now."

After all, he was the creditor. As the creditor, his words were law.

Once they bought the shirts and settled the payment, Catherine felt completely drained.

After leaving the mall, she immediately tried to take her leave.

"Lord Washington, I think that’s all for today. I’ll be going now."

Catherine was eager to escape.

He stood there, tall and poised, holding the bag with the shirts, and calmly replied,

"Shouldn’t you treat me to dinner?"

Catherine—"...what?"

Treat him to dinner again?

"Since we came to buy clothes, I’ve been starving until now. Don’t you think you should make it up to me?"

His reasoning was clearly contrived, yet coming from him, it carried an undeniable authority. Catherine had no desire to respond, but before she could say anything, his deep gaze continued,

"Do you have food at home? We can eat at your place. I’ve already cooked for you twice, so at least let me try one of your homemade meals, won’t you?"

Although his words were insistently unreasonable, there was something in the way he spoke that made refusal difficult. Catherine later didn’t even realize how she ended up in his car—or how she had agreed to have him come to her apartment for dinner, prepared by her own hands!

Since there was food at home, and ever since Renata had been hospitalized, Catherine’s daily task was to take good care of her, the apartment was well-stocked with fresh ingredients. There was no need to stop by the store; they drove directly back to Catherine’s rented apartment.

On the way, Bert took a phone call. From his gentle tone, Catherine realized it was his sister.

Sure enough, it was Lilian calling, sent by her husband Morrison to inquire about some news.

"Bert, finished work? What are you up to right now?"

Lilian asked casually on the other end. Bert’s eyes glanced briefly at the quiet woman beside him, then he answered lightly,

"Just with a friend."

Catherine was slightly surprised by his answer. A friend?

Did he consider her a friend?

Catherine felt a little out of her depth. She thought that in his eyes, she was probably just an ordinary junior employee.

As for her, of course, she considered him a friend—he had helped her so many times. But now, knowing his true identity, she simply regarded him as her boss.

On the other end, Lilian laughed and asked,

"What kind of friend? A guy or a girl? You’ve been back in Burg Eltz for so long, and I’ve never seen you date anyone."

In fact, Morrison hadn’t told Lilian anything about Bert and Catherine. This was purely Lilian’s curiosity driving her to ask. Just from Bert saying he was "with a friend," Lilian immediately sensed something unusual.

Lilian knew Bert very well. He had been back in Burg Eltz for several months now. During that time, the only people he had close ties with were her family and Dave’s family—no one else. Usually, his interactions were purely business, and when he wasn’t attending formal engagements, he preferred to be alone.

Bert rarely referred to anyone as a friend. He was naturally cold, highly guarded, and never considered someone he met halfway through life as a true friend. So when he said he was "with a friend," Lilian immediately suspected this friend must be someone very special.

Moreover, Morrison had recently been talking about Bert settling down and taking care of his own life, so Lilian instinctively wondered if Bert already had a girlfriend.

Hearing Lilian’s persistent questions, Bert instantly realized Morrison must have been behind it.

He could more or less guess Morrison’s thoughts: trying to push him into marriage and family life so that he would focus entirely on them and leave Lilian out of the picture.

But Bert thought Morrison was being naïve. Even if he had love and family of his own, he could never ignore Lilian. Love and family were two separate concepts.

No matter how much he invested in love, he would never abandon his family—especially not Lilian, his cherished little sister.

He didn’t answer Lilian directly. Instead, he deflected with a simple question,

"Do you need something from me?"

Bert didn’t want to introduce Catherine to Lilian just yet; the timing wasn’t right.

Unable to get a straight answer, Lilian tried again,

"Shall we have dinner together later? I want to eat something you cooked."

"Tonight?"

Lilian’s suggestion made Bert frown slightly. He was on his way to Catherine’s apartment for dinner, and tomorrow Renata would be discharged. Opportunities to be alone with Catherine were rare, and occasions to enter her home openly even rarer.

Yet Lilian was his beloved sister. Now pregnant, if she wanted to eat his cooking, he should ideally prioritize her.

In the end, he made a decision:

"Not tonight, I have plans."

Lilian could have him cook for her tomorrow, but with Catherine, Renata would be discharged tomorrow, and he didn’t want to miss this evening with her.

"Never mind――"

Catherine quietly murmured from the passenger seat. She wanted to say, I don’t mind, you can go to your sister’s dinner,but a sharp glance from him made her stop mid-sentence.

She secretly hoped he would go to his sister’s place—then she would be free.

However...

Lilian, hearing that he had plans, immediately grew curious and pressed further,

"Plans? Wow, it must be with a woman, right? Is she your girlfriend?"

Her excited voice was a little loud, and Catherine in the passenger seat faintly heard her words. The word "girlfriend" made her cheeks flush red. She suddenly recalled the last time he had been forced into a blind date, when he had pulled her into his arms and told others she was his girlfriend. Her face grew even warmer at the memory.