Viella POV

Footsteps...

My heart started shaking.. I shoved the box back into the drawer and dove under the desk

Click.

The door opened. I held my breath

A voice called out "Boss, should I go and check on Lady Viella?"

"No need for that. She’s right where she needs to be."

Does he know I’m here? Panic crawled up my spine.

"Instead Burn that traitor’s body and clean up. I don’t like blood in my garden."

"Yes, boss." The men left, the echo of their boots fading.

My pulse hammered. Footsteps drew closer - a little chuckle - and then stopped right in front of the desk.

You’re done for real, Viella.

I stayed perfectly still. Not a sound. Not a twitch.

"So... you gonna come out by yourself, or-"

Silence.

Then Dante crouched. The world stopped being an office and became all him. His hand found me, and before I could squeal, he lifted me out and plunked me into his lap on the chair, holding me like I was some sort of plushie.

I gasped. He pushed my hair behind my ear, his neck brushing mine, and let out one of those low chuckles

"Aww," he murmured, voice mocking. "Little prey hiding under the desk, thinking the predator won’t find her... You’re adorable, Viella. Makes me want to tie you to me forever."

I tried wriggling free. He tightened his arms, amused and effective.

Suddenly his arm wrapped around my hips, he picked and placed me on his desk. All his files, papers scattered on desk. My eyes landed on them to see.....My Pictures

Dante noticed, Then he took the same box and opened it. my eyes widened

He held up the bracelet infront of me and caressed the alphabet that was curved on it.

"Isnt this is the same bracelet you been working so hard for? Its adorable how u curved our name together isnt it?

"Dante...How did you find it?" I tried to act normal

"Hm...i just found your man who tryna destroy it. He was too foolish, sorry though"

"sorry...for?"

"For killing your man on the spot" I shut my mouth. Then-

The office door bang open.

"Where is Viel- oh, ah- " Lucian stopped mid-shout, shoved a hand to his face. "What are you guys doing? Get a room!!! Viella you pervert!"

YOUUUU LUCIIIIANNN!!! I screamed in my head and lunged toward him, but Dante held me more tighter

"DANTEEEEE!!! STOPPPP!!!" I squawked. "And you, Lucian-" I pointed at him, "it’s nothing like that! Your best friend is the one WHOS PERVERT-"

Dante ignored my protests. Smooth as anything, he scooped me up in one motion and walked right past Lucian.

"Hey, wait-where are you taking me?" I protested,

"I’ll be back." He told Lucian, not looking back.

I peered over his shoulder to Lucian, who was already waving at me and laughing like a hyena. If I ever caught him alone, the man would lose his hair by my hands. For now, I settled for an obscene salute: I raised my middle finger at him.

Lucian doubled over, laughter echoing down the hall.

---

The door slammed shut with a loud thud, and before I could even blink, Dante had already pushed me down onto the silk sheets.

Before I could look around I realized....

It’s Not just any room.

It’s

His

room!

My back hit the bed, the faint scent of cologne enveloping me before I could even think. My wrists were pinned above my head, his grip firm- too firm,

"So you really aren’t going to listen to me, Viella"

His voice was low,-

"I already told you," I spat back, lifting my chin. "I don’t listen to anyone. Especially not you, Dante." I knew everything is done, he knows about the bracelet everything, either I die today or-

For a moment, silence. Then - a quiet laugh.

"You’re so stubborn..." he murmured, his eyes tracing my face with that unreadable look. "It used to irritate me. But now..."

His smile deepened.

"Now, it only makes me want to break that pride of yours."

I felt my breath catch -partly from fear, partly from something I refused to name. His breath brushed against my skin, warm and unrelenting.

"Can you get off me?" I snapped, trying to sound bold even though I know damn well he just killed someone. "You’re heavy!"

He tilted his head slightly, amusement flickering in those dark eyes.

"And yet..." his gaze dropped to my face, "your cheeks are turning are red."

My heart nearly stopped.

He was enjoying this. Way too much.

"Dante, stop teasing me!" I hissed, trying to pull away, but his hold didn’t loosen.

