Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 400: You don’t have to decide anything tonight

[Hospital]

The corridor outside the private ward buzzed with muted urgency—nurses moving briskly, the scent of antiseptic hanging heavy in the air—but Hugo Bennett heard none of it.

All he could hear was the pounding of his own blood.

"She attacked you?" His voice was low, dangerous, each word clipped as if restraint alone was keeping something far worse at bay.

Roseline sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her arm freshly bandaged, pale beneath the harsh white lights. She looked fragile—small, even—nothing like the composed woman who usually stood beside him with quiet efficiency.

"I didn’t want to upset you," Roseline said softly, eyes lowered. "I tried to handle it on my own."

Hugo’s hands clenched into fists. "You should have told me."

She flinched at his tone, just slightly, just enough.

"I was scared," she whispered. "Not of her—but of what it would do to you. To the family. I knew Ester was desperate. Fredrick’s business has been collapsing for months now. She kept pushing... and when I refused to help, she snapped."

Hugo turned away sharply, dragging a hand through his hair. "I trusted them," he muttered. "I trusted Fredrick. I let them into my home."

Roseline’s eyes glistened. "That’s what hurts the most," she said quietly. "Your kindness. They exploited it."

He turned back to her, anger blazing in his eyes. "She put a knife to you, Roseline."

"I tried to calm her down," she continued, her voice trembling perfectly. "She was shouting—accusing me of things that didn’t make sense. I told her I wouldn’t be blackmailed anymore. That’s when she—" Her breath hitched. "I didn’t even see the knife until it was too late."

Hugo strode closer, stopping himself just short of pacing. "And she dares to scream that you framed her?"

Roseline shook her head slowly, a sad smile touching her lips. "People who are cornered often rewrite reality, Hugo. It’s easier than accepting guilt."

That did it.

Hugo slammed his palm against the wall, the sound echoing down the corridor. A nurse glanced nervously but kept walking.

"I swear to you," Hugo said, voice shaking with fury, "I will destroy the Stewards. I’ll leave nothing behind. No business. No reputation. No name for them to hide behind."

Roseline looked up at him then, eyes wide. "Hugo—please—"

"They crossed a line," he cut in. "They hurt you. They threatened my family. This isn’t something I can forgive."

She reached out hesitantly, her uninjured hand touching his sleeve. "I don’t want you to lose yourself over this," she said gently. "You’ve already been through enough."

Hugo’s expression softened at once.

"Why do you always think of everyone else?" he asked quietly.

Roseline gave a weak smile. "Because someone has to."

He exhaled slowly, some of the rage draining from his posture as he sat beside her on the bed. "You should rest," he said, his tone gentler now. "The doctors said you lost some blood."

"It’s nothing," she insisted. "Just a scratch."

"Still," he said firmly. "I won’t take chances with you."

She hesitated, then nodded. "Alright."

For a moment, silence settled between them—heavy, intimate.

"I keep thinking," Hugo said after a while, staring at the floor, "about how close I came to losing control tonight."

Roseline turned slightly toward him. "You didn’t," she said. "You protected the truth."

He laughed bitterly. "If only the truth were always that clear."

Her fingers tightened subtly around the blanket. "Sometimes clarity comes at a cost."

Hugo glanced at her bandaged arm, guilt flickering across his face. "I’m sorry you had to pay it."

Hugo now regretted not taking actions on Fredrick and destroying everything he had then maybe Ester wouldn’t have the courage to threaten Roseline like this where it almost cost her her life.

"You didn’t make her do this," Roseline replied softly. "She chose her path."

He nodded, jaw set. "And she’ll live with the consequences.I will make sure she nor her husband recovers from anything"

A nurse entered quietly, checking Roseline’s vitals before excusing herself again. When the door closed, Hugo leaned back, exhaustion finally catching up to him.

Roseline noticed immediately.

"You should sit back," she said, patting the space beside her. "You look like you haven’t slept in days."

He hesitated, then did as she suggested, letting his shoulders relax for the first time since the chaos began.

