Viella’s POV

I tried to drive the dagger in. I really did. I grit my teeth, focused on every single thing he had done to me, and tried to force my hand to move. But as I stared into those bottomless eyes, I felt paralyzed.

My hand wouldn’t move an inch, it was like my own body had betrayed me, refusing to kill the man who held me captive.

Dante’s smirk widened. Before I could even blink, he moved in a blink of an eye. With a swift motion, he grabbed my wrist, twisting the dagger away as he flipped our positions.

In a heartbeat, I was the one pinned against the mattress, the air knocked out of me. He was on top of me, his heavy frame caging me in, making the bed shrunk. He didn’t say a word.

Instead, he leaned down, his lips trailing fire against the sensitive skin of my neck.

I let out a shaky breath I didn’t know I was holding. He moved lower, his kisses hot and demanding, traveling down to my chest and over my stomach. I felt the rough tug of his hands as he pulled my hoodie up, his fingers grazing the denim of my jeans.

I stared up at him, my eyes wide and my pupils shaking. My heart was thundering so loud, I am pretty sure he can hear it.

He stopped, propping himself up on his elbows to look me directly in the eyes. His hair was messy, his expression dark with a mix of lust and possession.

"Your mouth might deny it, Viella..." he said, his voice dropping into a low husky vibration that made my toes curl. "...but your body is saying a completely different thing~"

Before I could offer a witty retort or even try to push him off, a sound echoed through the tension filled room.

Growl.

My stomach let out a loud roar. The romantic atmosphere shattered into a million awkward pieces. I let out a weak smile, my face burning hotter than it had during the kiss.

"Uh, yeah... my body is saying that she’s hungry,"

I muttered, trying to regain some shred of dignity. "So would you mind, um... giving it some food, bro- " I caught myself at the last millisecond and sealed my mouth shut. Calling him "brother" right now was a one way ticket to hell.

Dante let out a genuine booming laugh as he sat up. With the covers pooled around his waist, I finally had a front row seat to the view. His abs were perfectly defined, the muscles of his chest taut, and those veins trailing down toward his lower stomach... I gulped involuntarily and snapped my head to the side, staring intently at a very interesting piece of wall.

"Clothes are inside the closet," he said, his voice still thick with amusement as he stood up and pulled on a fresh shirt. He didn’t even bother to hide his smirk when he looked back at me.

"Freshen up and change. There are no maids here, so you’ll have to get ready by yourself... unless you want me to help you change?"

My eyes widened in horror. "In your dreams!" I yelled, grabbing the nearest pillow and hurlng it at his head with all my might.

He dodged it effortlessly, his low chuckle echoing as he reached the door. Before stepping out, his expression shifted. The playfulness vanished, replaced by that cold gesture. "Don’t try anything funny, Viella. If you do, your punishment will be longer than you can imagine."

With a soft click, the door closed.

"Punishment?! What punishment?! I didn’t even do anything!!" I screamed at the closed wood, fuming. I was the one who got kidnapped! I was the victim here!

Finally calming down, I realized I did feel incredibly sticky and gross. Fine. Shower first, escape plot later. I walked over to the closet Dante had pointed out and swung it open. As expected, every single piece of clothing was exactly my size. They were comfy, soft, and... surprisingly seductive?

"That pervert!" I muttered under my breath, grabbing a particularly comfortable looking dress before heading into the bathroom.

The bathroom was massive but my eyes went straight to the wall. I searched desperately for an exit, finally spotting a tiny window high up.

My heart sank. It was sealed with thick metal bars, spaced so closely together that not even a cat could squeeze through.

This definitely wasn’t his main estate. This was probably one of his secret mansions.

After freshening up and sliding into the dress which fit me perfectly, I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

"Okay, Vivien," I whispered to myself, splashing some cold water on my face. "Step one: Eat. Step two: Find a way to make him regret ever bringing me here."

Just as I stepped out of the room, I looked around. This mansion was definitely smaller than the main estate, but the aesthetics were totally different. Everything from the ceiling to the specific shade on the chairs matched exactly what I had always wanted for my own home.

"Don’t tell me he built this to my taste just to lock me up here," I muttered, a chill running down my spine. That level of obsession was beyond terrifying.

From downstairs, I could hear the sizzle of a pan and the clink of silverware. He was cooking. If there was no sound of other voices, it meant we were truly alone.

Instead of following the delicious scent of breakfast, I turned and headed in the opposite direction. I made sure the dagger was tucked securely against my thigh since he hadn’t taken it earlier, I wasn’t letting it out of my sight.

"I will definitely stab him this time," I whispered to myself, checking every door handle and window frame I passed.

I spent the next 20 minutes scouring the upper floor, but my heart sank further with every step. No exit. Every single door was locked tight, and even the hallway windows were reinforced.

I turned a corner in a hurry, planning to check the back wing, when I smacked right into a hard, warm chest.

