Viella pov

His black suit was soaked.

With premium roast coffee.

I could practically hear his inner mafia killer voice loading the "terminate this pest".

My brain went static. Mouth dry. Time paused.

"Ah... hi, dear fiancé..." I said, voice rising. "Funny running into you here! Haha... I just... uh... helped you wake up better than your alarm could?"

He didn’t say anything.

Just stared.

With those deadpan annoyed mafia eyes that screamed, "You have ten seconds before I make you disappear from the timeline."

Just as I was about to crumble like a stale cookie-

"Dante! Are you okay?"

Oh great.

Alina.

This plot really hates me.

She rushed over like a Disney princess with her emergency handkerchief, delicate and folded. Sparkles might as well have been flying around her.

But I didn’t see it.

Because panic had taken over my body and I-

I pulled out my own crusty handkerchief and started wiping Dante’s suit.

AGGRESSIVELY.

Like I was scrubbing a bathroom tile.

Dante’s eyes widened slightly as I basically made it ten times worse. The stain spread like watercolor. The fabric wrinkled. His expensive suit was turning into a modern art piece.

"Ahaha... I... I got this! I’ll fix it! Totally professional!!"

Behind me, I finally noticed Alina standing there, frozen, her beautifully embroidered handkerchief still in midair.

Too late.

Too. Late.

I paused, realizing how bad it looked.

I stared at the mess I made.

I stared at Dante.

I stared at my handkerchief.

I stared at Alina.

She was staring at Dante...

And at MY handkerchief.

Which was still in his hand.

Oh no.

Oh no no no.

Abort mission.

I gave them a strained laugh, took two awkward steps back, and blurted-

"Y’know what! I just remembered! Very important thing! Place! Time! Somewhere else! Bye!!"

Then I turned around and walked away so fast my soul left before my body.

I could feel their eyes on my back as I bolted.

Alina slowly withdrew her dainty handkerchief, lips tightening ever so slightly.

And Dante?

Still holding mine.

The one I wiped his chest with like I was waxing a car.

---

No One’s POV 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Inside the office...

The door swung open.

Lucian didn’t even look up from his papers as he said, "Oh, so finally back with the coffee, Vie-"

He paused.

Blink.

Stared.

"Dante?"

Standing there was Dante Moretti-CEO, mafia boss, rich suit model-and currently dripping in coffee.

Lucian raised a brow. "Is this... a new fashion now?"

Dante casually peeled off the stained blazer like he hadn’t just been baptized in espresso.

"This is the coffee you were waiting for," he said blandly.

Lucian blinked again. "What do you mean?"

Alina awkwardly stepped in, her voice gentle.

"Miss Viella accidentally spilled it... It really wasn’t her fault though."

Lucian stared for a second. And then-

Started laughing.

A full laugh. He slapped the desk, smirking. "Damn, that troublemaker. I knew she was going to do something-but I didn’t think it’d be this."

His expression quickly shifted into cold professionalism.

He stood, picked up his phone. "You should change. I’ll send you a new suit. Alina, wait here."

---

Viella’s POV

I finally reached Lucian’s office. He looked up-and glared at me like I burned down his stocks.

Without a word, he shoved a folded black suit into my hands. "Dante’s in the changing room. Give him this."

"What? Why me?"

"You caused this, you fix it." Giving me a knowing smirk.

...Excuse me, what happened to HR rules?

I muttered curses under my breath as I stomped toward the hallway. Reached the changing room. Stood at the door like I was about to deliver a sacrifice.

Knock knock.

No answer.

Good. I’ll just toss it in like a grenade and leave.

I opened the door slightly, peeked inside-

HELLO BARE CHEST.

My mouth opened like WiFi on full signal.

He was shirtless. Standing by the mirror. Lean, muscled, unfairly sculpted like he walked out of a Greek god starter pack. The faint steam in the room only added cinematic glow.

Holy sh-is this what the author meant when she said "obsidian carved into flesh"?

Dante turned around, dark eyes locking with mine.

Abort. Abort.

I tried to fix my expression into something normal. Failed. Probably looked like a dying fish.

I handed him the suit while avoiding eye contact. "Here. Take it. Not my fault. Bye."

I grabbed the door handle to dramatically escape.

But-

It didn’t move.

I yanked again.

Still didn’t move.

I yanked harder and-

Snap.

The. Handle. Came. Off.

"Oops..."

Silence.

Dante caged me on the door and stared at me. Still shirtless. Still judging.

I froze the moment Dante stepped closer-his steps unhurried, yet heavy with intent.

"So," he said, his voice low, sharp. "That was your plan all along, huh?"

I blinked. "W-What?"

He tilted his head, mockingly thoughtful. "Spill hot coffee on me, then somehow lock us in here together. Bold move, even for you."

