Viella’s Pov

Just as Dante dragged me away, I spared a quick glance back.

All those innocent customers walking into the moisturizer shop with happy smiles...

Poor souls.

They had no idea their entire skincare future was about to be wiped out by one psycho mafia boss buying the entire stock for his Y/N

(Yah we talking about Y/N Trend here)

---

The car door clicked open behind me.

"Get inside."

I crossed my arms.

"Don’t order me around."

Dante leaned casually against the car and looked down at me with those cold, arrogant eyes.

"I said it nicely. Besides I can just toss you inside"

He tilted his head.

"Want that?"

I rolled my eyes

Annoying bossy mafia.

I climbed into the car.

He slid in beside me, started the engine and started driving.

---

I leaned back dramatically.

"I couldn’t even enjoy my freedom for a bit..."

Without even glancing at me, Dante replied,

"You don’t even know how dangerous that freedom is for you, Viella."

I turned to him.

"Oh really? How, huh?"

His tone was maddeningly calm.

"You never notice people following you. You never notice people trying to harm you.

In fact..."

He turned the wheel sharply.

"...right now you didn’t even notice we’re being chased."

My head snapped toward the mirror.

Yup.

Black car.

I slowly looked at Dante again.

He smirked.

My brain clicked.

"Wait... does that mean the men from a few minutes ago-"

"Yeah. He was following you."

Dante finished my sentence lazily.

I froze.

So... this entire time...

He was trying to protect me?

A warm, stupid, uninvited feeling rose in my chest.

I tried to kill it.

Dante noticed.

Of course he noticed. This man notices everything except my need for personal space.

He chuckled softly.

"What happened, princess?"

His voice dipped into that dangerous sweetness.

"Are you falling for me again ?"

I turned away. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"As if!"

My ears glowed red.

Traitors.

---

Then suddenly-

Something cold touched my hand

Metal.

A gun.

My soul left my body.

DID I PISS HIM OFF??

I looked at him with trembling eyes.

He didn’t even look at me.

"Take care of them."

I looked back at the car following

"...You’re telling me to take care OF TEHM?!"

Dante raised an eyebrow, expression flat.

"You have hands. You have a gun.

It’s not complicated."

"NOT LIKE THIS-!"

Then I remembered...

Right.

Viella is a legendary shooter.

A villainess built different.

Me?

I can’t even aim toothpaste on the toothbrush properly.

But okay.

I grabbed the gun

"God... if police exist in this world..."

I whispered.

"Please don’t let them drag me into jail. I don’t want to go from golden cage to iron cage."

Dante let out a low laugh.

"Don’t be scared."

"IM NOT SCARED."

He side-eyed me.

"Then why are you shaking?"

"BECAUSE YOU’RE A MENACE."

He placed a hand on the back of my seat, leaning closer.

"If you miss..."

His voice lowered, brushing my ear.

"...I’ll handle it.

But I want to see you shoot."

"STOP SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT!"

---

I rolled the window down, aiming shakily.

The chasing car sped up.

Dante kept driving one-handed, relaxed, like he was taking me to a date

"Princess."

"What now?!"

"If you hit their tire..."

He smirked.

"...I’ll buy you anything you want."

"Skincares."

"Done."

"The expensive ones."

"I said done."

I aimed again.

Dante leaned even closer,

"If you do well..."

His lips curved.

"...I might give you a personal reward."

I almost dropped the gun.

"SHUT UP AND DRIVE."

He laughed

Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I noticed movement-

Some idiot actually leaned out of the chasing car’s window holding a gun.

"Oh shoot-NOPE, I did not sign up for GTA today!" I squeaked.

I tried to point my gun at him but my hand started shaking. The guy aimed directly at me, and I froze like a dumb NPC.

Bang-

Or rather, almost bang.

Because right when I turned into a statue of Viella the Useless, an arm wrapped around my waist and yanked me flat against Dante’s side. The bullet skimmed so close it shattered the side mirror.

I gasped, trying to breathe like a normal human again.

Dante didn’t even flinch.

Of course protagonist privilege.

"Did you lose your skills along with your brain?" he said.

EXCUSE ME???

