Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 373: He couldn’t bear the disgrace

[Rosewood Mansion] 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Norma had been fuming for God knows how long when the sound of footsteps finally echoed through the hall. Her nails dug into the armrest the moment she saw Daniel walk in.

The nurse whom Daniel had caught red handed stiffened instantly. His gaze sliced through her composure, sharp and unblinking, and she lowered her head in reflex.

Daniel didn’t spare her another glance as he strode past, stopping only when he reached the couch opposite Norma. He sat down with deliberate ease, one leg crossing over the other, his back leaning lazily, fingers interlaced as if he had all the time in the world.

"You seem pretty pissed, Aunt Norma," Daniel drawled. "I was wondering when your puppet would finally tell you what happened at the hospital."

Norma’s jaw tightened. She shot the nurse a withering glare, and the woman practically fled, her footsteps hurried and uneven as she disappeared down the corridor.

Silence settled between them, thick and dangerous.

"You’ve become quite the observer, Daniel," Norma finally said, lips curling into a smile that never reached her eyes. The anger beneath it shimmered unmistakably.

Daniel’s lips twitched. "Aren’t you proud of me?" he replied smoothly. "I learned from the best."

Her smile faltered for just a second. "Careful," Norma warned. "Confidence suits you, but arrogance can be fatal."

Daniel leaned forward slightly, his gaze locking onto hers. "Funny. Coming from someone who still believes she’s untouchable."

Norma scoffed. "You walked in here awfully sure of yourself for someone who still doesn’t know the full picture."

"I know enough," Daniel countered, his voice calm, almost bored. "Enough to recognize desperation when I see it. Enough to know you’re losing control."

Her fingers curled into fists. "You think you’ve cornered me?"

"No," he said quietly. "I think you’re cornering yourself."

The air grew heavy. Norma rose slowly from her seat, towering over him, but Daniel didn’t move. Didn’t flinch.

"You’ve always been sharp," she said coldly. "But don’t forget who taught you how to sharpen the blade."

Daniel stood then, matching her height, his expression unreadable. "And don’t forget," he replied, voice dropping, "I learned exactly where to aim."

Their eyes locked, neither willing to back down, the tension between them raw and vibrating, as if the slightest wrong move would shatter the room into pieces.

"What are you planning, Aunt Norma?" Daniel asked, his voice low but cutting. "I’m sure you didn’t sedate Collin just to transfer him to a hospital ward."

His eyes were sharp, unblinking, filled with conviction now that the last piece had fallen into place.

The nurse he had cornered earlier had been her weakest link. It had taken barely a moment for fear to crack her loyalty, every detail spilling out in a rush of panic. Enough to confirm what Daniel had already suspected.

Norma’s jaw tightened, the faint tremor betraying her before she masked it. She straightened her back, lifting her chin as if that alone could restore her control.

"And what was I supposed to do," she snapped, "when you started losing focus from your goal, Daniel?" Her eyes burned into him. "You may forget how your father died, but I can’t."

The words landed heavy, sharp enough to draw blood.

Daniel’s expression hardened, the ease in his posture vanishing.

Norma smirked when she saw it, the subtle shift in Daniel’s eyes, the tension in his jaw. Her words had landed exactly where she intended them to.

"I can tell," she said softly, almost amused, "you’re already in love with your wife. That’s why you’re swaying."

Daniel’s jaw tightened. "I told you," he replied through clenched teeth, "she is not a Bennett."

Norma’s expression hardened instantly, the smirk vanishing. "But she is still Roseline’s daughter," she snapped, venom sharp in her tone. "And that makes her no different."

Daniel rose to his feet, the calm he had worn earlier cracking. "You’re wrong," he said, each word measured but heavy. "Blood doesn’t define a person. Choices do."

Norma laughed, short and cold. "How noble," she scoffed. "That’s exactly how your father started thinking too. And look where that got him."

Daniel’s eyes darkened. "Don’t drag him into this."

"I will," Norma shot back, stepping closer. "Because history is repeating itself. You’re letting emotion cloud your judgment, just like he did. First sympathy, then attachment, then weakness."

"She is not my weakness," Daniel said, his voice dropping dangerously low.

"Oh, she is," Norma countered without hesitation. "Because the moment you chose her over your purpose, is how you lose your value"

Daniel clenched his fists at his sides, nails biting into his palms. "I haven’t forgotten anything," he said, his voice tight with restrained fury. "And I won’t stop until I find the truth."

Norma’s lips curved slowly, deliberately. "And what truth are you hoping to find," she asked, "when it’s already laid bare before you?" Her eyes sharpened. "Hugo and Kathrine are the reason your father was put behind bars. They are the reason he chose death over humiliation."

The words struck like a blow.

For a brief moment, something raw flickered across Daniel’s face. His gaze darkened, hardening into something cold and dangerous. Norma watched it happen, satisfaction glinting in her eyes as she pressed on, knowing exactly where to cut.

"He couldn’t bear the disgrace," she continued softly. "The man you admired so much was stripped of everything because of them."

That was when Daniel moved.

He stood up abruptly, the scrape of his chair breaking the suffocating silence. Norma frowned, clearly expecting anger, an outburst, something she could twist to her advantage. Instead, she found resolve.

"That," Daniel said, meeting her gaze head-on, "is for me to decide."

The chaos her words had stirred inside him was undeniable. Memories clashed with doubt, grief with fury. Yet even as the storm raged, he refused to let her see it. He would not bend. Not to half-truths, not to manipulation, not even to the past.

Norma smirked, watching him for a long second as if trying to read what he had buried. Daniel didn’t look away. His stare bored into her, sharp and unwavering, before he finally turned on his heel.

Without another word, he walked out of the house.

The door closed behind him with a finality that echoed through the mansion, leaving Norma alone with her smirk slowly fading, and the unsettling realization that Daniel was no longer a piece she could move so easily.