04 - False Hope

Lia's POV

I heard knocking on the door.

“Lia, are you done?” Dante kept knocking like he was getting impatient with how long I was taking.

I opened the door. “Almost. What's the rush?”

Dante nearly shouted. “Get out. She's here.”

“What? Who do you mean—?”

“Oh my God, Dante—she's Lia?!” I stopped speaking when I heard a female voice behind him. A woman peeked out from Dante's back. She had a blonde-dyed hair and caramel skin. She was gorgeous with a naturally pleasant vibe.

Dante shot her an annoyed glance. “This area is off-limits.” Then, looking directly at her, he added, “And Mische, what did I tell you?”

Mische smirked. “She'll find out, you know. Sooner or later.”

Dante rolled his eyes. Meanwhile, Mische turned to me, beaming. “Hi, Lia! I'm Mische. Pleasure to meet you.”

I reached out for a handshake, but she pulled me into a hug instead. I hugged her back.

“Oh, how sweet...” I mumbled, my cheeks turning red.

She pulled away but kept holding my hands. “You know, Dante talks about you a lot.”

Dante instantly went on the defensive. “Oh, really now?”

She raised one of her eyebrows. “Or was it Lily? Haha, sorry, I can't tell them apart!”

“Mische…” He titled his head and shot her a sharp look. “Let's get to business.”

***

We were lounging on the sofa.

Mische gestured dramatically. “So, what, I'm supposed to teach her how to act like a lady?”

“That part only. I'll handle the rest,” Dante said firmly.

Mische complimented me, smiling. “Honestly? She's already the full package. Just needs a little refining--more grace, a bit of finesse. Her accent's neutral. She clearly knows how to take care of her skin, too. The basics.”

I was a little flattered she could sum me up so quickly, and pleasantly.

“She's difficult to teach,” Dante muttered under his breath. I ignored him. Not worth the energy. I was too tired to react to his jabs anyway. He did say I needed to keep my guard up, stay calm, not be volatile.

Mische caught on to my restraint. “See, Dante? She doesn't even react to your provocation. That's real elegance—grace under pressure.”

“Congrats, Lia, best actress of the year,” Dante said dryly.

Mische laughed. “I think Lia and I will get along just fine. Right, Lia?” She winked.

I smiled shyly, my head dipping slightly. Meanwhile, Dante looked… irritated. Hah.

“I won't be any trouble, Ms. Mische,” I assured her.

Mische giggled, sneaking a look at Dante. His eyes were hooded, his lips slightly curved down—like he was hiding his annoyance but failed at it. “Just do what you came here for, Mische.” Then he stood up.

Mische raised a brow. “Dante, are you mad?”

He waved a dismissive hand. “No. Just… stuff.”

Mische inched closer to me on the three-seater sofa. “I've never seen him this talkative since his fiancée died.”

My brows lifted slightly. “I'm sorry about what happened.”

She placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “Not your fault. If anything, you're doing good for him.”

“Really?” I had no idea how my existence benefited Dante in any way.

“Yup. Dante's a total introvert. Bottles everything up. That's how he copes.”

I folded my arms over my lap, and Mische's eyes twitched to the faint lash marks on my hands.

“Wait, Dante did that? Ugh, what an idiot. Good thing you talked him out of it. Those are gonna take a while to fade.” She sighed. “He can be reckless sometimes.”

I hesitated. “Wasn't he always like this?”

“Emotionless? Definitely. Strict? For work, yeah. But he's never hit a woman in his life. Not even that governess he had trauma from.”

Then why me? I lowered my head, trying to make sense of why he was so harsh with me.

Mische continued, “He must be desperate. You're his only shot at Rogin. He's exhausted every agency he could, even lost Lily in the process. He wants this plan to work without any failure.”

I swallowed. “Is Rogin Kannes really that bad?”

Mische's playful smile dropped and her eyes became gloomy. “Bad? Oh no, awful doesn't even cover it. He's evil. A psychopath. Only the inner circle knows, but everyone around him feels it. He plays with people like toys.”

I shivered. Suddenly, my solid plan to escape this bunker didn't feel so smart. But was staying worth it?

“That's why we need to prep you. Glam you up. You're our only hope against him.” Mische's voice turned serious. “The Lunnes have always been the Kannes’ biggest rival. Once Rogin finds out you're alive—his enemy's heiress—he'll do everything to destroy you. But if you're ready, if you play your cards right, we can take him down first. For good.”

She tilted her head. “What's Dante's endgame, anyway? Did he tell you?”

I exhaled slowly before answering. “He said that I have to kill Rogin.”

Mische's eyes widened. She covered her mouth with her hand. “God. So Dante is desperate.” Her hand dropped, and her expression hardened. “Don't pity him, Lia. He deserves the knife.”

I nodded weakly.

“Then we'll prep you carefully,” she said, then smirked. “But—that doesn't mean we can't have fun in the process.” Her brows went up and down, lips pursed.

“After all,” she teased, “deep down, almost every woman wants to dress up, look pretty, and be fabulous.”

A small smile tugged at my lips. I had never thought about it before. Dressing up, looking good—it had never been a need.

I just wanted to survive.

"Here. Check my online shopping app. Add stuff that you'd like in the wishlist. I'll take care of the rest." Mische handed me her phone with a cute little girl as wallpaper.

My eyes lit up, both from what I felt and from the phone screen light. "Oh, she's cute. She looks like you."

Mische chuckled. "That's Jamie, our sweetest girl. Someday, I might see yours, too, as your wallpaper."

Heat ran through my cheeks. I could obviously say that my cheeks were blushing deep red.

Mische just giggled while searching for something inside her leather bag. "While you're at it, let's measure you up." She flashed and waved a pink measuring tape.

I stood up, straight, while scrolling through the app, sometimes raising my limbs for Mische's record. She then told something about the shirt I was wearing.

Misched noticed, "this is his favorite shirt, Lia. He often wears this in bed. Yeah... whenever he video calls me, I see this one. Where did you get it?"

"This is the one that he gave me..." I smirked, "well, joke's on him. He won't get to wear it tonight."

"I gave her that because it was in the laundry."

We both looked at Dante, who was standing by the door of his room and looking at us at a distance.

Mische frowned. She knew Dante could be an arse sometimes. "That's not how you treat a guest, Dante."

"She's not a guest."

Dante's nonchalant comment made me sad.

Just when I thought to stay in and help, he showed his ugly side. I almost teared up, my voice crackling,"then what am I to you?"

Dante darted his eyes on me, but I couldn't figure out if it was a matter-of-fact or he just really didn't like people around him.

I could only know if he answered back. But I wished I shouldn't have known.