"I don’t know what I’d do without you," he admitted quietly. For him Roseline was his backbone without whom he wouldn’t have reached where he was now. She was the second chance he got after losing Grace and losing her was something that made him fearful.

Roseline’s gaze softened. "You don’t have to think about that."

He turned his head, studying her face—her calm, her warmth, the way she always seemed to steady him when everything else spun out of control.

"I’ll make sure this never touches you again," Hugo promised. "I won’t let anyone threaten you. Ever."

She smiled faintly. "I know."

He reached out, gently brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Rest," he said again, more softly this time.

As he sat there, guarding her, convinced he was protecting an innocent woman from a dangerous enemy, Roseline slowly closed her eyes.

Behind her lashes, a different calm settled in.

Everything had unfolded exactly as planned. And Hugo—unaware, devoted, furious on her behalf—was already moving the pieces she had set in motion.

***

[Clafford Mansion]

"Won’t you go and meet your mother?" Daniel asked quietly as he stepped beside Anna on the balcony.

The night air was cool, brushing against Anna’s skin, but it did nothing to soothe the storm raging inside her. She hadn’t moved from this spot since Kathrine had delivered the news—her mother had been attacked. Attacked by Ester. And not without reason.

Anna’s fingers curled around the iron railing as her thoughts spiraled. The pieces fit together too well to be coincidence. The Stewards were already losing their grip—their empire cracking under debts, failed deals, and desperate negotiations. Their company was hanging by a thread, and Ester... Ester had always known how to exploit weakness.

Using Roseline as leverage made sense. Too much sense.

Yet that was exactly what unsettled her.

Daniel watched her closely, his gaze never leaving her face. Outwardly, everything had an explanation. A logical one. But logic didn’t erase the knot in his chest.

He couldn’t forget that day she had summoned him.

The day Roseline had reached out to him, with a friendly intention hiding behind the smile. And the way she tried to twist everything raised a lot of question to him.

That single request had lodged itself deep in his mind, refusing to fade. It was the one thing that stopped him from fully accepting her version of events, no matter how convincing it sounded.

He doubted why was she even trying to help the Stewards, but now the outcome of that help turns out be deadly.

"Frankly speaking," Anna said at last, her voice low and strained, "I don’t know how I would face her."

Daniel straightened slightly, giving her his full attention.

"After everything I’ve discovered about her," she continued, swallowing hard, "I don’t even know if I can trust her words anymore."

Her reflection stared back at her from the glass doors—eyes tired, conflicted, older than they had any right to be. For most of her life, Anna had believed one thing with unwavering certainty: her mother might have been distant, guarded, even cold at times—but she wasn’t a liar.

That belief had been her anchor.

Now, it felt like it was slipping through her fingers.

"She hid things from me," Anna went on, her grip tightening on the railing. "Important things. Things that changed my life. And yet... lying outright? Manipulating me?" She shook her head slowly. "I never thought she was capable of that."

Daniel hesitated before speaking. "People don’t always lie with words," he said carefully. "Sometimes they lie by choosing what truths to reveal—and when."

Anna let out a shaky breath. "That’s what scares me."

Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating. Somewhere below, the mansion hummed with quiet activity, unaware of the emotional reckoning unfolding above.

"What if everything she’s saying now is just another version of that?" Anna whispered. "What if she’s telling me only what benefits her—again?"

Daniel turned toward her fully. "And what if she isn’t?" he countered gently. "What if this time, she really is a victim?"

Anna closed her eyes briefly, pain flickering across her face.

"If I go to her," she said, "I’m afraid I’ll either believe her too easily... or I won’t believe her at all."

Daniel reached out, resting his hand over hers on the railing. The contact was steady, grounding.

"You don’t have to decide anything tonight," he said softly.

Anna opened her eyes and looked at him, really looked at him. There was no pressure in his expression—only concern.

After a long moment, she nodded and slowly hugged him.

Daniel didn’t wanted to force Anna into anything, but he also knew if she wanted to find the truth, then she had to face the situation boldly.