After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's Aunt-in-Law-Chapter 214: Parkour In My Underwear

From the other side of the hotel door, he heard the rapid, muffled thud of bare feet sprinting across the carpet. A deadbolt snapped back violently, the handle wrenched downward, and the door was flung wide open.

Aria didn’t even give him a chance to step inside.

She launched herself at him.

She was wearing nothing but a tiny black silk camisole and a pair of loose boxer shorts, her rose-gold hair tumbling around her shoulders in a wild, messy halo. She jumped entirely off the floor, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and locking her legs securely around his waist, clinging to him.

Damien grunted, stumbling half a step backward into the corridor to catch her. He miraculously managed to balance the box of Tuscan pasta in his right hand, wrapping his free arm securely around her waist to hold her against his chest.

"I missed you," Aria whispered into his neck, burying her face against his collar. She was so incredibly happy to see him. "I missed you so much."

Damien buried his face in her messy hair, inhaling her sweet scent.

"I missed you too," he murmured, his voice low.

FLASH.

A burst of light flashbanged them in the dim hallway.

Damien whipped his head around, his golden eyes narrowing into slits.

Standing roughly thirty feet down the corridor, holding a smartphone with both hands, was a teenager.

He was short, visibly sweaty, and breathing heavily through his mouth. He wore thick, smudged wire-rimmed glasses and a wrinkled black graphic t-shirt that read KPOP SUCKS in bold white font.

The kid slowly lowered his phone, staring at the glowing screen.

His jaw dropped as he looked at the screen.

He had just caught a photograph of Aria Sinclair looking perfectly healthy and very much alive with a man in a hotel hallway.

The kid’s brain rapidly calculated the massive, multi-million dollar payout TMZ would wire him for this photo. He could literally buy a Lamborghini tomorrow. ’Fuck school,’ he thought wildly.

But then, he realized his camera flash had been on. And the terrifying, tall man in the hallway was staring right at him.

"Fuck," the teenager squeaked under his breath.

He spun on his heels and bolted down the hallway toward the glowing red EXIT sign for the fire stairs.

Before Damien could even shift his weight to react, Aria violently detached herself from him. She shoved off his chest, hitting the carpeted floor with her bare feet, and launched herself into an Olympic-level sprint.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Aria shrieked, tearing down the hallway.

Damien stood in the corridor, completely unbothered.

He calmly turned around and stepped into the hotel suite. He gently and carefully set the box of pasta down on the coffee table. He casually reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number.

"Lock down the building," Damien ordered, his voice flat and devoid of panic. "Every exit."

Meanwhile, Aria burst through the heavy metal doors of the fire escape, her bare feet slapping loudly against the freezing concrete stairs.

"Delete that photo!" Aria screamed, taking the steps two at a time.

She could hear the heavy, frantic panting of the chubby teenager echoing down the stairwell. He was surprisingly fast for a kid of his size.

Aria pushed her muscles to the absolute limit. She rounded a landing, her hand brushing the back of his t-shirt. She was so close. She just needed one more second to tackle him into the concrete.

But the kid threw his entire body weight against the ground-floor exit door.

The heavy door banged open.

The teenager burst out of the stairwell and directly into the packed, brightly lit, bustling main lobby of the hotel. He vanished into a massive crowd of tourists waiting to check in.

Aria skidded to a halt inside the stairwell.

Her chest heaved, her breath tearing in and out of her lungs in ragged gasps. She gripped the edge of the metal doorframe, staring out into the crowded lobby.

She couldn’t chase him out there. She had no disguise. If she stepped into that lobby, fifty more cameras would instantly flash.

Her master plan was ruined. It was all completely over. By morning, the entire world was going to know she was alive and perfectly well. Bella would be vindicated. The internet would rip her to shreds.

Aria felt a hot, stinging wave of tears prick the corners of her eyes. She should have been more careful. She shouldn’t have thrown the door open so recklessly.

Defeated, exhausted, and utterly crushed, Aria turned around and began the slow trudge back up the concrete stairs.

The adrenaline crashed, leaving her shivering in her thin silk camisole.

She pushed open the door to the hallway.

She took three steps down the plush carpet before a horrifying realization hit her.

She didn’t have a keycard.

Worse, in her blind rage, she hadn’t paid attention to which floor she had run down from. She didn’t even remember her room number. Richard had just shoved a keycard into her hand earlier and ushered her inside.

Any second now, a random guest could step out of their room to get ice and spot the infamous "comatose" actress wandering the halls in her underwear. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Aria panicked. She grabbed her messy, rose-gold hair and aggressively pulled it entirely forward, draping the thick curtain of hair completely over her face to hide her identity.

She looked exactly like Samara crawling out of the television in The Ring.

She began to creep-walk down the quiet, dimly lit corridor, her head bowed, peeking through the gaps in her hair at the brass numbers on the doors.

’118... 119... 120...’

Aria stopped at the very end of the hall.

Room 121.

She stared at the brass numbers. She vaguely remembered that her suite was at the end of a corridor, but she couldn’t be absolutely certain. The floors all looked identical.

What if she knocked, and a terrified tourist opened the door?

Aria’s heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs. Regardless, she had no other choice.

She quickly pulled even more hair over her face to ensure absolutely no features were visible. She raised a trembling fist, took a deep breath, and knocked quietly on the door.