Viella’s POV

The world is spinning... wooaahh. Yeyyy, hahah.

"Ah, Lady Viella, please come down... you seem drunk," Lily’s voice floated up worriedly.

"Me? Drunk? Of course not. Not at all. Pfft." I tried to wave her off but ended up almost tripping on the carpet.

"Right, okay, you’re not drunk," Lily muttered, clearly unconvinced. "Just wait-I’ll bring you something to help. Maybe ginger tea with lemon. It’ll settle you a bit." She dashed off before I could argue.

I flopped dramatically onto the couch. "Hmm... let’s go out for a loooong drive."

And with that genius thought, I grabbed my car keys and wobbled toward the door.

The night air hit me as soon as I stepped outside. Ah, freedom.

"Lady Viella, you should go back inside."

I froze. Oh, wonderful. One of Dante’s watchdogs

I squinted at him, then smirked. "Go tell your boss I don’t listen to his watchdogs. And if you even try to follow me..." I leaned closer, poking his chest with my finger, "...you won’t live to see tomorrow."

His face paled slightly. Good.

I hopped into my car, revved it up, and sped off

Through the side mirror, I caught sight of Elias leaning lazily on the balcony with a cup of coffee in hand. And... someone standing behind him. Watching. My lips curled into a smirk. Let them watch.

I pressed on the accelerator. Vrooom-gone.

---

Time passed in a blur. The cool night breeze whipped through my hair, the road stretched endlessly

Then it happened.

The pedal wouldn’t respond. I pressed harder. Nothing. My brakes-weren’t working.

"What the-?" My heart skipped. I twisted the wheel, trying to slow down, but the car only picked up speed.

"No, no, no, no-this is not happening-" I muttered, gripping the wheel tighter.

And then I saw it. Up ahead, past the curve. Water. A whole damn river glinting in the moonlight.

"Oh, for-"

The car swerved, momentum dragging me forward.

Crash.

---

No One’s POV

"The car was last seen over Ravencliff Bridge. Authorities confirmed the driver was Lady Viella... The infamous daughter of the Viella family. The investigation is still ongoing-"

The news anchor’s voice echoed

Dante’s jaw clenched. "What the f**k were you even doing? Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on her?!" His voice thundered, sharp enough to make people around him flinch

"I’m on my way. Start counting your days," he spat before cutting the call.

"Boss... the private jet is ready. We can take off now," one of his men said, voice trembling.

Dante didn’t even spare him a glance. He stood, coat swaying behind him, and walked straight down the aisle, cold fury radiating off him.

The phone in his hand buzzed again.

Ring... ring...

"What, Lucian?" Dante’s tone was a low growl.

"Have you found any news yet?! What the hell were your men doing? I let mine leave because you swore yours were watching her! What the f- Dante-"

"Don’t you dare shout at me, Lucian."

"Oh, I f**king will!" Lucian snapped, voice breaking with panic. "You told me you’d keep her safe. Then where the hell was your protection when she-"

Before he could finish, Dante hurled the phone against the private jet wall. It shattered into pieces, clattering to the floor. Silence.

Dante exhaled slowly, eyes dark. He turned to his trembling men.

"Call the department head. If they don’t have news by this evening..." his voice dropped to a dangerous whisper, "they’ll all lose their jobs."

The air around him froze. Nobody dared to breathe.

---

"Oh my godd, did you hear? Dante is coming back~ finally I can see his face again!" Alina twirled a strand of hair, eyes sparkling. "Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

The man leaning against the wall with his coffee groaned. "Shhh. You’re giving me a headache, Alina."

"I don’t care!" she pouted. "My Dante is coming back, so you have to listen. Ugh, I’m so glad that annoying Viella is finally gone. But... seriously, do you think she actually died?"

The man didn’t bother replying. He just shrugged, finished his coffee, and walked off.

Alina narrowed her eyes at his back, muttering, "Tsk. Mysterious bastard." Then, with a giggle, she hugged herself. "Hehe~ but Dante’s finally mine again."

---

Yawn "Wah~ that was the best sleep of my life!" Viella stretched her arms, rolling off the hotel bed.

Knock knock

"Madam, your flight is in 30 minutes. Please get ready."

"Yes, yes~" she called back lazily, dragging herself toward the bathroom. "Time for a well-deserved spa session...or at least a good shower."

The steam fogged up the mirror as she scrubbed off. When she finally stepped out, towel wrapped around her, she stopped in front of the mirror.

Red hair gone. Now sleek, dark brown-like before she ever got thrown into this mafia mess. Eye color too, changed to an ordinary soft brown. She tilted her head "time to change into something comfortable for 16 hours flight"

Fixing her mask she looked at mirror.

"...Perfect." A smirk spread on her lips. "No one will recognize me at the airport now. Not Dante, not Lucian, not anyone."

