No Ones Pov

Dominic walked into his grand bedroom, his mind completely reeled by the intoxicating memory of the night before. Without turning on the lights, he stripped off his clothes and went straight into the bathroom, turning the shower knob, letting the cold water hit his body. He needed to cool his body down.

Standing under the freezing spray, he rested his hands against the marble wall and let out a heavy huff. Even the icy water couldn’t erase the burning sensation on his skin. Every time he closed his eyes, he was back in her dark bedroom, leaning over her sleeping figure.

Those soft, yielding lips... the shockingly sweet taste of her. Dominic let out a low, frustrated groan, his hand moving down his body as the memory consumed him.

A few minutes later, he stepped out of the steaming bathroom. A towel was wrapped loosely around his low, toned waist, clinging to his damp skin. Even the cold shower hadn’t completely subdued the intense arousal still visible beneath the fabric.

Ignoring the tight ache in his lower body, Dominic walked over to his grand desk. He flipped open his laptop, instantly bringing up the hidden security feed of Vivien’s apartment. He stared at the screen, she was still sleeping peacefully in the same position. Not aware of the impact she did on him.

Closing the laptop, his sharp eyes landed on the book he had stolen from her nightstand. He picked it up.

"Stuck in a Mafia Romance... huh?" Dominic murmured, reading the title page. An amused smirk touched his lips.

He leaned back in his chair and began turning the pages. As he read through the first Chapters, his gaze locked onto a recurring name: Dante.

Dominic paused, his chest rising and falling. He analyzed the sentences, reading the dialogue and the descriptions. Slowly, the realization washed over him- Dante wasn’t a real person. He wasn’t a secret lover Vivien knew in real life. He was just a fictional character.

An unexpected wave of relief settled in Dominic’s chest, taking away the harsh jealousy that had been eating at him all morning. But almost instantly, a new feeling of irritation took its place. So she’s infatuated with a fictional man? he thought, his jaw tightening as he stared at the book. What’s so good about him? He’s just words on paper.

Determined to see how far her obsession went, Dominic kept turning the pages, reading the third Chapter feeling bored.

Suddenly, his hand froze over the paper.

His eyes locked onto a specific name.

"Viella..." Dominic muttered the word aloud into the quiet room.

The moment the name left his lips, a strange sensation occured in his body. The word felt incredibly familiar. A sudden, unexplained fire started to burn deep inside his chest, making his heart race as he stared down at the name.

Before he could turn the page to read any further, or even glimpse the character fanart, a knock interrupted him.

Dominic’s expression instantly turned icy. He closed the book with a *thud*, his dark mood returning. "Enter," he commanded.

The door clicked open, and his personal assistant stepped into the room, practically trembling from head to toe. The man kept his eyes glued firmly to the floor, terrified of catching a glimpse of his boss’s half-naked physique. He held out a thin folder with shaking hands.

"B-Boss... the file you asked for regarding that mysterious author," the assistant stammered, "I apologize... we conducted deep, thorough research across every database, yet we couldn’t find many details. We only managed to uncover his famous book titles, his birthdate, and the locations of his past public signings. That’s all. In fact... his legal name is completely hidden from public records. It seems like someone far more powerful is intentionally trying to cover up his identity."

Dominic’s eyes narrowed. He reached out and snatched the folder from the assistant’s hands. "Far more powerful?" he murmured, a mocking smirk touching his lips. In this world, very few people possessed more leverage than a Valente. "Hmm... find out exactly who is supporting him behind the scenes. Trace the financial roots of his publishing house."

"Yes, sir! Right away, sir!" The assistant bowed quickly, feeling an immense wave of relief wash over him. He mentally thanked the heavens, thinking he had miraculously kept his job and his life.

But just as the man turned around and was about to sprint out of the terrifying room, Dominic’s deep voice rang out once again, halting him dead in his tracks.

The assistant froze, his entire body going rigid. Is he going to fire me now? Or worse... am I getting sent to the basement? he thought in a panic. Trembling violently, he slowly turned his head back, forcing a shaky smile. "Y-yes, boss?"

Dominic picked up the book from the corner of his desk and slid it across the smooth surface. "Do some thorough research about this book, and the fictional characters behind them. I want a full breakdown."

The assistant looked down at the book sliding toward him. Just a few seconds ago, he had been ecstatic to finally finish his exhausting shift, but now, he secretly wanted to die. He stared blankly at the cover, Stuck in a Mafia Romance? Like, seriously?! His terrifying, cold-blooded billionaire boss wanted a high-level corporate intelligence team to research some stupid, teenage fantasy novel written by a mysterious author?

Despite the sheer absurdity of the task, the assistant didn’t dare utter a single complaint. He quickly picked up the book bowed low, and left the room as fast as his legs could carry him, silently crying inside over his ruined sleep schedule.

