No Ones Pov

(Flashback)

"Vivien..." his assistant said, a look of realization on his face. "Isn’t that just such an amazing coincidence, boss? The main character’s real name before getting trapped in the book is Vivien! "

Dominic paused mid-sentence. "You mean... the girl who was isekaid... her name was Vivien?"

"Yes, boss! And oh, another spoiler! Another massive spoiler, boss!" The assistant let out a sneer, waving his hands dramatically. "The original female lead of the story? That annoying, pure little white lotus? It turns out she was isekaid too, and she’s actually the true villain of the book! What was her name again... yeah, Alina! In the story, her name is Alina."

Dominic’s dark brows furrowed. "What was her real-life name, then? The name of the girl who became Alina?"

"Uh..." The assistant blinked, frantically flipping through the book pages. "It’s actually not mentioned yet, sir. The author kept her real-world identity a secret."

Dominic leaned back, his jaw tightening. Something wasn’t sitting right. Vivien... Alina... Viella... The overlapping pieces were spinning in his mind.

Just then, his eyes flicked over to the CCTV security monitor on his desk. He noticed Vivien’s distinct figure walking down the hallway. She had just arrived back from her lunch break and was pausing right in front of his office door, about to knock.

Acting on pure instinct, Dominic smoothly slid the book inside his desk drawer, locking it from view. "You’re dismissed," he commanded coldly, snapping his assistant back to reality.

(Flashback Ended)

The present day silence inside the luxury car was suffocating as Dominic drove through the evening traffic. Vivien, sitting a safe distance away on the other side of the backseat, felt thoroughly bored. She kept her head down, quietly scrolling through her phone, occasionally checking the massive influx of comments still roasting Amelia on her viral post.

Dominic’s focus was staring out the window, his mind a dark storm of calculated thoughts.

Suddenly, the sound of his phone ringtone shattered the silence. He glanced down at the screen and saw the caller ID. It was his mother. He pressed the button and brought the phone to his ear. "Hello, Mom."

"What on earth is going on, Dominic?!" his mother’s frantic voice instantly echoed loudly through the speaker, dripping with panic and fury. "Have you seen the internet today?! Have you seen the viral post?! Someone is actively trying to sabotage and ruin my future daughter-in-law’s reputation!"

Vivien’s thumbs instantly froze over her phone screen. Her ears perked up, her heart stopping for a split second as she tried to listen in. Daughter-in-law? Dominic has a fiancee?!

Dominic’s expression instantly turned freezing cold, his eyes darting sideways to lock onto Vivien’s sudden tense posture.

"What are you saying, Mom..." Dominic murmured, his deep voice sounded bit irritated. "Daughter-in-law... who?"

"Amelia, of course! Who else?!" his mother snapped over the receiver, her voice raising. "Her family is in a complete panic over these hideous online rumors!"

Dominic took a deep breath, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel. His jaw ticked. "I don’t remember ever saying yes to this proposal, Mom. So do not unnecessarily bind me to people I have no interest in."

"How can I not?!" she fired back, completely unfazed by his icy tone. "I am getting old, Dominic! I don’t want to die without ever seeing your wedding. I gave you more than enough chances to choose a girl on your own. Since you clearly aren’t going to do it, it is my duty as your mother to choose for you!"

"Then you don’t have to worry," Dominic said, his voice sounded confident. He drifted his gaze sideways, glancing at Vivien out of the corner of his eye. "I have already set my eyes on someone."

Beside him, Vivien’s eyes grew absolutely wild. Wait... WHAT?! Her writer’s brain practically short-circuited. This corporate tyrant actually likes someone?! Honestly, that is completely unbelievable! Wow, okay, if that’s the case, why can’t Amelia just go fight that mystery girl and leave ME alone?!

"Dominic Valente, I really hope you aren’t lying to me just to run away from this arrangement!" his mother warned, though her voice softened with a hint of desperate hope. "But for now, check what is going on. I just sent you the link to the post. You know that in the end, Amelia is my best friend’s daughter. I can’t just ignore this."

"Fine, Mom..."

Just as Dominic was speaking, traffic suddenly jammed ahead, and he had to take a sudden turn. Vivien, who was completely distracted by eavesdropping, lost her balance entirely.

SMACK!

Her forehead collided directly with the cool window glass.

"Yelp!" she let out a pathetic cry of pain, clutching her head.

Before Dominic could cut the call, his mother caught the distinct sound of a girl’s voice over the line. She paused for a moment, her breath hitching in absolute shock. Was her stoic, workaholic son out with a girl right now?! Was he actually telling the truth about having someone?!

A smile spread across his mother’s face. If that was the case, she needed to hurry up, drop the Amelia drama, and start preparing everything to welcome her real new daughter-in-law!