I scoffed, backing up as he advanced. "Excuse me? Do you seriously think I want to be trapped in a room with you? You’re delusional."

He laughed quietly, but there was no humor in it. "Right. Of course. Because you’ve been so desperate to avoid me lately, haven’t you?"

My back hit the door. He didn’t stop.

"First, you act like you hate me. Then you feed me your pathetic puppy eyes. Now this?" He leaned in, the scent of his cologne curling into my head like smoke. "It’s getting real hard to tell which face is actually yours, Viella."

"Back off," I whispered, heart racing despite the fire building in my chest. "Not everything revolves around you."

"Funny," he murmured, his breath brushing my ear. "Because you used to orbit me like I was the sun. What happened?"

I swallowed. "I woke up."

"Did you?" His gaze dropped to my lips for just a second-barely noticeable, but I caught it. "Or did something inside you change?"

I flinched.

He straightened up slightly, narrowing his eyes at me. "You think I don’t notice? Your eyes-they’re not the same. The way you talk, the way you move. You’re not even pretending to be her anymore."

I tried to push him away. "You’re thinking too much"

"Maybe," he said, his voice darker now. "But if you’re not Viella... then who are you?"

That hit too close. I stiffened. "You don’t get to ask that. Not after how u treated me in past."

"Oh, I do," he said, suddenly caging me in with one hand against the door. "Because this new version of you-whatever it is-it’s crawling under my skin."

I opened my mouth to argue, but the words got caught in my throat. The way he looked at me-like I was both a mystery and a curse-made my pulse spike.

"I liked you better when you were predictable," he muttered. "Vicious. Stupid. Easy to hate."

"Then keep hating me," I shot back. "Because I’m not here to play whatever sick game this is."

"Oh," he said with a mocking smile, "you’re already playing it. You just don’t know the rules yet."

Click.

The door finally unlocked.

He stepped away without another word and calmly slipped into his new suit as the staff poured in apologizing for the malfunction.

I didn’t wait-I slipped out without looking back, my face burning, my chest pounding.

Because for the first time... I wasn’t sure who had the upper hand anymore.

---

Later on, Lucian raised a brow at me the moment I entered his office.

"You took your sweet time. Don’t tell me you were taking advantages of Dante again."

"Why would I do that?" I snapped,

Lucian gave me the most unimpressed look known to mankind. "Because it’s your favorite hobby?"

"Oh my God- Now even my own brother??" I groaned dramatically.

He shrugged. "You have that creepy smile every time you talk about him."

"I do not!"

"You just did it again."

I gasped, clutching my chest. "Lies!"

"Meeting room. Now," he said, already walking off.

With a sigh, I followed him in, where Dante and Alina were seated.

I stationed myself beside Lucian like a bored bodyguard while they went on with the meeting. Alina was holding all the files. Meanwhile, I was... holding a fly. Playing with it like it owed me rent.

Lucian gave me a deadly glare.

Dante? Oh, he kept glancing at me every five seconds. I rolled my eyes and continued minding my fly.

Blah blah blah...contracts...blah blah boring numbers...Ugh, when will I go home and eat something greasy and unhealthy?

Then it happened.

A new man at the table looked at Alina. My yandere radar tingled.

Oh no.

The Old Grandpa.

This fossil was famous in the original plot for trying to flirt with Alina and getting on Dante’s last nerve. Great. We’re really following canon events now.

"So, Dante," Old Fossil said, eyeing Alina like she was a dessert platter, "Is this your new assistant?"

Dante leaned back lazily, voice cold. "My assistant took a day off today. She came on her behalf."

Aha. "Took a day off." Yeah, right. I mentally scoffed. Probably just an excuse to keep Alina around longer.

Then the old man turned to me. "Miss Viella. It’s been a while since I last saw you."

"Oh? We’ve met before?" I blinked innocently. "Wow. I don’t even remember. Haha."

Pfft-take that, wrinkled demon.

His eye twitched. "Yes, we did meet. And I must say, you’re looking gorgeous today."

I tilted my head. "Oh, so I looked ugly before?"

Silence.

Everyone paused.

Even the fly in my hand stopped moving for a second.

Lucian gave me a warning look. Alina looked like she stopped breathing.

Then Dante spoke.

His voice was razor sharp and slow.

"Do you have any business with my fiancée?" he asked coldly. "Because as far as I know, her brother and I are the ones here to deal with you. Not entertain your nostalgia."

I blinked.

Wait. Since when he started to call me his fiancée

Lucian narrowed his eyes. "Yes, correct. I suggest you be careful with your comments. I know you’ve always liked younger girls, but this one bites."

The old man immediately turned pale. "Ah-no offense meant, of course! Just a compliment-"

"Save it, Unless you dont want this deal" Dante muttered, flipping a page in the file with disinterest, but I caught the twitch in his jaw.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED