CHAPTER 76: CHAPTER 76- LET’S DATE

His hand, which had been resting on her lips, slid down to her chin. He gently held her delicate jaw, raising it without a hint of force, tilting her face slightly upward to give him a better angle for the kiss.

With practiced skill, he lightly bit her soft lips before plunging deeper, easily parting her teeth to entwine her tongue with his in a seamless, intimate dance of lips and tongue.

Catherine instinctively made a soft sound of resistance. His kiss suddenly grew more intense, and his large hands moved to her waist, gripping it firmly. In one swift motion, he lifted her into his strong embrace, holding her close as his kiss grew even more fervent.

Catherine had no way to resist; her breath came in short, uneven gasps.

Her experience with kissing was limited. In the past, she had kissed Gerald, but Catherine had always been conservative. Most of the time, Gerald initiated the kisses, and she never really felt comfortable—they felt almost clandestine, like doing something forbidden.

She remembered that back then, whenever Gerald kissed her, she would almost always keep her lips tightly shut. So those kisses were merely lips touching lips, nothing more.

But now... Catherine felt like she was losing herself completely. Her body melted into his embrace, a strange warmth spreading through her. She even found herself wanting to be held tighter...

This kiss from him was real, passionate, as if every ounce of his emotion had poured into it.

When he finally let her go, Catherine’s hands pressed against the edge of the table behind her to steady herself. She glared at him, cheeks flushed.

"You—"

She wanted to protest, but found herself completely at a loss for words.

Bert’s deep, mesmerizing eyes held her gaze. His voice was low and magnetic as he said,

"Let’s date... with marriage as the premise."

Catherine was stunned.

Being kissed by him had already left her in shock, but his words now left her utterly speechless.

If he had just said "let’s date," it would have been one thing. But adding "with marriage as the premise"...

After his kiss, Catherine’s face had already been shy and flushed, her expression gentle. Now, in her surprise, her small lips parted slightly. Unable to resist, Bert leaned in again, one hand holding her waist, pressing her close, and kissed her passionately once more.

Catherine could only respond by clutching at the fabric of his shirt, letting him continue.

Let’s date...

With marriage as the premise...

Her mind kept echoing those words over and over, churning her emotions into a storm.

When it ended, his heavy breath brushed against her ear, his voice restrained and husky:

"I’ll give you a few minutes to think..."

Then he released her and turned, leaving the studio.

Catherine sank weakly into the chair behind her, trying to calm herself, to process the meaning of what he had just said.

But honestly, her brain couldn’t think clearly at all—only shock after shock.

She couldn’t believe what he had just said. Deep down, her disbelief stemmed from the vast gap between them, which had long fed her insecurities.

If it had been any other man confessing to her today, Catherine wouldn’t have been so stunned. She considered herself to have decent looks, charm, and personality. Back in school, she had plenty of men who had pursued her.

But Bert... with him, it seemed almost unbelievable.

The cup of water he had poured for her sat in her hands. She lifted it and drank it all in big gulps, finally feeling slightly more composed.

Meanwhile, Bert had gone downstairs to smoke. His body, after that kiss, had reacted—fiercely, eagerly—a desire to be one with the woman he loved, a longing for the pleasures of intimacy between man and woman.

Most of the time, he was not a man driven by lust; such things had been optional, almost trivial to him. But the more time he spent with her, the more he desired her. That previous indifference had transformed into a strong craving...

The kiss and confession just now had been slightly premature.

He had originally intended to wait until her work and life were fully settled before taking the next step. But with Karl suddenly demanding a proposal, and the warm, intimate atmosphere of being alone together, things had nearly escalated too quickly.

When her soft lips had touched his jaw, all his rationality had vanished. In that moment, he only wanted to kiss her, caring neither whether he startled her nor whether it would destroy the carefully maintained image he had built before her.

The confession was both natural and unexpected.

But none of that mattered. What mattered now was that he had been honest—so now it was time to carefully nurture what had begun.

Finishing his cigarette, Bert crushed the butt and turned, ascending the stairs to await her answer.

She probably didn’t dislike him, but whether she actually liked him remained an unknown.

From Bert’s perspective, she hadn’t strongly rejected the kiss just now. In her heart, she likely had at least a little fondness for him, though certainly not as deep as his feelings for her.

As for that night two years ago, Bert had never planned to bring it up, and now was even less the time to do so. This was the moment he needed to get closer to her heart; he didn’t want to stir up trouble at a crucial point. After all, that night two years ago was not a pleasant memory for her.

When he pushed open the door to the studio, Catherine was sitting in the chair, lost in thought.

The moment she saw him come in, her first reaction was to stand, her eyes and expression full of wariness. From this, Bert could roughly guess her answer.

It wouldn’t be a yes. If she had agreed to start a relationship with him, she would have shown a shy, tender reaction.

He couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed, but at his age, controlling his emotions had long ceased to be a problem. He walked over and asked in a low voice,

"How’s your decision coming along?"

He deliberately stopped very close to her—close enough that he could pull her into his arms with just a reach of his hand.

On purpose he gave her pressure, on purpose he teased her. She was about to reject him anyway; he needed to regain a little psychological balance.

As expected, Catherine stepped back, her delicate brows gently tightening.

"You already have someone you like, and you’re still asking me to date you? That’s too much!"

Bert calmly advanced another step, closing the distance she had just created.

"What if I told you that the person Amy mentioned—the one I have feelings for—is you?"

Catherine: "..."

She suddenly remembered what Riley had said that night, that Bert’s secret crush might actually be her.

Now it seemed Riley’s big mouth had been right after all.

Yet even in her shock, she questioned his words.

"That’s impossible! We’ve only known each other for a few days. How could you possibly like me already?"

Catherine did not consider herself the type someone would fall for so quickly. Her personality was too slow to warm up, even a little dull. And Bert—he was outstanding, mature, and successful.

Bert replied unhurriedly,

"Who decided that falling in love must take a long time? You heard it yourself—Karl fell for Marylin at first sight."

Catherine was momentarily speechless.

True, she had just heard a beautiful story of love at first sight.

So why was it so hard to believe when it came to herself?

But then she thought—Marylin was stunning and talented, worthy of a good man like Karl pursuing her.

She... wasn’t.