Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 301: Since you will not let this go

After spending some time at Daniel’s parents’ place, the couple finally left. With Anna needing to return to her shoot and Daniel heading back to work, they promised to make time again, to come back and create new memories in that quiet space filled with the past.

The drive was calm until Anna suddenly spoke.

"You were the one who sent Shawn to warn me," she said casually, breaking the silence. "Am I right?"

Daniel, still focused on the road, spared her a sideways glance, his expression deliberately innocent. It did nothing to convince her.

"No," he replied smoothly. "Why would I do that? Isn’t he your friend?"

Anna scoffed.

Shawn was indeed her friend. But hearing him repeat the exact same words she had once heard from her sister and then from Daniel made it painfully obvious. It did not take a genius to connect the dots. Her friend was now very clearly working for her husband while pretending nothing had changed.

"You do not need to pretend, Daniel," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I know you are very good at that."

He raised a brow, amused.

"I am just curious," she continued, tilting her head. "What kind of threat did you give him to turn him into your loyal little soldier?"

Daniel chuckled. "Slave is a strong word, wifey."

She clicked her tongue. "Please. Shawn does not switch sides unless he is bribed, blackmailed, or scared."

She folded her arms, shaking her head dramatically. "I cannot believe him. Traitor."

Despite the playful tone, Anna knew there was more to it. Shawn knew things. Things he had not been asked to say. Things that could only have come from one person.

Daniel glanced at her again, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You give me far too much credit."

"Oh, I absolutely do," she shot back. "And do not worry. I will be dealing with Shawn separately."

Daniel laughed softly, shaking his head as he drove on, while Anna leaned back in her seat, already plotting her next interrogation.

"So, husband," Anna said slowly, leaning toward him with her elbow resting on the armrest and her chin propped on her knuckles, "care to tell me what you are hiding?"

The pose might have been cute on anyone else. On her, with those sharp, unblinking eyes fixed on him, she looked more like a detective ready to extract a confession.

Daniel felt a familiar pressure settle in his chest.

The soft, affectionate woman he had spent the morning cuddling with at his parents’ place was nowhere to be seen. This was the original Anna. The one who would not let him breathe until she got the truth.

He sighed lightly, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "Do you always interrogate your husband on the way to work?"

"Yes," she replied without hesitation. "Especially when he is clearly lying."

"I am not lying," he said calmly.

She hummed, unconvinced. "You are dodging."

Daniel glanced at her again, amused despite himself. "You know, this look of yours is terrifying."

"Good," she said sweetly. "Now talk."

A corner of his lips lifted. "What if I say I am protecting you?"

Her eyes narrowed further. "Then I will say you are underestimating me."

He chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "You really do not give up, do you?"

"Nope," Anna replied, settling more comfortably. "So either you tell me now, or I make Shawn talk. And trust me, I am very persuasive."

Daniel exhaled slowly, already knowing there was no escape.

"Fine," he said. "But you are not going to like it."

Her brows lifted in triumph. "Try me."

Daniel heaved out a long sigh, the kind that came when surrender was no longer avoidable.

"Fine," he muttered, easing the car to a steadier pace before reaching toward the dashboard. He popped it open and pulled out a thin file, its edges worn as if it had been handled more times than he would admit.

Anna’s eyes followed every movement, her earlier playfulness sharpening into focus.

Without looking at her, Daniel passed the file across the console. "Since you will not let this go."

She took it, immediately flipping it open, her brows knitting together as she scanned the first page. "You keep files in the dashboard now?" she asked without looking up. "Very subtle."

"Do not get used to it," he replied dryly. "That one is there only because I knew this moment was coming."

Her gaze flicked up to him briefly before returning to the papers. "So you were prepared to confess."

"I wasn’t prepared to be caught," he corrected.

Anna’s lips twitched. "But you did."

As she continued reading, the teasing in her expression slowly faded, replaced by something more serious. The silence in the car deepened, no longer playful.

Daniel kept his eyes on the road, his jaw set. "Before you ask," he said quietly, "I did not hide this because I did not trust you. I hid it because once you read it, you cannot unsee it."

Anna turned another page, her grip tightening slightly.

"And I was trying to give you a few more hours of peace," he added.

The file lay open between them now, heavy with truths neither of them could ignore anymore.

"Rupert Maxwell," Anna said slowly, her eyes scanning the page before lifting to Daniel. "Isn’t he the same man who works on the set?"

Daniel’s grip on the steering wheel tightened just a fraction. "Yes," he answered. "But he is not there as a crew member."

Anna frowned. "Then why is he there?"

"He is disguised as one," Daniel said evenly. "In reality, he was there to monitor you."

The words hit her all at once.

"Monitor me?" she echoed, disbelief seeping into her voice.

Images flashed through her mind. The man she had bumped into a few times. The one who had smiled kindly and asked for a photo, claiming his daughter was her fan. The harmless stranger she had never given a second thought to.

Her stomach churned.

"You are telling me that man is a stalker?" she asked, her voice dropping.

Daniel shook his head. "Not a stalker. Surveillance."

Anna paused for a few second, her mind taking in his words and then asked. "And how did you knew he was a stalker?"

"Ethan told me."