Dominic completely ignored his assistant’s deeply disappointed and bewildered look. He stood up from his desk, let the towel drop, and changed into comfortable sweatpants before sliding into his king-sized bed.

Leaning back against the pillows, he stared up at the dark ceiling. The icy anger from earlier had completely melted away, replaced by a strange sense of anticipation. He honestly couldn’t wait for tomorrow morning to arrive. He couldn’t wait to see what his intriguing little bunny had in store for him. Every single day, she managed to cause some brand-new form of trouble, and Dominic was finding it to be the most entertaining game he had ever played.

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"Da..... Da... Dante... why.... stop..."

The words were blurry, echoing through a thick, heavy fog. Dominic couldn’t see anything clearly in front of him at first, but the sound of that soft, breathless girl’s voice drew him forward. He walked closer through the haze, the surroundings slowly solidifying into a bedroom. It looked shockingly similar to his own grand room, but with slight changes in the decor.

Then, his eyes narrowed as the scene came into focus.

A girl was pinned beneath a strong arm on the mattress.

"Dante!" her voice rang out again, a desperate plea. Her striking red hair spread across the white sheets, and a man was leaning over her, trailing kisses down her neck.

Dominic’s eyes snapped open in the dark. He sat up abruptly in his bed, his chest heaving as he stared into the empty, quiet room.

It was the same woman from his recurring dreams. But this time... there was another man with her? And the fact that the man’s name in the dream was Dante... The very same fictional character from that book?

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his temples. His head started to throb violently.

Ignoring the nagging ache, he forced himself out of bed and went straight to the bathroom to wash up, splashing freezing water onto his face to shake off the remnants of the dream.

When he stepped back out into the bedroom, his eyes immediately fell on the file his assistant had left on the desk.

Dominic walked over, picked it up, and flipped through the pages again. Just as his assistant said, there was absolutely nothing special. Just basic public records, dates, and highly protected aliases.

But a thought struck him. Why was Vivien looking for this specific author in that event? To the core that she had to sneak in?

It looked more and more like Vivien and this faceless writer actually knew each other. Dominic’s mind flashed back to the convention center, specifically the moment Vivien had sneaked into the green room disguised as a staff member. He remembered it vividly- right before the author had put his mask back on, the man had turned his head and locked his eyes directly with Dominic’s.

It was a look of provocation. The guy had been mocking him.

Indeed, something massive was going on right under his nose, and the fact that he couldn’t quite put his finger on the truth was irritating him more than anything else. Vivien, the author, the name Dante, the woman with the red hair... the strings were all connected, and he was determined to pull them until the whole puppet show collapsed.

Dominic took out Vivien’s personal background records, his eyes scanning past the basic financial details until they locked onto a specific medical log.

According to the official records, Vivien had been in a deep coma for five entire months, waking up only recently.

His dark brows furrowed deeply. He hadn’t paid much attention to her medical history before. But now, with everything overlapping, he needed to know exactly what had happened during those five blank months. What could have possibly caused her to slip into a coma?

Without wasting another second, he pulled out his phone and dialed the hospital listed on the sheet.

"Hello, this is the reception desk at City General Hospital. How can I help you today?" a polite female voice answered.

"I need detailed medical information about a past patient," Dominic commanded, his voice cold as he provided Vivien’s full name, date of birth, and admission dates.

There was a brief pause on the other end as the receptionist typed into her computer. "I am sorry, sir, but hospital policy strictly states we cannot provide private medical information to outsiders. Unless you are an immediate family member, I cannot help you." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Dominic’s jaw tightened. "I am her..." He stayed silent for a brief moment, his dark eyes flashing in the empty room as the word caught in his throat. Then, he forced it out. "...boyfriend."

"Oh. And your name, sir? For the verification log?"

"Dominic Valente."

The line instantly went dead quiet. The sound of rapid typing completely ceased. On the other end of the phone, the receptionist’s heart practically stopped in shock. Oh my god... THE Dominic Valente? The most famous, powerful, and ridiculously handsome billionaire businessman in the country was calling her desk?!

When she finally spoke again, her entire tone changed, turning incredibly sweet.

"O-Oh! Mr. Valente! Yes, sir! Please forgive me, I didn’t recognize your voice at first. I will happily let you know all the information you need. Just ask whatever you want, sir!"

Dominic ignored her sudden flattery, his mind focused entirely on the mystery. He knew Vivien’s exact financial situation, and he knew her family didn’t have the kind of massive wealth required to sustain five months in an intensive care unit.

"Has her medical bill been paid in full?" Dominic asked smoothly.

"Yes, sir," the receptionist answered quickly, checking the screen. "The account balance is completely cleared."

Dominic leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Who paid it?"

The receptionist hesitated, humming as she clicked on the billing history. "Let me check the financial transaction signature... Oh, here it is. It’s..."

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TO BE CONTINUED