Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 287: Stay where you are

Meanwhile, back in Jason’s clinic, Daniel finally stepped out of his thoughts. It was only after their intense discussion ended that he picked up his phone and froze.

Missed calls from Anna.

His lips curved almost instantly, his earlier tension easing just a little. She had called him. More than once. The simple fact made something warm flicker in his chest.

Jason, who had been jotting down notes on Daniel’s case file, lifted his gaze at the sudden shift in energy. Just minutes earlier, Daniel had looked like a cornered lion—brooding, restless, weighed down by things he could not explain. But now?

Now he was smiling at his phone like a man who had forgotten the meaning of stress.

"People in love are strange," Jason muttered under his breath.

"Hm? Did you say something?" Daniel asked, looking up with genuine surprise.

Jason shook his head slowly, staring at him as if witnessing a miracle. "No, I am just trying to process the fact that you—yes, you—have a puppy side. I think I might faint any moment now."

Daniel frowned. "You do not look like you are going to faint."

Jason sighed dramatically. "That is because the shock has not fully hit me yet. Give me a minute."

Daniel rolled his eyes, pocketing his phone.

Jason continued scribbling but could not hold back a smirk. The great Daniel Clafford—terrifying, composed, impossible to read was actually smiling because of a few missed calls.

It was a sight he never thought he would live to see.

Jason set his pen aside and leaned back in his chair, his teasing expression fading into something far more serious. Daniel immediately sensed the shift and straightened slightly, waiting.

"Daniel," Jason began carefully, "about your dreams... I have been thinking while you were talking."

Daniel’s jaw tensed. "And?"

Jason exhaled slowly. "From a clinical standpoint, dreams this vivid usually tie to trauma, suppressed memories, or overwhelming stress. But your case doesn’t fit any of those categories. Not entirely."

Daniel swallowed, fingers pressing lightly against his knee. He had expected this. Yet hearing it aloud made something inside him twist.

Jason continued, "The way you describe them... the environment, the emotions, the physical sensations—those are not typical of illusions or hallucinations. People do not dream in that level of detail unless there is a foundation somewhere."

Daniel felt his chest tighten. "Foundation?"

Jason nodded. "A source. Something the mind is drawing from—not creating."

Daniel’s brows furrowed. "But I have no memory, nothing in my past that matches any of this."

"I know," Jason said quietly. "Which is why this is... complicated."

A long silence settled between them.

Jason tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair, thinking. "I am not saying I believe in reincarnation or past lives. But I cannot ignore the possibility that these dreams are not random. The consistency, the clarity, the emotional weight—your brain is pulling from something."

Daniel looked down at his hands. They were steady, but his mind wasn’t.

"What are you trying to say, Jason?"

Jason met his gaze directly. "I am saying that whatever these dreams are... they feel like memories. Not hallucinations. Not fantasy. Memories of something your conscious mind cannot access."

Daniel’s breath hitched very slightly, but enough for Jason to notice.

"And the moment Anna repeated a line from your dream," Jason added, "you crossed the line from psychological to something I cannot explain with science alone."

A pulse of heat shot through Daniel’s chest. Fear, relief, validation—he didn’t know.

"Daniel," Jason said softly, "you are not imagining this. Something is happening to you. Something real."

Daniel’s throat tightened, his voice low. "Then what do I do now?"

Jason leaned forward. "We find the pattern. We document everything. The dreams. The triggers. What Anna says in her sleep. Anything that connects you to... whoever you were in that dream."

He paused.

"And Daniel... prepare yourself. Because if these really are memories from another life, then whatever is coming next may not be easy to face."

Daniel breathed out slowly, the weight of Jason’s words settling into him like a storm waiting to break.

The room fell into a heavy silence after Jason’s words. Daniel sat there for another moment, absorbing everything—every fear, every unanswered question, every flicker of truth that felt too close to the dreams he could no longer ignore.

But then his thoughts drifted back to his phone.

To Anna’s missed calls.

Without another word, Daniel pulled out his phone and stood up. Jason watched him with a knowing expression, but didn’t comment.

