Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 543: Proper attention?

"Ew... big sis, that was so corny of you!" Betty groaned, dramatically patting her ears as if she could physically block out Anna’s words.

Kevin stood beside her, staring at Anna like he had just witnessed something tragic. "I swear my ears are bleeding. Why do we have to hear your shameless thoughts during office hours?"

Anna only grinned wider, clearly entertained by their reactions. "Oh please. I just said I wished I could see Daniel’s flustered cheeks. That’s cute, not shameless."

"That is not cute," Kevin shot back. "That is highly unnecessary information."

Anna leaned back in her chair, resting her chin on her hand. "You’re both just jealous."

"Jealous?" Betty repeated in disbelief. "Of what? Of you turning the workplace into your personal romance show?"

"Yes," Anna replied proudly. "Exactly that."

Kevin dramatically clutched his chest. "Meanwhile, we’re over here eating dog food."

Anna blinked. "Dog food?"

"Yes, dog food," Betty agreed, nodding seriously. "Dry. Tasteless. Repetitive. That’s our love life."

Kevin added, "Actually, scratch that. We don’t even have a love life. We just have work and stress."

Anna burst into laughter. "You two are unbelievable."

"It’s not funny," Kevin insisted. "You’re glowing, smiling at your phone, sending voice notes, planning lunch dates. And what do we get? Nothing."

Anna tilted her head and gave Betty a knowing look. "Nothing?"

Betty stiffened immediately. "Don’t look at me like that."

"Oh, I’m absolutely looking at you like that," Anna said mischievously. "Should we talk about Shawn?"

Kevin’s head snapped toward Betty so fast it was almost impressive. "Oh. So that’s how it is."

Betty’s face turned red. "There is nothing to talk about."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then why were you smiling at your phone yesterday like you had just won the lottery?"

Kevin gasped dramatically. "You betrayed me. I thought we were suffering together."

"I am not suffering," Betty muttered.

"Exactly," Anna said sweetly. "Betty and Shawn are basically the same as me and Daniel. Soft conversations. Late-night calls. Cute smiles. Don’t pretend you’re eating dog food."

Betty tried to protest but failed as Kevin pointed accusingly at her. "So I’m the only one actually starving here?"

Anna nodded sympathetically. "Looks like it."

Kevin sighed loudly. "This is tragic. Everyone is in love except me."

Anna leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Well then, Kevin... maybe it’s time you did something about it."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What are you implying?"

"I’m implying," Anna said casually, "that you need a man in your life."

Betty burst into laughter so hard she had to grab the table for support.

Kevin stared at Anna in disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," she continued calmly. "You complain about eating dog food every day. Maybe what you need is someone to spice things up."

"I do not need spicing," Kevin argued weakly.

"You absolutely do," Betty chimed in between laughs. "Imagine Kevin in love. He’d probably send even worse voice notes than you."

Kevin covered his face. "I regret being friends with both of you."

Anna smirked. "Look, Betty has Shawn. I have Daniel. You’re the only one left. If you don’t want to keep chewing emotional biscuits, it’s time to upgrade."

Kevin shook his head. "I am perfectly fine."

"Fine?" Anna repeated. "You just compared your life to dog food."

"That was a metaphor," he defended.

"It was a cry for help," Anna corrected.

Betty wiped away a tear of laughter. "Big sis is right. You deserve someone too."

Kevin looked between the two of them, realizing he had lost this battle. "This conversation is unfair."

Anna leaned back with satisfaction. "No, this conversation is honest."

Kevin sighed dramatically. "One day, when I find someone, I will make sure both of you suffer the same way." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Anna winked. "We’re ready."

Betty grinned. "Just promise you won’t send voice notes about positions."

Kevin nearly choked. "I’m leaving."

Anna laughed as he walked away dramatically, shaking his head.

"See?" she said proudly. "Dog food crisis solved."

Betty rolled her eyes, though she was still smiling. "You are impossible."

"And happily married," Anna replied with a grin.

Despite their endless teasing, the warmth between them remained. Even if Kevin claimed he was starving and Betty pretended to suffer, none of them would trade these chaotic conversations for anything else.

Anna finished her work as promised and headed to meet Daniel, but not before receiving a text message.

***

By the time Anna reached Glorious International, she had every intention of going straight to Daniel’s office. She was still smiling to herself, replaying their playful voice notes from earlier.

But when she pushed open the door to his cabin, she stopped.

The office was empty.

Her brows slowly drew together as she stepped inside, glancing around as if he might suddenly appear from behind the desk.

"I thought we decided to have lunch together," she muttered under her breath. "Did he forget?"

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, ready to call him and complain dramatically. But before she could even unlock the screen, a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around her waist from behind.

Anna gasped softly, her body stiffening for half a second before she felt the familiar warmth against her back.

"Looking for someone?" Daniel’s low voice murmured near her ear.

A smile immediately tugged at her lips.

"You scared me," she said, though there was no real fear in her tone.

Daniel tightened his hold slightly, resting his chin lightly against her shoulder. "You were about to call and accuse me of forgetting, weren’t you?"

Anna turned her head slightly to look at him. "Maybe."

He chuckled softly. "I would never forget lunch with my wife."

She pretended to consider his words. "Hmm. I did walk into an empty office."

"I was in the meeting room," he replied calmly. "I saw you enter through the glass panel."

Anna narrowed her eyes playfully. "So you were spying on me?"

"I prefer the word observing," he corrected.

She laughed and placed her hand over his arm. "I really thought you forgot."

Daniel gently turned her around to face him, his hands still resting on her waist. "After the voice notes you sent me this morning? There’s no way I would forget."

Anna grinned mischievously. "So you were thinking about me?"

"All morning," he admitted without hesitation.

Her expression softened for a moment before she quickly masked it with teasing confidence. "Good. Because I came here expecting proper attention."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Proper attention?"

"Yes," she replied with a knowing look, which left him confused. "Not just food."

And that’s when he realized it wasn’t as corny as it had seemed in the morning.