Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 360: Either way it changes nothing

Anna drew in a slow breath and turned toward him. Daniel lay beside her, sleep claiming him again, his lashes casting faint shadows against his cheeks. Without thinking, her hand lifted and gently caressed his face, her thumb brushing over the tension that never quite left his brow.

At her touch, he shifted closer, instinctively seeking warmth, his body relaxing as if he recognized safety even in sleep. He settled against her again, breathing evening out.

But Anna didn’t pull away.

Her chest ached as she watched him, really watched him—not the powerful man the world feared, but the boy who had lost everything and learned to survive by becoming untouchable.

He had grown up without parents to guide him, without comfort to soften the edges of loss. No wonder his hatred had grown sharp and deliberate. No wonder mercy had never been an option.

And yet, she couldn’t hate him.

Not when she could see the scars beneath the control. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Not when his pain had shaped him into someone who still loved deeply, despite everything.

Her fingers curled slightly in his hair as she leaned closer, pressing her forehead to his temple.

"I love you, Daniel," she whispered, her voice steady despite the storm inside her. "And I won’t let your past stay buried in lies."

Her resolve settled, firm and unyielding.

"I will make sure we find the truth."

Even if it meant standing against everything she had once believed.

Even if it meant confronting her own blood.

Holding him close, Anna stared into the quiet darkness, knowing that once dawn arrived, nothing would ever be the same again.

***

The next morning, the Bennett household woke to its usual polished calm—quiet corridors, filtered sunlight, the illusion of control carefully maintained.

Roseline’s phone buzzed.

Her breath hitched.

She stared at the screen, dread pooling in her chest even before she unlocked it. One name was enough.

Ester.

The message glowed mercilessly.

Have you decided or not? Or should I simply expose your true face to your husband?

Roseline read it once.

Then again.

With every reread, her pulse raced faster, thudding painfully against her ears. Her fingers tightened around the phone as cold sweat formed along her spine. Ester never made empty threats. She never needed to. The confidence in those words was enough to suffocate.

Just one message.

And Roseline’s carefully built world threatened to collapse.

"I never expected Kathrine would come to find a capable man for herself."

Hugo’s voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.

Roseline flinched internally and shoved the phone face-down on the table, schooling her expression into something pleasant. Controlled. A wife’s smile.

"It’s a good thing," she replied lightly. "After all, she’s finally decided to settle down."

The words came out sharper than intended, laced with mockery she couldn’t quite suppress. Hugo’s brows knit together as he looked at her more closely.

"I—I mean," Roseline corrected quickly, her smile tightening, "she must be serious this time. Not like last time, when she nearly dragged us through public humiliation."

Hugo didn’t respond immediately. His silence was heavier than words.

Roseline knew exactly what he was thinking.

The memory was still raw. The wedding that never happened. The guests. The whispers. Kathrine running away right before the ceremony, leaving the Bennett name teetering on the edge of ridicule. Hugo’s empire had already been fragile then—investors uneasy, rivals circling like sharks.

That humiliation could have destroyed them.

If not for her.

If not for Roseline’s quick thinking.

She had been the one to suggest Anna. The replacement bride. The solution that saved their reputation, salvaged their alliances, and kept Hugo’s empire from crumbling entirely.

Hugo finally exhaled. "She doesn’t get a second chance to embarrass us."

Roseline nodded in agreement, though something dark flickered behind her eyes.

"No," she said softly. "She doesn’t."

Her gaze drifted briefly to the phone lying silent on the table. Ester’s message echoed in her mind, a reminder that no matter how much power she wielded within this house, there were still shadows that could reach her.

Hugo rose from his seat, already shifting his focus to business matters, convinced the family was once again under control.

"What happened with your meeting with Frederick?" Roseline asked, stopping Hugo just as he was about to leave the room. "Was he there to beg you?"

Hugo paused. Slowly, he turned back to look at her, his expression unreadable for a brief moment before he shrugged.

"He never showed up," he said calmly. "Despite his assistant calling repeatedly, practically begging me to wait."

Roseline frowned. That was unexpected. "He didn’t?" she asked, a note of disbelief slipping through. "I thought he would come crawling. Especially after what you did. He has too much to lose not to beg you to keep your shares."

"So did I," Hugo replied, walking toward the window and clasping his hands behind his back. "But it seems Frederick finally accepted reality. Some situations can’t be salvaged, no matter how desperately one tries."

The city stretched below them, indifferent and vast.

Hugo had expected Frederick to show up in person, pale and frantic, ready to negotiate terms that no longer existed. That was the only reason he had agreed to the meeting in the first place—to watch a man realize he was powerless.

When Frederick didn’t appear, Hugo understood immediately.

The man had chosen a different strategy.

Or worse, a different ally.

"That’s not like him," Roseline murmured, unease creeping into her voice. "Frederick doesn’t walk away when there’s still a sliver of hope."

Hugo’s lips curved into a faint, humorless smile. "People surprise you when they’re cornered."

He turned back to her then, his gaze sharp. "Either way, it changes nothing. Even if he had come, even if he had offered everything he owns, I wouldn’t have accepted."

Roseline searched Hugo’s face carefully.

There was no trace of mercy there. None at all.

His expression was set in stone, cold and immovable, the face of a man who had already decided who would be crushed and who would survive. In that moment, Roseline understood something with painful clarity—once Hugo made up his mind, nothing could sway him. Not logic. Not history. Not fear.

She had tried.

She had tried to reason with Hugo, to soften his stance. She had tried with Daniel too, hoping that appealing to emotion, to the past, might shift something in his relentless pursuit. But she had failed on both fronts, and now she was trapped between men who would rather burn the world than compromise.

And then there was Ester.

The threat lingered like a blade pressed to her throat. Ester’s messages were no longer warnings; they were promises. The woman was holding on to a single hope—leverage—and that leverage was Roseline herself.

Otherwise, why would Frederick vanish so conveniently?

The realization settled heavily in Roseline’s chest.

Ester wasn’t as foolish as Roseline had once believed. She wasn’t reckless either. She was patient. Calculating. And she was clearly working behind the scenes, pulling strings Roseline couldn’t see yet.

Which meant Frederick hadn’t skipped the meeting out of fear.

He had been advised not to come.

And that advice could have come from only one person.

Ester.