Viellas pov

The lights flickered on, momentarily blinding me.

"Ah, darling! You’re here. I’ve been looking for you," Nonna’s voice called out.

Panic surged through me. I froze, slowly turning my head to the side, expecting to see Elias standing right there.

But as my eyes adjusted, I realized the space beside me was empty.

No one.

Where did he go?

I scanned the shadows, but he had vanished without a sound. Is he a ghost or something? I wondered, mentally rolling my eyes.

I didn’t have much time to think about it.

Nonna grabbed my arm and pulled me back inside, her grip firm as she led me through the crowd. My eyes immediately landed on Dante.

He was standing at the front, holding a microphone, his expression unreadable.

Uh-oh.

This is it.

This was the moment I had been waiting for, yet a knot of dread tightened in my stomach. What exactly was he planning to say to all these people?

As we got closer, Dante stepped toward me.

He didn’t say a word.

His arm slid around my waist, pulling me into a firm embrace.

Nonna gave me a quick, knowing wink before giving us both a small nudge-pushing us directly in front of the watchful eyes of the entire room.

The chatter died down.

Every pair of eyes was fixed on us.

Waiting for him to speak.

While I stood there under the gaze of the entire room, a pair of sharp eyes watched us from the shadows.

Elias leaned against a marble pillar, his arms crossed over his chest. He watched the scene unfold with a slow, knowing smirk playing on his lips.

Say it, Dante... he thought, his gaze locked on the man with the microphone.

At that exact moment, as if he could feel the stare, Dante shifted his head. His eyes met Elias’s for a fleeting second, and a mirroring smirk crossed his face

Standing right behind Elias was Alina, who was practically vibrating with excitement. She was giggling like a fool, clutching her clutch bag to her chest.

"Oh my god, is he looking at me? Of course he is," she whispered loudly. "After all, he’s going to call me up any second. Hey, Elias, don’t I look pretty? I wore this specifically for tonight."

Elias didn’t even spare her a glance. His eyes remained fixed forward, focused intently on someone else in the center of the room.

"Hm. Red suits you," Elias said tonelessly.

Alina paused, looking down at her dress in confusion. "But... I’m not wearing red, Elias, I am wearing pink gown" she said, her voice tinged with irritation.

"Oh."

That was all he said.

Dante finally looked away from Elias, turning his attention to me. I felt the weight of his gaze and shifted nervously, my heart racing.

Sensing my unease, he leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear as he whispered,

"Why so scared, mi amore?"

"I’m not scared," I replied, forcing as much confidence into my voice as I could. "But what do you expect when you get pushed in front of a hundred guests?"

Dante’s eyes narrowed slightly, his amusement growing.

"I thought Viella never cared about being stared at. Oh, wait..."

"You’re not her."

I frowned, the sting of his words hitting home. Seeing my reaction, Dante’s smirk only deepened.

Dante adjusted the microphone, his expression turning cold

The room fell silent instantly.

"You all know me," he began, his voice low, steady

"I don’t accept loss. I don’t tolerate it."

A pause.

"So when she disappeared, the world didn’t simply lose its light," he continued. "It lost its order."

What a dialogue but again all he is, is just a book character after all.

His gaze shifted.

And locked onto me.

"I understood something then," Dante said calmly. "She isn’t a woman meant to be kept at a distance. She is the one thing I refuse to exist without."

His hand tightened around my waist.

"It isn’t her face that binds me," he went on. "It’s her soul. The only thing capable of unraveling my control."

A murmur rippled through the crowd. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"I am not patient when it comes to what is mine," Dante said flatly. "And I don’t share."

He lifted the microphone slightly.

"So to make her all mine, I am willing to bound us together in a holy bond. Our wedding will take place next week."

Silence.

Pure.

Stunned.

My parents had no reaction.

While My sister looked like she was choking on air.

Lucian, meanwhile, stood in the corner completely unbothered, calmly enjoying a large slice of cake.

I stared at Dante, my mind blanking.

"...Ah, hell naw," I whispered.

Dante’s eyes slid to mine.

His grip tightened.

"What did you say?"

"I said, ah hell na-"

I didn’t finish.

His hand slid into my hair, fingers threading tightly as he tilted my head back and claimed my mouth.

A kiss meant for everyone in the room.

Lucian stopped chewing.

His eyes widened as he glared at us.

"Aish- that bastard!" he snapped. "Kissing my baby sister right in front of me?!"

I tried to push him back, my face burning with a mix of anger and embarrassment. He finally pulled away just an inch, his thumb grazing my swollen lower lip.

"Say it again," he whispered, his voice a dark promise against my skin, "and I will kiss you until you’re too breathless to speak."

I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, but I never got the chance.

Nonna appeared out of nowhere, throwing her arms around both of us and nearly knocking the wind out of me.

"My babies! I am so happy!" she squealed, her eyes sparkling with tears. "I have to do so much shopping! We don’t even have enough time-only a week! I knew this was coming!"

