Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 502: Then that settles everything

"You seem far too composed for someone who’s been overworked all week," Ethan said as he settled onto the couch.

Kathrine shifted to give him space, tucking her legs beneath her.

"I can’t blame them," she replied with a shrug. "It’s a mess we have to clean ourselves. Gaining everyone’s trust again and proving I’m nothing like my father isn’t easy." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "But I won’t let them look down on me."

Ethan stretched his arm along the back of the couch. A movie played in front of them, completely ignored. It was just background noise to pretend they were having a normal evening instead of navigating generational trauma and scandal.

"I went to see Daniel today," Ethan said casually.

Kathrine lifted her head. She didn’t ask why, but her eyebrows practically did.

"There’s nothing dramatic," he added. "I just wanted answers."

She turned to face him fully. "Answers about what?"

He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, suspiciously calm.

"About how he’s fine living two lives with the same woman," Ethan said lightly, "while I was left single, miserable, and not even introduced to the love of my life in the previous timeline."

Kathrine blinked.

"...What?"

Ethan sighed theatrically. "Do you know how unfair that is? He gets reborn and reunites with his wife. Meanwhile, I apparently spent my past life working like a corporate monk."

Her eyes widened as realization hit her.

"Y You mean Daniel is reborn too?" she asked slowly.

Ethan nodded.

Silence.

Then—

"Oh my God."

Kathrine leaned back, staring at the ceiling like she had just discovered the universe had been mocking her personally.

"That explains so much," she muttered.

"Such as?" Ethan prompted, amused.

"The hostility," she said immediately. "The way he looked at me in the beginning. I thought it was just revenge energy. Turns out it was revenge plus emotional baggage from another lifetime."

Ethan chuckled. "That’s a heavy combo."

Kathrine groaned dramatically and dropped back against the couch.

"So not only Anna was reborn," she said, counting on her fingers, "but Daniel too. Which means I’ve been interacting with two people who remember everything while I was walking around thinking I was the main character."

"You are the main character," Ethan said dryly. "Just not the only one with a sequel."

She shot him a look. "Don’t make jokes. This is serious."

"Is it?" he asked. "Because right now you look personally offended by fate."

"I am offended," she declared. "Why was I the only one feeling guilty for the past? I thought I was the sole repentant soul doing character development."

Ethan laughed. "Apparently not."

Kathrine crossed her arms. "Wait. Does that mean Daniel remembers everything I said to him in our past life?"

"Most likely."

Her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"I might have told him he had the emotional range of a stone statue."

Ethan tried not to laugh. Failed.

"That explains the hostility," he managed between chuckles.

Kathrine smacked his arm lightly. "This is not funny."

"It’s a little funny."

She buried her face in her hands. "So this entire time, I thought he was just dramatic. Turns out he had historical reasons."

Ethan leaned back comfortably. "To be fair, you did say you wanted redemption."

"I wanted redemption," she protested, "not a full cast reunion."

He grinned. "Well, congratulations. The universe renewed the series."

Kathrine let out a long sigh.

"So what now?" she asked. "Do I... apologize?"

Ethan tilted his head thoughtfully. "Depends. Do you feel guilty?"

She paused.

"...A little."

"There you go."

She looked at him suspiciously. "You’re enjoying this too much."

"I am," he admitted shamelessly. "Because unlike Daniel, I apparently had zero romantic development in the previous life. So if anyone deserves sympathy, it’s me."

Kathrine narrowed her eyes. "Are you jealous?"

"Of a man who got a head start in another timeline? Absolutely."

She couldn’t help but laugh.

The tension between them slowly eased.

"But jokes aside," Ethan added gently, "it changes things. He isn’t reacting from revenge alone anymore. He remembers a past that wasn’t good for either of you."

Kathrine nodded thoughtfully. His words settled somewhere deep.

Until now, her only goal had been to protect Anna. In her previous life, Anna had suffered because of choices Kathrine made. That guilt had shaped every decision she took in this life. She believed the safest path was to keep Anna away from Daniel, away from anything that might repeat the past.

That was why she had once encouraged distance.

At the time, she thought Daniel’s resistance was about control. About pride. About the power he held in keeping Anna close when she wanted her gone.

She believed he was driven by revenge, and Anna had merely been the bridge that tied their families together.

But now, the pieces rearranged themselves.

If Daniel remembered, then his hostility was not just bitterness.

It was fear.

In their past life, he had lost Anna without ever telling her how deeply he loved her. He had carried that regret to his grave. No confession. No closure. No second chance.

Kathrine inhaled slowly.

His possessiveness had not been about power.

It had been about desperation.

He had not been trying to punish them.

He had been trying not to lose her again.

And for the first time, Kathrine understood that redemption was not hers alone to carry.

"Then that settles everything," Kathrine said softly. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

She exhaled, the breath leaving her like something she had been holding in for years. Slowly, she rested back against Ethan’s side, her head settling against his shoulder once more.

For the first time that evening, she did not feel tense.

They had all been trying to repent in their own ways.

Anna, by loving harder and holding tighter.

Daniel, by protecting what he once lost.

And Kathrine, by trying to fix what she believed she had broken.

But only now did she understand something important.

Their second chance had not simply brought them back to rewrite mistakes.

It had brought back the unfinished emotions they had buried with their deaths.

The words unsaid.

The love unconfessed.

The apologies never offered.

In their past lives, they had all died carrying something heavy. Regret. Pride. Fear. Silence.

And this life was not just about avoiding the same tragedy.

It was about facing the truth they had once run from and that was the threat that caused them their lives.