The room fell into a heavy silence the moment Lily stepped out.

Suddenly, a sharp, agonizing pain came through Viella’s skull. It felt as if a thousand needles were piercing her mind at once. Her vision blurred, the edges of the room melting into a dizzying haze.

She tried to steady herself

but her knees gave out.

She collapsed onto the bed, breath coming in ragged gasps. Her thoughts tangled together, Before she could even react her consciousness was dragged under into a forced, unnatural sleep.

Click.

The door creaked open.

Viella didn’t move.

A tall, dark figure stepped inside, their footsteps silent against the plush carpet. The intruder Didn’t reach for her throat.

He simply stood at her bedside.

Watching her sleeping face. Her face showed bit of a frown because of the pain.

In the dim light, his eyes were cold harboring a deep, swirling darkness.

Slowly, the figure lifted a pale, elegant hand.

It hovered over her face before gently yet possessively carressing her cheek. The touch lingered just a second too long.

"I apologize Amore Mio for giving you such pain." He said caressing her eyebrows causing them to relax a bit.

"But Dont worry I will fix everything. No one will ever think of separating us not even you"

A faint shadow fell over her sleeping face as they leaned closer.

"You won’t be able to run anymore."

An obsessive intensity radiated from him.

The figure bent down.

His shadow swallowed her completely.

A soft, lingering kiss brushed against Viella’s lips. The moment his lips touched her soft lips the obsession in his eye grew more. He closed his eyes to calm himself down.

Then, just as quietly as he had come, the figure straightened.

And disappeared into the shadows.

Leaving Viella alone in the suffocating silence.

---

Viella’s Pov

The moment I woke up, a sharp sting shot through my lips.

I hissed softly, pressing my fingers against the sensitive skin.

Damn... what happened last night?

Why did my head hurt like this?

Memories of everything came rushing back, the truth about the original Viella, the suffocating weight of it all. Maybe this was just a physical reaction. Stress. Shock. Trauma finally catching up to me.

And then Elias’s voice echoed in my mind like a curse.

One week.

One week to live.

Or one week to escape.

I inhaled slowly, but the breath came out shaky and uneven.

I turned my head toward the other side of the bed.

Empty.

Dante still hadn’t come.

A strange ache settled in my chest. Something feels off, I cant put my finger into it.

With a quiet sigh, I forced myself out of bed and walked to the bathroom.

Cold water splashed against my face, shocking my senses awake. I lifted my head and looked into the mirror

and froze.

My lips looked...

Too flushed.

Slightly swollen.

I leaned closer, tilting my head.

Did I bite them in my sleep?

It wouldn’t be surprising. I had a terrible habit of biting my lips whenever I was anxious or in pain. And last night... last night had been a nightmare in every possible way.

Still, something about it felt off.

I stared at my reflection for a few more seconds before straightening.

No.

I didn’t have time to obsess over a swollen lip.

Not when I only had one week left.

Just as I stepped out, I saw Alina standing there, holding a glass. I narrowed my eyes,

"I am pretty sure you had a bad headache last night, Lady Viella," she said, dragging out the title with a mocking clearly visible in her voice. "So, I brought you this drink."

I crossed my arms slowly. "How considerate. Should I be flattered, or should I assume a marely maid like you became bolder to even come inside without permission"

Alina chuckled softly. Shockingly she wasn’t mad about calling her a maid.

"Still sharp-tongued. I was just worried last night might have broken you."

"And I was worried you’d choke on your own lies," I replied coolly. "Looks like we both survived." I said getting close to her.

"And since when did you start caring about my headaches, Alina?" I asked coldly.

"Since just now," she replied, her lips curling into a smirk. "I mean, we should be kind to those who are going to leave us soon, right?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Leaving? You sound awfully confident for someone who’s been living on borrowed luck."

"Oh?" Alina tilted her head. "You still think luck has anything to do with this?"

"Oh yah it’s not luck but Elias" I mocked, stepping forward and boldly taking the glass from her hand.

Alina’s glare sharpened. "Careful of your words. I am just going easy on you."

"So do I," I replied calmly, lifting the glass slightly.

"You’re still not scared, even after watching everything?" she hissed.

"This is Viella’s body. Her mind is my mind. And you think Viella was ever afraid of anything?" I leaned in close, whispering against her ear. "Remember how she was about to stab you to death instead of begging for mercy? Hmm?"

Her breath hitched.

"You felt it, didn’t you?" I murmured. "That moment when you realized the villainess wasn’t bluffing."

Alina shivered. I saw the flash of genuine terror in her eyes, but she quickly masked it with a forced smirk. "But in the end," she hissed, "I won."

"For now," I said softly.

Suddenly, the glass was snatched out of my hand. I turned to see Dante standing there, his eyes like ice. Great. Who pissed him off this early in the morning?

His gaze flicked between me and Alina, resting on her with a dark intensity....looked like possessiveness? Did I saw wrong?

"Didn’t I tell you to only serve me, Alina? And. No. One. Else," Dante said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low growl.

Instead of being terrified, Alina actually blushed.