Dragging her suitcase out of the room, she barely had time to blink before she was crushed into a hug the second she got into the car.

"Ah! What the-?!"

"Oh, my lady, I thought I lost you!" Lily’s voice shook with relief. "Why are you acting so casual?! You almost died yesterday!"

Viella patted her back, annoyed. "Lily, Lily, Lily... Don’t act like I actually died. I’m fine, see? Breathing, walking, still gorgeous. It was all an act!"

"Lady!" Lily pulled back, hands on her waist. "Don’t joke! I was scared if our plan didn’t work, you’d both be dead right now."

"Pfft, as if. It’s my plan. Don’t doubt me."

"For the first time in your life, you actually used your brain," Lily muttered.

Viella froze. "...Excuse me?!"

Lily just looked away innocently.

With a dramatic glare, Viella huffed. "Anyway-did you buy me the new phone?"

"Yes, here." Lily handed her a sleek box.

Viella tore it open "Finally. Ugh, do you know how annoying it was?" She slid the phone on, smirking. "The one that closet guy-no, Elias-gave me? I made sure it went down with the car. He probably thought he was being clever, planting a tracker inside." She rolled her eyes. "Nice try, stalker boy. Too bad I’m smarter."

Lily sighed. "You’re awfully proud of yourself for once."

"Because I deserve it!" Viella flipped her hair. Then she gave Lily a more genuine smile. "...Thanks, though. Really. I’m glad you agreed to help me. Even if it cost me a fortune."

Lily pinched the bridge of her nose. "You really are expensive to keep alive."

"Shhh," Viella said, pressing her mask back on and leaning back in the car seat. "Just admit it-you’d miss me if I was gone."

Lily snorted but didn’t deny it.

--- 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

At the Airport

The moment the car stopped, I tugged on my mask and adjusted my cap like some undercover celebrity. If anyone asked, yes, I was the long-lost cousin of a K-pop idol, don’t question it.

The doors slid open and-woah.

"Why are there so many people?" I whispered, blinking at the sea of flashing cameras and microphones. Reporters were everywhere, crowding the entrance.

"Is there some celebrity arriving?!" I hissed, clutching Lily’s sleeve.

"Don’t look at me, I’m not their manager," Lily muttered, rolling our luggage behind her

Right. Cool. If any of them recognized me, though, it wouldn’t just be front-page news. It would be: ’Lazy Viella crawled out of her coffin, catches flight to who-knows-where.’ Yeah, no thanks.

So I ducked my head lower, trying to blend into the crowd. Ticket in hand-

Then.

Whoosh.

"AH NO-!" My ticket flew straight out of my hand.

I scrambled after it, weaving through people, heart racing. It slid across the floor and... oh no, oh no, oh no-

It landed right at someone’s feet.

I bent down to grab it, muttering curses, and then froze when I looked up.

...Dante.

Dante.

DANTE.

The one person I was trying so hard to escape. The devil himself, standing there like he owned the entire airport. My brain short-circuited. Oh no. Oh no.

My fingers trembled as I snatched the ticket back, bracing myself for him to say something. To glare at me. To slice me in half.

But... nothing.

He didn’t even glance at me.

"Mam, please move aside," one of his man urged, nudging me out of the way.

I blinked. "Eh?"

Did he-? No way. He... he didn’t recognize me?!

I could practically hear the angels singing. I let out a shaky breath, clutching my ticket to my chest.

He walked right past me.

Lily appeared out of nowhere, huffing. "Where did you run off to? I turned for one second and-"

Her words cut off the moment she saw who just passed by. Her eyes widened, then she sucked in a sharp breath.

"Oh my God. That’s him. That’s- that’s Dante. Did he-did he notice you?!"

She leaned closer, whispering urgently. "And damn, poor lord looks like he hasn’t slept in a week. His under-eyes are darker than my bank account."

"LILY." I glared. "Whose side are you even on right now?!"

"Uhhh... urs, obviously! Hehe. Anyway-we’re getting late!" She grabbed my wrist and started dragging me away. "Let’s move before fate decides to play with your life again."

Still being pulled by Lily, I dared one last glance over my shoulder.

There he was. Dante. Surrounded by reporters. And then-of course-Alina. Sweet, perfect, angelic Alina, walking toward him with that soft smile. The scene looked so... scripted. Like the story was finally going back on track now that the "villainess" was conveniently out of the way.

Perfect male lead. Perfect female lead. Perfect story.

My lips curled bitterly under my mask. "Tch. Good riddance."

Then my gaze flickered further back, landing on someone else in the crowd.

Lucian.

He was trying to act all cool in front of the cameras but honestly? He looked like a complete clown

I snorted out loud, clutching my stomach.

"Pfft- oh no, he really looks like a joker."

The laugh died in my throat just as fast as it came. Because suddenly, this weird heaviness pressed into my chest.

Maybe... just maybe...

I was going to miss them.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED