Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 452: Part of me wants answers

Daniel didn’t deny it.

Only if he had known what Norma was truly planning—how far she was willing to go, how many lines she was ready to cross—maybe he would have stopped her. Or at least tried. But now, it was already done. The damage had been set in motion long before either of them could pretend they were still in control.

"Don’t worry," Daniel said softly, brushing his thumb over Anna’s knuckles. "He might have lost everything, but he won’t do anything reckless."

Anna looked at him, her expression conflicted.

"That’s easy for you to say," she replied quietly. "You’ve never seen him when he feels cornered."

Daniel held her gaze, but she could tell he wasn’t entirely convinced by his own words either. Hugo Bennett didn’t know how to lose. He never had. And now, stripped of power and pride, what remained was far more unpredictable than any corporate rival.

Anna exhaled slowly. "I don’t recognize my parents anymore, Daniel. It’s like... the more I learn, the less I understand who they really are."

Daniel didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he gently tugged her toward the couch. She went with him without resistance, letting herself be pulled into his arms. He sat down and settled her on his lap, wrapping his arms around her instinctively, as if physical closeness could anchor both of them back to something real.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Daniel tilted his head slightly. "So," he said, trying to sound light, as if the world hadn’t just shifted beneath their feet, "what brings you here?"

Anna almost laughed. The absurdity of the question hit her hard. Everything had happened in such rapid succession—her mother, the photo, Norma, Hugo—that she hadn’t even realized how desperately she’d needed to see him until she was already standing in his office.

She looked down at her bag.

Slowly, she reached inside and pulled out her phone.

Daniel noticed the shift in her posture, the hesitation in her movements. "Anna?"

She unlocked the screen and turned it toward him.

The photograph glowed between them.

Daniel froze.

It took him only a second to recognize it—the same image he had seen in the file, the one he had never meant for her to find. Roseline. A younger version of her. The man. And the baby.

Anna felt his body tense beneath her.

"This," she said quietly, "is why I came."

Daniel’s eyes flicked from the photo to her face. "Where did you—"

"I found it in your study first," she interrupted gently. "But today, I confronted my mother about it."

Daniel’s jaw tightened. "And?"

"She didn’t deny it," Anna said. "She didn’t explain it either."

She swallowed.

"She just told me to delete it. And forget I ever saw it."

The words hung heavy in the air.

Daniel closed his eyes briefly. "I never wanted you to find out like this."

"Then how did you want me to find out?" Anna asked softly. "Through rumors? Through files hidden in your desk? Through people like Norma?"

Daniel didn’t answer.

"She didn’t even ask how I found it," Anna continued, her voice trembling slightly. "She didn’t try to explain who that man is. Or why she married my father. Or why everything about my childhood suddenly feels like a lie."

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

"Do you know how it feels, Daniel? To realize the person who raised you has an entire life she erased—and you were never part of it?"

Daniel’s arms tightened around her. "I’m sorry."

"For what?" she asked bitterly. "For knowing? Or for letting me stay in the dark?"

He inhaled slowly. "For both."

Anna leaned back against him, exhaustion seeping into her bones. "She looked at me today like I was a stranger. Like I was a threat to everything she’s built."

Daniel frowned. "What did she say exactly?"

"She said forgetting was safer," Anna replied. "That the past wasn’t meant to be uncovered."

She let out a hollow laugh. "Funny how the people who lie always think silence equals protection."

Daniel brushed her hair back from her face. "And what do you think?"

Anna didn’t answer right away. She stared at the photo again, studying the woman in it—the softness in Roseline’s eyes, the way she held the baby, the absence of fear that defined her now.

"I think I’ve been living in someone else’s story," Anna said quietly. "And now I don’t know where mine actually begins."

Daniel rested his forehead against hers. "You don’t have to face this alone."

"But you already knew," she whispered. "You were investigating her. You had a file. How long have you known something was wrong?"

Daniel hesitated. "Long enough to realize that Hugo wasn’t the only one lying."

Anna’s breath hitched. "And you didn’t tell me because...?"

"Because I didn’t have the full truth," he said honestly. "And because once I told you, there was no going back. I wanted to protect you from something I didn’t fully understand myself."

Anna’s eyes filled with tears. "Everyone keeps saying that."

Daniel kissed her temple. "I know."

She looked at him then, really looked at him. "Norma said I’m your weakness."

His body stiffened again. "She said that to you?"

"Yes," Anna nodded. "And I think she meant it as a threat."

Daniel cupped her face. "You’re not my weakness. You’re the reason I still have a conscience in all this."

Anna smiled faintly. "Sometimes those two things look very similar."

They fell silent again, but this time the quiet wasn’t heavy. It was fragile. Shared.

"What are you going to do about your mother?" Daniel asked gently.

Anna closed her eyes. "I don’t know. Part of me wants answers. The other part just wants to stop feeling like I don’t belong anywhere."

Daniel held her tighter. "You belong with me."

She leaned into his chest, finally letting herself breathe. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Then promise me one thing," Anna said softly.

"Anything."

"Don’t ever leave me."

Daniel didn’t hesitate. "I promise."

Anna nodded slowly, even though she wasn’t sure promises meant much anymore. But for now, in his arms, with the world momentarily quiet, it was enough.

Because whatever storms were coming—from Norma, from Hugo, from the past neither of them could erase—they would face them together.