No One’s Pov

The day passed in the blink of an eye, and before Vivien knew it, morning had arrived.

She was currently having the most peaceful sleep of her entire life.

In her dream, she was sitting at a grand feast, about to bite into a massive, golden piece of crispy fried chicken. But just as her teeth were about to sink into it, the giant chicken fry suddenly exploded with a loudbuzz, completely shattering her dream.

Waking up with a jolt, she realized the buzzing was actually her phone vibrating next to her pillow.

"Who on earth dared to disturb my beautiful sleep..." she groaned, sitting up and wiping a stray line of drool from her chin. But the exact second her blurry eyes focused on the caller ID, her eyelids flew wide open in pure terror.

The Grumpy Suit.

She cleared her throat frantically and pressed the button. "G-Good morning, boss!"

She glanced at the wall clock. It wasn’t even office hours yet, she didn’t have any morning college lectures, and the exclusive birthday party wasn’t until late in the evening. Why on earth was this man calling her at the crack of dawn?!

"Get downstairs," his deep command came through the speaker.

"Huh?" Vivien blinked, completely confused.

Before she could even ask why, the line went dead. Panicking, she threw off her blanket and ran straight out to her small balcony, peeking over the railing. Her jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Standing right there on the narrow street was a multimillion-dollar luxury car- and the devil himself was leaning against it, waiting for her!

"Shit, shit, shit!" Vivien screamed. She didn’t waste a single second. She grabbed the first random t-shirt and pants she could find in the dark, washed her face and sprinted down the stairs.

Dominic stood by the car door, his icy gaze tracking the panting girl as she burst out of the building. His eyebrows slowly raised in disbelief. Her hair looked like a literal bird’s nest, the colors of her mismatched clothes was an eyesore and to top it all off, she was wearing two completely different slippers on her feet.

Up in the driver’s seat, the assistant caught a glimpse of her through the window and let out a sudden choke, turning red as he desperately tried to hold back his laughter.

Vivien followed Dominic’s gaze down to her feet and instantly blushed hard with embarrassment. "T-This is not my fault!" she muttered defensively, avoiding his eyes. "You’re the one who called me in the exact middle of my peaceful sleeping time..."

"So," Dominic said, stepping closer, his voice dropping "Do you want me to formally apologize for disturbing your precious sleep, Miss Vivien?"

"How could I ever ask for that?!" Vivien forced a fake smile onto her face, bowing slightly. "Of course you are allowed to call your employee at any time, boss!"

But deep, deep down inside her mind, she was aggressively screaming: "Heck yeah, I want you to apologize! I want you to get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness, you giant block of ice!"

Dominic stared at her twitching smile for a moment, sensing her rebellious thoughts. Feeling satisfied with her obedience, he simply turned around and opened the passenger door.

"Get into the car," he ordered coldly.

Vivien sat completely still in the seat, staring straight ahead. She hadn’t even given her permission, she hadn’t gotten the chance to properly change, and now this man was hijacking her entire morning to take her who-knows-where!

Suddenly, a loud grumble echoed through the quiet car. Her stomach had completely betrayed her. Vivien’s face flushed and she quickly looked out the window, praying he hadn’t heard it.

Suddenly, a neatly wrapped sandwich appeared right in front of her face.

She blinked, her eyes widening in surprise as she looked from the sandwich up to Dominic’s indifferent expression. Silently, she took it from his hand. "Thank you," she muttered under her breath.

But the moment she took a bite, her jaw nearly dropped. She had fully expected it to be some sort of tasteless, hyper-healthy green wrap, considering how much a billionaire like him probably hated greasy, calorie-heavy comfort food. But to her utter shock, it was a classic, savory breakfast sandwich- the exact greasy, cheesy kind that Vivien absolutely loved eating after a long night.

Did he... did he actually buy this specifically for me? she wondered, her heart beating faster Did he know I would be starving?

She tried to deny the thought, but everything pointed to it. No, no, no! Stop it, Vivien! Don’t you dare fall for these subtle, handsome gestures! I already had enough rich-people drama in last lifetime, I don’t need it any more!

Before she could spiral further into her thoughts, the car smoothly came to a stop in front of a private salon building.

Dominic opened his door and stepped out, and Vivien quickly swallowed her last bite of food and followed him.

Waiting right by the entrance were the two female employees Dominic had assigned to her the day before. They looked like soldiers ready for a top-secret mission.

"Prepare her before 7 PM," Dominic ordered coldly.

"Yes, boss! Leave it to us!" they chimed excitedly.

Without giving Vivien a single second to protest, the two women immediately grabbed her by both arms and began dragging her forcefully inside the salon.

"Wait! Isn’t it a bit too early for this?! It’s literally morning! Heyyy! Let me go!" Vivien yelled, her mismatched slippers scuffing against the floor. But no one listened to her tragic cries as the salon doors shut tight behind them.

The two stylists stepped back, crossing their arms as they scanned Vivien from head to toe.

