Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 354: They had....a history

[Cold Course Cafe]

"So you mean to say Dad actually agreed to your relationship?" Anna asked, amusement dancing in her eyes as she leaned back against the seat.

Kathrine sighed, still sounding half stunned herself. "Even I’m surprised. I fully expected him to object. Lecture me. Glare at Ethan. Do the whole intimidating father routine." She paused, frowning slightly. "But he didn’t. It was almost... too easy. Like he had no problem at all when Ethan’s mother proposed the alliance."

Anna raised a brow. "That is suspicious."

"Exactly," Kathrine said thoughtfully. "It felt like something had already been decided without me knowing."

They fell quiet for a second before Kathrine glanced at her sister, hesitation flickering across her face. "Are you okay with it though? I mean... Ethan was once your crush and—"

"Please don’t bring that up," Anna cut in instantly.

Kathrine blinked.

Anna leaned forward, lowering her voice dramatically as if the walls themselves might gossip. "I have barely managed to tame Daniel’s jealousy," she whispered. "And I do not want him going around making life difficult for innocent people just because of ancient history."

Kathrine stared at her. "...Is he really that bad?"

Anna nodded once. Slowly and Seriously.

Kathrine swallowed. "Noted. Topic dismissed."

Anna relaxed immediately, satisfied. "Good choice."

A beat passed. "Anyway," Anna continued, her tone softening, "I’m really happy for you. Truly. You and Ethan... you make a good pair."

Kathrine’s eyes widened slightly. "W-we do?"

"Yes," Anna said easily. "You balance each other. He’s calm, you’re chaos. Perfect match."

"I am not chaos," Kathrine protested weakly.

Anna tilted her head, watching her closely. "Then why is your face turning red?"

Kathrine froze.

Anna’s eyes lit up. "Oh my God. Are you blushing?"

"No!" Kathrine exclaimed a second too late.

"You are!" Anna gasped, scooting closer. "I have waited my entire life for this moment."

Kathrine buried her face in her hands. "Stop staring at me."

"This is historic," Anna teased. "My emotionally constipated sister is blushing over a boy."

"It’s not like that," Kathrine muttered.

"Mhm," Anna hummed. "Sure."

Kathrine peeked through her fingers. "You’re unbearable."

"Yes I am," Anna replied smugly.

After a few moments, the teasing faded into comfortable silence. Then Anna’s expression shifted, becoming more serious.

"So," she said carefully, "what did Collin say to you?"

The second Anna said those words Kathrine stiffened. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Anna had rushed to the police station the moment the officer informed her that Kathrine had forcefully entered the interrogation room. Panic had coiled tight in her chest the entire drive, but what she witnessed after arriving unsettled her far more than she expected.

Kathrine sat rigid on the bench outside the room, her posture composed yet strained, as if she were holding herself together by sheer will. Her gaze was distant, unfocused, and Anna immediately knew something had gone wrong.

Kathrine’s thoughts were still trapped inside that room, replaying every word Collin had spoken. His calm voice, his calculated pauses, the way his eyes never once left her face. It was not what he said that disturbed her most, but how he said it. As if he knew exactly where to press.

"I really can’t explain it," Kathrine finally said, breaking the heavy silence between them. "It was as if he was pulling some strings inside me. Strings I didn’t even know existed. It made me feel... uncomfortable."

She exhaled slowly, fingers curling into her palm. The sensation lingered, that strange suffocation she could not name. Vulnerability was not something Kathrine was accustomed to feeling, and that alone made the encounter dangerous.

"I don’t know why it affected me like that," she added quietly. "But something about it didn’t feel right."

Anna studied her sister carefully. Kathrine had always been the stronger one, the woman who faced storms head-on without flinching. Anna, on the other hand, had spent most of her life chasing reassurance, mistaking attention for love. Somewhere along the way, the lines between them had shifted. Anna was no longer the fragile sister, and Kathrine was no longer the invincible one.

"Kathrine," Anna said gently, unable to hide the concern in her voice. "Is there anything else bothering you?"

Kathrine turned to look at her then, really look at her. And for the first time in a long while, comfort washed over her instead of resistance. It overwhelmed her so suddenly that she had to steady herself.

"I’m glad you still care for me, Anna," she said with a small smile. "But trust me, there’s nothing you need to worry about. This is my battle."

