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

Aria had gone completely overboard.

She had dumped a generous mound of Himalayan pink bath salts into the massive, freestanding soaking tub, followed by a reckless pour of eucalyptus bubble bath and several drops of pure jasmine essential oil. A dozen expensive soy candles flickered along the black marble vanity, casting a warm, flickering glow over the room.

She slid into the hot water with a long groan of pure bliss, letting the mountain of bubbles swallow her up to her collarbone.

Aria closed her eyes, letting the hot water melt the lingering stiffness from her muscles.

The bathroom door suddenly clicked and pushed open.

Aria didn’t open her eyes, a lazy smile curving her lips. ”Did you kick the gremlin out of the penthouse?”

”I shot her.”

Aria’s eyes snapped open.

Damien was standing just inside the doorway. He hadn’t bothered to turn on the overhead lights, but the flickering candlelight was more than enough to illuminate the stark, terrifying reality of his appearance.

A dark crimson smear of blood painted his abdomen and his hands.

Aria blinked, her brain buffering like a video on a terrible Wi-Fi connection. She sat up slightly, displacing a mountain of bubbles.

”I’m sorry, you did what?” Aria asked. ”I heard her scream. I assumed you just caught her snooping and she threw a tantrum. You shot Diana?”

”In the leg,” Damien grunted, walking over to the sink to turn on the faucet. He began scrubbing his hands with aggressive, irritated motions. ”She jumped out from behind the refrigerator and well, my finger was already on the trigger.”

Aria slapped a wet hand over her mouth.

”Is she okay?” Aria asked through her fingers.

”She’ll live,” Damien sighed, grabbing a plush hand towel to dry his hands. ”Elias just arrived and is taking her to his clinic.”

Right there in the flickering candlelight, Damien began to strip.

Aria leaned back against the slanted porcelain of the tub.

Damien stepped out of his sweatpants and boxer briefs in one fluid motion.

Aria’s mouth went bone-dry.

He was a masterpiece carved out of pure muscle. The candlelight danced over the broad slope of his shoulders, highlighting the thick cut of his chest and the sharp, deep ridges of his eight-pack.

Damien turned his back to her, stepping into the massive, glass-enclosed shower stall. He turned the dial, and a torrential downpour of hot water crashed down from the ceiling.

Aria shifted in her bubble bath, resting her chin on her folded arms on the edge of the porcelain, completely mesmerized.

”I told my men to pack up her things,” Damien’s voice echoed over the roar of the shower. ”She is absolutely not staying in this penthouse.”

”Mmhmm,” Aria hummed.

She wasn’t actually processing the words. She was currently trapped in a slow-motion, high-definition thirst edit inside her own brain.

Damien grabbed a dark charcoal loofah and a bottle of body wash. He squeezed a generous amount of soap onto the mesh and began to lather it over his chest.

Aria watched, completely hypnotized, as the thick, white suds dragged across his pectorals. The water sluiced down his back, tracking over the flexed, corded muscles of his spine as he scrubbed the blood from his skin.

”I’m also changing the passcodes,” Damien continued, leaning his head back to let the water rinse the soap from his neck. ”And voiding her biometric access to the private lift. It’s ridiculous that she thought she could just waltz in here.”

”Yeah. Crazy,” Aria breathed.

Her eyes dropped lower. She shamelessly tracked the stream of soapy water as it traveled down his abdomen, pooling dangerously low near the sharp, heavily defined V-line that disappeared between his legs.

”Elias said he’ll keep her at the clinic for at least two days for observation since she lost a lot of blood,” Damien said, turning off the water. He pushed his wet silver hair back from his forehead, sending a spray of droplets against the glass. ”I have a board meeting in an hour.”

Damien talked about what the meeting was going to be about as he stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towel from the heated rack and dried off with brisk movements.

He wrapped a second towel around his waist. It sat dangerously low on his hips.

He turned around to face the bathtub.

Damien paused.

He looked at his wife. Aria was completely zoned out, her chin resting on her arms, her emerald eyes fixed exclusively on the damp trail of water still dripping down the center of his chest.

A slow smug smirk curved Damien’s lips.

He walked over to the edge of the tub. He planted his hands on the porcelain rim, leaning down until his face was inches from hers.

”You haven’t heard a single word I’ve said for the last three minutes, have you?” Damien murmured.

Aria blinked, her gaze focusing on his golden, highly amused eyes. A furious, bright red flush exploded across her cheeks.

”I was listening!” Aria defended loudly, sinking a little lower into the bubbles to hide her embarrassment. ”You said something about... Elias! And passcodes!”

Damien chuckled, the sound deep and rich in his chest.

He leaned in the rest of the way, capturing her lips in a soft kiss. Aria sighed into his mouth, tilting her head up to deepen the contact, entirely forgetting about the bubbles.

Damien pulled back just a fraction of an inch, his thumb gently brushing a stray foam bubble off the tip of her nose.

”I have to go to work,” Damien whispered against her lips. ”Don’t do anything reckless while I’m gone.”

”I make no promises,” Aria smiled lazily.

Damien straightened up and walked out of the bathroom, leaving a trail of damp footprints on the marble.

Aria let out a long, shuddering breath. She soaked in the tub for another ten minutes until the water started to cool, then finally forced herself to get out. She dried off, slipping into a plush, oversized white robe embroidered with the Sinclair crest.

She padded barefoot out of the bathroom and into the master suite, following the sound of rustling fabric into the massive, custom-built walk-in closet.

The closet was the size of a standard Manhattan apartment. Damien was standing in the center aisle, wearing only a pair of black boxer briefs, inspecting a row of impeccably tailored suit jackets.

Aria hopped up to sit on the edge of the velvet center island, swinging her legs casually.

”So,” Aria started, trying to pretend she wasn’t ogling his thighs. ”Are you going to the clinic to see Diana?”

Damien pulled a charcoal suit jacket off the rack. ”Yes. I’ll stop by the clinic after work.”

”She doesn’t know I’m here, right?”

”She doesn’t know,” Damien stated, shrugging into a crisp white dress shirt.

After getting fully dressed, Damien walked over to the velvet island where she was sitting. He rested his hands on her knees, looking up at her with a soft, affectionate expression that was entirely reserved for her.

”What are your plans for the day?” Damien asked.

Aria shrugged, adjusting the lapels of her plush robe. ”I don’t know. I’ll find something to do. I realized I still haven’t even toured this entire penthouse yet. I might just wander around and figure out how many rooms we actually have.”

Damien smiled. He leaned in, pressing a quick, firm peck to her lips.

”Okay,” he murmured. ”I love you. I’ll see you later.”

”I love you too,” Aria smiled softly.

Damien turned and strode out of the closet. A few seconds later, she heard the elevator open and close as he left for the office.

The sprawling, multi-million-dollar apartment fell completely silent.

Aria hopped off the velvet island and walked out of the closet. She looked around the massive, perfectly pristine space.

She walked over to the edge of the bed and plopped backward, letting her arms spread wide across the duvet. She stared up at the high ceiling.

”Well,” Aria muttered to the empty room, blowing a stray curl out of her face. ”What should I do today?”

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A/N: Celebrating 200 Chapters!! Check the Chapter comments to be distracted too by Damien’s V-Line~ UwU