CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 31- JUDGMENT

Catherine, drenched all of a sudden by the rain, felt her usual gentle temperament flare up into annoyance.

Gerald didn’t bother with words—he simply pulled her into his car, sliding into the driver’s seat himself.

Catherine, furious, tried to push the door open and get out, but he locked it, leaving them both soaked, as he looked at her and growled,

"I just wanted to take you home, do you have to react so strongly?"

Catherine, already irritated by his forceful behavior, now heard his words and let out a cold laugh:

"Why would I let you take me home?"

"Why would I let my sister’s boyfriend take me home?"

Her repeated questions pierced Gerald sharply.

"Cici, calm down," he tried to soothe her.

"I just saw the weather was bad after work, so I wanted to make sure you got home safely..."

Gerald didn’t even know why he had come. After work, seeing the rain, he immediately thought of Catherine—of her walking home alone after staying at the hospital with Renata. So he drove over, ignoring Lucca’s calls.

But Catherine? She ignored every call, claiming she hadn’t heard them, though she had. She was deliberately avoiding him. Gerald hadn’t expected that the usually gentle and kind Catherine could be so cold-hearted.

Had he not taken such an earnest, caring stance, perhaps she wouldn’t have been this furious.

But Gerald’s actions only made Catherine angrier, and more than that, they felt painfully ironic.

"Gerald, I don’t know what you’re trying to do! You were the one who rejected me back then, and now you come here, playing at sending me home all... ambiguously!"

"In all of Burg Eltz, any single man could take me home—but you can’t. Only you—Gerald—can’t!"

By the time she finished, her voice was raised in a shout. Gerald had known Catherine for years, and he had never seen her lose control like this. The girl who was usually gentle and even-tempered was now furious—and shouting directly at him.

Every word she yelled pierced him straight to the heart.

Yes, he had been the one to let her go first. He had walked away. And now... what exactly was he doing?

"Isn’t what Lucca did to me enough?"

Catherine’s eyes stung with unshed tears as she recalled the cruelties Lucca had put her through. Gerald’s current behavior only made her feel more contemptuous and repelled. If Lucca knew Gerald was sending her home, who knew what she’d do next?

"What do you mean? What did she do to you?"

Gerald frowned, his voice urgent, but Catherine had no intention of explaining anything to him. She turned and pounded on the car window.

"Open the door! I’m getting out!"

Still lost in thought, Gerald hesitated, refusing to unlock the door. Catherine struck the window again and again, her disgust glaring from her eyes. Finally, he relented, unlocking the car. She pushed the door open and stormed into the rain. Her fallen umbrella had been blown into the middle of the street, crushed by passing cars—just like her heart at that moment.

If Gerald had only abandoned her two years ago, it wouldn’t have mattered. Even if he had later become Lucca’s boyfriend, that would have been bearable.

But to come after her while being Lucca’s boyfriend—Catherine felt it was a raw insult.

Did he think she was still that attached to him? Did he imagine that because he had walked away, she would just throw herself back into his arms if he tried? Or did he truly see her as so worthless that she could tolerate sharing a man with another woman?

Whatever Gerald’s intentions, Catherine was deeply hurt by his irresponsible behavior. Her disappointment in him as a man only grew.

A man who loses his dignity loses everything.

Even Catherine, a woman, could separate from a past love gracefully. But why did Gerald insist on this relentless pursuit?

Some might say that those who can let go easily never loved deeply. But Catherine knew this—holding on when the outcome is impossible is only self-inflicted pain.

Gerald’s parents were the kind who valued appearances above all else. They would never accept Catherine being with Gerald. By now, even Renata had completely lost faith in him, and Catherine herself felt the weight of disappointment.

She knew perfectly well that there was no future for her and Gerald. From the moment he broke off the engagement two years ago, she had been learning to let go. Two years was enough to untangle her heart.

Originally, she had planned to take the bus home. But after Gerald’s relentless pursuit, her mood was completely soured. Just then, a taxi came by. Catherine flagged it down and got in, leaving.

Gerald watched her retreating figure, his hands pounding the steering wheel with force, his handsome features contorted in frustration and pain.

Perhaps this was the flaw in men’s nature—possessiveness, the torment of loving someone you know you cannot have. Society’s judgment loomed over him.

And yet, once she was declared to belong to another man, the feelings of unwillingness, anger, and frustration gnawed at him.

Ever since Riley had mentioned at the police station that Bert was Catherine’s boyfriend, Gerald had been living this kind of tortured existence, helpless and powerless.

Meanwhile, Catherine returned home in a daze, to her newly rented apartment. It shared a similar layout with her old place, but the landlord’s cozy renovation, combined with her own careful arrangement, made it elegant and comfortable.

After taking a hot shower and changing into clean, refreshing clothes, she went to the kitchen to brew some ginger tea. She had gotten soaked in the rain earlier, and wanted to prevent catching a cold.

Thinking about the tea made her mind wander to Bert—the gentlemanly way he had draped his suit jacket over her shoulders—and then to the promise she had made to design him a ring as a token of thanks.

Hastily, she went to her bedroom, sat at the desk, and picked up pen and paper to start sketching.

Having seen him change rings several times, she already had a sense of his taste. The ideas flowed smoothly, and she quickly drafted several designs. She glanced at the ginger tea on the stove; it needed a little more time. So she returned to the desk to refine the sketches until she felt satisfied.

Then, she picked up her phone. Bert had already saved his number under a single name: Washington.

Mysterious and understated, just like the man himself—unassuming, yet impossible to ignore.

Catherine took a deep breath and tapped the screen to dial.

After a moment, a deep, resonant voice came through the receiver:

"Hello..."

Catherine hurriedly introduced herself:

"Hello, Mr. Washington. This is Catherine—"