Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 537: The woman he saw as an obstacle

Daniel knew the mystery behind their deaths pointed toward one person. The problem was that none of them knew who he was, and that uncertainty made everything heavier, more suffocating. It was like being trapped in a room with an invisible enemy, knowing he existed but having no way to find him.

The silence between them stretched, thick with tension.

"Let’s not think about it for now," Anna suddenly said, her voice softer but firm enough to break the spiral of their thoughts. She realized they had been overthinking, digging themselves deeper into frustration without gaining anything useful. For now, they needed clarity, not exhaustion.

She shifted slightly and looked at him. "I checked on Mom this morning. I made sure to give her the impression that I’m starting to believe her."

Daniel gave her a knowing look. He did not need to ask why. That had always been the plan.

If Roseline believed her manipulation was working, she would lower her guard. And when she did, she would make mistakes.

"And Collin... he should get suspicious about it," Anna added quietly.

Daniel’s eyes sharpened at the mention of his name.

Roseline had tried to plant seeds of doubt in Anna’s mind against Daniel. She had carefully chosen her words, pretending concern while subtly poisoning trust. But she had failed to realize one thing. Anna and Daniel were already watching her.

Every move.

Every meeting.

Every lie.

When they decided to play along, it was not out of weakness. It was strategy.

And Roseline’s frequent meetings with Collin only strengthened their suspicions. Especially the one that had happened last evening after she left the restaurant.

"Collin is planning something big," Daniel said, his tone low and certain. "We need to stay alert."

Anna nodded.

There had always been something about Collin that unsettled her. Even before she learned the truth about him, her instincts had warned her. Now, knowing what kind of man he truly was, any remaining sympathy she might have had was gone.

He was dangerous.

And unpredictable.

Anna exhaled slowly, trying to release some of the heaviness sitting in her chest. Their conversation had been necessary, but it had drained her. Every answer only seemed to open more questions.

Then suddenly—

"Ahem... now that everything serious is discussed," Daniel said, clearing his throat slightly, his tone shifting, "can I get my morning kiss?"

Anna blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change.

She watched as he leaned closer, his movements slow and deliberate, his eyes never leaving hers.

Her heart betrayed her by skipping a beat.

But just as he was about to close the distance between them, Anna quickly raised her hand and covered her lips.

"I haven’t brushed my teeth," she said.

The excuse came out awkwardly, and she mentally cursed herself the moment the words left her mouth.

What kind of excuse was that?

She knew it.

He knew it.

It was ridiculous.

Because the truth was, she had never cared about something as trivial as that before. Her shameless self had stolen countless kisses from him while he slept, never once worrying about brushed teeth or morning breath.

Daniel paused, his eyes narrowing slightly as amusement flickered across his face.

"But you never thought about that when you kissed me in my sleep," he said calmly.

Anna froze.

Her eyes widened in shock, and for a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

He knew.

Heat rushed to her face instantly, betraying her.

"I... I don’t know what you’re talking about," she muttered weakly, avoiding his gaze.

Daniel smiled faintly, the kind of smile that made her both nervous and warm at the same time.

He leaned closer again, slower this time, giving her enough time to stop him if she wanted to.

She didn’t.

Her hand was still covering her lips, but her resistance was already crumbling.

"Anna," he whispered softly.

Her name sounded different when he said it like that. Gentle. Intimate. Real.

Her heart pounded harder.

For a moment, the fear, the danger, and the mystery surrounding them all faded into the background. It was just the two of them, sitting close enough to hear each other’s breathing.

Close enough to forget everything else.

Anna lowered her hand slightly, her fingers trembling despite herself.

She did not realize when she started smiling and Daniel seized the chance to kiss her.

***

Meanwhile, Kathrine sat inside the waiting room, waiting for Marcus. Now that she had made up her mind, she realized it was not as difficult to face him as she had imagined.

This meeting was not about family.

It was about business.

It was about professionalism.

And that distinction made all the difference.