She didn’t want to burden Anna. Not now. Not when she was still trying to find her own footing.

Anna returned the smile, but it did nothing to ease the unease creeping under her skin. Instinct screamed that Kathrine was holding something back.

Before she could press further, her phone buzzed in her hand. The vibration broke the moment, and she glanced down at the screen.

Evening it is.

Daniel.

It was about their visit to his aunt’s place.

Anna frowned slightly, then looked up at Kathrine. "Have you ever met Daniel’s aunt?"

Kathrine blinked, visibly confused. "No. I didn’t even know he had anyone."

That wasn’t right.

Daniel had never spoken about family. Not to Kathrine. Not to anyone. And yet, Aunt Norma existed.

Anna fell silent, the pieces refusing to settle into place. So it wasn’t just her. Kathrine knew nothing either.

"What happened?" Kathrine asked, narrowing her eyes at Anna. "Why did you go quiet?"

Anna forced herself to meet her sister’s gaze, her expression carefully neutral, but her mind was already racing.

***

Back in Daniel’s office, Henry watched his boss from the side, unease etched clearly across his face.

"Are you sure you want to take Madam to meet Ms. Norma?" he asked carefully.

Daniel paused mid-motion and lifted his gaze, meeting Henry’s wary eyes. "I don’t have a choice, Henry. I can only go with the flow."

He had thought this through more times than he cared to admit. Norma was sharp, calculating, and never did anything without purpose. If she had summoned him now, it meant she was already several steps ahead. Fighting it would only raise suspicion.

Daniel was confident Norma would not speak openly about revenge in front of Anna. Norma was far too clever for that. Still, the situation sat uneasily with him. He did not want Anna kept in the dark, yet he also could not afford to expose everything at once.

More than anything, he feared trust becoming the casualty.

He did not want his marriage hanging by a fragile thread, one careless word away from snapping. Secrets had a way of rotting even the strongest bonds, and Daniel had no intention of letting that happen. If Anna sensed deception, she would not confront him impulsively. She would observe, analyze, and eventually uncover the truth on her own.

And that, oddly enough, was what gave him confidence.

Anna was smart. Sharp enough to see through his intentions when the time came.

Henry remained silent, understanding written all over his face. He knew better than to push when Daniel’s mind was already set. Instead, he simply nodded, accepting the unspoken tension hanging heavy in the room.

"Anyway, let’s not talk about this for now," Daniel said, smoothly changing the subject. "Tell me about what I asked you to look into."

Henry straightened at once. Now that Collin was finally detained, Daniel had ordered a deep dive into everything connected to him. Every thread, every buried connection. He wanted to know how Collin knew the Bennetts and what had turned that association into a vendetta steeped in bitterness.

"There isn’t anything concrete yet," Henry began carefully, choosing his words. "Most of it is buried or deliberately erased. But from what I’ve gathered, Collin and Roseline knew each other even before Hugo came into the picture."

Daniel’s brows drew together. His expression hardened. "Be clear, Henry," he said, fixing his assistant with a penetrating stare.

Henry swallowed and cleared his throat. "They didn’t just know each other, Boss. They had... a history."

The silence that followed was heavy.

"And," Henry continued, his voice dropping, "it’s rumored that they had a child together. This was before Collin was sentenced."

Daniel’s jaw tightened, the implications crashing into place one after another. If this was true, then the past the Bennetts had tried so hard to bury was far darker and far more dangerous than he had anticipated.

And Collin’s hatred suddenly made terrifying sense.

"Find the child," Daniel said firmly. "Girl or boy, I don’t care. I want every detail you can get."

The words left his mouth calm and controlled, but his heart was racing beneath the composed exterior. Possibilities branched wildly in his mind, each more unsettling than the last. A child changed everything. Motives. Loyalties. Even the past itself.

"Yes, Boss," Henry replied at once, already reaching for his phone.

Daniel leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlocking as he stared at nothing in particular. Unease settled deep in his chest, heavy and persistent, but he refused to let it dictate his judgment. Jumping to conclusions had destroyed far too many people already.

Not yet.

Whatever truth lay buried would reveal itself in time. Until then, Daniel would watch, wait, and gather facts. Only when the full picture emerged would he decide his next move.

Because once the truth came out, there would be no turning back.