But then,

My eyes landed on my family.

They were already leaving.

It wasn’t like I was expecting anything from them anyway, so it was a good thing they left, even if it was definitely going to cause a massive scandal.

I noticed Lucian standing there, looking at us in pure disbelief.

Tsk. You don’t matter either, I thought.

Forgetting everyone-and even forgetting just how dangerous Dante actually is-I grabbed his arm and dragged him inside.

My mind was racing. I had no idea what was happening; I definitely didn’t expect him to make a move like that.

Unexpectedly, Dante, who wouldn’t move for a literal storm, followed me willingly. He looked almost like a happy kid who had finally gotten the attention of his favorite toy.

I slammed the door shut.

"Now, would you like to explain what the hell that was just now?!" I snapped. My face was burning, though I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or embarrassment.

Dante just smirked, leaning back against his desk.

"What? That kiss? You want me to show you again?"

"Hey! You know I am definitely not talking about that!"

"Then what? Tell me."

He leaned toward me, locking his eyes onto mine.

"That... THAT WEDDING! You’re not serious, are you?"

Dante started laughing.

"Oh darling, did you think I was joking when I said I wanted you?"

Suddenly, I felt a chill.

His eyes looked different-not at all like the way he used to look at Alina in the book.

This was something else entirely.

"This definitely has to be a joke," I said, my voice tight, "because you already know I’m not the real Viella. It’s not normal, what’s happening around you. I thought you would’ve noticed it already."

Dante looked at me calmly.

"You think I didn’t?"

I went quiet.

"I already knew you weren’t the real Viella," he continued. "But how could you look exactly like her, be in her house, without anyone noticing the difference? Then I understood-it wasn’t the body that changed. It was the soul."

I kept staring at him in disbelief.

"What?" he asked softly. "Scared that I knew?"

"Uh, no," I muttered. "It’s just... this is the first time you’ve ever said such a long line in one go."

Funny. Even now.

Dante laughed.

"But hey, wait," I snapped back to reality. "So you were just toying with me all these days? And... that night when you-freaking strangled me-that was just an act?"

Dante’s smile stretched wider as he nodded.

"Hah!" Fury rushed through me. If only the man in front of me wasn’t this strong, I would’ve knocked him out.

"Ah," he said lazily, "are you mad, little bunny?"

"Ew. Don’t call me that."

He leaned closer, his breath brushing my ear as he whispered, "Little bunny, you look adorable when you’re mad. Also, your lips are swollen from the kiss."

I glared at him. Ignoring his comment "How did you figure everything out, though?"

He looked down at my fingers, then slowly raised my hand.

"This ring suits you so well..."

"Hey, I’m asking you something-"

Then it hit me.

"Don’t tell me..." I pointed at him. "Dante."

Dante started laughing again. He leaned back into his chair, then suddenly pulled me down, making me sit on his lap.

"Hey-!"

"Shh," he murmured. "Don’t make so much sound, or else our guest will think you couldn’t handle the kiss and dragged me inside to continue more."

Ignoring his cheeky line, I forced myself to focus.

"So you already know everything. Then why didn’t you confront me? Ask me anything?"

"I wanted you to confess it yourself," he replied calmly. "I knew you were scared of me. I knew."

My chest tightened.

"But does that mean..." I hesitated. "You also know that Elias-"

"Is a writer?" Dante finished. "Yeah."

I went numb.

"He wrote me, didn’t he? He wrote every single detail of my life." My voice came out hollow. "This world... is just a ink on paper, isn’t it?"

---

Meanwhile...

Alina stood frozen, her eyes bloodshot, disbelief crashing into her all at once.

Did... did he just-?

Elias... did he...?

"Tell me it’s a lie!" she screamed. "ELIAS! Why aren’t you saying anything?!"

Elias’s knuckles turned white as his grip tightened around the banister. He breathed out slowly before turning to face her.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked coldly. "Say that your dear future husband is with his future wife?"

"No... no, this can’t happen. No!!"

Alina began to shiver. Her gaze dropped-then locked onto the gun resting inside Elias’s pocket.

As she reached for it, Elias caught her wrist.

"Now care to explain what you’re trying to do?" His grip tightened.

"Do what?" she snapped. "Of course, erase that bitch’s existence! Since you can’t do it-nor are you letting me do it-"

"You can do it."

Alina froze.

"...Did you just say," her voice trembled, "I can do it?"

Elias nodded.

Alina’s fear shattered instantly, replaced by a manic smile stretching across her face.

"Then give me the gun!" she laughed. "I’ll finish her right now!"

Elias didn’t budge.

"Hey-!"

"Shh," he murmured calmly. "Not right now. There are way too many people here. Let’s leave it for another night."

Then, leaning closer, he added mockingly,

"Also, don’t forget-you’re still a little maid~"

Alina glared at him, her smile gone, replaced by something far darker.

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TO BE CONTINUED