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

The massive, brightly lit stage performed a smooth, mechanical 180-degree whirl, rotating to face the live studio audience.

The second Aria Sinclair came into view, the soundstage erupted into a deafening, glass-shattering wall of shrieks, cheers, and hysterical sobbing.

Aria maintained her flawless poise as she offered a warm smile and waved to the crowd. But as her eyes scanned the audience, her jaw subtly dropped.

Scattered throughout the screaming audience were women wearing custom, high-definition graphic t-shirts. Some read I Love You, Damien Sinclair. Others featured a massive, blown-up photo of his brooding face, overlaid with bold, hot-pink text that read: STEP ON ME, DADDY.

Aria stared at the shirts, her brain struggling to process it all.

’Damien’s appearance on this show was announced like thirty minutes ago,’ Aria marveled internally, fighting the urge to burst into laughter. ’Where did they get these so fast? Are they just carrying these around in their bags just in case?’

Beside her in another plush white armchair, Savannah performed a terrifyingly flawless pivot. The shrieking, panicked monster who had just been screaming at her glam team vanished. She was replaced by America’s polished, sweet, empathetic sweetheart.

”Aria!” Savannah beamed, her voice dripping with warmth and professional honey. ”Welcome! It is so incredibly good to see you looking so well.”

”Thank you, Savannah,” Aria smiled back, matching her fake, sugary energy perfectly. ”It’s wonderful to be here.”

”We are all just so relieved,” Savannah continued, pressing a hand to her chest. ”Congratulations on your comeback. You look absolutely radiant.”

They exchanged a few minutes of polite, carefully curated small talk about her recovery and her gratitude for the fans, but Aria couldn’t stop looking at the audience.

”I have to say, Savannah,” Aria interrupted smoothly, gesturing toward the audience with a playful smirk. ”I am really jealous of the wardrobe out there today. I kind of want one.”

The audience shrieked with laughter.

In the third row, a girl with bright pink hair shot up out of her seat. She was waving a neatly folded piece of fabric wildly above her head.

”I HAVE A SPARE!” the girl screamed at the top of her lungs. ”I HAVE ONE!”

Aria grinned, making an eager ’gimme’ motion with both hands.

A crew member immediately scrambled up the steps, grabbed the shirt from the fan, and sprinted down to hand it to Aria on the stage.

Aria took the shirt. She unfurled it and held it up against her red pantsuit. It was a premium cotton tee, featuring her husband’s intense, glaring face and the words STEP ON ME, DADDY.

The crowd lost its mind, screaming in approval.

”I am officially obsessed,” Aria announced into her lapel mic, her eyes dancing with wicked amusement. ”I’m going to wear this to bed every single night.”

”I’m sure your husband will love that,” Savannah laughed, her eyes glinting as she seamlessly transitioned to the main event. ”And speaking of your husband... I hear you brought a very special guest with you this morning.”

Aria lowered the shirt, a genuine, soft smile curving her cherry-red lips. ”I did. My darling husband is here with me.”

”Ladies and gentlemen,” Savannah announced, turning to the cameras. ”Mr. Damien Sinclair!”

Right on cue, Damien stepped out from the backstage shadows and into the blinding studio lights.

He had ditched his suit jacket entirely. His crisp white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, the sleeves rolled up to expose his muscular forearms, and his silver hair fell perfectly across his forehead. He looked like a dark god among men.

The studio audience literally lost their ability to function like humans.

The cheers morphed into a feral, chaotic frenzy of high-pitched shrieks. In the second row, a woman clutching a ’Demon King’ sign went limp, fainting into the arms of the person sitting next to her.

Damien ignored the chaos completely. He walked across the glossy floor toward the seating area.

He sat down in his designated armchair. It was a plush, white piece, stationed a polite, broadcast-approved two feet away from Aria’s chair.

Damien looked at the two feet of empty space. His golden eyes narrowed slightly.

He hated it.

Damien casually reached his left arm out and clamped his hand around the thick, upholstered armrest of Aria’s chair.

With a stunning display of raw, effortless strength, he yanked.

Aria let out a tiny, startled gasp as her chair slid across the stage floor until the wooden legs slammed flush against Damien’s chair.

The audience collectively gasped, a fresh wave of swooning shrieks erupting from the stands at the territorial dominance of the move.

Damien settled back into his seat. He reached over, took Aria’s hand in his, brought it to his mouth, and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her knuckles.

Aria’s heart did a wild backflip. A flush of pink exploded across her cheeks. He was so impossibly hot it was actually unfair.

Savannah’s professional smile strained so hard it looked painful.

”Aww,” Savannah cooed, desperately trying to mask the burning jealousy radiating from her pores.

It took a minute or a few for the floor director to finally get the screaming audience to calm down enough for the broadcast to continue.

”Mr. Sinclair,” Savannah greeted, folding her hands over her cue cards. ”Thank you so much for finding the time in your incredibly busy schedule to appear on our show today. It is an absolute honor to have you on my couch.”

Damien kept his fingers firmly interlocked with Aria’s, resting their joined hands on his thigh.

”It has been a very difficult few weeks for my wife,” Damien responded, his voice a low, smooth baritone that echoed effortlessly through the soundstage. ”I wanted to be here for her, and with her, as she steps back into the spotlight.”

The audience basically melted into their seats.

”Well, we are so glad you are here to support her,” Savannah grinned, leaning forward with predatory excitement. ”But since we are so incredibly lucky to have you both on the show today... I have to ask.”

Savannah paused for dramatic effect.

”It is the single question that has been on everyone’s mind since you two shocked the world and got married,” Savannah said, her eyes gleaming. ”How did you two meet?”