No One’s POV

Amelia stood completely frozen on the sidewalk, her entire body shivering uncontrollably as her fingers dug into her purse. She had witnessed everything from Dominic going inside till coming out.

"Wha- what was Dominic doing here?!" she thought, absolute panic rising in her chest, suffocating her. "Why was he at that specific convenience store?" Shaking, she spun around and hurriedly climbed back into her car slamming the door behind her.

Her personal assistant saw her usually proud, elegant mistress looking so completely disheveled and mess and a look of deep concern crossed their face. "Miss Amelia? Are you alright?"

"Drive to the C-Road x-highway estate. Now!" she commanded, her voice cracking with desperation.

The assistant didn’t ask any questions. She instantly recognized the address- it was the same one her miss would always visit- and hit the gas, speeding away from the convenience store.

Amelia looked down at the book she was clutching tightly against her chest. With trembling hands, she aggressively flipped through the pages. She hadn’t actually known what happened between Dante and Viella in the book until she read the updated Chapters when she returned.

And the exact moment she found out that Dante had secretly discovered Vivien’s true identity, it wasn’t written how he knew all her addresses but it was enough to drain all the blood from her body.

To confirm it wasn’t just some random plot hole Elias had written into the story, she had driven to this convenience store to check. But to her utter horror, she had arrived just in time to see Dominic himself walking out of that very shop. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"No, no, no... this can’t be a coincidence. It simply can’t be!" she panicked, aggressively biting her nails until they bleed.

Soon, the luxury car came to stop in front of an estate on C-Road. Amelia didn’t even wait for the door to be opened for her. She threw herself out of the backseat and rushed inside the house.

A quiet maid looked up, startled by the sudden intrusion, and was about to offer a polite greeting. But Amelia cut her off instantly, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Where is he?!" she shrieked.

"H... He... He is in his private office on the second floor miss," the maid stammered, trembling.

Amelia didn’t waste another second. She stormed down the dimly lit hallway and threw open the dark door without even bothering to knock.

The scene right in front of her would make any normal person vomit on the spot, but what mostly terrified Amelia was something far worse.

The hidden room smelled like rotten corps, the floor littered with the rotten blood of slaughtered birds and scattered black feathers.

Amelia knew exactly what this ritualistic mess was- she didn’t care about the gore, after all, these dark methods were the exact reason how she had managed to manipulate reality and get herself inserted into the book’s world in the first place.

No, what made her breath completely catch in her throat was the wall directly in front of her.

Hanging under the dim light were dozens and dozens of printed pictures. Every single one of them was a candid photograph of the exact same girl.

Amelia stared at the wall, her breath hitching in her throat. She recognized the young girl in those older photographs- it was the quiet high school student Dominic had been interested, the one she had worked so hard to keep him away from. Later on when she discovered Enzo liked her she was the one who forced him to approach her, propose to her. In the end he was heartbroken, Yet Amelia didn’t cared as long as she was out of Dominic’s life Amelia was satisfied.

But the newer, recent pictures hanging right next to them... they were all of Vivien.

Her eyes widened in horror as the pieces finally clicked together in her mind. "That... that means that bitch is...!"

Enzo slowly turned around. His dark hollow gaze fell over her shivering form. In his hand, he held a sharp blade, and his own blood was dripping steadily from his palm onto the floor. The pure madness in his eyes was completely visible.

"Barging into someone else’s room without permission..." he murmured, walking closer to her with slow steps. He stopped right beside her, leaning down until his lips almost touched her ear. "Don’t you know that’s incredibly bad manners... Amelia?" he whispered, his voice sending a freezing chill down her spine.

"You..." Amelia gasped, turning her head to glare at him through her panic. "Is this why you told me to stay away from her?! She... she’s the one who ruined everything between me and Dante in the book isn’t she?! She...she’s Viella!! " she screamed, her voice echoing in the quiet room.

"Tsk." Enzo rolled his eyes and pulled back. He casually walked over to his desk, wiping his bloody hands on a silk handkerchief before tossing it aside like garbage. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at her with a mocking expression. "What do you think?"

"No wonder why you wrote a villainess who was hated by Dante, who was miserable and in the end was brutality killed" Amelia muttered, her nails digging into her palms as a rage took over her fear. "I am going to kill her! There is absolutely no way I am going to let her take him away from me again! Not in this life!"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Enzo blurred forward. His hand shot out, wrapping tightly around her throat and slamming her back against the wall.

