No One’s Pov

When the speech was finally done, Vivien didn’t wait for the applause to die down. She practically bolted off the stage.

She ignored the confused looks from the faculty and sprinted toward the back of the hall, her eyes locked on the dark corner where she’d felt that piercing gaze.

She pushed through the heavy doors and burst into the hallway, looking left and right.

The corridor was empty. The only sign that anyone had been there was one of the exit doors at the far end, which was slightly open.

"Tsk, he probably left before I could see him," Vivien muttered, her shoulders dropping in frustration. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath.

A heavy silence from the auditorium made her stiffen. She turned back and looked through the glass pane of the door. The crowd was starting to disperse, but Mr. Valente was still standing on the stage.

He wasn’t talking to the Principal or the professors surrounding him. He was staring directly at the exit door. Directly at her.

His gaze was freezing, his brow slightly arched as if he were judging her every movement.

Vivien felt a flush of heat creep up her neck. She looked like a complete lunatic- running off stage like the building was on fire only to stand in a dark hallway talking to herself.

She awkwardly reached up and scratched the back of her neck, her fingers twisting a loose strand of her black hair. She tried to look away, but his eyes held hers with a cold intensity that made her knees feel weak.

Unable to take the pressure of his stare any longer, Vivien spun around and began to walk away

As she was walking past the hallway, Vivien’s ears suddenly picked up a familiar name that made her heart skip a beat.

Two girls were huddled near a locker, scrolling frantically through their phones.

"Oh my god, right! Told you he looks exactly like Dante. Damn, he’s so handsome!" one girl squealed, showing her friend a photo on her screen.

"Right, girl? Sometimes I think Mr Velente was probably the inspiration for this character," the other replied. "But the author has done something so amazing, right? The world-building is just... chef’s kiss."

Vivien stopped in her tracks. She couldn’t help it, the curiosity was burning. She walked up to them, trying to look casual despite the fact that her hands were shaking. "Um, hey. Actually, I overheard what you were saying. Are you by any chance talking about the book called Stuck in a Mafia Romance?"

The moment she mentioned the title, their faces practically sparkled. "Of course!" they beamed in unison. "Everyone is in love with this book- it’s a total bestseller! Are you a big fan of it, too?"

Vivien wanted to roll her eyes. Big fan? My foot! That story was literally the world I lived in for the past five months! If only they knew that the "dark romance" they were swooning over involved her almost getting poisoned every other Tuesday.

But Vivien just gave a stiff, awkward nod. "Yeah... something like that."

"Understandable! It’s so famous. In fact, you’re just in time- the author is having a fan meet-up next week!"

Vivien’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Wait, what did you say? A fan meet-up? Where? When?!" she asked, her voice rising . This was it.

"It’s at the grand convention center down- "

Before they could finish the sentence, a cold sound of someone clearing their throat cut through the conversation.

Instantly, the two girls flushed bright red, stealing panicked glances at each other.

Vivien slowly turned around, putting a fake smile on her face that didn’t reach her eyes.

There he was. Mr. Grumpy Suit himself, standing right in front of her with his signature "I’m-about-to-ruin-your-entire-life" face.

"Seems like you have a lot of free time to hang out here," he drawled, his siren eyes tracking the way she was holding her breath, "instead of completing your responsibilities."

"I... uh..." Before she could even get a sentence out, he cut her off with a dismissive gesture.

"I don’t want to hear anything. If you don’t want to find yourself transferred to a countryside university by tomorrow afternoon, finish all these papers and submit them to my desk by 8:00 AM sharp."

With that he turned and walked away. Following closely was his assistant, who moved hurriedly, dumping a massive arm straining stack of folders into Vivien’s hands.

The weight hit her all at once. She nearly toppled over, her knees buckling, but she managed to heave them up and shove her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose with her pinky finger.

The two girls she had been talking to didn’t look sorry for her at all. Instead, they squealed in unison. "Oh damn!! Girl, how did you manage to become his assistant?! Give us tips, we want to be one too! You’re so lucky!"

Vivien stood there, buried under five pounds of bureaucracy, staring at them in disbelief.

She really, really wanted to smash their heads against the lockers. Lucky? Seriously? Did they not see the way he looked at her? Did they not hear the threat of academic exile?

"Lucky?" Vivien muttered through gritted teeth, her voice muffled by the top folder. "Can’t you see he’s literally torturing a baby? I’m one cup of coffee away from a mental breakdown, and he’s out here playing the role of a devil!

She adjusted her grip on the papers, realization hitting her. 8:00 AM.

That meant another all-nighter. She really wanted to crash out. Infact now shes thinking being Viella was better than Vivien.

"Next week," she whispered to herself, her eyes hardening. "I don’t care how many papers he gives me. I’m going to that fan meet-up."