He leaned closer, whispering bit softy with hint of threat

"Then tell me, bella mia, why do you keep tempting me?"

His tone sent a shiver down my spine.

"You know what happens when I lose control, don’t you?"

I tried to push his arm away - maybe even bite him again - but before I could, he tilted his head and lowered his lips near my neck.

The world froze.

His breath lingered there, dangerously close.

A soft chuckle vibrated against my skin.

"You shouldn’t provoke a man who’s already obsessed, Viella."

My breath hitched. I didn’t dare move. His presence was overwhelming.

And then-

"His teeth sank right into my neck with deliberate, aching slowness-like he’d been starving for this. A sharp breath tore from my lips, but he didn’t flinch, didn’t pull back. Instead, his grip on my wrists tightened as his mouth kept going -sucking deeply where his teeth had bruised the skin.

He wasn’t just leaving a mark.

He was claiming me.

The pulse beneath my skin throbbed under his relentless hold, each suck etching fire into my flesh. I could feel the warmth spreading-from the wound to deep inside my chest-as if he were carving his name not just onto me... but into my soul too.

When he finally pulled away, My breath came in shattered pieces as I turned to look at him-eyes wild, face flushed-and there it was that smug, feral satisfaction in Dante’s gaze... and glistening on my collarbone... a fresh red hickey swollen with possession.

"Now you’ll remember who you belong to," he whispered, brushing my hair aside.

"Also i know You were behind everything, and I know you already have alot of questions running through your small brain but since youre alive till now it should answer everything"

With that he left.....

Yah I am rethink all of my life decisions now

---

No One’s POV

Whole mansion was silent - except for the echo of Dante’s shoes tapping against polished marble.

A sound too calm for a man whose blood had been burning since that night.

He pushed open the office door.

Lucian was already there, leaning back in his chair as though he owned the place, a lazy smirk painted on his face. In his hand, a photograph- her photograph.

"Doesn’t my baby sister look adorable here, Dan-"

Lucian’s voice broke off mid-sentence when he caught the faint smile tugging at the corner of Dante’s lips.

"Oh ho... what’s this? Mr. Tough Guy smiling? Should I call the press?"

"It’s nothing." Dante’s tone was flat, but his gaze betrayed him- drawn to the small box sitting on his desk.

He opened it. The bracelet was still inside gleamed softly.

He caressed the name curved on the bracelet.

Lucian whistled low. "So... did your little plan work? Did she see it?" Well I already knew she was hiding something"

Dante’s lips curved. "Do you think my plans ever fail?"

Lucian chuckled. "Obviously not."

"Exactly."

The box snapped shut with a soft click.

"Everything went exactly the way I wanted. Viella thinks she outsmarted me- when she ’stole’ the keys. How naïve."

He leaned against the desk, eyes half-lidded. "I knew the moment she left that room. She thought I didn’t notice the way she hide when I glanced back. I could feel her gaze crawling on me. I left this door unlocked on purpose. Even left that box there- waiting for her curious little hands."

Lucian frowned. "Still don’t get it. Why go through all that?"

Dante’s voice dropped lower, silk wrapping around a blade. "Because I wanted her to understand something.

Dante Valerio Moretti doesn’t bluff. When I say something, I mean it- and I prove it."

Lucian’s brows lifted. "So basically, you wanted to tell her you’re done with that low-class maid. Honestly, I never understood why you even liked her. The great Dante Valerio Moretti, feared by half the world, obsessed with a nobody? I thought you’d lost it."

Dante’s eyes flicked toward him, sharp enough

"I knew something was wrong the moment I started getting attached to her," he muttered. "She had control over me... even my mind."

Lucian tilted his head. "Everyone falls for that face. Even my family started liking her. I never trusted her from the start." His tone dropped, colder.

Dante’s gaze darkened, the edge of a smirk ghosting his lips. "Alina thought she could play Dante Valerio. She has no idea what kind of man she provoked. Whatever she’s scheming... it’ll surface soon. And when it does-"

Bang!

