No Ones Pov
Vivien ducked lower behind a large potted palm tree, her eyes wide as she adjusted her cap. The person sitting across from Alia was a massive, intimidatingly bulky man with a rugged face and a jagged scar cutting across his jaw. He looked like he had crawled straight out of a dark action thriller.
Alia crossed her arms, trying to maintain her usual arrogant deanor, but her voice betrayed her nerves. "Finally! What took you so long?"
The scary man slowly raised his eyes, fixing her with a dark gaze that Alia visibly gulped, her confidence instantly evaporating.
Swallowing her fear, Alia reached into her bag, pulled out a photo of Vivien, and slid it across the table. "Whatever. Just look at this," she hissed, pointing a manicured nail at the image. "I want a hit on this girl. I know your crew never misses a target. In return, I can pay you absolutely whatever amount you demand!"
The assassin leaned forward, his hands resting on the table as he looked down at the photo of Vivien in her oversized glasses and ssy hair. He stared at it for a long, quiet mont, and then his shoulders began to shake.
He let out a mocking sneer that quickly turned into a deep rumble of laughter. "This girl?" he barked, throwing the photo back at Alia’s face. "You want a professional, high-level hitter to take down this tiny, pathetic little girl? What do you think of , a fool?!"
Alia flinched as the paper smacked her cheek. "Listen to , she’s-"
"Did you seriously call to a public place just to make a fool out of ?!" the man roared, slamd his fist onto the table. The heavy wood rattled violently, and the clinking of porcelain echoed through the quiet cafe.
Everyone turned their heads in absolute shock, and the waiters froze in their tracks, staring at the terrifying man who looked ready to snap Alia’s neck right then and there.
Behind the plant, Vivien covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Wow, Alia, she thought, imnsely amused. You really tried to hire a top-tier mafia assassin to take out a broke college student, and now you’re getting publicly humiliated. This is peak cody.
Before the bulky hitman could cause an even bigger scene, a gloved hand suddenly reached out, firmly pressing down on the man’s arm.
The newcor was wearing a dark jacket, a low-hanging baseball cap, and a black face mask. It was completely impossible to see his facial features, but his presence was instantly commanding.
"Here," the masked man said, his voice low. He slid a thick, heavy envelope across the table. "Ten thousand dollars for wasting your ti. I apologize on her behalf."
The hitman’s angry scowl slowly vanished as he picked up the envelope, flicking the edge to count the stack of hundred-dollar bills inside. A smirk crept onto his scarred face. "Good kid," he grunted, stuffing the money into his jacket.
He then turned a warning glare toward a trembling Alia. "I’m letting this pass for now. There better not be a next ti."
With that, the terrifying man slid out of the booth and walked out of the cafe, allowing the other custors to finally breathe a sigh of relief and look away.
The masked man slowly slid into the seat across from Alia. "If you ever dare to pull a stunt like this again, Alia, just know that I will not help you get away with it," he hissed.
His eyes traveled down to the photo of Vivien still lying on the table. He picked it up, his fingers brushing over her image with a strange, possessive intensity. "And if you dare to lay another hand on her- "
"Why can’t I?!" Alia interrupted him, slamming her hands on the table as her face twisted in a childish jealous pout. "I can do whatever I please! She is a literal bitch! Why do you care so much about her anyway? You didn’t even let hurt Viella back then, and now you’re protecting this nobody?!"
Behind the large potted palm, Vivien strained her neck, desperately trying to get a clearer angle to see the masked man’s face. But it was completely useless. His broad shoulders and the high back perfectly blocked her line of sight, leaving her with only guessing. Who was this guy?
"Listen, Alia, if your dumb brain can’t figure things out, then at least don’t do any more dumb shit!" the masked man snapped, his voice a whisper as he abruptly stood up from his seat.
He leaned in closer, his dark aura completely overwhelming her. "If you don’t take that warning... don’t forget what I am capable of doing to you."
With that chilling threat, he turned on his shoe and walked away. But after taking only a few steps, he suddenly stood completely still. His head snapped to the side, his gaze locking directly onto the exact potted palm tree where Vivien was hiding.
Seeing him turn so sharply, Vivien’s heart practically leaped out of her throat. She instantly dropped to the floor, crouching low behind the leaves and gulping in pure terror. Shit! Did he see ?! Is he coming over here?!
She held her breath, counting the seconds until she finally heard his heavy footsteps moving toward the exit.
Vivien popped her head up just in ti to watch him push through the glass doors of the cafe. As the bright sunlight hit him outside, his cap shifted slightly.