I gave him a side-eye

He just slammed his foot harder on the accelerator, the car speed up. He pulled his phone out, dialed a number, then tossed it back onto the seat.

"Find that f**ker," he said coldly, voice low "whoever tried to mess with Dante Velerio Moretti."

Oh.

Oh wow.

All the little warmth in his tone from earlier evaporated.

"So uh... casual question," I muttered quietly. "Does your insurance cover bullets?"

He didn’t react.

I sighed, leaning back in my seat.

"Okay fine. Guess we need to talk about the fact that getting shot at was not on my to-do list today. I was supposed to go buy moisturizer. MOISTURIZER, Dante!"

No reaction.

Great. He was in demon mode.

I looked outside, trying to spot the car chasing us.

Oh well... seems like I know exactly who that is...

You’re gonna pay so bad for this, Alina... AND you mysterious writer...

I’m coming for both of you.

My internal monologue was interrupted by Dante’s voice-

"Princess."

I blinked. "What."

His eyes flicked to my trembling hand.

"Next time someone aims at you," he said, tone dipping dangerously low, "you shoot first. Ask later."

Then he again added:

"They want to kill you.

They always have.

But they’ll have to go through me first."

My ears.

My EARS.

They were turning red like tomatoes.

I turned away quickly, pretending to focus on the window.

"Relax, princess," he smirked. "Your ears are giving you away."

"I-WHAT-NO-"

Before I could defend my honor, another gunshot echoed in the distance.

Dante’s smile dropped instantly.

"Stay down," he ordered, pushing my head gently toward his shoulder as he reached for another gun with his free hand.

Another gunshot cracked through the air.

Dante’s entire body tensed, jaw tight.

"Stay low."

"No need to tell me twice-my life is precious to me," I muttered, accidentally shoving my face into his shoulder.

Oh great.

That car swerved closer.

Adrenaline hammered through my veins. My fingers wrapped around the gun

"Viella," Dante said without looking, "Shoot their tire."

"I know that," I lied.

He leaned just slightly, his right hand coming over mine on the gun, steadying it.

"Don’t overthink. Aim and pull."

"That’s easy for you to- AH!"

The window cracked as another bullet hit the frame.

I yelped.

Dante growled.

The car jerked sharply as he swerved into another lane.

"You’re flinching too much," he said.

"I WONDER WHY!"

The chasing car pulled up beside us. A man halfway out the window pointed directly at Dante this time.

"Oh hell no-THAT’S MY RIDE HOME!" I snapped.

Before Dante could stop me, I stuck half my body out the car window, squinting one eye dramatically like some unhinged pirate and-

BAM.

The gun jerked in my hand.

The shot was so off-target it nearly hit a passing truck.

"...did you even aim?" Dante asked slowly.

"I DID! My hand was just... having an earthquake!!"

"Viella-"

Suddenly-

BOOM.

The chasing car lost balance.

I blinked.

The bullet had miraculously hit a tire.

The entire car spun, skidding across the road before flipping into a bush.

I stared.

Dante actually slammed the brakes for two seconds.

"...you hit the tire?" he asked, sounding... Impressed?

"No," I said honestly. "God took the wheel."

He slowly turned his head and just... stared at me.

I grinned weakly.

"You’re welcome?"

Dante inhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Then he sped off again.

"Don’t ever do that again," he said.

"Save your handsome lectures, I’m alive."

"Barely."

"Excuse you?"

He didn’t reply. He took a sharp turn into an empty alley and finally stopped the car, throwing it into park.

My heart thudded.

Dante turned toward me slowly, eyes scanning my face.

"Are you hurt?"

His voice wasn’t cold.

It was quiet.

Soft.

"I’m fine," I said, shrugging. "A little traumatized. Maybe two mental breakdowns. But alive."

He didn’t laugh.

Instead, he reached over and brushed my cheek with his fingers.

I froze.

"Don’t move," he murmured.

"What-"

His thumb came away with a thin smear of blood.

"I’m bleeding?!" I slapped my cheek. "WHERE-HOW-WHY-"

He grabbed my wrist.

"It’s a scratch," he said. "From the shattered mirror."

