Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 358: You are making a mistake

Outside the ward, the heavy silence finally cracked when Kathrine stopped mid-step.

"What are you hiding, Daniel?"

Her voice was calm, but the words carried weight. Enough to make Daniel halt.

He turned slowly, as though he had all the time in the world, his gaze settling on her face with an unreadable stillness. "What?"

"I know you know something about that man," Kathrine continued, her eyes narrowing. "Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to trap Collin that day."

She had always known Daniel Clafford was dangerous—not in the loud, obvious way, but in the quiet kind that made you realize too late that the ground beneath you had already shifted. He was sharp, observant, and always several moves ahead. A man who never revealed his entire hand.

Daniel studied her for a few seconds longer than necessary before slipping one hand into his pocket. "I simply used a fact," he said mildly. "That’s all."

Kathrine’s jaw tightened. "What fact?"

She truly didn’t understand. She had tried everything—cold indifference, calculated pressure, even silence—to make Collin crack. The man had endured it all without flinching. So what had Daniel used? What weapon had she missed?

"The fact," Daniel said evenly, "that your parents are the reason Collin is behind all of this."

The words struck her like ice water.

Daniel didn’t mention Kira. He didn’t mention the fatal blow to her head or the blood that had rewritten the course of everything. Instead, he offered a truth that was easier to swallow, yet far more corrosive.

Collin wasn’t hunting the Bennetts because he was evil. He was hunting them because he had been wronged—just like his father had been years ago, when he was falsely accused of kidnapping the Bennetts’ precious daughter and discarded like a criminal without proof.

Kathrine swallowed hard.

For a split second, she saw something shift in Daniel’s eyes. The emotion vanished as quickly as it appeared, concealed behind a cold, empty calm. It sent a chill straight down her spine.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked, forcing steadiness into her voice. "What if it’s the other way around?"

Defending her parents was instinct. Necessary. Hugo Bennett was not the saint he pretended to be, but accusing him of something this vile felt like stepping into dangerous territory. Roseline, on the other hand, was meticulous, strategic, and frighteningly precise. And yet Anna—raised under the same roof—had turned out nothing like her mother.

The contradiction haunted Kathrine. And it was the reason she still hadn’t exposed Roseline, even though doubt gnawed at her constantly.

Daniel’s lips curved into a slow, knowing smirk as he took a step closer. Too close.

"We both know it can’t be otherwise, Kathrine," he said quietly. "You know your father. And I know him too."

His voice dropped, sharpening. "A man who can use his own children to save himself can do anything. So why not believe Collin—for once?"

Her heart sank.

Because deep down, painfully deep, something inside her whispered that Daniel wasn’t lying.

"We both know the kind of man your father is," Daniel continued, his tone calm but lethal. "So don’t blame me for taking sides."

Kathrine lifted her gaze to meet his, and for the first time, she saw it clearly—the danger coiled beneath his composure. Daniel Clafford wasn’t just speaking. He was warning her.

"Why do you both look like you’re about to tear each other apart?"

Anna’s voice cut through the tension.

Daniel stepped back immediately, his expression shifting as Anna approached them. Anyone else might have misread the scene, might have thought this was nothing more than an awkward exchange. But Anna knew better.

She knew Kathrine’s disdain for Daniel. She also knew Daniel never bothered hiding his dislike for Kathrine. And yet, despite all of that, Kathrine looked unsettled—almost intimidated—while Daniel appeared far too composed.

Anna chose to play it safe.

Kathrine straightened instantly when she turned toward her sister. "How is he?" she asked, referring to Collin.

They had already been informed of his condition, but concern was a convenient mask.

"Still sedated," Anna replied calmly. "But stable. He’ll be fine."

Kathrine nodded, relief—or something like it—flickering across her face.

Anna watched her closely, searching for cracks, for answers. Something had happened while she was gone. She could feel it. But Kathrine’s avoidance told her she wouldn’t get anything now.

"Should we leave?" Daniel asked, redirecting Anna’s attention.