Dominic hung up the phone and tossed it aside, his eyes instantly locking onto Vivien, who was still groaning and rubbing her forehead. He noticed her seatbelt was loose and completely twisted.

Without a word, Dominic unbuckled his own belt and leaned over her side.

Suddenly, his massive frame loomed directly over her. He got so incredibly close that Vivien could smell his expensive woodsy cologne. Her eyes widened her heart pounding loudly, pretty sure even he could hear it. Trapped between his chest and the car seat, her mind completely blanked out. Panicking, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, bracing herself as if they were about to kiss-

CLICK.

The sound of the seatbelt snapping echoed in the quiet car.

As Dominic started to pull back, he mistakenly pressed on the escalator causing the car to move a bit. The slight jolt caused Dominic’s body to lose its balance, and his lips brushed past hers—an accidental touch that felt like an electric shock 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Both of them froze.

Dominic’s ears instantly flushed a deep, burning red, the skin where their lips had touched tingling with a heat. He quickly forced his expression back into a cold, stern mask, clearing his throat as he settled back into his seat. "You’re really careless," he murmured, his voice slightly rougher than usual. "If it weren’t for me, absolutely nobody would have hired you."

Vivien sat there in absolute shock, her fingers frozen over her lap. Her lips were tingling, her face was burning, and her brain had officially melted into mush. She couldn’t say a single word.

Soon, the luxury car came to a sudden stop.

Vivien blinked out of her trance and looked out the tinted window, only to see the familiar worn facade of her own apartment building.

Literal question marks popped up all over her face. Wasn’t they supposed to return to the office? Why were they here?

Dominic didn’t even look back at her, his voice returning to its usual cold, commanding tone. "Go inside. Prepare for your exam tomorrow... I don’t want to see bad grades from my assistant."

Exam? What exam? Vivien’s brain stalled for a fraction of a second before a massive wave of panic hit her. "Oh, yeah! The programming exam! Shit!" Between getting chased by thugs, and trying to figure out this aurthor shit? she had completely forgotten she was still a college student!

"Thank you, boss or principal! Goodbye!" she squeaked, hurriedly exiting the car. She gave a quick bow as the luxury vehicle smoothly drove away into the night.

Turning on her heel, she rushed up the stairs to her apartment, her keys jingling loudly. "If I fail this, I’m going to drop out, and that cannot happen at all! My GPA is not dying for this stupid book! I will deal with Amelia, the creepy author, and my messed-up life later! Right now, Python syntax is my only god!"

Reaching his penthouse office, Dominic finally threw his keys onto the desk and loosened his tie. He pulled out his phone and clicked on the link his mother had sent. He honestly hadn’t been interested in doing anything about Amelia’s online drama, but the moment he zoomed in on the leaked photograph, his eyes narrowed.

The background of the photo was unmistakable.

He immediately dialed his assistant’s number. "Which cafe did you say Vivien went to for her lunch break?"

"It was the Grand Sapphire Cafe, sir," the assistant answered promptly over the line.

Dominic raised his dark eyebrows, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes. He recognized the exact layout of the VIP cafe in the leaked photo. "I am sending you a social media link. It’s a burner account. I want the exact IP address and registration location of this user within twenty minutes."

"Yes, boss! Right away!"

Dominic hung up and began tapping his knuckles rhythmically against the glass table, reading through the brutal online comments roasting Amelia. His gaze darkened as he stared at the bulky man sitting across from her in the picture.

Why on earth was Amelia secretly meeting a notorious underworld hitman? It was highly questionable, and it irritated him that something was happening right under his nose.

He picked up the phone again, dialing his private security detail. "I want a comprehensive background check on Amelia. Track everything she has done, every location she visited, and everyone she met in these past five months. Do it now."

The moment that call finished, a *ping* echoed through the quiet room.

Dominic opened his laptop. The assistant had delivered. He clicked on the tracking link to see the live location of the burner account that had posted the scandalous photo.

He leaned back in his chair, a slow dark smirk spreading across his lips.

The digital map pinpointed the exact coordinate of the upload. It was the exact same building, the exact same floor, and the exact same room where Vivien lived.

Dominic swiped his fingers across his trackpad, pulling up the hidden security feed of her apartment building. He zoomed in until he could see through the sheer curtains of her living room window.

There she was. Her hair was thrown into a messy bun, her thick glasses were sliding down her nose, and she was frantically flipping through a programming textbook, aggressively memorizing code lines while chewing on the end of a pen.

"So, it was you," Dominic murmured into the empty room, his chest rumbling with a deeply amused chuckle. His tiny, chaotic assistant was playing a very dangerous game, and she had absolutely no idea that the predator was watching her every move.

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TO BE CONTINUED