Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 498: Y-You cannot leave me....or else

[Flashback]

It was raining again.

Thunder cracked across the sky, sharp and violent, shaking the thin windowpanes of the apartment. The sound used to comfort Roseline once. Now it only reminded her of chaos.

It had been days since she managed to save them from being caught for the kidnapping they had planned for Kathrine. She had stepped in at the right moment, twisted the narrative, redirected suspicion. In the end, the entire blame fell on Gorge.

They had been careful. Too careful. Every move calculated, every word rehearsed. No one suspected them.

But saving them had not saved her.

Instead of gratitude, Collin and the others took advantage of the situation. They squeezed more money out of it before distancing themselves, leaving Gorge to face the consequences alone. Roseline watched it happen and felt something inside her begin to rot.

Things were becoming unbearable.

She had started planning to leave Collin.

The money they had gotten was supposed to be a fresh start. Instead, it vanished into gambling tables and liquor bottles. Night after night, Collin stumbled home smelling of alcohol and smoke, his temper shorter than before.

That night, the door slammed open.

Roseline flinched.

Collin staggered inside, rain soaking through his shirt, his hair plastered to his forehead. There was blood at the corner of his lip, dried and cracked. One side of his face was swelling, purple blooming under his eye.

He had lost again.

"You are late," she said carefully, keeping her voice neutral.

He laughed, but it sounded broken. "Do not start."

He threw his jacket onto the floor and nearly tripped over the table. The sharp scent of alcohol filled the room.

"How much?" she asked quietly.

His eyes snapped toward her, dark and dangerous. "It does not concern you."

That was answer enough.

Roseline’s stomach tightened. The money was almost gone. She could see it in the desperation behind his anger. In the way his hands trembled slightly when he poured himself another drink. In the bruises that marked his knuckles.

He had not just lost money. He had lost to men who did not forgive debts easily.

"They will come here," she whispered before she could stop herself.

Collin’s expression hardened.

"No one will touch what is mine."

Mine.

The word sent a chill through her. He was not talking about the apartment. He was talking about her.

Thunder roared outside again, louder this time.

Roseline looked at the swelling on his face, the blood, the recklessness. This was not ambition. This was self destruction.

And if she stayed, she would go down with him.

That night, as he passed out on the couch reeking of alcohol and failure, Roseline made her decision.

She would leave him.

She would not allow herself to be dragged any deeper into the mess she had been cleaning for years.

Roseline regretted falling in love with her deadbeat boyfriend. The man she once believed was ambitious and fearless had turned into someone reckless and self destructive. All he did now was gamble, lose money, and bring loan sharks to their door every other week.

Every knock had become a nightmare.

Roseline worked tirelessly, taking extra shifts, making quiet arrangements, swallowing her pride just to clear his debts. Every time she thought she had finally paid off what he owed, another loan would surface. Another signature. Another lie.

It was endless.

Still, she stayed.

She stayed because of their daughter.

Roseline could have walked away long ago, but she could not bear the thought of her child growing up without both parents. She did not want her daughter to experience the loneliness and instability she had once endured. She told herself that Collin would change. That fatherhood would ground him.

But he never learned.

And now, as things slowly slipped back to the chaos they once were, Roseline felt the last thread of patience snap.

Collin lay sprawled on the couch, half drunk, the television flickering light across his bruised face. The room smelled of alcohol and damp clothes.

"I am leaving," she said quietly, but firmly. "You can deal with those people on your own."

For a second, there was only the sound of rain hitting the windows.

Then Collin’s eyes snapped open.

"What did you say?"

Despite the alcohol in his system, his voice came out sharp. Clear. Dangerous.

Roseline felt her heartbeat quicken, but she forced herself to stand still.

"I am done fixing your mistakes. I am done paying your debts. I will not let you destroy our lives anymore."

He slowly pushed himself upright, staring at her as if she had just committed a betrayal.

"You think you can just walk away?" he asked, his tone low.

"Yes," she answered, though her fingers trembled at her sides. "I should have done it long ago."

Collin let out a short, humorless laugh. He ran a hand through his wet hair, his expression darkening.

"You will not survive without me."

The words were not shouted. They were spoken with conviction.

Roseline swallowed. For years, she had believed that too.

But not anymore.

"I have been surviving despite you," she replied.

The shift in his expression was immediate. Something possessive flickered in his eyes.

"You are not taking my daughter anywhere," he said coldly.

A chill ran through her body.

This was no longer about money.

It was about control.

And she realized then that leaving him would not be as simple as walking out the door.

Suddenly, a cry erupted from the adjacent room.

Their child.

Their daughter, Anna, had woken from her sleep and was now weeping softly, her small voice trembling through the thin walls.

The sound cut through the tension like a blade.

Roseline’s heart clenched instantly, every instinct urging her toward the bedroom.

But the moment her eyes fell on Collin, something in his expression changed.

Before she could take a single step, Collin rushed toward the room. His movements were sudden, unsteady yet frighteningly fast.

"Collin, wait—"

He returned within seconds, Anna in his arms.

Their one year old daughter was crying, her tiny fists curled against his shirt, her cheeks wet with tears. She looked confused, frightened by the raised voices and the storm outside.

Roseline froze.

"Y-You cannot leave me, Roseline," Collin said, his voice shaking with something that was not just anger. "Or else..."

He did not finish the sentence.

He did not need to. But she understood what it was.