Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 435: Head over heels

[Flashback]

When Anna returned home and didn’t find Daniel, the maid informed her he was at the gym, working out. She had just turned toward the door, intent on going after him, when her phone buzzed in her hand.

A message from Shawn.

I found a photo of the man who was detained for kidnapping Kathrine.

Anna’s breath caught.

Just one day—and Shawn had already delivered.

Her fingers trembled as she replied with a short Okay, then opened the folder he had sent. She tapped on the very first image.

The moment the photo loaded, her entire body went rigid.

The man staring back at her from the screen was unmistakable.

Daniel’s father.

The same man Daniel had spoken about—accused of a crime he never committed. The man whose downfall had dragged his family into ruin. The man whose death had taken his wife with him.

The room seemed to tilt.

Her mind raced, piecing together fragments she had tried not to see.

So Kathrine was telling the truth, Anna thought, her chest tightening painfully. Daniel wasn’t just their enemy...

He was a man who had been broken by them.

A man who had been waiting to destroy everything they stood for.

And suddenly, the weight of Daniel’s confession pressed down on her in a way she hadn’t fully understood before.

[Present]

"Kathrine tried to warn me for some time now," Anna said softly. "But I guess my heart wasn’t ready to listen."

Her voice pulled Daniel out of his spiraling thoughts.

They were no longer standing. At some point, they had moved to the bedroom, sitting side by side on the couch, a careful distance between them—close enough to feel each other’s presence, far enough to respect the weight of what had been revealed.

"When I finally decided to give you a chance, Daniel," she continued, staring at her hands, "I wanted to do it properly. I wanted to give us a fair chance. Not one clouded by suspicion or fear."

She looked up then, meeting his eyes.

"I chose to believe you," she said quietly. "Not because I was blind—but because I wanted to see who you were beyond everything that surrounded you."

The silence that followed wasn’t heavy this time. It was thoughtful. Fragile.

Daniel’s chest tightened as he listened, every word settling deeper than any accusation ever could.

Daniel swallowed hard, his hands clasped together so tightly his knuckles had gone white.

"I never wanted you dragged into this," he said after a long moment. His voice was quieter now, stripped of the sharp edges she had seen before. "I thought I could keep it separate. You on one side. My past on the other."

He let out a slow, shaky breath. "Turns out I was lying to myself."

Anna shifted, turning fully toward him. "I know," she said gently. "I can see that now."

He glanced at her, fear flickering across his face. "You know... what?"

She hesitated, just for a second. Long enough for his chest to tighten again.

"I saw the photo," Anna admitted. "Shawn sent it to me. The man they detained in Kathrine’s case."

Daniel’s world seemed to still.

"My father," he whispered.

Anna nodded. "Yes."

He leaned back against the couch, eyes closing as if the weight of it had finally caught up to him. "So now you know the full picture," he said bitterly. "Why I hate them. Why I wanted revenge so badly it became the only thing keeping me upright."

Anna reached out then, placing her hand over his clenched fist. He flinched at first, then slowly relaxed, his fingers uncurling beneath hers.

"What I know," she said firmly, "is that what they did was wrong. And what happened to your father... it was unforgivable."

His eyes opened, searching her face. "And yet?"

"And yet," she continued, her voice steady, "I also know you’re not them, Daniel. Your pain doesn’t make you cruel. It makes you human."

A tear slipped free, trailing down his cheek. He didn’t bother to hide it this time. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I was so afraid," he confessed, "that once you knew, you’d only see me as someone who married you with an agenda."

Anna shook her head. "You did start with an agenda," she said honestly. "But that’s not where you are now. And it’s not who you’ve become with me."

She leaned closer, resting her shoulder lightly against his.

"I won’t pretend this is easy," she added. "Or that it doesn’t scare me. But loving you doesn’t mean excusing what my family did. And standing with you doesn’t mean losing myself."

Daniel turned to her, hope and uncertainty colliding in his gaze. "Then what does it mean?"

"It means," Anna said softly, squeezing his hand, "we face this truth together. No lies. No revenge taken in the dark. And no walking away without a fight."

Daniel didn’t say anything at first, but when he swiftly made her sit on his lap, her legs resting on the side. His eyes turned soft.

"I’ll do anything you want," Daniel said again, his voice low and earnest. "Just... promise me you won’t leave me."

He repeated it because the fear was still there—deeply engraved, refusing to loosen its grip on him.

Anna let out a slow breath, then lifted her hand and cupped his face, grounding him.

"I won’t," she said simply.

Relief washed over him so visibly that it almost made her smile.

"Then everything is fine," he declared, as if the world had just realigned itself.

Anna laughed softly. "What?"

"That was... too easy," she said, shaking her head.

Daniel looked at her then with an expression so open, so full of love, it stole the rest of her words.

"You still haven’t realized it, have you?" he asked gently.

She frowned. "Realized what?"

"That this husband of yours," he said, brushing his thumb along her jaw, "is completely, hopelessly head over heels for you."

Her smile deepened.

"And if you ask him for anything," he added quietly, "he’ll do it. Gladly."

"Then how about we finish what we started," she said, and Daniel carried her to bed with a triumphant smile.