Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 337: Time to understand

"You talk as if you know me," Kathrine said, a hint of shyness slipping into her voice.

She had known Ethan only for a short while, yet the way he watched her, the way he reacted, felt as though he had been reading her for years.

"I might not," he replied gently, "but I am trying to know you now."

This time, Kathrine looked at him. She held his gaze but said nothing.

Ethan sensed it then. Collin must have said something. Something that had shaken her far deeper than she was willing to admit. There was no other explanation for the way her composure had fractured so suddenly, for the way she had gone quiet afterward.

"I am sorry you had to see that earlier," Kathrine said after a long pause.

She knew Ethan must have a hundred questions swirling in his mind. The fact that he did not voice a single one only made her chest tighten more. He was giving her space, trying not to make things awkward between them.

But even she could not understand why Collin’s words had struck her so deeply. What part of that conversation had unsettled her to the point where it felt as if the ground beneath her had given way.

"It is okay," Ethan said softly. "You do not have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable."

He did not want her to feel pressured, did not want her to think she owed him explanations she was not ready to give.

Kathrine shook her head slowly. "That is the thing. I was only trying to intimidate him. I thought I had everything under control."

Her voice lowered as the memory surfaced. She had walked in confident, steady, certain she would be the one in power.

"But something he said," she continued, her brows knitting together, "it stirred something inside me. And I still cannot figure out why."

Kathrine closed her eyes, trying to chase the memory that had rattled her so badly earlier. She focused, digging through the fragments of Collin’s words, his expression, the way his voice had dipped when he said that one thing she could no longer fully grasp.

But instead of clarity, a sharp throb bloomed at her temple.

She winced, her fingers lifting instinctively to her head. The pressure grew heavier, pulsing as if her mind was pushing back against whatever she was trying to reach.

"Hey," Ethan said at once, moving closer. His voice softened, concern threading through it. "Do not force it."

Kathrine exhaled shakily. "I am trying to remember, but it is like my head does not want me to."

"That is because you are pushing yourself," he said gently. He reached out, hesitating for half a second before his hand settled against her arm. The touch was warm, grounding. "Breathe."

She did, following his rhythm as he guided her, slow and steady. Inhale. Exhale. The ache eased little by little, though the unease lingered in her chest.

Ethan’s thumb brushed lightly over her arm, an unconscious gesture meant to soothe. Kathrine became acutely aware of how close he was now. The faint scent of him. The way his eyes searched her face, not invasive, just attentive.

Their gazes locked.

The air between them shifted, heavy with something unspoken. Memories of the beach surfaced unbidden. The sound of waves. The heat of his lips. The way the world had disappeared when he kissed her.

Ethan felt it too. He knew it by the way his breath slowed, by the way his hand stilled as if he was afraid to cross a line she had not invited him past.

Kathrine swallowed, her heartbeat loud in her ears.

"Ethan," she said softly.

"Yes?"

"Kiss me."

The words surprised even her, but once spoken, they felt right.

For a brief second, he searched her eyes, as if making sure this was truly what she wanted. Then something in him gave in, just as it had on the beach.

He leaned in slowly, giving her time to pull away.

She did not and their lips met, tentative at first, then deeper, familiar yet charged with something new. The kiss was unhurried, filled with the same longing that had drawn them together before, only this time it felt steadier, more certain.

When they finally parted, their foreheads rested together, breaths mingling.

For that moment, the headache, the memories, the questions all faded away. There was only the quiet pull between them, undeniable and warm.

***

[Glorious International]

"How did you get your hands on the charges Collin was imposed with by the Bennetts?" Anna asked, flipping through the file as she read the details Daniel had shown her.

"I have someone I know in the prison he was held in," Daniel replied calmly. "It took some time to retrieve everything, but I managed." His voice lowered slightly as his gaze settled on her. "That man is dangerous. But at the same time, he is not."

Anna stopped turning the pages and looked up, meeting his dark, unreadable eyes.

Confusion lingered between them, thick and unsettling. Neither of them had expected to uncover what lay in those documents. And if their assumptions about Collin were correct, then the Bennetts were hiding something far bigger than they had ever imagined.

Something rotten.

"I have not told my parents that we found Collin," Anna said quietly. "They do not know he is in custody."

Daniel’s brows drew together. "Why?"

"Because I need time," she answered without hesitation. "Time to understand why he surrendered so easily and what he actually wants." She closed the file slowly. "If Collin is not the mastermind, then someone else is pulling the strings. And until we are sure of his intentions, I do not want my parents reacting blindly."

Daniel studied her for a long moment, a faint approval flickering in his eyes. "Keeping it from them buys us leverage," he said. "And clarity."

Anna nodded. "Exactly. For now, Collin stays where he is. And we keep digging."

The silence that followed was heavy, charged with the knowledge that whatever the Bennetts were hiding would not stay buried for long.

***

[Back inside the car]

Kathrine and Ethan finally pulled apart after what felt like an eternity, both of them breathing hard, the air between them warm and unsteady.

Kathrine’s cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen from the kiss, her chest rising and falling as she tried to steady herself. She had not realized how badly she needed that moment until now. The noise in her head, the unease, the lingering echo of Collin’s words had all faded, replaced by a quiet calm she had not felt since morning.

Ethan rested his forehead briefly against hers, his breath still uneven. He did not say anything, did not rush to break the closeness. His hand lingered at her waist, grounding, reassuring.

"Better?" he asked, pulling Kathrine out of her thoughts.

She looked up, and the moment she did, her breath caught.

Ethan looked unfairly handsome like this. The rawness still lingering in his eyes, his face faintly flushed, his voice rough around the edges as if the kiss had shaken him just as much. Everything about him felt undeniable.

She could have said all of that.

Instead, she simply nodded.

The answer was enough.

Ethan blinked at her response, momentarily caught off guard, before the corner of his lips lifted into a slow, almost helpless smile. He had no idea when it happened or why, but the smile refused to fade.

Was it because of the kiss? Or because of the way Kathrine trusted him so easily, the way she seemed to give in to him without hesitation? Whatever it was, it felt dangerously comfortable.

Too comfortable.

There was something about her presence, about the softness of her lips still lingering in his mind, that steadied him. As if that single kiss had anchored him, keeping everything else at bay.

For a brief, unsettling moment, Ethan realized that her lips felt like the only thing capable of calming the storm inside him.

"What do you think about Daniel’s words from before?" Kathrine asked, deliberately steering them away from the charged silence that followed.

She knew Daniel could be manipulative when he wanted to be. He had a way of cornering people, of twisting conversations until the truth slipped out whether it was meant to or not. It was possible he had pushed Collin into admitting intentions he barely understood himself.

And yet, what Daniel had implied unsettled her.

Kathrine looked at Ethan, studying his face as she waited for his answer. She knew she could be wrong in judging people. She had been before. But Ethan... she needed to know what he thought. Did he believe Daniel too?

Ethan remained quiet for a few seconds, then sighed, rubbing a hand over his jaw.

"This is something you need to decide," he said honestly. "But if you want me to be truthful, then yes, part of me agrees with Daniel."

Kathrine’s brows drew together.

"There is no other clear reason for Collin to come after your family like this," Ethan continued. "Not with this level of obsession." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "But if what Daniel said is true, then something must have happened between Collin and your family. Something serious enough to push him to this point."

He turned to her fully then, his gaze steady. "I am not taking sides. Not yours, not Daniel’s, and not Collin’s. I am just looking at it for what it is."

Every coin has two sides, he thought but did not say aloud. And right now, they only knew one of them.

"And until we know the other," Ethan added quietly, "none of us can be completely sure who is telling the whole truth."