Chapter 109: Why do you hate me
"Ayi~!" Anna gasped when Daniel suddenly yanked her closer, stumbling right into his chest.
Her eyes widened in shock, but what startled her even more was the mischievous glint shimmering in his dark eyes.
"Daniel, what kind of behavior is this? Are you still intoxicated?" she demanded, wriggling in his hold, her palms pressed against his chest.
But Daniel didn’t budge. His grip remained firm, his touch steady and deliberate.
Whatever Kira had blurted out moments ago wasn’t something he could just ignore—not when it hinted at truths he had long suspected. Moreover, she’d confirmed that Anna’s mother had indeed visited her.
"No," Daniel said finally, his tone low and calm, though his eyes gleamed with something dangerous. "I’m not intoxicated anymore. But if you truly planned on drugging me somehow..." He leaned in slightly, his breath brushing her cheek, "...I don’t think I’d mind."
Anna blinked, startled, her body going still. "W–What are you talking about? Why would I ever do that?" she stuttered, attempting to pull away, but Daniel’s arm around her waist tightened slightly, keeping her where she was.
"Because," he murmured, his lips curving in faint amusement, "your mother apparently wants a grandchild soon."
Those words hit Anna like a splash of cold water to the face. Her jaw dropped slightly as disbelief washed over her.
"You—You can’t be serious," she sputtered, her voice rising in disbelief. "You actually believed that nonsense?"
Daniel tilted his head, the ghost of a smirk still playing on his lips. "You can’t blame me for being curious. The idea is quite entertaining."
Anna’s eyes narrowed, her irritation bubbling. "You should be thankful that I didn’t even consider my mother’s ridiculous advice," she snapped. "Because if I had, then you’d be stuck with me for life—and that’s something I don’t want."
The words left her mouth before she could stop them, sharp and raw.
Her tone softened only slightly when she continued. "This marriage was never something I wanted, Daniel. I tried to tell you that from the start. I even went to my parents, hoping they’d listen—but they refused."
Her voice faltered. "And you... you didn’t even ask what I wanted. You just—accepted it."
Daniel’s expression shifted, his teasing gone, replaced by something quieter—something that made Anna’s heart skip.
She realized then how close they were—close enough to feel his heartbeat against her chest, steady and strong.
For a long moment, he said nothing. His eyes searched hers, as if trying to find an answer she wasn’t saying aloud.
"Why?" he finally asked, his voice quieter now, more human. "Why are you so desperate to leave me, Anna? Have I ever hurt you? Mistreated you in any way?"
Anna froze, taken aback by the genuine confusion in his tone.
Daniel’s brows furrowed slightly. "I don’t understand you. I’ve never stopped you from chasing your dreams. So why...?" His voice softened. "Why do you hate me this much?"
Her lips parted, but the words wouldn’t come out.
He wasn’t wrong, not entirely. Despite his cold demeanor and controlling habits, Daniel had never truly wronged her since the marriage. He’d even supported her acting career when he could have easily stopped her.
’So why did she feel this way?’
Because he didn’t remember. Because the man standing before her now wasn’t the same one who had broken her heart before fate had twisted their lives into this second chance.
"You seriously don’t know why?" she asked finally, her tone weary but firm.
Daniel blinked, genuinely puzzled. "...What do you mean?"
Anna looked at him for a long moment, searching, weighing. Then she exhaled and shook her head with a faint, sad smile.
"That’s because we don’t love each other, Daniel."
The air between them went still.
Daniel’s jaw tensed. His grip around her waist loosened slowly, like her words had drained the strength from his hands.
"Love," he repeated, the word coming out rough, almost foreign on his tongue.
"Yes, love," she said softly, finally meeting his eyes again. "We were forced into this marriage because of my family, not because we wanted to be together."
Silence fell.
For the first time in a long while, Daniel didn’t have a retort. His eyes darkened not in anger, but in something deeper. Something unreadable.
He’d thought he understood her defiance, her stubbornness, her coldness. But now, standing this close, hearing the quiet pain behind her words, he realized he had never really seen her at all.
’And yet... why did those words sting like betrayal?’
Anna stepped back gently, his hands falling away. "Now you know," she said softly. "That’s why I keep bringing up the divorce. Because no matter how much we pretend... we were never meant to be."
Daniel’s gaze lingered on her retreating form, his heart tightening with a feeling he refused to name.
But as she reached for the door, his voice broke through the quiet.
"Then tell me, Anna," he said, his tone low, almost pleading. "If love is what you’re missing..."
She turned slightly, meeting his gaze.
"...what if I learn how to love you?"
Her breath caught in her throat. But then a smile broke on her lips.
"Why would you?" Anna’s voice trembled, though she tried to sound composed. "When you’re still in love with my sister. Wasn’t she the one you actually intended to marry?"
Her words landed like a blade straight to Daniel’s chest. He froze. The faint confidence that had flickered in his expression moments ago disappeared entirely, replaced by something raw—something dangerously close to guilt.
He hadn’t expected her to say it aloud. He hadn’t even realized how clearly she’d seen through him.
’Was I really that obvious... all this time?’ the thought hit like a crack of lightning through his mind.
Because she was right. That had been the plan. To court Kathrine Bennett, the perfect daughter, the one who could serve both love and alliance. The one his heart had once perhaps foolishly ached for.
But what unsettled him now wasn’t the past it was how effortlessly Anna had accepted it, how she looked at him not with anger or accusation, but with quiet resignation.
"So..." she began softly, forcing a faint, brittle smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "Let’s not force this marriage, Daniel."
Her voice wavered just slightly at the edges, but she steadied it with sheer will.
Because she already knew.
’When Kathrine returns,’ she thought bitterly, ’you’ll go back to her. You always will.’