Viella’s POV

"Damn! Can’t you make some noise while walking or something?" I gasped, clutching my chest. "Before they even get a chance to kill me, I’m going to drop dead from a heart attack because of you, Lily!"

Lily just stood there with that stone Faced composure of hers. "I apologize, my lady. But don’t worry, they can no longer harm you."

I narrowed my eyes, shifting my weight. "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Lily reached behind her back. With a slow motion, she pulled something out from the folds of her dark cloak.

My eyes nearly doubled in size. I froze, my breath hitching as I stared at the object in her hand.

"This..." I reached out, my fingers trembling. "This is the exact same dagger Viella drew in her dairy!"

Lily nodded, a small, rare spark of pride gleaming in her eyes. "It is the one, my lady."

"Is this why they were chasing you?!" I took it from her hand, feeling the weight of it.

Lily scratched the back of her head, looking bit uncomfortable. "Ahem... yes. I apologize for getting caught and causing such a scene."

I didn’t care about the scene. I didn’t care about the bullet holes or the ruined rugs. I lunged forward and threw my arms around her in a crushing hug.

"You have no idea what a huge favor you just did for me, Lily! Oh my god, I love you so much! Seriously, if you were a man, I would’ve just ditched this whole wedding and married you instead!"

I felt Lily stiffen in my arms, and for the first time, I saw a deep blush creep up her neck to the tips of her ears. She quickly hid her face against my shoulder, her voice muffled but flustered.

"M-my lady... please, do not say such scandalous things."

I finished the hug and looked closely at the dagger, and suddenly, I felt my entire body beginning to burn.

Lily noticed the way my breath hitched and asked, "Are you okay, my lady?"

I nodded, trying to steady my racing heart. "I’m fine. But Lily, how did you manage to find it? I don’t remember ever telling you about this."

Lily lowered her head, her voice dropping into a formal tone. "Well... the moment you mentioned shooting Alina and the rest, I knew something was fishy. So, instead of leaving as you ordered, I stayed behind the door and heard everything you said." She bowed deeply.

"I apologize for listening to your secret conversations, my lady. You can punish me."

I brushed it off with a quick wave of my hand. Punishment was the last thing on my mind.

"Does that mean you remembered everything from that night? The original timeline?"

She shook her head slowly. "No, my lady. But I can understand you. Because..."

Then, she told me everything, how she had killed Alina and how she had simply woken up the next day as if it were a dream. And how she suffered the punishment.

"So... that’s basically what happened..." I hummed, leaning back against the balcony railing.

"But why didn’t I feel any pain? If you felt the pain of the act but I didn’t... how is that possible?"

"That... I also don’t know, my lady," Lily said, her expression clouded with confusion.

"Alright, let’s leave it. It’s a good thing I didn’t feel the pain; instead, the plot just twisted and jumped us two days forward. But how did you actually manage to find the dagger?"

Lily stayed silent, her eyes darting away for a split second.

"Are you hiding something from me, Lily?" I asked, stepping closer and searching her face.

Lily finally looked me dead in the eye. "No, my lady. I just paid a visit to Elias’s mansion. I saw his men bringing the dagger in. It was the same one that had been used to kill my lady.." Her hand curled into a tight, white-knuckled fist at her side.

"I knew this was probably the one my lady wanted to find. It definitely had some special meaning to Elias, otherwise, he wouldn’t have looked so happy."

I nodded slowly. "Definitely... because this is the same dagger... that will take their lives in this world."

Lily gave a nod of agreement.

A dark smirk spread across my face as my eyes began to glow with a faint, predatory light

"Well, well... sounds interesting," I murmured, my thumb tracing the edge of the blade.

"Seems like tonight is definitely going to be fun."

I turned my focus on her and the fallen body, the glow in my eyes kept increasing. "Prepare for tonight, Lily. I want to be the most beautiful woman in the entire party. Let everyone see exactly who Dante Valerio Moretti’s fiancée and this world’s villainess really is."

Lily shivered. It was almost haunting how much my voice and the original Viella’s soul were beginning to sound like one and the same.

"Yes, my lady," she whispered, bowing low.

____________

"What do you mean there’s no update from them?!!"

Elias’s roar echoed through his study as he hurled his phone against the wall, the screen shattering into pieces. "Send more men! I don’t care! Find the dagger before midnight "

He cricled his room with rage "How come none of you could handle one single dagger?!" he screamed at the guards trembling by the door.

"You useless little things!"

Elias was furious. He couldn’t believe someone had literally stolen that dagger again. Under his nose, from his own fortress, while he was present! It felt like a deliberate slap in the face.

"Whoever this is... it doesn’t seem like it’s their first time stealing it, boss," his secretory stammered, keeping his head down. "I am assuming this person is the same culprit who stole it originally."

Elias slumped into his chair, his mind racing. He had been so certain that everything was in the palm of his hand. He was the puppeteer, the one who controlled the threads of this world. But now, the strings were snapping. His own plan was spiraling out of control.

"Who dared to outsmart me in my own game?" he whispered, his voice dropping to a chilling, low hum.

His eyes drifted to the framed photograph on his desk. It was a picture of Viella. He reached out, picking up a silver letter opener, and slowly dragged the sharp tip across the glass, right over her face.

"Is it you, Viella?" he hissed, the metal screeching against the glass. "If it’s you... I’ll make sure you regret ever waking up today."

"Boss," one of his men muttered, stepping cautiously into the room with his head bowed.