It was bright, unmistakable blonde hair.
ITS HIM! THE AUTHOR!!! she ntally scread, her eyes widening.
Her brain started spinning a hundred miles an hour. It ant her intuition was 100% correct! Alia was no one but Alina, and this mysterious author was Elias! And indeed they’re connected in real life!
Then suddenly sothing popped up in her head.
And if the author was real, and Alina was real... then that ant...
Dominic... is... Dante!
Vivien gulped hard, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. Holy mac and cheese!!!
"This is bad... this is real, real bad," Vivien muttered, her voice trembling as she remained crouched on the hard tile floor of the cafe.
She stared blankly at the potted plant, But as she forced herself to breathe, her logic slowly began to take over. Wait, think about it, Vivien, she told herself. According to Dominic’s actual behavior, it doesn’t make sense. If he really was the scary obsessive Dante, he would have either killed or locked in a dungeon by now. It seems like either he doesn’t recognize at all, or the author just used his face and personality as the inspiration for the book, aning he was never actually isekaid into the story.
A few custors passing by her side paused, staring down at the strange girl talking to herself on the floor, but she completely ignored their judgntal looks.
The only saving grace in this entire terrifying situation was her own face. In this real world, she looked like a completely ordinary, slightly nerdy with thick glasses and oversized clothes. She didn’t look like the stunning villainess Viella at all. Only her soul had been trapped inside Viella’s body during her coma. And there was absolutely no way Dominic could recognize her just by the shape of her soul.
Plus, Dante was just a fictional character written on paper. There was no way a book character could magically isekai into the real world... right?
She swallowed hard, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of her neck. Right. Fictional characters don’t just cross dinsions. That’s impossible.
Either way, she couldn’t take any chances. She needed to keep her distance from Dominic at all costs and make absolutely sure he never, ever associated her with the na Viella.
"I really need to quit this job and leave him as soon as humanly possible... dear Lord, please just help survive this!" she prayed fervently under her breath.
RING!!!
The sudden ringtone of her phone shattered the silence, making her jump straight into the air and nearly knock over the palm tree.
Vivien frantically fumbled with her phone, her eyes widening as she checked the digital clock on the screen. Damn it! Her thirty-minute lunch break was officially up. It was ti to return to the office imdiately. If she didn’t get back to the desk within the next five minutes, Dominic wouldn’t just be annoyed- that terrifying billionaire would literally kill her!
But before leaving she looked down at her phone once again and turned her face back to where Alia was sitting. The place was empty now, aning she has left. A smirk played on Vivien face and clicked on her phone for few minutes and left. "This will be the paycheck for trying to ss with .....Alina"
_____________
Dominic scratched his neck slightly, feeling a sudden, strange itch of irritation as he looked up from his desk. His eyes landed on his assistant, who was currently standing in front of him looking like a literal real-life zombie. The poor man had massive black circles under his eyes, his skin was deadly pale, and the lack of sleep was visible across his entire face.
"Did you do what I asked you to do?" Dominic asked, his voice flat.
The assistant nodded slowly, his movents stiff as he placed book back onto the desk. "Yes, boss..."
Originally, the man had absolutely hated the assignnt, wanting nothing more than to burn the stupid book. But the mont he had actually sat down and started reading the first few pages, he had gotten so intensely hooked that he spent the entire night devouring every single word. By the ti the sun ca up, he wasn’t just researching- he was fully invested.
And the villainess character nad Viella? She was his absolute favorite. He was practically ready to start a fan club for her.
"I can completely see why you chose this book, boss! This is aweso!" the assistant suddenly burst out, his professional mask slipping as he started fangirling aggressively. "The villainess, Viella, she is so cool! The way she took down those n of Elias with absolutely no fear? Phenonal! And oh my god, don’t even get started on Viella and Dante’s love story. The chemistry is absolutely dynamic!"
Hearing that na Viella, Dominic’s eyes narrowed. It felt like he already knew this na. His voice rang out, low and dropping the temperature in the room. "Viella... hmm...?"
"Yes, boss!" the assistant cheered. "And the craziest part is, she’s actually been isekaid!"
Dominic’s brows furrowed deeply. "What on earth is that?"
"It’s a Japanese pop-culture term, sir! It basically ans a person’s soul gets transported or reincarnated into a completely different dinsion or a fictional world," the assistant explained eagerly, waving his hands around.
"And yeah, what an absolute coincidence, the main character’s real na before getting trapped in the book is actually..."
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TO BE CONTINUED
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