"You will do absolutely nothing to her!" he hissed, his grip tightening until she could barely breathe. The soft, gentle college boy with the polite glasses was entirely gone. In his place stood a ruthless monster with a sharp frame.

Suddenly, a phone ringtone shattered the tension in the room. Amelia choked, her eyes darting down to her purse. The screen was glowing, flashing the caller ID clearly: it was Dominic’s mother.

Enzo’s eyes flickered to the screen. Just as abruptly as he had grabbed her, he let go.

Amelia stumbled forward, collapsing onto her knees as she clutched her bruised throat, breathing heavily and coughing for air. She glared up at him with pure hatred, her chest heaving.

Enzo didn’t care about her glare. He simply looked down at her purse and commanded coldly, "Pick up the call."

Amelia reached into her purse with trembling fingers and pulled out her phone. She swallowed hard, forcing her throat to clear, and made sure her voice sounded as steady and flawless as possible before pressing the button.

"Hello, Auntie?" she said, her voice instantly shifting into her usual polite tone.

"Oh, my darling Amelia!" Dominic’s mother’s voice boomed excitedly through the speaker. "I am calling to personally invite you and your whole family to my birthday party tomorrow night! But listen, dear... I am so sorry, but Dominic will be entirely occupied by someone special tomorrow, so please don’t get upset, okay? Auntie will let you know everything tomorrow at the party, alright?"

Amelia’s eyes instantly glinted with a murderous rage. Her jaw clenched hard. Dominic’s mother was already replacing her?

She was about to snap, but Enzo suddenly stepped into her line of sight. He glared down at her, pointing his bloody blade toward her face, silently signaling for her to agree.

Amelia swallowed her fury, forcing a sweet giggle. "Yes... yes, Auntie, of course! I completely understand that Dominic is busy. Don’t worry at all. I’ll see you tomorrow!"

The moment she cut the call, the sweet facade shattered. She threw her phone onto the desk.

"I am absolutely sure that ’someone’ is Vivien! And you still expect me to just sit back and spare her?!"

Enzo didn’t even blink. He adjusted the cuffs of his shirt, his voice dropping cold. "I will repeat myself once again, Amelia... you won’t touch a single strand of her hair. If you do, I’ll make sure you disappear from this industry. Afterall there’s a lot of horrible things we did together right?" He said smirking as he looked around.

She huffed loudly in frustration, turning away from him. Pulling a small compact mirror from her bag, she tilted her head to inspect her throat. It was already turning a slight red from where his fingers had dug in.

"Prepare yourself for tomorrow night," Enzo commanded coldly, turning his back to her as he walked over to the large window, staring out. "I will be joining you at the banquet."

A deep glint danced within his pupils as his reflection smirked back at him through the glass.

"It’s finally time to meet you officially... Dominic Valente."

_____________

"What?!" Vivien gasps, her thick glasses sliding straight down the bridge of her nose as she stares at him in absolute disbelief.

Dominic looks down at her from across his desk, his expression perfectly unbothered.

There is no room for negotiation in his dark eyes, it is entirely obvious that this isn’t a casual suggestion, but a strict order.

Panic immediately starts swirling in Vivien’s chest. Is this guy actually insane? She barely owns any decent clothes to wear to her university lectures, let alone a high-society dress suitable for a multi-billionaire’s exclusive banquet! Is he doing this just to humiliate her in front of his wealthy elite friends?!

Before she can even open her mouth to fiercely refuse, Dominic casually presses the button, calling two professional female employees into the office.

"You two," Dominic commands smoothly, gesturing slightly toward Vivien. "You will be in complete charge of her tomorrow. I want her to look like a completely different person by tomorrow evening. Fix those clumsy glasses and style her hair properly. Find an elegant dress that matches her body type perfectly."

"Yes, boss! We will take care of everything!" the two women reply in unison, bowing their heads with smiles.

"Well, hello?! Excuse me, I am still standing right here...???" Vivien says, waving her hands in the air, completely lost and utterly ignored.

As the employees usher her out of the room to take her measurements, a cold sweat breaks out on Vivien’s neck.

A sudden thought hit her. No matter how hard she tries to run away from this arrogant, frosty billionaire, this twisted universe seems to keep pulling them closer and closer together!!

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TO BE CONTINUED