She lowered her eyes slightly. "I was only trying to be helpful, Lord Dante."

Helpful. Right.

I looked between them, confused. Wait, Why is he acting so possessive like old Dante?

Besides, it wasn’t like I was actually going to drink whatever poison she’d brewed. He didn’t need to make such a dramatic scene.

Dante then pointed a finger at me. "And you. Leave this room. You’ll be sleeping in the guest room from now on. Don’t think just because our wedding is in six days that I’ll let you roam freely in my space."

At the mention of the wedding, Alina’s mouth twitched with suppressed rage.

Her fingers curled tightly at her sides.

"Six days," she repeated quietly, eyes flicking toward me. "How... soon."

"Seriously?" I snapped, "You’re acting like it wasn’t you who locked me in your room in the first place. It’s not like I wanna be near yo-"

I stopped mid-sentence.

Dante was looking at me with a cold stare

"Good thing you don’t want to be near me," he said.

My heart skipped a beat.

Why did that feel like it had different meaning behind those

He didn’t say, I don’t want you near me

He said, You don’t want to be near me.

"Whatever," I muttered, shooting him a suspicious look before turning on my heel and walking out. I knew it something was strange.

Just as I walked out, Alina followed close behind.

"Don’t think just because Dante mentioned the wedding it means you’re actually going to marry him," she hissed into my ear. "In the end, the bride will be me." She brushed past my shoulder, her voice dropping to a chill. "Like I said, the plot is getting fixed...First Nonna now Dante. One by one everyone will leave your side and will be mine."

As she walked past, a sudden, heavy sensation hit my hand. The engagement ring, the one I had tried to pull off a dozen times without success, suddenly slipped from my finger.

It hit the marble floor with a sharp clack and shattered into a dozen glittering pieces.

I narrowed my eyes. I had used soap, oil, everything to get that ring off, and it hadn’t budged. But the moment she spoke those words, it broke?

So, Alina was telling the truth. The "story" was forcing its way back on track. Otherwise I expected Dante to remove her head the moment he returns not take her side.

I stared at the shattered remains of the ring on the cold marble. As I crouched down to inspect, something caught my eye.

I picked it up. It was a microscopic chip, barely the size of a grain of sand. I knew it I was right. Tsk tsk.

"Vivien you’re genius but your Brain is slow af"

I looked at the broken piece of tech, I ground the chip between my fingers until I heard it crunch.

"Seems like I am no longer bound to Dante’s little chain," I whispered. "Which also means he will no longer know what’s happening around me"

"Well, isn’t it good? I can just leave them be. Let those male lead and female lead finish their chemistry and I silently disappear," I whispered. "If they were busy with their ’plots,’ it would give me the perfect window to slip away before the week was up"

But the moment the words left my lips, the world tilted.

A sudden, white-hot flash of pain lanced through my skull, far worse than the one from the night before. My knees buckled, and I had to grab onto the railing to keep from hitting the floor.

The pain throbbed in sync with my heartbeat.

A maid’s voice came, She was trembling, her hands clutching a duster so hard her knuckles were white.

"L-Lady Viella?" she stuttered, her eyes on my pale, sweating face. "Are you... are you fine? Should I... should I call for the doctor?

"I... I’m fine," I gasped, though my breath was shallow.

"Then Lord Dante has prepared your room. Let me take you there," the maid whispered, her head bowed so low she was practically staring at her own feet.

I followed her through the winding corridors. As we moved, I could feel the atmosphere of the mansion shifting in real-time. Every servant we passed froze, their gazes, which had been warm and respectful only yesterday, had transformed overnight. The old look of raw, paralyzing fear was back.

We reached the guest wing, and she opened the door to my new room. I stepped inside and paused. The room looked normal yet I can see some slight changes which only my original self can see.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my head still throbbing, trying to make sense of what was happening, a sharp knock came at the door. I looked up to see Lily slipping inside, her face looked troublesome.

"What happened, Lily?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"My lady, something is very strange,"

she began,

"Since the moment Lord Dante returned, he looks... different. It seems he had been to Lord Elias’s mansion yesterday night"

My heart skipped.

Does that mean Elias did something to him that’s why he’s acting like this? I didn’t mention Elias’s visit, instead giving her a sharp look to continue.

"Afterwards, Lord Dante came back and he personally removed all your pictures from the gallery and burned down your files," she continued,

"He ordered his men to investigate Alina again. I don’t get it, my lady. We already did that and found nothing before. Also... Lord Dante knows how vicious Alina is. He was the one who ordered me to kill her-"

Suddenly, Lily zipped her mouth shut, her face going deathly pale. She looked at me with wide, terrified eyes, realizing she had let a secret slip.

I stared at her, the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place. The way Lily had been so adamant that Alina "couldn’t die"... the way she watched her with a mixture of hate and hesitation.

"So this is why you didn’t want me to know," I said, my voice cold as ice as I stepped toward her. "Since it was Dante’s order to kill Alina."

Lily stayed shut, her head bowing low.

If Dante wanted her dead, why was he playing the part of her lover now?

seems like i have to investigate what excatly is happening....

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TO BE CONTINUED