For once, he wanted her away from everyone. Especially Kathrine, who seemed far more important to Anna than he liked.

Anna glanced at him, then nodded. "Yes."

"You should head home too," Anna said to Kathrine gently. "Collin won’t be waking up anytime soon."

With security tightened, there was no real reason to stay. Kathrine agreed without argument, though her mind was already miles away.

As Daniel and Anna drove off, Kathrine followed in her own car. But Daniel’s words echoed relentlessly in her head.

Did my parents do something to him too?

The thought refused to loosen its grip.

Daniel had his own motives. She knew that. But it didn’t take long for her to connect the dots.

If he was right... then she had been wrong.

"If that’s the case," she murmured, tightening her grip on the steering wheel, "then I need answers."

***

Throughout the drive home, Anna remained silent.

Even after they reached the bedroom, even after she curled into Daniel’s arms, she said nothing. She simply held him, her embrace quiet and heavy with thought.

"I’m sorry."

Daniel’s voice broke the silence.

Anna looked up, startled, as he spoke again. "I’m sorry for what happened at my aunt’s house."

That was the only conclusion he could draw from her silence. Norma.

He hadn’t expected his aunt to show her disdain so openly. And watching Anna handle it with grace and restraint had only filled him with guilt.

"She clearly doesn’t like me," Anna said softly, a sad smile touching her lips.

Something inside Daniel fractured.

He leaned in and kissed her gently. "That doesn’t change anything," he murmured. "I love you."

Pulling back, he searched her eyes—searching for reassurance, for certainty, for something he had been craving all along.

Daniel had never hidden his feelings. From the moment he understood what Anna meant to him, he had been unapologetically vocal. But he had never forced her to say the words back. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Tonight was different.

Tonight, he needed to hear them.

"Do you love me, wifey?" he asked, hope flickering dangerously in his eyes.

Her actions had always spoken volumes. But now, words mattered.

Anna was taken aback by his vulnerability. This was not the playful, teasing Daniel she knew. This was a man afraid.

"I know you do," he said quickly, pulling her into his chest, burying his face against her neck. "But I need to hear it. Just once. I need to know you won’t leave me."

Her heart clenched.

She had heard his fear before, but never like this. Never raw. Never pleading.

"Daniel," she said softly, pulling back so he had to look at her. "Why do you need reassurance when you already know the answer?"

She cupped his face gently. "Are words really stronger than feelings?"

He stayed silent.

Anna knew his past wasn’t simple. Meeting Norma had only confirmed how deeply rooted her influence was. But the hatred directed at her felt personal—too personal to ignore.

Daniel exhaled slowly.

"You remember when I told you my father was wrongly accused?" he asked.

Her body went still.

That wound had never healed. She could hear it in his voice.

"Do you want to know who did it?" he asked quietly.

Anna didn’t look away. She couldn’t.

"Hugo Bennett."

The name settled between them like a loaded weapon.

[Flashback]

Daniel was thirteen when the house stopped feeling like home.

The first thing he remembered was the sound.

Not shouting. Not crying.

Metal.

The sharp clink of handcuffs snapping shut echoed through the narrow hallway like a gunshot, slicing through the early morning stillness.

Daniel stood frozen at the foot of the stairs, barefoot, his school bag still hanging loosely from his shoulder. He had been halfway down when the front door burst open and men in uniforms flooded the house as if they owned it.

His father stood in the middle of the living room.

Hands already restrained behind his back.

"Papa..." Daniel whispered, his voice barely more than breath.

His father lifted his head. For a moment, just one, their eyes met.

There was no fear in his father’s gaze. Only shock. And something else—regret.

"Daniel," his father said firmly, as if grounding him. "Go back upstairs."

"I didn’t do it," his father told the officers, his voice calm but strained. "You’re making a mistake."

"Save it for the court," one of the men replied, tightening his grip.

That was when his mother broke.

She rushed forward, dropping to her knees without hesitation, clutching the officer’s pant leg as if her life depended on it.

"Please"