No One’s Pov

Vivien’s heart started pounding, but her face remained calm. She stared down at the plate of truffle pasta, her eyes catching on something sharp buried beneath the cream sauce. Tiny shards of broken glass were mixed into the noodles.

He didn’t just want her dead, he wanted her to shred herself from the inside out.

"Why not just eat your food and enjoy the view, my love?" Elias said smiling.

Vivien looked up, her eyes narrowing.

"What’s wrong, baby?" he asked, his smirk widening as he watched her realization dawn.

"You really think I am some kind of fool or what, hm?" she hissed. She shoved the plate back slightly. "Tell me what is going on, Elias! Stop this... this play!"

"Nothing at all, baby~" Elias leaned back, crossing his legs elegantly. He looked like the perfect gentleman, but the madness in his eyes was too visible.

"Just keep going with the play baby, if you don’t wanna end up suffering more and more."

The warning was clear, Submit to the hallucination, or the reality will get even bloodier. Vivien understood then.

He was trying to gaslight her into a reality where he was the only one who mattered- trying to break her spirit by making her a participant in her own torture. But she wasn’t a character he could just rewrite.

She let out a huff of laughter. She stood up and picked up the plate with a steady hand.

"Sure, my love," she said, her voice dripping with a mock sweetness that matched his own.

She stepped around the table, the wind whipping her hair across her face, until she stood directly over him. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

She twirled a forkful of the glass mixed pasta.

"Why don’t you take the first bite? After all, you worked so hard on this... masterpiece."

She held the fork to his lips, her hand steady.

Elias’s smirk didn’t even flicker. He leaned forward, his eyes locked onto hers. "Aww, my love. You care so much for me," he murmured.

He didn’t pull away. Instead He opened his mouth slowly, his gaze fixed on her.

Vivien knew the game. In his twisted mind, Elias saw himself as immortal. He knows pretty well nothing will happen to him. He was willing to bleed, to shred his own throat, just to prove he could do anything he wants.

She watched, frozen, as he stood up with a sudden movement. He gripped her hand with force, pulling the fork toward his own face. He took the bite, the sound of the glass crunching between his teeth. He swallowed the bloody mess without flinching, a thin trail of red leaking from the corner of his mouth.

"Now it’s your turn, baby~"

His voice was rasp. He shoveled a massive, glass-laden chunk of pasta onto the fork and stepped toward her.

Vivien retreated, her heels clicking rapidly against the rooftop tiles.

Step by step, he stalked her. He was a predator savoring the cornering of his prey.

Vivien’s back hit the cold metal of the safety railing. She looked down over her shoulder-

twenty floors. One more move, and gravity would take over.

"Why do you keep going backwards, baby? Here... let me feed you. Open your mouth like a good girl~"

Vivien’s heart started shaking and mind pounding. She looked at the blood on his lips and the offering on the fork.

A cold clarity washed over her. Death was a finality, but submission to Elias was an eternity of being hollowed out. If she was going to die, she would do it on her own terms, breaking his script one last time.

She took several deep breaths, steadying her soul.

Elias’s eyes darkened, his patience finally snapping. "Are you going to eat, or do I have to force-"

"I’d rather jump from here and die instead of just submitting to you, you know," Vivien scoffed, her voice suddenly loud and clear against the wind.

She saw the flash of genuine fury in his eyes.

"And don’t think I’m lying. Watch this~"

She didn’t hesitate. She threw her weight backward, tilting over the railing.

Swash.

Her legs slipped from the ledge, and the world fell away.

The rush of the wind was whipping her hair upward. She didn’t scream. Instead, she kept her eyes locked on him, a mocking smirk creeped onto her face.

The last thing she saw was Elias standing at the edge, his figure against the moon, his face contorted in powerless rage as she faded into the darkness, finally out of his reach..

_____________

Just when she thought it was the end, her eyes snapped open. A throbbing pain exploded in her skull, making her vision blurry in the dim light of the cellar.

She gasped, the metallic scent of her own dried blood and the rotting blood surrounding her hit her all at once. Morning light filtered through the narrow slits of the room.

She tried to move, but her limbs felt like stone . The exhaustion had settled deep into her marrow, pinning her to the cold concrete.

The heavy iron door opened.

Vivien squinted.

Elias walked in, moving with a smirk. He was carrying a tray with a glass of water and a single dry bun.

He knelt down beside her, the tray clicking against the floor. He held up the water. "Ain’t you thirsty from all that running and jumping down... baby~?" he smirked.

Vivien stared at him, her fingers twitching with a urge to wrap around his throat. She genuinely wanted to kill him, to watch the light leave those delusional eyes, but her body refused to obey.