Yeah, I’m doomed.

I looked up to see Dante looking down at me, his expression unreadable but his eyes held amusement.

"Found any exit yet?" he asked, his voice smooth and knowing.

"Exit? What are you talking about?" I scoffed, trying to play it cool. I crossed my arms, acting as annoyed as possible. "I was just trying to find the dining room. I don’t know where it is, obviously. I’m not familiar with this place, duh."

"Well, you’ll soon get familiar with it," he said, turning and walking away, silently signaling for me to follow.

"What do you mean by that? You aren’t planning to keep me here forever... are you?" I asked, hurrying after him. The silence was starting to bug me. " 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Hey! I’m asking you something! Besides, why am I even here in the first place?!"

He didn’t answer. He just kept walking until he reached a set of double doors. He pushed them open, and the smell of food hit me instantly.

Pancakes dripping in syrup, crispy bacon, perfectly poached eggs, and even a bowl of fresh strawberries with cream. All of my absolute favorites. Did he seriously make all of this in just twenty minutes?

Dante let out a small dry laugh at the look on my face and pulled out the head chair for me to sit in.

"Eat," he commanded gently.

Instead of sitting where he wanted, I marched to the complete opposite end of the table and pulled out a different chair, sitting as far away from him as humanly possible. I grabbed a fork and glared at him. If I was going to be a prisoner, I was at least going to be a well-fed, grumpy one.

Instead of getting mad, Dante just walked toward me. I looked at him warily, my hand instinctively twitching toward where I’d hidden the dagger. Is he going to snap? Is this the part where he loses it?

But he didn’t. Instead, he reached out, grabbed the back of my chair, and with effortless strength dragged me, chair and all, across the floor until I was parked right beside him.

I stared at him, stunned, as he sat down and began calmly serving food onto my plate.

"You could’ve just asked me again to sit here instead of dragging me like a piece of furniture, you know?" I asked, looking at him like he was absolutely losing his mind.

Silence.

He didn’t even blink.

What a piece of shit. Hmp. Fine. If he wanted to play the silent brooding type, I could play too. I decided right then I wouldn’t say another word either.

I looked down at the spread. It looked incredible, but a sudden chilling thought stopped my hand. Wait. What if he put something in this? Another sedative? A boom boom serum I couldn’t trust a single thing he did. I hesitated, my fork hovering over a pancake.

Dante, who had been watching me with those heavy, gloomy eyes, clearly guessed what was running through my head. Without a word, he reached over, took a piece of pancake and a bite of the pancakes from my plate, and ate them slowly, maintaining eye contact the whole time.

Message received.

The moment I knew it wasn’t poisoned, I lost all my composure. I started shoving the food into my mouth- look, I had been running for my life and getting kidnapped, you can’t blame me for being starving!

I could feel his gaze on me the entire time, burning into the side of my face, but I ignored him and focused on the maple syrup.

Just as I swallowed the last bite, I felt his presence lean in closer. Before I could reach for a napkin, Dante’s thumb brushed against the corner of my mouth, wiping away a stray bit of cream.

My breath hitched. But he didn’t pull away.

Instead, he brought his thumb to his own lips and sucked the tip, his eyes darkening as they locked onto mine. The air in the room suddenly felt ten times heavier.

"Delicious," he whispered, his voice vibrating deep in his chest.

...

....

Absolute silence. My brain was short circuiting. Why is he acting like this?! Did I break the entire world by killing the Author? I mean, the story was already a disaster, but now the male lead had completely abandoned the script.

Suddenly, a ringtone cut through the heavy tension.

Dante’s expression shifted instantly. The warmth or whatever twisted version of it he had been showing vanished. He stood up, towering over me as he answered the phone.

"Hm... Good," he said, his voice flat. "Pay them millions, I don’t care. Every trace of CCTV frame, every witness... everything should be erased today. Okay."

He kept talking, his back turned to me. This was it. My window of opportunity. While he was busy, I tried to slip out of my chair aiming for the double doors.

But I didn’t even make it two steps.

Dante didn’t even look back as his arm reached out. He caught me by the collar of my dress and, like he was picking up a tiny bunny, he hoisted me up just as he ended the call.

"Oh, amore mia," he purred, his voice dropping. "You’re done feeding yourself now. Let me feed myself."

Without another word, he slung me over his shoulder and began marching toward the stairs.

"What the heck do you mean by that?!!!" I shrieked, my face hanging toward the floor as I beat my fists against his back. "I am not meat! I’m not delicious! I’m tough and bitter! Stop, you cannibal! Let me down!"

Dante only let out a booming laugh that vibrated against my chest as he dragged me back up the grand staircase.

"I’ve always had a taste for bitter things, Viella," he said, his grip tightening. "And you? You’re the most exquisite meal I’ve ever tracked down."

He reached the bedroom door and kicked it open

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To Be Continued