The gunshot split the silence, echoing

Lucian twirled his gun lazily. "Oops. My bad. Guess I was playing too much."

Dante didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink. His eyes remained fixed on the bracelet, glinting faintly under the dim light.

Lucian’s grin widened. "Relax, brother. I’m just saying-when that day comes, I’m bringing popcorn." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

---

Dante’s POV

When Lucian left, silence filled the room again. But this time, it was heavier.

Dante sat behind his desk, the box still in front of him. The silver caught the reflection of his eyes - sharp

That woman thought she could drug me.

He chuckled under his breath, low and humorless.

He remembered the first time his tea had tasted slightly different. The subtle sweetness. The dizziness that followed just enough to make him act softer, smile more.

It had been so gradual that even he almost missed it.

Almost.

He’d let her think she was succeeding.

He’d watched Alina smile as she poured the tea every evening, eyes wide with false innocence. He’d pretended not to notice when she glanced at him too often, too lovingly.

He had her man followed.

A pathetic little rat who worked as her messenger.

One bullet to the leg, and he confessed everything, the imported potions, the doses, the instructions to "keep him docile."

The irony was almost amusing. Alina wanted to tame the beast everyone feared.

But she never realized she wasn’t feeding him potion. She was feeding him restraint.

And when he stopped drinking her tea, he’d felt it.

The fog lifted. The pulse in his head steadied.

It was almost painful, that sudden clarity.

He’d realized something dangerous then.

He never cared abut Alina.

He always cared about that one girl from 7 years ago, the soft looking girl he laid his eyes for the first time. He been looking for her in Alina which made easier for Alina to control me. I was restless I wanted peace

And strangely enough, the only time he ever felt it again... was when Viella was near. The same Viella he fell in love 7 years ago. Before he could ever have her she vanished as if never existed till he met her on that party it made him feel like shes back again, it wasnt like she wasnt the same person but the version he had met of her after 7 years was totally different from what he fell for, annoying, spoiled, demanding, controlling..he started hating it slowly, slowly The version of her disappeared from his brain. But-

That day she barged into his office, voice trembling but eyes unyielding- he should’ve thrown her out.

Instead, his headache vanished.

Every word she spat out, every glare she gave him, every reckless act- it calmed him in ways silence never could.

Viella was chaos, but she was real.

Her defiance didn’t mask manipulation. it exposed it.

She was like a storm that didn’t want to destroy him... just wake him.

This was the same version of her from 7 years ago just with more sass into it which he personally loved...shes back, his one and only love.

He remembered that look in her eyes earlier- the fear she tried to hide behind sarcasm.

That heat under her skin when he hovered too close.

The way she trembled, yet refused to back down.

And he’d marked her for it.

A single bite.

A single bruise that claimed her as his.

His fingers brushed his lips, remembering her gasp. Her widened eyes.

She didn’t understand it yet- but she would.

Dante Valerio wasn’t a man who fell in love.

He was a man who decided.

He’d decided that Viella would never walk away from him.

Because even when she cursed him, even when she mocked him - she was still the only one who could quiet the chaos Alina created.

The only one whose voice didn’t grate on his mind.

That was intoxicating.

He smiled faintly to himself, leaning back in his chair.

Lucian’s words still echoed in the air: "Your plan worked?"

Of course, it did.

Viella thought she’d outsmarted him by sneaking into his office, by finding that box.

She didn’t realize the bracelet wasn’t just bait- it was proof. Proof that Dante Valerio’s obsession was shifting.

He wanted her to see it.

He wanted her to know that when Dante Valerio let go of something, he never looked back.

And yet...

His hand clenched around the bracelet.

The metal was cold but it wasn’t as cold as the thought of her leaving him.

He smiled to himself, low and dangerous.

Let her run. Let her fight. Let her scream.

The longer she resisted, the deeper she’d fall.

Because unlike Alina, Viella didn’t need poison to weaken him.

She already had the antidote, the way she looked at him, spoke to him, defied him.

And he had no intention of ever letting her go.

Not again.

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TO BE CONTINUED