After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's Aunt-in-Law

The VIP holding room of Studio 4 was usually reserved for A-list talent to demand expensive water and complain about the lighting. Today, it was occupied by a very different kind of headache.

Aria didn’t bother changing out of her Consort Li costume. She swept down the hallway, the heavy black-and-gold silk robes billowing around her like storm clouds. The ruby pins in her hair caught the fluorescent lights, gleaming like warnings.

Damien walked beside her, his jacket back on, his expression one of mild annoyance—like a man who had been interrupted during a very interesting game of chess.

”Ken,” Damien said as they approached the door. ”Who is the actress?”

”Vivianne LeClair,” Ken replied, checking his tablet. ”Award-winning method actress. Known for playing tragic heroines. She signed a tentative agreement with the previous management last week.”

Aria scoffed. ”Vivianne LeClair? She cries beautifully, but she has the spinal column of a jellyfish. She’d play the Demon Consort like a misunderstood victim.”

”She’s popular,” Ken noted.

”She’s boring,” Aria corrected.

She pushed the door open.

Inside, Lady Elena Sterling was sitting on a white leather sofa, looking like she was trying not to touch anything for fear of catching poverty. Beside her sat a woman with chestnut hair and teary eyes—Vivianne LeClair.

When Aria entered, Vivianne gasped. She took in the costume, the makeup, and the sheer, overwhelming presence of the woman wearing her role.

Elena stood up, smoothing her cream skirt. ”Finally. We’ve been waiting for twenty minutes. The service in this studio has really gone downhill.”

She looked past Aria to Damien, her expression softening into a practiced, pitiful smile.

”Damien, I tried to call you. I was so worried when I heard about the... casting irregularity. I knew you wouldn’t want the Sinclair name attached to a production that breaks contracts.”

Damien leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. He didn’t enter the room fully. ”Elena. I wasn’t aware you were an agent now. Did the bank fail?”

Elena’s smile twitched. ”Don’t be silly. I’m here as a friend. Vivianne is a close acquaintance of the Sterling family. She was promised this role. It’s a matter of honor, Damien. You can’t just let your... fiancée... steal a job from a qualified professional just because she wants to play dress-up.”

She said ”fiancée” like it was a slur.

Vivianne stood up, dabbing her eyes with a silk handkerchief. ”Mr. Sinclair, I spent months preparing for Consort Li. I studied the history. I lived in a temple for a week! And then I get a call saying I’ve been replaced by... by a socialite with a scandal record?”

She looked at Aria with a mix of jealousy and disdain. ”No offense, Miss Vale, but acting requires depth. It’s not just about wearing expensive clothes and looking mean.”

Aria laughed. It was a low, dark sound that perfectly matched her villainous makeup.

She walked into the room, the train of her robe hissing on the floor. She circled Vivianne like a shark circling a swimmer.

”Depth?” Aria mused. ”You lived in a temple? How quaint. Did you learn how to poison a rival’s tea while chanting sutras? Did you learn how to order an execution while sipping wine?”

She stopped in front of Vivianne, towering over her thanks to the platform shoes hidden under her robes.

”Consort Li isn’t a tragic figure, Vivianne. She’s a monster. She enjoys the chaos. You?” Aria tilted her head, scanning Vivianne’s face. ”You have ’victim’ written in your bone structure. If you played this role, the audience would pity you. And pity is death for a villain.”

”I am an actress!” Vivianne snapped, her voice rising. ”I can play anything!”

”Can you?” Aria challenged. ”Then act. Right now. Convince me you can kill me.”

Vivianne blinked. ”What?”

”Threaten me,” Aria commanded, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. ”Look me in the eye and make me believe that you are going to destroy my life. Do it.”

Vivianne stiffened. She tried to summon the anger. She glared at Aria. She opened her mouth.

”I... you will regret this! I will take everything from you!”

It sounded like a tantrum. It sounded like Bella.

Aria sighed, shaking her head. ”Boring. I fell asleep halfway through that sentence.”

She turned to Elena.

”And you, Lady Sterling. ’Honor’? ’Contracts’?” Aria started. ”You claim Vivianne has a contract. But Starlight Media was acquired by Sinclair Corp this morning at 7 AM. All previous agreements were subject to review by the new board.”

Aria pointed a finger at herself.

”I am the board.”

Elena’s face flushed a deep, angry red. ”You are acting like a tyrant! Just because you trapped Damien into a ring doesn’t mean you know how to run a business! You are ruining his reputation!”

”My reputation,” Damien interrupted, pushing off the doorframe and walking into the room, ”is doing just fine, Elena.”

He stood beside Aria, his hand resting possessively on the heavy silk of her shoulder.

”In fact, stock prices rose 4% after the press conference this morning. The market seems to like a decisive Matriarch.”

He looked at Vivianne, who was now trembling under his gaze.

”Miss LeClair. You were paid a cancellation fee, correct?”

”Y-Yes, but—”

”Then the transaction is concluded,” Damien said coldly. ”If you continue to harass my production, you will find it very difficult to find work in this city. Or any city where I own a screen.”

Vivianne paled. She grabbed her purse. ”I... I understand. I’m leaving.”

She bolted for the door, abandoning her ”friend” Elena without a second glance.

Elena stood alone, humiliated for the second time in twenty-four hours. She looked at Damien, her eyes wet with frustration.

”Why her?” Elena whispered, her voice cracking. ”She’s scandal. She’s chaos. I have been by your side for years, Damien. I know the rules of our world. She breaks them.”

”That,” Damien said, looking down at Aria with a gaze that burned, ”is exactly why she’s on the throne. And you’re in the waiting room.”

Aria felt a shiver run down her spine at his words.

Elena let out a choked sob, spun on her heel, and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Silence returned to the room.

Aria let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She looked up at Damien.

” ’You’re in the waiting room’?” she quoted, raising an eyebrow. ”That was harsh. Even for you.”

”She annoyed me,” Damien shrugged. He reached out, his finger tracing the golden embroidery on her collar. ”And she insulted your acting. I watched the feed of the slap scene. You were magnificent.”

Aria smirked. ”I aim to please.”

”Speaking of pleasing,” Damien said, his voice lowering. ”The Director says you have a two-hour break while they reset the lights for the next scene.”

He looked at the white leather sofa. Then he looked at Aria.

”Clause 9,” he murmured. ”Medical emergency.”

Aria’s eyes widened. ”Here? Now? Damien, we are in a studio holding room! Anyone could walk in!”

”I locked the door,” Damien said, his thumb brushing her lower lip. ”And my head is starting to hurt again. It must be the stress of dealing with your rivals.”

”My rivals?” Aria laughed incredulously. ”Elena is your problem.”

”She’s gone,” Damien said, stepping closer, backing Aria toward the sofa. ”Now it’s just you, me, and a very expensive costume that looks... complicated to take off.”

Aria felt the back of her knees hit the sofa. She sat down heavily, the silk pooling around her.

”It takes three assistants to get this off,” she warned, her breath hitching.

”I like a challenge,” Damien replied.

He knelt in front of her, his hands landing on her knees. The golden eyes looking up at her were full of a hunger that had nothing to do with pain relief.

”Fix me, Aria,” he whispered. ”Before I burn this whole studio down.”