Then he leaned forward.

So close the space between us evaporated

"Princess," he whispered, "I thought I told you not to get hurt."

"U-uh, technically, the mirror hit me, not my decision-"

"Doesn’t matter."

His eyes darkened.

"No one touches you. Not even a piece of glass"

Sir.

PLEASE.

MY EARS GONNA BLEED

He cupped my jaw gently, and I felt myself trembling-but not out of fear this time.

His forehead touched mine, breath warm.

"Next time someone aims at you," he breathed,

"I shoot first."

My brain screamed:

"Dante..." I whispered.

His fingers slid behind my neck.

"Stay close to me," he said.

---

Dante’s jaw tightened as he looked over my shoulder.

Footsteps. Multiple. Heavy.

He clicked his gun.

"Hide behind the car," he ordered.

I opened my mouth to argue.

"You have three seconds, princess."

Nope. Not dealing with Murder Mode Dante today.

I darted behind the car.

---

I crouched down, hugging my knees, peeking just enough to see the action.

Dark silhouettes appeared from the other side of the alley. Dante stepped forward

The first man raised his gun-

Before he could even blink, Dante fired.

One shot.

A perfect hit.

The guy dropped like a bag of expired potatoes.

Three more appeared.

Dante just cracked his neck and whispered something

"Wrong target to chase."

Then-

Boom. Boom. Boom.

He moved like the wind.

The man closest to him lunged forward-

Dante grabbed his wrist, twisted it until it snapped, stole his gun, and shot him with his own weapon.

"Damn..." I whispered.

Another man tried attacking from behind-

Dante didn’t even turn fully.

Just elbowed him in the throat, then kicked his knee backwards.

The man screamed.

Dante looked bored.

The last one tried to run.

Dante shot him in the leg.

"You think I’m done?"

Oh hell

The man crawled, crying for mercy.

Dante grabbed him by the hair and dragged him across the pavement.

That was when he turned slightly toward me.

"Don’t look away," he said.

And I didn’t dare to disobey.

The alley fell silent except for the sound of Dante’s slow footsteps returning.

I stared at the ground...

Then I saw shoes stop in front of me.

I looked up.

Dante stood there, holding the last attacker by the collar. It’s the same guy who tried to shoot me.

Blood dripped down the man’s face.

His body trembling.

He dropped him at my feet like a gift.

The man collapsed, crawling toward me.

"P-please...help...help m-me...!"

Oh great. Now he thinks I’m the nice one.

Bad choice, buddy.

Dante shoved a gun-bloody, still warm-into my hand.

My fingers tingled at the contact.

And froze.

"Shoot."

"...H-Huh?"

He leaned closer.

Eyes darker than the night.

"I said shoot, Viella."

My hand shook.

I aimed.

My breath trembled.

"I..."

I couldn’t finish.

"SHOOT!."

His voice hit me

With a jolt of panic-

Bang.

The man collapsed.

Blood sprayed onto my cheek.

My ears rang.

My heart pounded painfully.

Everything inside me twisted-

Guilt, shock, nausea.

I lowered the gun with trembling hands.

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe

Dante stared at me.

He stepped closer and crouched down so we were eye level.

His fingers wrapped lightly around my throat.

Not tight.

Just... testing.

"W-Wha... Dante-?"

His grip tightened slightly.

Not enough to kill.

Enough to scare me.

"Who are you?"

His voice was cold

I froze.

"W-What do you-"

"Viella doesn’t hesitate," he whispered.

His thumb brushed a streak of blood on my cheek.

"She doesn’t shake."

His eyes narrowed.

"And she never looks horrified after a kill."

My heart stopped.

He noticed.

He noticed.

I grabbed his wrist, trying to breathe.

"D-Dante-please-listen-"

His grip tightened further.

My vision blurred.

The world tilted.

"Don’t lie to me."

His voice dropped to a terrifying whisper.

"Who are you?"

My throat burned.

I tried to speak-

Tried to explain-

Tried to do something.

But everything went black.

My knees buckled.

And I collapsed forward-

Straight into Dante’s arms.

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TO BE CONTINUED