Vivien stood there under the bright studio lights, shifting her weight awkwardly from one mismatched slipper to the other.

"Oh Lord... this is going to take a really long time," one of them sighed, shaking her head.

"Huh- " Vivien opened her mouth to ask what they meant, but before she could utter another syllable, she was swept into a whirlwind. For the next several hours, Vivien felt less like a human being and more like a luxury sports car getting buffed, polished, and detailed. Her skin was scrubbed, her eyebrows were threaded, her nails were manicured, and her chaotic hair was washed, treated, and styled by a team of professionals. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

6:30 PM

"And... we are finally done! Open your eyes, sweetie."

Vivien slowly blinked her eyes open and stood up to face the grand mirror. The moment her gaze hit the glass, her breath completely caught in her throat. Her eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively stumbled back a little, her heel clicking against the floor.

The stylists gathered around her, beaming with immense pride.

"Oh my lord, you are an absolute beauty! I have never seen such a stunning girl in my entire life," one of them gasped, clasping her hands together.

"I knew it!" the other chimed in. "I saw the potential the exact moment she walked through that door. She could easily be a top-class runway model. Now I completely see why Mr. Valente chose her! They are going to look absolutely perfect together tonight!"

Vivien turned a completely deaf ear to their excited chatter. The background noise faded as she remained entirely frozen, staring deeply into her own reflection.

Her thick, bulky glasses had been completely replaced by bright comfortable contact lenses that made her eyes look wide and piercing. But it was her hair that made her blood run cold. It had been dyed a deep wine-red the exact, rich shade Viella originally had.

Her messy bangs had been trimmed and swept back, revealing the elegant, clean structure of her face. Her skin looked flawlessly soft, radiant, and milky under the lights.

It didn’t look like Vivien anymore. It looked like Viella herself had stepped right out of the book and come to life.

A sudden chill swept through her body, and her hands began to tremble slightly. She turned to the stylists, her voice barely a whisper. "Is... is this exactly how Mr. Valente wanted me to look?"

The women nodded. "Yes! He gave us very specific instructions about the hair color and making sure your face wasn’t hidden behind those glasses."

Vivien’s eyes widened further, a deep unease washing over her. She had genuinely no idea that her natural features could resemble Viella this much and she had absolutely no idea why Dominic Valente was trying to turn her into the character he doesn’t even know existed.

___________

Dominic stood leaning against the side of his car, looking effortlessly dashing. He was dressed in a "old money" style tuxedo. He wore a black jacket structured with satin peak lapels over a pleated white dress shirt.

He leaned down, checking his watch with a slight frown. But the moment the glass doors of the salon clicked open and soft footsteps approached, his head snapped up.

There she stood, looking breathtakingly beautiful.

Vivien was wearing a sexy gown that perfectly complemented her body. The dress featured a cowl-neck satin bodice that draped over her collarbones, while the back dipped into a low, open.

Vivien looked down at Dominic, thousands of questions racing through her mind. For some strange reason, she felt genuinely scared. The very moment their gazes locked, she froze in her tracks.

He looked so much like Dante Valerio Moretti tonight- especially with that classic old-money styling. This couldn’t just be a coincidence anymore.

Looking at him standing there she felt a sudden urge to turn and run, fearing he was going to walk over, trap her against the car, and cage her completely.

But instead, Dominic merely scanned her body from head to toe, his expression remaining perfectly frosty.

"As expected, these colors suit you. Now get in, we are already getting late," he said coldly, turning around to open the passenger door for her without a single trace of emotion.

Vivien stared at him, her jaw dropping slightly in disbelief. Can this giant block of ice not at least give me a single compliment after I sat in a chair for ten hours?!

She huffed, sliding into the seat, and Dominic quickly closed the door, walking around to get into the driver’s side.

As they drove out onto the main highway, the silence in the car became too loud for Vivien to bear. She turned her head, nervously gripping her dress.

"I heard from the stylists... that you had specifically ordered this exact style for me, boss," she started, her eyes searching his profile. "Why did you- "

Before she could finish her sentence, his deep voice interrupted her.

"It was just my assistant’s idea," Dominic said smoothly, his eyes focused entirely on the road ahead. "He has been completely obsessed with some trashy web novel character lately. So don’t go feeling anything special, Miss Vivien. To me, you are still just an ordinary assistant."

"Oh," Vivien muttered, her voice dropping as she quickly looked out the side window.

So it was just the yapper assistant’s doing... For some bizarre reason, a sharp pang of disappointment flared up in her chest.

However, because she was staring blindly at the passing streetlights, Vivien completely failed to notice the unhinged madness swirling inside Dominic’s dark eyes.

She couldn’t see the way his knuckles were turning completely white against the steering wheel, desperately holding himself back from letting the beast inside him completely break free.

As he stole a quick lingering glance at her exposed shoulders through the reflection of the glass, a dark satisfied smirk crept onto his lips.

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TO BE CONTINUED