No One’s Pov

Reaching home, Amelia started throwing things across the room. A crystal vase shattered against the wall, followed by an expensive makeup organizer. She was so pissed, she wanted nothing more than to kill that girl!

Her assistant stood beside her quietly, keeping her head down, absolutely terrified of angering her mistress even more.

"Where’s the file?!" Amelia snapped, her voice screeching through the lavish apartment.

"H-here, Miss Amelia," the assistant whispered, quickly handing over the folder.

Before today, Amelia had thought that clumsy girl wasn’t such a big deal, so she hadn’t bothered to check the background check file.

But now, after being humiliated at the restaurant, Vivien was definitely a threat.

Amelia ripped the folder open and scanned the pages. She saw nothing but a boring description. Vivien lived in a small apartment, went to a regular college, and had a mountain of student debt. There was absolutely nothing special about her! Then why is Dominic even interested in her?! Amelia thought, her teeth grinding.

Then, her eyes landed on Vivien’s full name written in bold letters. She stopped, raising her eyebrows. Vivien... Why did it feel like she had heard this name somewhere before? It felt strangely familiar,

Needing answers, she grabbed her phone and dialed a familiar number. The call picked up after a few rings.

"Who is Vivien?" Amelia demanded without even saying hello.

The man on the other side only let out a low chuckle. "You called me just to ask that? Tsk. I am busy preparing for tomorrow’s event, Amelia. Don’t bother me right now."

Amelia’s grip tightened on the phone. "You chuckled! That means you definitely, definitely know someth—"

Before she could finish her sentence, the line went dead. He had cut the call.

Amelia screamed in frustration and wanted to throw her phone against the wall, but she stopped herself. Instead, she quickly dialed a completely different number- one she used for dirty work.

The call connected, and a rough voice answered.

"I just sent you a picture and information about a girl," Amelia ordered, her voice cold and venomous. "Kidnap her and throw her away somewhere far. I don’t care what you do with her, just make sure she disappears."

She slammed the phone down on the table. Beside her, her assistant stood completely silent, trembling as she realized just how far Miss Amelia was willing to go to get rid of Vivien.

_______________

"Achoo!" Vivien sneezed loudly into her quiet bedroom.

She rubbed her nose, sniffing. Was someone talking about me behind my back? she wondered. But the moment she settled back into her bed, the memory of what happened in the kitchen flashed through her mind. She pictured herself humming and swaying, and then Dominic standing by the doorframe, watching her with that dark look.

Her face instantly flushed a deep shade of red. She groaned out loud, grabbing her pillow and burying her face under it to hide her embarrassment. "Damn it! I should have been more careful!"

The whole scene felt familiar. She remembered when she was dancing in Lucian’s house, completely unaware that Dante and Lucian was standing on the front door, watching her. That was the moment Dante had gotten more interested in her, and from there, his terrifying obsession had started.

Vivien shook her head violently under the pillow. No, no, no! I really don’t want any kind of dark romance obsession shit like that in real life! I really hope that grumpy suit just thinks I’m a total idiot and forgets the whole thing!

Suddenly, her eyes fell on her phone Oh, wait! I forgot to check on Amelia’s background earlier because of the slow car internet!

Spurred by a sudden burst of energy, she threw the pillow aside, sat up, and grabbed her phone.

Now that she was on her home Wi-Fi, the pages loaded instantly. She typed in Amelia’s name and started searching through the internet.

She scrolled past a bunch of articles and old photos of Amelia at various high-society galas. There were even a few viral tweets from random people praising her for being a kind, charitable angel who volunteered at orphanages, along with a bunch of "bla bla" PR nonsense.

Vivien scoffed, rolling her eyes. She really knows how to act for the cameras. No wonder she’s basically the real-life version of Alina.

Wanting to find a link to the whole transmigration mystery, Vivien searched further, trying to find any connection between Amelia and the author of the book, Elias. She combed through news articles, guest lists, and social media tags. Nothing. There wasn’t a single connection between them.

"Tsk," Vivien clicked her tongue in disappointment.

But just as she was about to close the tab, her eyes fell on the education section of Amelia’s biography. Her gaze locked onto the name of the high school Amelia had graduated from.

Suddenly, Vivien’s eyes widened in absolute shock, her thumb freezing over the screen.

That’s... that’s the exact same high school I apparently attended as well!

That school was an ultra-elite private high school where only the top 10% of rich kids could afford to go. Vivien had managed to get in on a rare, highly competitive academic scholarship.

A sudden, chilling thought struck Vivien’s mind.

If Amelia and I went to the same elite school... does that mean Dominic also went to that same high school?

