Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 425: She’s not trying to destroy me

Kathrine’s fists clenched.

"Then explain," she demanded. "Explain why everything around you reeks of calculation."

Daniel took a slow breath, eyes darkening.

"Because I learned a long time ago that justice doesn’t come clean," he said. "The Bennetts made enemies they don’t even remember. People who lost everything while they thrived."

He met her gaze unflinchingly.

"And if you think I’m the villain for wanting to hold them accountable," he added, "then maybe you should ask yourself why they’ve given me so many reasons to."

Kathrine searched his face, her certainty wavering for the first time.

"You don’t have to trust me," Daniel said quietly. "But don’t mistake my hatred for them as indifference toward Anna."

A beat passed.

"Because if there’s one thing I never faked," he finished, his voice rough, "it’s loving her."

The words lingered between them, unsettling and heavy, leaving Kathrine standing there, torn between everything she believed and everything she had just seen.

Daniel’s words echoed louder in the silence than any accusation she had thrown at him moments ago.

Loving her.

She let out a short, humorless laugh. "You say that so easily," she said, finally turning back to face him. "As if love alone erases intent."

Daniel did not reply immediately. His jaw was tight, eyes dark, as though weighing how much truth he could afford to lay bare.

"I never planned for Anna," he said at last. "She wasn’t part of anything. She wasn’t supposed to matter."

Kathrine flinched at that, but he continued before she could speak.

"And that’s exactly why she does," he added quietly. "Because she ruined every plan I had."

Her brows furrowed. "You expect that to comfort me?"

"No," he said honestly. "I expect you to understand."

Kathrine crossed her arms, defensiveness hardening her posture. "Understanding doesn’t come easily when my sister is married to a man who admits he despises her family."

"I despise what they did," Daniel corrected. "What they buried. What they walked away from."

He took a step closer, not threatening, but deliberate. "You think I woke up one day and decided to destroy the Bennetts because it amused me? Because I enjoy power?"

Kathrine’s lips parted, then pressed together again.

"You heard one conversation," Daniel said, his voice low. "One moment taken out of years of damage they caused."

"That conversation was enough," she shot back. "Enough to make me run. Enough to know marrying you would put my family in your crosshairs."

"And you never thought," he countered sharply, "that maybe there was a reason they were already there?"

Silence fell again.

Kathrine shook her head slowly. "You’re asking me to sympathize with you while standing over the wreckage of my family."

"No," Daniel said. "I’m asking you to stop pretending they’re blameless just because they’re yours."

The words stung, and they both knew it.

"You talk about hypocrisy," Kathrine said coldly. "But you’re the one who hid the truth. You let Anna believe in a version of you that suited her."

Daniel’s gaze flickered. That one hit closer than he liked.

"I didn’t lie to her," he said. "I didn’t tell her everything, but I never used her."

"Convenient distinction," Kathrine replied.

"If I had wanted leverage," Daniel snapped, his restraint finally cracking, "I would have gone after you. Or your father. Anna was never leverage to me. She was a liability."

"A liability?" Kathrine repeated bitterly.

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "Because she made me hesitate. She made me pull back when I shouldn’t have. She made me question things I swore I never would."

His voice lowered, raw now. "Do you know how dangerous that is for someone like me who knows everything he wants to do, who has a plan but flips"

Kathrine stared at him, searching for deception, for cracks that would expose another lie. But what she saw unsettled her more.

Conflict. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"You still haven’t answered the most important question," she said quietly. "What happens when your plans and my sister collide?"

Daniel did not answer immediately.

Instead, he looked away, toward the floor to ceiling window overlooking the city. When he spoke again, his voice was firm.

"Then my plans lose."

Kathrine’s breath caught.

"I won’t let Anna be destroyed for sins she never committed," he said. "Not by her family. And not by me."

She studied his profile, the tension in his shoulders, the weight he carried like armor. For the first time since walking into the office, doubt crept into her certainty.

"And if I don’t believe you?" she asked.

"Then watch me," Daniel replied. "Watch every move I make. Expose me if you must. But don’t mistake my silence around Anna as indifference."

Kathrine took a step back, her emotions warring violently within her.

"This isn’t over," she said, her voice steadier now, though no less wary.

"I know," Daniel replied.

She reached for the door, pausing only once.

"If she gets hurt," Kathrine said without turning, "I won’t come for your reputation or your empire."

Daniel’s gaze hardened.

"I’ll come for you."

The door closed behind her.

Daniel remained standing where he was, the echo of her warning settling heavily in the room.

"What are you going to do now, Boss?"

Henry rushed in, panic written all over his face. It was obvious he had heard more than he was supposed to.

Daniel did not react immediately. His gaze slid toward his assistant, sharp but controlled, before he finally spoke.

"Nothing."

Henry blinked. "Nothing?" he repeated, disbelief creeping into his voice. "Boss, what if she tells everything to the lady boss?"

Daniel turned away from the window and walked toward his desk with unhurried steps. He took his seat calmly, as if the conversation that had just unfolded had not shaken the very foundation of his marriage.

"She would have done it a long time ago," Daniel said evenly. "If exposing me was her goal, Anna would already know everything."

Henry frowned, struggling to keep up. "Then why confront you now?"

Daniel leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled thoughtfully.

"She’s not trying to destroy me," he said. "She’s warning me."

"Warning you?" Henry echoed softly.

"Yes," Daniel replied. "And at the same time, she’s searching for answers."

Henry’s brows furrowed. "Answers?" he muttered while giving Daniel a confused look.