"Our men were last seen around Mr. Lucian’s house, and that was it. We have had no updates from them since then."

"Lucian, huh..." Elias’s eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on the scratched photograph of Viella. A cold, mocking smile spread across his face.

"You and your family really think you have a chance against me, Viella?"

He leaned back in his chair, a dark chuckle bubbling up in his throat. "Dante is my pawn, yet this family thinks they can mess with me without his help? They really don’t know who they are dealing with." He started laughing, a hollow sound that made the guards in the room shiver.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped. His face went cold as he looked over his men.

"Tonight, everyone will be busy at the party," Elias commanded. "During that time, I want you to search Lucian’s entire mansion. And don’t stop there, search Dante’s mansion as well. I can’t blindly believe he’s my puppet anymore, they could be cooking something up together behind my back."

The men nodded frantically, eager to escape the room. "Yes, boss. It will be done."

Elias turned his head toward the clock in the corner, watching the pendulum swing with a steady, rhythmic tick-tock.

"Just a few more hours, Viella," he whispered, his fingers tightening around the handle of the knife until his knuckles turned white. "I will make sure you regret everything you’ve done today. Every. Single. Thing."

___________

Viella stood before the full-length mirror, a sharp smirk playing on her lips. She wore a floor length, backless gown. The high slit up her left thigh revealed her elegant legs, while the plunging neckline was balanced by delicate gold chains draped across her bare back.

Her makeup was a flawless matte base, sharp winged eyeliner and a bold red lip. Her messy bun had been transformed into a stylish bun along with few strings of hair falling besides her face.

Lily looked at her with unbridled pride. Her lady was a perfect work of art, tonight, no one would be able to look away.

A heavy sound echoed from downstairs,

Lucian had arrived. He was dressed in a tailored, midnight-navy three-piece suit with a black silk lapel. A silver chain hung from his waistcoat, and his hair was swept back perfectly, making him look every bit the powerful head of the family.

As Viella began her descent down the grand staircase, Lucian froze. His troublesome younger sister had truly grown into a beautiful woman. He felt a fleeting surge of fatherly pride, but as soon as their eyes met, he masked it with his usual stoic mask.

"Tsk. You girls take entirely too long to get ready," he grumbled.

Viella rolled her eyes, her heels clicking on the marble. "Just say I look fabulous, Lucian. It won’t hurt your ego as much as you think."

"Bla, bla, bla," he muttered, but then his gaze shifted to Lily, who stood stoically behind her mistress. His brow furrowed. "Seriously? You’re going to the party wearing that?"

Lily looked down at her plain, high-collared black dress. "What is wrong with it, my lord?"

"You look like a damn math teacher," Lucian snapped.

Lily maintained her bored expression, though her eyes flickered with a hint of mischief. "And you look like a history teacher," she muttered under her breath.

Lucian’s eyebrows shot up. "Did you say something?"

She shook her head innocently. "No. I said you look very handsome, Lord Lucian."

Lucian let out a proud smirk, adjusting his cuffs. "Of course. I am the most gorgeous man in this family, after all."

Viella, already outside, leaned against the frame of the car and watched their interaction with an amused glint in her eyes. She cleared her throat loudly, cutting through their bickering.

Just as Lily started to walk toward the car, Lucian stepped in front of her. He signaled to one of the housemaids and told Lily to follow her.

"But we are already late-" Lily began, her hand moving toward the concealed knife in her skirt.

"It’s fine, Lily," Viella interrupted, her voice cool "You come with him. I’m leaving alone."

"But my lady! What about your safety?" Lily asked, her voice tight with concern. She knew Elias’s men were crawling everywhere.

"I have guards following me, don’t worry," Viella said, flashing a knowing smirk at Lucian before sliding into the driver’s seat.

As the tires screeched and the car drove away, Lucian’s jaw dropped.

"Did she just take my favorite car?!" he shouted at the empty driveway. "That girl has a serious kink for stealing peoples favorite vehicles! Huff!"

Lily ignored his tantrum and silently followed the maid to change, her mind already calculating the quickest way to reach the party.

_____________

Dante stood in the center of the ballroom, the focal point of every conversation, yet his mind was clearly elsewhere. He barely acknowledged the socialites vying for his attention, his dark eyes repeatedly flicking to the grand mahogany clock on the wall. Each passing minute without a certain black car pulling up to the entrance made the air around him grow colder.

Across the room, Alina was basking in the attention of a dozen young men. She was dressed in a ethereal white gown that looked more like a wedding dress than party attirew.

Why isn’t he looking my way? she muttered, her annoyance bubbling beneath her fake smile.

She caught Dante’s gaze wandering again and a smirk crept onto her lips. Viella is still nowhere to be found. Elias must have finally taken care of that nuisance.

She forced herself to look back at the boys surrounding her, putting on a fake, delicate blush. "Oh, stop it, you’re making me shy," she lied, batting her lashes before attempting to gracefully flutter away.

The whispers followed her every move. All of the maids from the Moretti mansion were present tonight to serve, dressed in their standard stiff uniforms. Alina was the only exception decked out in silk and jewels as if the party were in her honor.

To the outsiders, it was a silent confirmation that Lord Dante gave her special treatment.

She was the "favored one" and she made sure to walk with a pride that suggested she already wore the Moretti name.

Suddenly, the heavy double doors at the top of the staircase began to creak open. The chatter in the room died instantly.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED