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

She never made contact.

”Do you want to lose that hand?”

The voice didn’t shout. It didn’t have to. It was a low, gravelly whisper that slid into the space like a blade of ice, slicing the oxygen out of the air.

Bella froze mid-swing.

Damien stood inches behind her. The weight of his killing intent rolled off his massive frame, paralyzing her on the spot. If she moved her hand another millimeter toward his wife, he would snap her wrist like a dry twig without a second of hesitation.

Slowly, shakily, Bella lowered her arm. The adrenaline evaporated, leaving her trembling under the weight of her own mistake.

Aria didn’t flinch. She hadn’t even blinked.

She stepped forward, effortlessly claiming the space, closing the distance until she was staring down at her pathetic, shaking sister.

”Get out of my house, Bella,” Aria ordered, her voice cool.

Bella had no power here. She had no allies.

Desperate for a final scrap of leverage, Bella leaned in.

”He’ll get bored of you eventually,” Bella whispered venomously, her voice shaking with tears of pure spite. ”You’re nothing, Aria. You’re a phase. He’s going to throw you away.”

Aria let out a soft, amused hum. She nodded slowly, completely unfazed.

”So I’ve been told,” Aria smiled. ”You all seem to know my husband so well.”

Aria tilted her head, gesturing lazily toward the elevator.

”Goodbye, Bella.”

---

The subterranean parking garage of Sinclair Tower was freezing.

Bella sat on the concrete floor, her knees pulled tight to her chest, surrounded by her luggage.

Damien’s operatives had unceremoniously dumped her bags on the pavement and escorted her out. Now, a few armed guards lingered near the elevators, staring at her with cold, predatory eyes that made her feel like they were just waiting for an excuse to jump her.

She was stranded. She had arrived in a private car Diana had sent.

Shivering in her thin cashmere cardigan, Bella pulled out her phone.

She dialed Lucas. It rang four times before he finally picked up.

”What?” Lucas answered, his voice dripping with annoyance.

”Lucas, please,” Bella sobbed, her voice echoing pathetically in the concrete cavern. ”They threw me out. I’m stuck in the garage with all my bags. Can you come pick me up?”

Lucas let out a harsh scoff.

”Pick you up?” Lucas sneered. ”I’m busy, Bella. Besides, you were the one so eager to move in there. You thought you were so slick, you thought I wouldn’t find out that you just wanted to seduce my uncle. Well, you’re in his garage. Why don’t you ask him for a ride?”

”Lucas, I didn’t—!”

Click.

He hung up on her.

Bella let out a frustrated scream, nearly throwing her phone against the pavement. She swallowed hard, wiping her running nose, and scrolled to her mother’s contact.

Lydia answered on the second ring. In the background, the melodic clinking of crystal glasses and the smooth hum of a string quartet played loudly.

”Mom,” Bella cried, the tears flowing freely now. ”Mom, you have to send a car. Aria bullied me! She turned Damien against me and they threw me out! Lucas won’t even answer my calls!”

”Bella, what is wrong with you?!” Lydia hissed, stepping away from the noise of her dinner party, her voice dropping into a furious, venomous whisper.

”I was just trying to help you!” Bella wailed.

”You took a job as a maid to Diana Sinclair!” Lydia scolded viciously, completely ignoring her daughter’s tears. ”Do you have any idea how humiliating that is for me? You have absolutely no regard for my reputation!”

”Mom, please! I’m stranded!”

”You’re a big girl, Bella,” Lydia snapped. ”Stop embarrassing me and figure it out yourself. Call an Uber.”

The line went dead.

Bella stared at the dark screen.

She let the phone drop into her lap, buried her face in her hands, and began to sob hysterically against the concrete pillar. She had absolutely nothing left.

Headlights swept across the dark garage.

A sleek sedan pulled into a nearby parking space. The doors popped open, and two figures stepped out.

”I’m just saying, pineapple on pizza is a crime against humanity,” Jade argued, stepping out of the driver’s side while balancing two large, greasy pizza boxes in her arms.

”You lack culinary vision, sis,” Leo laughed, climbing out of the passenger side holding two large two-liter bottles of Sprite and Coke.

They were mid-banter when Leo stopped dead in his tracks.

He blinked, staring across the garage at the luggage and the woman curled up in a ball, violently weeping into her knees.

”Whoa,” Leo murmured, his brow furrowing. ”I’ll go check on her.”

He set the soda bottles down on the hood of the sedan and jogged over.

”Hey,” Leo asked softly, crouching down a few feet away. ”Are you okay? Do you need some help?”

Bella sniffled. She slowly lifted her head, wiping the tears from her blotchy, red face. She looked at the young man in the bucket hat and oversized cargo pants.

Leo’s eyes widened in recognition. ”Wait. Bella?”

Bella’s brain immediately pivoted. She had an audience.

The waterworks instantly doubled in intensity. With a loud, tragic wail, Bella lunged forward, throwing herself directly at Leo and wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face into his shirt.

”Leo!” Bella sobbed, clutching him like a life raft. ”It’s awful! It’s so awful!”

Leo awkwardly patted her back, exchanging a panicked look with the empty garage. ”Whoa, hey, it’s okay. What happened? Why are you down here?”

”It’s Aria!” Bella cried, spinning her web of lies with practiced ease. ”My mother cut me off, so I took a job as a caretaker for Ms. Sinclair just to make some extra money to survive! I just wanted to help! But Aria... she bullied me! She hated seeing me here, so she had me thrown out into the cold like trash!”

Leo patted her shoulder. He felt bad that she was crying alone in a parking garage, but...

”I’m really sorry you’re going through a tough time, Bella,” Leo said softly, trying to gently pry her off his torso. ”But... Sister Aria wouldn’t just bully someone for no reason. She’s literally the nicest, most supportive person ever. There must be a misunderstanding.”

Bella ground her teeth against his shirt. ’I forgot this idiot is an Aria fanboy.’ But she kept crying, desperate to play the victim.

Footsteps approached.

Jade walked up, balancing the pizza boxes. When she saw the woman clinging to her little brother, Jade’s polite, friendly demeanor vanished in a microsecond. Her face dropped into a hard, fiercely protective scowl. She knew exactly who Bella Vale was.

She smoothed her features into a polite smile. ”Is everything okay here?” Jade asked smoothly.

Bella pulled back, wiping her eyes. She looked Jade up and down, taking in the blue jeans, the plain sweater, and the pizza boxes.

”Is she your girlfriend?” Bella asked Leo, her tone laced with dismissive condescension.

”No, she’s my older sister, Jade,” Leo clarified.

Bella visibly lost interest. She ignored Jade entirely, turning back to Leo and clinging to his arm, looking up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.

Leo looked at his sister. His big, pleading, puppy-dog eyes silently transmitted a very clear message: ’She’s sad and alone. Can we help her?’

Jade stared back at him. Her eyes went wide. She aggressively shook her head NO. She waved her hand near her waist in a frantic, sharp ’cut it out’ motion. ’Definitely not, Leonardo!’

But Leo, blessed with a terminal savior complex, completely ignored his sister.

”Hey, it’s getting late,” Leo offered gently, looking down at Bella. ”How about you come upstairs and join us for pizza night? It’ll cheer you up, and then I can help you call an Uber to get you and your bags home safely.”

Jade closed her eyes, letting out a long, silent breath, praying to the heavens for the strength not to dropkick her brother.

Bella sniffled, wiping a stray tear, and looked up at him with a fragile, innocent smile.

”Okay,” Bella whispered.