Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 497: He was warning her

Anna’s eyes immediately turned distant when Hugo’s name flashed across her screen.

It had only been a few days since he suffered a heart attack. And more than a week since she had cut ties with them, refusing to bow to what they called love.

Now he was calling her again.

Why?

"What does he want now?" she wondered, staring at the screen as it continued to ring.

She did not answer.

The phone rang until it eventually fell silent.

Letting out a slow breath, Anna switched her phone to silent mode and placed it aside. She turned toward her work, determined not to let the call disturb her resolve.

But no matter how hard she tried to focus, her thoughts refused to cooperate.

They drifted back to the note she had found in Collin’s hospital ward.

She still had no idea how someone managed to deliver it to him without being noticed. Hospital security was not careless. Nurses were always present. Yet somehow, someone had gotten close enough.

Whoever did it was skilled.

Careful.

Intentional.

Anna’s gaze shifted to the note resting on her dressing table.

"Should I tell Daniel?" she murmured softly.

She had meant to tell him earlier. But that night, he had been so overwhelming, so consumed by his affection and desire, that even she had forgotten what she intended to say.

Now, with Collin’s prolonged disappearance and Hugo suddenly reaching out again, the unease inside her deepened.

This was no longer something she could ignore.

Anna picked up the note again, her fingers tightening slightly around it.

If someone was moving pieces behind the scenes, she could not afford to stay silent.

"I need to make sure Daniel knows about this" she muttered with conviction as she held the note in her hand firmly. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

***

Meanwhile Roseline had left the Bennett Mansion and drove to the outskrit of the city unit her car came to halt on a secluded spot.

After reciveing the phone call, Roseline couldn’t help but compel through the words that were said and now as she moves suddenly a figure came to her view.

It was none other than Collin.

Roseline’s breath hitched at the sight of his dark eyes settling on her and the corner of his lips perked as if he was amused to see her there.

"I thought you wouldn’t come" Collin said with a tone of amusement, but deep down he knew she coudn’t to decline him.

It had been days since he escaped the hospital and days since he last talked to her.

But now seeing her standing before him as if her whole world was crumbling made him smile even more.

"What do you want, Collin?" Roseline asked, her voice tightly controlled as she masked her anxiety with forced anger.

She had not expected him to take her threat in the hospital seriously. She had only said those words to remind him of what she was capable of, to make him believe that with one command she could send him back to the darkness he came from.

But now, standing before him, watching the venom in his eyes deepen, her heart began to race.

She was not that untouchable woman he had seen at the hospital. She was not proud of the wealth Hugo possessed, wealth she had once believed she could use to crush Collin without hesitation.

Right now, she felt like the old Roseline again, the one who always kept a backup plan, who calculated every move. Yet she refused to let him see her vulnerability. If she did, he would tear her apart without mercy.

"Still the same almighty tone, even after losing everything."

Roseline stiffened at his mocking words. His low laughter scraped against her nerves, and her eyes flickered with restrained fury.

"You should not speak to me like that, Roseline," he continued coldly. "Not when you are no longer worth worrying about."

His words struck her like ice water, shattering the fragile confidence she had been clinging to.

"I know your husband’s business is barely surviving. I know he suffered a heart attack because of it. He is surrounded from all sides, left with almost no support."

Her eyes widened as Collin stepped closer. Each step felt deliberate, predatory. When he finally stopped in front of her, her stomach twisted.

"So do not even think about lying to me," he murmured. "You have nothing left except the fear of being exposed."

Roseline’s lips trembled at his audacity.

"Helpless, aren’t we?" Collin’s voice dropped, the amusement draining from his face as something darker replaced it. "That is exactly how I felt when you backstabbed me, Roseline."

His smile vanished completely.

"But now you have nothing left to protect you."

Goosebumps rose along her skin. His words were not empty threats. They were reality.

"Y You will not do anything, Collin," she said, though her voice betrayed her. It wavered, fragile despite her attempt to sound firm.

Collin laughed softly.

"You sound amusing," he murmured. "Do you really think your shallow threats can scare me now?"

The faint smile lingered on his lips, but his eyes were cold.

"I could kill you right here. No one would find your body. You would be left rotting in this place, and the world would move on without even knowing."

The color drained from Roseline’s face.

She knew he was capable of it. She knew his temper, his ruthlessness. Over the years, he had grown more dangerous. He no longer frightened her with actions, but with the quiet certainty in his voice. A certainty that told her he would not hesitate.

He would kill her if he chose to.

"But do not worry," he said suddenly. "I will not do that. After all, there was a time when I loved you."

He lifted his hand as if to touch her, but she flinched before he could.

The corner of his lips curved faintly.

Even after years apart, even after she married Hugo and sent him to prison, he still held power over her. The madness in his eyes was enough to make her blood run cold.

And she hated that he knew it.

Sensing the way his words had reduced her to silence, Collin stepped even closer.

The distance between them disappeared until she could feel the faint warmth of his breath against her skin. Roseline forced herself not to retreat. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her step back.

"Now stop misbehaving," he whispered, his voice low and deliberate. "And be the good wife you have always been."

The words slid down her spine like ice.

Roseline’s fingers curled tightly at her sides. She hated the way her body reacted to his proximity, the way her pulse betrayed her calm expression. Every instinct inside her screamed to push him away, to slap that smirk off his face, to remind him she was not the weak woman he once controlled.

But she did not move.

She could not afford to.

Collin had the upper hand now. He knew about Hugo’s failing business. He knew about the heart attack. He knew how fragile her situation had become. And that knowledge made him dangerous.

More dangerous than ever.

Roseline lifted her chin slightly, forcing herself to meet his gaze. Even if she felt cornered, even if fear coiled in her stomach, she would not let him see her break.

He watched her carefully, as if measuring how far he could push before she shattered.

The truth was suffocating.

No matter how much she despised standing this close to him, she knew she could not risk provoking him. Not now. Not when he held every card.

So she swallowed her pride, her anger, her fear.

And stood still.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked quietly.

This time, the words did not carry defiance. They carried calculation.

Collin’s eyes gleamed the moment he heard them, a dark satisfaction flickering within them. It was the response he had been waiting for. The exact moment he knew he had won this round.

The faint curve of his lips returned, slower this time, more deliberate.

He had gotten exactly what he wanted.

"Good. Now listen..."

His voice lowered, almost gentle, which made it far more terrifying.

Roseline stood frozen as he leaned closer, each word he spoke slipping slowly into her ears. They did not sound loud or threatening. They were calm. Controlled. Certain.

And that was what frightened her the most.

With every sentence, her chest tightened. The meaning behind his words settled heavily in her mind, piece by piece, until the weight of it became unbearable.

The more he spoke, the colder she felt.

By the time he finished, the fear inside her had grown far deeper than before. It was no longer just fear of him.

It was fear of what he was asking her to do.

"And make sure you do not try to defy me, Roseline," he said quietly. "If you do, I will not come for your heart this time. I will come for your head."

The threat was delivered without anger, without raised tone. That made it far more terrifying.

A wave of goosebumps spread across her skin, and her breath caught in her throat. The calm certainty in his voice left no room for doubt. He was not exaggerating. He was not bluffing.

He meant every word.

Roseline felt the air grow heavier around her. Her heartbeat pounded against her ribs, loud enough that she feared he might hear it. For a brief second, she forgot how to breathe.

This was not the man she once believed she understood.

This was someone sharper. Colder. More calculated.

And he was no longer threatening her out of love or hurt pride.

He was warning her.