As she sat there, her posture straight and composed, she noticed that the anxiety she had expected was not consuming her. Instead, there was a strange calmness settling inside her. Perhaps it was because she had prepared herself. Or perhaps it was because of the things she had learned from Ethan.

Everything Ethan had told her about Marcus had helped her understand him better. His habits. His mindset. His expectations. Those details had given her an advantage, and for the first time, she did not feel like she was walking in blindly.

She was ready. Or at least, ready enough.

"Miss Kathrine, the boss has asked for you."

Her thoughts were interrupted by a polite voice.

She looked up to find Marcus’s assistant standing near the doorway, his expression respectful and neutral. He had clearly been sent the moment Marcus arrived.

Kathrine offered a polite smile in return and rose from her seat gracefully. "Thank you," she said calmly.

Her heels made soft, steady sounds against the floor as she walked toward Marcus’s office. Each step felt deliberate, controlled. She refused to show even the slightest hint of hesitation.

When she reached the door, she paused briefly before pushing it open.

The moment she stepped inside, a heavy silence greeted her.

It was the kind of silence that carried weight.

The kind that made people uneasy.

Her eyes instinctively moved forward, and that was when she felt it.

His gaze.

Marcus was already looking at her.

His sharp eyes were fixed on her from the very moment she entered, studying her with an intensity that was impossible to ignore. There was no warmth in his expression. Only calculation. Only observation.

He was assessing her, perhaps judging her as always.

Kathrine felt the pressure of his presence immediately, but she did not allow it to show on her face. She stood straight, her expression calm, her movements composed.

"Please, have a seat, Miss Kathrine."

Marcus’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. It was calm, controlled, and carried the quiet authority of someone used to being obeyed.

She nodded politely and walked toward the chair across from his desk. Her movements were measured, neither too slow nor too eager. She refused to appear nervous, even if his presence still carried a weight she could not completely ignore.

Once she settled into the seat, she lifted her eyes to look at him properly.

Up close, she noticed it again.

His complexion still seemed slightly pale, just as it had the day he collapsed. The memory resurfaced vividly in her mind, the shock, the confusion, and the strange vulnerability he had shown in that brief moment. It had been the only time she had seen him as something other than untouchable.

But now, he looked composed again. Untouchable again.

His sharp eyes remained fixed on her, observant and unreadable.

"You seem quite surprised that I agreed to meet you," Marcus said.

Kathrine blinked, momentarily caught off guard by his directness. Then she allowed a small, polite smile to form on her lips.

"Well," she said calmly, "when someone cannot stand my presence, it does make me think that he does not mix his personal life from his professional one."

Her words were straightforward. Honest.

She knew better than to hide behind false politeness.

Kindness, or rather forced kindness, was not something Marcus would appreciate from her. He was not a man who was easily softened by pleasant words or empty gestures. He respected clarity. Strength. Control.

And Kathrine intended to show him exactly that.

For a brief moment, he said nothing.

His gaze remained on her, steady and intense, as if weighing every word she spoke and every expression she made.

There had always been a thin line between hate and reluctant understanding between them. A line neither of them had ever crossed.

Marcus had never tried to understand her.

At least, that was what she had believed.

To him, she was simply the woman who refused to leave his son’s life. The woman he saw as an obstacle. Someone clinging to a place she did not belong, when all he had ever wanted was for them to separate completely.

She represented defiance.

Disobedience.

A disruption to the order he had carefully built. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

But now, as she sat before him in this office, under the pretense of business rather than family, something felt different.

She watched him carefully.

Studied him the same way he was studying her.

And slowly, a realization formed in her mind.

Marcus was curious.

He might never admit it openly, but his willingness to meet her today said enough.

Because if he truly had no interest in her, he would have rejected the meeting the moment he heard her name. He would have delegated it to someone else. He would have avoided this situation entirely.

But he had not.

He had chosen to be here.

Which meant, in his own way, he wanted to see her.

Not as his son’s unwanted partner.

But as someone standing across from him as an equal in business.