Dante's POV
The office was quiet. Too quiet.
Only the steady scratch of my pen against the paper filled the space, documents everywhere.
Mind is messy. I dont know what i was feeling....
Emotion? Emotion was the enemy of mankind.
Theres no place for emotions in this world. I leaned that at very young age.
Every people in this world is hungry for power. Theyre ready to worship the one with power. And the powerless ones? Theyre fragile enough to get crushed by this cruel world.
Suddenly my thoughts got interrupt
Came a small voice.
Soft. Like a small breeze slipping through a locked window. My hand paused for half a second over the paper.
Her.
The girl I bought. The girl whose parents didn't even flinch when they gave her away. No name. Just a receipt and a price.
I didn't do it out of pity. I don't have that kind of weakness in me.
She was useful. That was all.
Or that's what I told myself.
She stepped inside my office- a sweet vanilla fragnance hit my nostrils.
i was only familiar with the smell of blood and expensive girls perfumes, someone's thoughts came into my mind
Then she placed the coffee gently on my desk, bowed her head slightly, and turned to leave.
Not a word more. No smile. No fake flirting. No clumsy attempts to be "noticed."
She just did what she came for and left.
It should've ended there. Like every other girl before her.
But my eyes lingered on the door after it shut.
And my thoughts keep going back to her.
Why?
Why her?
She was plain. Obedient. Soft-spoken. Everything I normally ignore.
But there was something... still about her. Something unsettling.
She didn't fight or cry or seduce. She just existed. In a space no one else dared occupy around me.
And somehow, that space now felt wrong when she wasn't in it.
I feel my headache fade away whenever shes around me.
I shoved the thought away. I had more important things to deal with tonight. The party. The press. All those fake faces..
And of course...her.
My fiancée.
I felt my jaw tighten at the thought.
That woman made my blood boil.
Always clinging to me like I was some trophy she already won. Her laughter too loud, perfume too harsh, skin always exposed like she had nothing else to offer. She even tried to drug her and strip naked infront of me, as if it interested me
I hated everything about her. Her voice, her touch, the way she always inserted herself into my space as if I wouldn't notice. Making her man watch me 24\7. I looked outside the window and can see them already trying to hide. i smirked
"Stupid just like their owner" I signalled my man and they knew what to do.
Tonight , I knew what she'd do. But i am still eager to know what will she have for me now. Wonder if she learned her lesson yet not not
✄┈┈
At the party
All my thoughts from before crashed the moment my eyes landed on her.
She looked... different. She wore a simple grey dress that held her body well. Even the simple makeup, finally showing her pale skin instead of those some fake tanned skin.
It made her look like exactly when i first saw her 7 years ago.
i shook my head. it cant be, shes not the same person anymore. whatever it was,
It was... tolerable. Unexpectedly.
But even that felt fake.
A new mask. A new game. A new way to make me look twice.
And worse? It worked.
I hated her for that.
Even the way she walks changed. Her bold expression changed. Am i even seeing the same person anymore? No one can change overnight.
As if I wouldn't see through it.
As if I wouldn't taste the desperation beneath the surface.
I approached her, expecting the usual scene. Arms wide. Voice shrill. Attention-hungry and cloying.
But she Didn't move toward me.
Didn't speak.
So i did what i always do, piss her off
"Seems like youre all fine now. Even found a new way to draw my attention to you? Nice seducing skills I have to say.
What a Pathetic little thing"
she didnt said anything infact just stared at me.
then,
She passed by like I was just another body in the room.
Does she think this ignoring game can make me chase her?
I am Dante Moretti. My name makes men tremble and women chase me like moths to fire.
And she thought she could just walk past? Try to insult me?
My smile was cold as ice.
i can see her stood still and turn back to me waving awkwardly.
i walked straight towards her with cold expression. i noticed her tremble, smirked and walked away.
I still had the effects on her but this time it was different, I can see fear in her eyes not lust. Was i too harsh at her last time? in the end she deserved it.
during the whole event, my eyes kept going back and forth towards her. Expectedly Unexpectedly.
I noticed few, no nearly all men kept eyeing her,
I moved towards her, leaving the important conversation hanging.
i got close enough to feel her stiffen. I leaned in, voice like sharp
"It's really annoying to see you all pretending. At this point I don't know if u want my attention or everyone else's" Dante said as he looked around the guys who were particularly gawking at her
just so you know...I'm only tolerating you because you're my business partner's daughter.
But don't confuse that with patience. My patience has limits. I don't owe you kindness.
And I won't be tolerating this little act and what u did in past again and again."
She didn't respond.
Good.
I walked away, letting a smirk tug at my mouth.
Let her keep playing her game.
✄┈┈
Viellas pov
The party buzzed with low jazz music and clinking glasses. Guest everywhere laughing talking.
while me? i sat near the long buffet table, chewing thoughtfully on a flaky pastry filled with something buttery and probably expensive. I had one hand around a cocktail shrimp and another dangerously close to scooping more pasta.
"Okay, this is sinfully good. I could die tomorrow and still be happy wait, no. Plot. Plot wants me dead. Put the fork down,"
But the pasta was creamy. I am too weak for creamy pastas.
I was halfway of finishing it then suddenly i felt a stare i looked back,
Dante
i froze like a squirrel who just got caught.
--------------
No ones pov
Across the room, Dante's eyes had landed on Viella, his expression unreadable, icy, observant, His drink paused mid-air as he observed the odd sight in front of him.
She's eating, he thought. She used to call this food 'greasy garbage for desperate souls,' but now look at her.
She was chewing. With purpose. And joy?
His gaze narrowed slightly.
Is this her new tactic? Trying to act low-maintenance now? Another attention game?
But before he could mentally dissect her further, his gaze drifted
and landed beside her.
Alina.
The timid, shy girl nervously held a tray of drinks, eyes cast downward, as if afraid of the room she had walked into. A strand of hair fell into her face as she gave a soft smile to a guest who took a glass. She barely looked up, her shoulders hunched, fragile like a glass doll trying not to crack.
Dante's gaze softened.
Just a little.
It was the most emotion he had shown all night.
Vivien , still holding a forkful of lasagna midair, followed his gaze and almost choked.
Oh no. There she is. The FL. The soft sunshine girl who melts hearts and causes bloodbaths by breathing too kindly.
She dropped her fork with a clink.
"NOPE."
The word escaped her lips before she could help it, and several heads turned in confusion. She cleared her throat and tried to act normal, straightening her posture.
"Okay okay okay this is the part where things go downhill. He's supposed to fall for her now. If I stay near the food, I die. If I talk to him, I die. If I breathe too hard in her direction, I DIE."
Her eyes darted around for the nearest exit.
Meanwhile, Dante's eyes flicked back to her again.
He had noticed the way she froze. The panic behind her casual chewing. The strange expressions flickering across her face like she was arguing with an invisible narrator.
What is she even thinking...?
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TO BE CONTINUED..