"Here, let me help you drink it," he murmured, leaning in close. "And uh-hu, don’t worry... there’s definitely no glass pieces in this one. I want you hydrated for the next scene."

He pressed the glass to her lips. Vivien jerked her head away with a snap, the water splashing her chin.

Elias’s expression shifted instantly. The playful facade dropping for a split second. He grabbed her jaw harshly, his fingers digging into her skin, and forced her mouth open. He poured the water down her throat with a chilling indifference.

Vivien coughed and sputtered, the liquid burning her dry throat as she struggled to breathe. He pulled the glass away, watching her gasp for air with a sense of pride.

"That’s a good girl. Now, shall we eat, baby?" he asked, holding out the bun.

"Eat my foot," she spat, her voice a ragged

Elias let out a dark chuckle. "Aww, still so feisty... damn." He stared at her, his head tilting as he studied her. "Tell me... how should I break you, hmm? You’re such a difficult character to write, Viella- oops sorry I meant Vivien "

Suddenly, his eyes glazed over, a slow grin spreading across his face. A darker thought had clearly formed in his evil mind.

"You know," he whispered, leaning so close she could feel the coldness of his breath, "I realized my mistake. I’ve been trying to break your will. But maybe... I should just start taking away the things that let you have a will in the first place."

Suddenly, Elias hurled the glass against the far wall. It shattered into pieces, the sound echoing In the silent room.

He stood up abruptly and scooped Vivien off the cold floor, carrying her with gentle grace .

He placed her on the bed, his shadow looming over her.

"What are you trying to do?" she asked, her voice trembling despite her effort to keep it steady. Her eyes searched his, looking for any sort of answer.

"Shhh... just enjoy the moment~" he smirked.

He leaned in, his face inches from hers. She could feel the chill of his skin as his lips brushed past hers, not quite touching, but close enough to claim the air she breathed.

He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent.

"Even covered in blood, you smell so addictive, baby~" he murmured, his eyes filled with a terrifying madness.

Vivien’s eyes shook. A wave of pure nausea rolled through her.

As he placed both of his hands on either side of her head, pinning her to the mattress, he whispered, "If I could cage you in every single book of mine, I would. You’d be the only character that ever mattered."

The realization hit her. The way he touched her, the way he looked at her- it was disgusting. Her skin crawled.

A memory of Dante flashed through her mind. Dante’s touch didn’t make her feel like this, his hands, though scarred and capable of violence, made her body grow hot with a heat she had tried so hard to ignore.

No, she told herself, even as her heart beating fast. Dante is a monster too. They are both madmen.

But as Elias leaned closer, his intent clear, she realized there was a difference between a man who wanted to protect his world and a man who wanted to be the only one allowed to destroy it.

Elias was about to close the distance, his lips moving toward hers, when Vivien found a final surge of adrenaline. She slammed her palms against his chest, her teeth gritted as she tried her best to push his heavy frame off her.

"Get-off-me!" she hissed.

They were locked in a desperate struggle, Elias’s strength overwhelming her weakening body, when a BANG rocked the entire cellar.

The metal door slammed against the stone wall with a thud.

Before Elias could even fully process Everything, a heavy boot connected with his shoulder.

The force was so strong that it sent him flying across the small room. He hit the concrete wall hard and slumped to the floor, coughing up more blood.

Vivien lay on the bed, her chest heaving, her vision finally focusing on the person standing in the doorway. The dust settled, revealing the sharp lines of a man who had burned down half the city to find her.

"Dante..." she breathed, her voice barely a whisper, a mix of disbelief and an emotion she was still too stubborn to name.

The moment she whispered his name, Dante’s head snapped toward her. The cold mask he wore shattered. His eyes swept over her- the torn silk of her wedding dress, the dried blood on the side of her head. He saw the hollow look of hunger in her cheeks and the bruises where Elias had gripped her.

An ache pierced through Dante’s chest, only to be instantly consumed by a rage so absolute it seemed to drop the temperature of the room.

The veins in his neck and forehead bulged, his knuckles whitening. He moved to her side instantly, his large frame shielding her.

He didn’t care about the filth. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her small, trembling frame against the solid warmth of his chest. His touch was firm, yet possessed a tenderness he saved only for her.

"I apologize for making you wait so long, Amore Mio," he murmured against her temple, his voice a low.

He looked down at her, his eyes burning with a promise of absolute destruction for anyone who had dared to bully her. "But don’t worry. You will no longer suffer. From this moment on, I won’t let anyone touch a single strand of your hair."

He felt her heart beating fast against his ribs, and his grip tightened.

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TO BE CONTINUED