By the time she reached her apartment, the city lights were flickering outside her window. Hungry, exhausted, Vivien dumped the mountain of documents onto the couch and collapsed straight onto the floor.

She was dead tired, but the thought of that fan meet-up was the only thing keeping her upright. She dragged her body across the floor like a zombie, reached for her laptop, and flipped it open.

"Please, please, let there be one seat left," she whispered, her fingers trembling on the trackpad.

The page loaded. SOLD OUT.

Vivien let out a scream that probably rattled her grandmother’s teacups in the next room.

It was a full blown, valid crash-out. She pounded her fists against the rug. "Of course! Because why would anything go right today?!"

But then, she noticed a small, golden banner at the bottom of the screen. A few exclusive ’Diamond Tier’ tickets were still available. Her eyes glinted with a spark of desperate hope. She clicked the link, her heart racing- only to see the price tag. 1,000 USD.

"WHAT?!!" Vivien shrieked, her jaw hitting the floor. "Exactly how famous is he to charge that much for a ticket?! He’s literally robbing his readers! As expected from a cunning bastard."

She couldn’t help but curse him to death. In the book, he manipulated lives, in reality, he was manipulating bank accounts.

"Well... I probably have something saved up, right?" she muttered, logging into her banking app with a prayer.

She stared at the screen. Balance: 300 USD.

"Oh, wow. I am really, officially broke."

Desperate for a miracle, she navigated to her email to check the status of the dozens of jobs she had applied for earlier. Maybe a paycheck was on the horizon?

Rejected. Rejected. Position Filled. Rejected.

Every single one. Not even the local cafe wanted her.

"Wuwuwuwu, luck is definitely not on my side!" she wailed, burying her face in her hands.

She looked over at the massive pile of paperwork Mr. Valente had given her.

Something clicked in her brain, and she began typing furiously into the search bar. The browser took a second to load, but when it did, Vivien’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

Dominic Valente: The youngest multi-billionaire in the tech and logistics sector.

"At the age of 27, he has achieved a level of success rarely seen in decades..." she read aloud, her voice getting smaller as she scrolled.

The man was everywhere- Fortune magazine covers, international tech summits, and charity galas. "The heck is he doing at my University?!"

She paused, leaning back. Then again, it made sense. Her University was one of the top institutes in the country, she knew that better than anyone since she’d practically studied her way into a fever to get a seat here. But having a billionaire as a guest board member was on a completely different level.

"Ugh, I can’t even mess with him," she groaned, scrolling through more articles. She looked for any connection related to Dante. Yet everything about him was different from Dante she knew.

"Can this be possible like hes a secret mafia boss or something?" She shook her head violently, "Get it together, Vivien. This is real life. Life isn’t a web novel."

Ping!

A notification popped up at the top of her screen from- you guessed it- an unknown number. She tapped it open, her heart skipping a beat.

[Unknown]:

Don’t forget to submit all the papers before 8:00 AM. Accuracy is not optional.

Vivien stared at the screen, her jaw dropping.

"The heck?! How did he even get my number?!"

She wanted to text back something sassy, like ’How did you get this? Is stalking part of the billionaire package?’ but she caught herself.

He was the one who could transfer her to the middle of nowhere with a single phone call.

"But it’s not time to think about it! I need to hurry up and finish these or I’ll be jobless and degreeless!"

She scrambled off the floor, grabbed a cold energy drink from the fridge, and dove into the pile of paperwork.

______________

The assistant watched Dominic put down his phone, a rare, chillingly satisfied expression crossing his face. A cold shiver traced down the assistant’s spine. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Boss," he started tentatively, "I thought you were going to decline the university’s offer. I never expected you to actually change your mind and accept the temporary Principal’s position. You said yourself it was a lateral move that wasn’t worth your schedule."

Dominic didn’t even look up from the screen.

"Sometimes trying out new things isn’t that bad," he said, his voice calm. Without another word, he turned his full attention back to his laptop.

The assistant felt like his own mind was unraveling. Nothing makes sense anymore!

First, his boss hadn’t just forgiven the girl for the latte, he’d practically hand-picked her to be his personal assistant. Then, he’d buried her in enough paperwork to sink a ship just to torment her. And now, he was taking over a college department just to... what? Stay close to the "sneaky bunny"?

That girl... she’s done something to my boss! he thought, feeling utterly dejected. He had seen Mr Dominic Valente dismantle corporations, but he had never seen him this fixated.

Then, a sudden, terrifying thought crossed his mind.

If Miss Amelia finds out about this... He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head violently. No. She won’t. I’ll make sure of it. If that woman catches wind that Boss is playing games with a girl from nowhere, the whole city will burn.

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TO BE CONTINUED