Vivien quickly typed Dominic’s name into the search bar, scrolling frantically through his background and corporate profiles. But to her frustration, there was absolutely no mention of his high school or early graduation details. His public profile completely wiped out his teenage years, showing only his recent achievements as a powerful CEO.

"Tsk, there’s no information about it..." she muttered, tossing her phone onto the soft mattress beside her.

She leaned back against her headboard, staring up at the ceiling as her mind began to race.

It couldn’t be a coincidence. There seemed to be some sort of twisted connection between her, Amelia, and Dominic. It felt deliberate, as if Elias had personally bound their fates together in this world, just like he did with their characters in the book.

Suddenly, another thought clicked in her brain, making her sit up straight.

If I’m not wrong, and this woman really turns out to be Alina... and she actually knows the writer, and went to the same high school as me... does that mean this mystery writer, aka Elias, is also someone I know? 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

A chill ran down her spine. The pieces were starting to fit together. I might be wrong, but I’m definitely not entirely wrong, she reasoned, her eyes narrowing.

What if he also went to the exact same high school?

If Elias was a classmate from her past, it would explain how he knew her, why he wrote a book using faces from their real lives, and why she was brought into this mess in the first place.

Tomorrow’s author meeting wasn’t just a casual event anymore- it was the key to everything. She absolutely had to sneak in and see his face, no matter what!!

_______________

*Bzzz bzzz!*

Vivien’s phone vibrated beside her, shocking her awake. She blinked against the bright morning light flooding through her window and looked down at her screen.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she turned off the alarm.

The initial grogginess vanished the moment she remembered what day it was. Excitement washing over her, she cheerfully freshened up in the bathroom and hurried into the kitchen to wolf down a plain breakfast of toast and tea.

Hmm, the author program will start in two hours, she calculated, tapping her chin as she looked at the clock. So if I leave right now, I will have more than enough time to figure out a way to sneak past security and enter the venue...

She let out a satisfied hum. Besides, that grumpy suit won’t even be at the office today since he’s visiting his mom, so I don’t really have to worry about him catching me-

Suddenly, her phone rang, the loud ringtone cutting through her thoughts. Vivien looked down at the screen.

Speaking of the devil!

The caller ID brightly displayed Dominic’s name : Mr Grumpy Suit

she quickly pressed answer and brought the phone to her ear. Instantly, his deep icy voice traveled through the line.

"Be at the airport in two hours."

Vivien’s jaw dropped. "Huh?? But... why?!"

"I am leaving to visit my mother, and since you are my personal maid, shouldn’t you be joining me?" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Panic flared in Vivien’s chest. The airport?! No, no, no! If I get on a plane with him, I’ll completely miss the author meeting! My entire plan will be ruined!

Her brain went into absolute overdrive, desperately scanning for any excuse to get out of this. Suddenly, an idea rang a bell.

She pinched her nose to alter her voice and let out a series of dramatic fake coughs.

"Cough, cough! Mr. Valente... cough... as you can hear, I have a very bad cold," she whined, trying to sound as weak and pathetic as possible. "And a high fever, too... cough... I really can’t join you today, I apologize! I hope you have a safe and great journey!"

The other side of the line went completely dead. Silence stretched for what felt like an eternity.

Vivien held her breath, squeezing her eyes shut as she kept praying internally, please buy it, please buy it, please don’t come check on me...

"Fine," Dominic uttered flatly.

And with that single word, he cut the call.

Vivien slowly lowered the phone, staring at the black screen, completely dumbfounded. Huh? Did that arrogant, stubborn billionaire just agree to let her off that easily? No demands? No suspicious questioning? It felt way too easy, but she didn’t have time to overthink it.

"Whatever! A win is a win!" she cheered, throwing her arms in the air. Grabbing her bag, her thick glasses, and her notebook, she rushed out the door to catch a ride to the venue.

On the other side of the city, inside the luxurious VIP lounge of the airport, Dominic sat alone, staring down at his laptop.

The screenwas showing a live feed of a familiar small apartment building. Right on camera, the screen displayed the tiny girl running out of her house hurriedly, looking completely energetic and perfectly healthy as she checked her watch and rushed down the street.

Dominic leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes tracking her every movement on the screen.

"Sick, huh..." he muttered, his voice low.

A smirk played on his lips, but his eyes remained entirely cold. He had known the moment she started fake coughing into the call that she was pulling a fast one on him. But seeing her sprint like a track star just minutes after claiming she had a debilitating fever was almost amusing.

"Lying to me wasn’t a great choice, apparently, Miss Troublesome," he murmured to the empty room.

He closed the laptop. Standing up from his seat, he adjusted the cuffs of his shirt, slung his jacket over his arm, and walked away.

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TO BE CONTINUED