CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38- HAPPY BIRTHDAY

"They’re all just looking for trouble with Catherine anyway. Let them make a mess of things themselves first; let’s see if they still have the energy to bother anyone else."

"No, no, no! You’re asking too much!"

Channing, thinking of Tracy’s temperament, immediately rejected Bert’s proposal several times. If he filed for divorce, Tracy would likely tear his household apart—especially since it would be for remarrying Renata.

But Bert didn’t hesitate. He pulled a check from his pocket, signed it, and handed it to Channing:

"This is eight million."

Channing’s eyes lit up at the sight of the check. He instinctively reached out and took it.

"Mr. Channing, once you take this money, you must act properly," Bert said with a faint smile.

"As long as Mr. Channing divorces first, I will continue to inject funds afterward, ensuring your company is revived and can continue to operate successfully."

Having said this, Bert stood up, ready to leave. Channing hurriedly grabbed him:

"Bert!"

With a forced smile, Channing tried to reason:

"Can we discuss the divorce some more? Marriage isn’t something you can just dissolve like that."

Channing’s mind was in turmoil. With Tracy’s temperament, if he brought up divorce at home, it would be disastrous. Although in recent years her indulgent, extravagant ways had been increasingly intolerable, he had a son with her and had always tolerated everything, never thinking of divorce.

Moreover, having already been divorced once, a second divorce would be extremely humiliating, and at his age, he simply couldn’t handle the upheaval.

As soon as Channing finished speaking, Bert took the check back in a flash.

Bert’s expression turned cold:

"Then I’m sorry, Mr. Channing. If Catherine doesn’t have a complete family, I won’t choose her as my partner. That means I have no connection with you, so I can’t help you, nor do I have any reason to. After all, we have no relationship, do we, Mr. Channing?"

Bert’s words were sharp and decisive. He took the check and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Channing desperately grabbed him:

"Let’s talk this through properly, Bert."

He glanced at the check in Bert’s hand—eight million. Compared to his twenty-million shortfall, it wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t trivial either. It wouldn’t fill the gap entirely, but at least it could temporarily ease his predicament. He couldn’t help but admit that Bert was very shrewd—not giving him the full twenty million to cover everything, nor just one or two million that wouldn’t even make a dent.

Eight million—enough to eat moderately, yet enough to whet his appetite for more.

So, gritting his teeth, Channing agreed:

"I can divorce, but you have to give me some time."

He thought to himself that, for the sake of getting Bert’s help, he had no choice but to go along. Once he went home and talked to Tracy, they could stage a fake divorce, just to appease Bert and get him to help navigate through this crisis first.

Bert’s expression cleared,

"Fine, Mr. Channing, act as you see fit."

His long, strong fingers slid the check back into Channing’s hands, and then he turned and strode away.

Channing stood there with the check, finally exhaling a long breath of relief. He had gotten a sum of money, even if it was contingent on him divorcing.

In truth, Channing wanted to retort to Bert, to say: You desire a complete, happy family, so why don’t you get Daniel to divorce and reunite with your mother, instead of forcing me to divorce? But he dared not say a word—anger without a voice.

Although Bert had left the tea house first, he didn’t immediately drive away. He waited in his car until he saw Channing leave the tea house, shoulders slumped and face full of worry. Only then did he drive off, satisfied.

How could he let Channing off easy? Even if Channing had temporarily solved his immediate problem, the matter of the divorce would continue to gnaw at him—hence his sullen expression.

Ha, Bert thought coldly, Channing and his family were far too inexperienced. Any move he made could completely unsettle them.

Just making Channing divorce alone was enough to throw his household into chaos. Tracy would lash out, Lucca and Gerald would be affected, and even the S family would likely be impacted. One move, multiple effects.

Thinking of all this, the tight knot of tension in Bert’s chest finally began to ease.

He drove straight back to the company and threw himself into work.

As soon as he arrived, he received a report from the HR department regarding today’s interviews. Catherine’s name was prominently listed among those selected for a second round of interviews three days later.

Bert let out a soft chuckle. Those in HR were all sharp and perceptive; just his recommendation seemed to have given them some insight.

In fact, his recommendation carried a hint of personal feelings, but more importantly, he valued her talent. Essentially, he had merely given her an opportunity—if she failed to seize it, that was on her.

However, he didn’t want her to be criticized for her connection to him, so in his reply to HR, he emphasized: a designer must prove themselves through their work.

He reminded the perceptive HR staff not to relax or lower their standards simply because he had recommended her; the focus should remain on the candidate’s portfolio.

Bert had confidence in Catherine’s designs. Still, after sending the email, a thought crossed his mind: what if her work didn’t pass HR’s scrutiny, and she didn’t get into his company?

Since he had developed feelings for her, he naturally wanted her working under his supervision rather than elsewhere.

But even if she failed the second round... he reminded himself that he would be present during the review, so he could still control the outcome.

After reading the interview report, he called Director . Director had been apologizing repeatedly due to today’s incident with Renata, blaming the hospital’s care.

Bert wasn’t interested in assigning blame. He first inquired about Renata’s condition, and upon learning she was alright, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. If anything serious had happened to Renata, Bert knew the situation would be far graver than just making Channing divorce.

He then instructed Director ,

"Since this has happened, please pay extra attention to her care. If anyone suspicious tries to visit again, stop them immediately."

Bert didn’t want Renata to suffer any more incidents before her discharge. Another emotional shock could have severe consequences, and he intended to prevent that at all costs.

Moreover, if Channing stirred up divorce proceedings during this time, given Tracy’s temperament, Renata would inevitably be affected.

"Only her daughter is allowed to visit; everyone else must be stopped."

Previously, some of Renata’s neighbors and colleagues who should have visited had done so during the initial stage of her surgery. Now, it was only Catherine who stayed at the hospital every day to take care of Renata.

Director responded repeatedly in agreement, and Bert felt reassured that everything was well in hand before hanging up the phone.

After finishing her design interview with Bert, Catherine had been staying at the hospital to care for Renata. Thanks to Channing stirring up trouble, Renata’s discharge would be delayed by another two or three days.

Fortunately, Renata’s condition was not life-threatening. She spoke to Catherine,

"Today, I’ve told you everything truthfully. I’m not doing this so that you’ll hate him or confront him; I just want you to know that he is heartless and unprincipled. You don’t need to sacrifice yourself for him."

Renata knew her daughter’s soft-hearted nature and feared that Catherine might foolishly follow Channing’s plan just to save his company.

After saying this, Renata added gently,

"Happy birthday, Cici."

Catherine’s eyes grew misty as she realized she had forgotten her own birthday amidst everything that had happened.

Perhaps the only person in the world who can remember a child’s birthday so clearly is their mother—after all, it was on that day, enduring so much hardship, that they brought their children into the world.