Reborn Heiress Is Remarrying
Chapter 44: Sister’s Distance

Chapter 44: Sister’s Distance

Chapter 44: Sister’s Distance

A soft laughter came from the living room, pulling Diane from the sleep.

Blinking against the morning light, she pushed herself upright, the warmth of the blankets slipped from her shoulders.

For a moment, she simply sat there, allowing herself to adjust.

Her body ached, a dull soreness came from the night before—not just from exhaustion but from him.

Gabriel...

Her fingers curled into the sheets, remembering the way his hands had held her down, the way his voice had slithered into her thoughts.

"I love to hate you, Diane."

She exhaled sharply, shaking her head.

She needed to move.

Sliding out of bed, she wrapped a robe around herself and stepped into the hallway, following the sound of laughter.

In the living room, Riot was sprawled out on the floor, his long limbs stretched as he held Arthur upside down, making the little boy giggle uncontrollably.

Arthur’s small fists gripped Riot’s arms, his tiny feet kicked as he squirmed.

"Hmo! Hmo!" Arthur mouthed through silent laughter, shaking his head furiously.

Riot grinned, lifting him higher.

"What’s that? You do want me to throw you into space?"

Arthur flailed, still grinning.

Diane leaned against the doorway, watching them.

They looked so natural together.

So... comfortable.

Her heart clenched slightly.

Arthur was avoiding her again.

She had known it for a while now—how he was more toward Riot, toward Leon, toward anyone but her.

She understood it, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

She was his sister.

And yet, somehow, she felt like a stranger to him.

’You need to try harder.’

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the feeling aside and walked toward the kitchen.

She wasn’t going to force anything—Arthur needed space, and she needed patience.

For now, coffee.

As she poured steaming coffee into her mug, her eyes drifted to the dining table.

And there, sitting neatly against the wooden surface, was Arthur’s teddy bear.

She stepped closer, noticing something new—a carefully sewn blue patch stitched where the fabric had been torn.

Fixed.

She reached out, running her fingers over the stitches.

"So detailed..."

Diane exhaled softly, setting the bear back down without a word.

Then, she grabbed her coffee and made her way outside, stepping into the cool morning air of the garden.

The sky was clear, the scent of damp earth filling her lungs as she sat on the stone bench near the rose bushes.

Her phone vibrated in her hand.

-Leon: Rachel is out of the house for now. I’m increasing security around you and Arthur. Stay alert.-

Diane stared at the message for a long moment.

Rachel was moving.

That meant Richard wasn’t far behind.

Her fingers tightened around her phone.

She wasn’t going to just wait for whatever they had planned.

She needed to be ahead of them.

With that thought, she quickly typed a response.

-Diane: I want someone watching Richard. Someone discreet. Please pay whatever it takes.-

A moment later, the reply came.

-Leon: Consider it done.-

She set her phone down, staring out at the garden, lost in thought.

She was done being hunted.

It was her turn to start hunting.

Later that evening, standing in front of her mirror, untying her robe, Diane was preparing for a bath.

But as the fabric slipped from her shoulders, Diane froze.

She could still feel him.

Gabriel’s hands.

The way he had held her down. The way his lips had whispered promises against her skin.

Her breath hitched, her pulse started racing.

She stared at her reflection, her fingertips brushed over the marks he had left—not bruises, but something deeper.

She clenched her jaw, trying to push the memory away.

But it was still there.

He was still there.

And somehow, that terrified her more than anything else.

Diane exhaled, letting the robe slip from her shoulders, the cool air of the room blessed her bare skin.

She should have stepped into the bath, let the warm water wash away the feeling he had left behind.

But instead, she refused to move, staring at her reflection, fingers touched the invisible marks Gabriel had left on her.

Her skin still tingled where his lips had been.

’Damn him.’

She shut her eyes, inhaling deeply, but the memories came rushing back—his hands gripping her waist, his breath hot against her neck, his voice dark and possessive.

"I love to hate you, Diane."

A shudder rolled through her, but it wasn’t just fear—it was something far more interesting.

Desire.

Her fingers moved lower, over the curve of her waist, remembering how his touch had burned her, how he had claimed her without taking her.

’You liked it,’ a dark voice whispered in her mind.

She clenched her fists.

"No," she muttered to herself, shaking her head. "I hated it."

But did she?

Her reflection stared back at her, eyes seemed smaller, lips slightly parted.

Her body betrayed her, reacting to the idea of him, to the way he had controlled her so effortlessly.

But then—

Another memory slithered its way into her thoughts, uninvited.

Adrian.

Richard.

A cold wave washed over her, drowning out the heat Gabriel had left behind.

She remembered Adrian’s manipulations, the way he whispered sweet lies into her ears, promising her the world while pushing her into a nightmare.

She remembered Richard’s control, his calculated touches that weren’t about desire, but ownership.

Her stomach twisted.

Gabriel had touched her, kissed her, owned her in a way that should have felt the same.

But why was it different?

Why did his possession make her tremble with something more than just fear?

Diane gritted her teeth, gripping the edges of the vanity.

"You’re being stupid."

She forced herself to straighten, meeting her own gaze.

He is no different.

He is just another man trying to own you.

But deep down, in a part of her she refused to acknowledge—

She knew that was a lie.

"You won’t grant me divorce, but you also wouldn’t let me love you, you wouldn’t love me..."

White pearls formed in her eyes, "Diane, you weren’t reborn for this...revenge...revenge is what I need to focus on right now."

She placed her finger on her lower lip, "Gabriel, you crazy bastard!"