Daniel stepped toward the window, the afternoon light brushing over his features as he pressed her number. The dial tone rang once... twice... three times. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He held his breath without meaning to.

On the fourth ring, she picked up.

"Daniel?" Anna’s voice sounded cautious, and he could hear the faint rustle of movement behind her.

Relief washed through him in a slow, warm wave. Just hearing her voice eased a tension he hadn’t realized he was carrying.

"Anna," he said, his tone softer than he intended. "I saw your calls."

"Oh... you finally remembered I exist?" she said, feigning annoyance, but he could hear the underlying concern.

His lips tilted. "My phone was on silent."

"Convenient excuse," she muttered.

Daniel let out a quiet exhale—something dangerously close to a laugh. The kind that surprised even him.

"I was in a meeting," he added. "A long one."

"With who?" she asked instantly.

He paused, glancing back at Jason, who raised a brow as if to say good luck explaining this one.

"Jason," Daniel answered.

Anna hummed thoughtfully. "Is everything okay?"

Daniel hesitated. The truth pressed heavily against him... the dreams, the confusion, the fear of sounding insane. But he wasn’t ready to talk about that yet—not until he understood it himself.

So he chose the one thing that felt steady.

"I am fine," he told her. "Are you?"

Anna blinked on the other side of the line. She hadn’t expected that.

"Yes," she said finally, softer now. "I just... wanted to hear you."

His fingers tightened around the phone.

"I am coming to pick you up," Daniel said.

"What? Now?"

"Yes. Stay where you are."

Anna’s breath hitched, a mix of surprise and something else, something warm.

"Daniel—"

"I need to see you," he said quietly, more honest than he planned to be.

Jason looked up sharply at that, but remained silent.

Anna didn’t argue. She couldn’t.

"Okay," she whispered.

Daniel ended the call and slipped the phone into his pocket. A different kind of tension settled in his chest now—not fear, not confusion.

Something grounding.

Something that made him want to go to her... immediately.

Jason arched a brow. "Puppy."

Daniel ignored him. "I will be back tomorrow."

Jason sighed dramatically. "Fine. Go fetch your wife."

Daniel shot him a dry look, then stepped out of the clinic without another word.

***

Anna ended the call feeling strangely conflicted. Daniel’s voice had sounded... different. Softer, but also distant. As if something heavy lingered behind every word he chose not to say. She had only wanted to check on him after he went silent—especially after Henry claimed Daniel had dumped all the work on him and vanished.

A knot of unease had settled in her chest after that.But with Betty beside her, ranting endlessly about Shawn and her own drunken disasters, Anna had pushed the feeling aside for a while.

Then Daniel called her back.

And the moment she heard his voice, the worry returned.

Something was wrong. She just didn’t know what.

But she also knew Daniel well enough to understand: if he wanted to tell her, he would. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be forced. And since he was already coming to pick her up... she decided not to poke the bruise in her heart yet.

"Betty," Anna said suddenly, standing up. "I need you to clear the hallway."

Betty blinked, caught completely off guard. "Huh? Why?"

"Daniel is coming," Anna said firmly, adjusting her hair, her tone leaving no room for argument. "And I do not want anyone seeing him. Especially Fiona."

Betty’s eyes widened. "Oh. Oh! Yes, of course—"

Anna pressed her lips together. She had let Fiona create her own theories about Anna’s ’mysterious boyfriend,’ even found it amusing once. But after what she saw on her phone the night she was drunk, she realized Daniel wasn’t the only one she needed to protect.

Someone had been silent for too long. Someone who shouldn’t be.

And Anna wasn’t taking chances anymore.

Betty must have sensed her seriousness because she didn’t ask another question. She hopped up from the bed and immediately got to work—moving bags, straightening the space, and checking the hallways to make sure no nosy eyes wandered near Anna’s room.

"All clear!" Betty whispered fiercely, giving Anna a thumbs up.

Anna exhaled, her heart strangely unsettled despite everything being in place.

Daniel was coming.

And she wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved... or scared about what she might learn from him tonight.