My Flirty Roommate Is the Don

My online boyfriend was ridiculously clingy. Every single night, he insisted on phone calls. He needed the sound of my voice just to fall asleep. It was way past midnight. Hearing his low, heavy panting through my phone made my face burn and my heart race. "Keep it down," I whispered into the mic. "My roommate is right next door." My roommate was a total mystery. I had no idea what he actually did for a living, but he was loaded—and terrifying. I definitely didn't want to piss him off. Then, floating right before my eyes, glowing text boxes suddenly flashed into thin air: [Does she really not know? The guy next door IS her online boyfriend! It's Matteo, the mafia don!] [Matteo holds massive grudges. If he finds out she's just a paid stand-in chatting for someone else, he'll blow her head off!] [Such a shame. This whole story turns into a total angst-fest later. Otherwise, I'd high-key ship them!] Mafia don? Online boyfriend? And how on earth do these floating texts know I'm chatting on someone else's behalf?! Busted. Panic surged through me. I slammed the end button. I bolted into the hallway, desperate to splash cold water on my face in the bathroom to get a grip. But as I hurried past, a raspy, shaking murmur seeped through the steamy crack of the shower door. "Baby... why'd you hang up on me?" Chapter 1 "Baby, put the mic closer. I want to hear you breathe." His voice through my earbuds was deep and raspy, thick with an almost sickly obsession. I huddled under the covers, my cheeks burning up. My roommate lived right next door. He was cold and distant, so I didn't dare make a sound. "Quiet down... It's trouble if he hears us," I whispered, pitching my voice into a sweet, seductive purr. "Who? That nobody of a roommate?" He scoffed softly, his breath heavy and hot against the line. "Ignore him. You belong to me now." Before I could even react to his domineering push, my heart suddenly stopped dead. Right then, glowing transparent text violently exploded in mid-air right in front of my eyes! [Stop flirting! RUN, girl! This guy isn't some sweet online prince—he's Matteo, the mafia don!] [OMG, he has severe, toxic obsession issues! And you're just a paid stand-in chatting for that idiot Sienna!] [The Don's pride is no joke! He'll tear you apart when he finds out! RUN before you get exposed!] Boom. My mind went completely blank. Matteo? My roommate who wore custom three-piece suits, rode in bulletproof cars, and looked at me like I was invisible? How is that even possible?! I guessed he was a big deal and had mafia ties, but I never imagined he was the freakin' Don! "Baby? Why are you suddenly so quiet?" His deep voice cracked with a dangerous edge. "Talk to me." Terror shot through me. Without thinking, my trembling finger slammed the end button. Call ended. A wave of massive panic crashed over me. I threw off the blanket, jumped out of bed barefoot, and rushed into the hallway, desperate to splash cold water on my face. Just as I reached the hall, the sound of running water echoed from the shower next door. Then, a tight, heavily suppressed, raspy murmur seeped through the steamy crack of the bathroom door: "Baby... why'd you hang up on me?" That voice... It matched every single tone I had just heard in my earbuds! I froze in place. It was real. My clingy, crazy, overly possessive online boyfriend... was actually Matteo, the ruthless mob boss living right next door! I held my breath in absolute terror. Barefoot and panicked, I scrambled silently back into my room, slammed the door, and locked it. Leaning against the door, I collapsed onto the floor, my palms soaked in cold sweat. Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong. The encrypted app on my phone went crazy, spamming voice call requests one after another like a death knell ringing in my ear. The floating text flashed frantically again: [Girl! Just answer it! That dirty text you sent half an hour ago—'I want to hear you pant in my ear tonight'—completely drove him insane!] [He went into the shower just to take your call! If you don't pick up, he'll smash your door down!] Half an hour ago! It hit me. I had just finished my skincare back then and carelessly copy-pasted a dirty text from Sienna, hoping to finish my fake-chatting task quickly. Who knew it would set off his obsession like wildfire! The phone vibrated violently in my hand. Suddenly, the lock clicked outside. Heavy footsteps approached my room, step by step. Then, sharp, firm knocks hit my door. Knock. Knock. Knock. Unhurried, yet relentless. I bit my lower lip, trembling in fear. "Nora? Are you asleep?" Matteo's voice came through the door, cold and flat. It was completely emotionless—nothing like the deep, needy whisper pulling at me through my earbuds just half a minute ago. Chapter 2 My heart nearly leaped out of my chest. Forcing myself to sound steady, I called out, "I... I just went to bed, Matteo. Is something wrong?" A beat of silence hit the hallway. "I heard noise in your room." His tone stayed dead cold, pure authority. "Get some rest if you're fine." His footsteps slowly faded away. Losing all strength, I slid down the door and collapsed onto the floor. I gasped for air, my palms dripping with cold sweat. How is this even possible? If the floating texts were right, Matteo in real life was the ruthless mob boss controlling the whole underworld. And me? I was just a plain finance worker in thick glasses and conservative suits. We had lived together in this mansion for three months, and he always looked at me like I was invisible. But on that encrypted app just now... The glowing texts exploded in mid-air once again: [Babe! Stop doubting it! He IS 'Shadow'! What kind of magic potion did you give him over the last six months?!] [That bitch Sienna is using you as a pawn! Don't let her get you killed by a mafia don! RUN while you still can!] The texts jolted my memory. Sienna, the spoiled daughter of a loan shark, started all of this. Six months ago, Sienna slammed a thirty-thousand-dollar check in front of my face. "Get this man for me in three months," she said, chewing her gum with contempt. "You'll get another forty grand when it's done." I desperately needed money for my mother's medical bills back then. Sienna, with her explosive temper, was already blocked on all his socials. She handed me a brand-new encrypted account. The profile picture showed her back in a backless dress at a Miami bar. The screen name was "Siren." And the target had only one code name—"Shadow." "He likes hot, bold women, but he's extremely picky," Sienna pointed at the screen. "Use your copywriting skills. Play me, and seduce him." For that seventy thousand dollars, I threw away my good-girl persona and transformed into the intoxicating "Siren." I chased him for four whole months. Every day, I studied how he talked, testing him with flirty yet teasing texts. Until two months ago, he finally texted, "Let's date." At that moment, I thought my job was done. "Sienna, here's your account back. He agreed to date you," I found Sienna. But Sienna shoved the phone back at me, totally impatient. "I'm going on a two-month cruise next week! Keep chatting for me. I'll meet him when I get back! You'll get your final pay!" Those extra two months threw everything completely off track. "Shadow," rumored to be a cold, bloodthirsty man, turned insanely clingy and possessive after we made it official. Once, I casually texted, "Your voice is so hot. I want to hear you sing." The very next day, he sent his first private voice note. That deep, raspy, breathless voice struck my nerves instantly. I felt a secret thrill for him. I thought I was falling for a sexy, mysterious guy online, but reality just slapped me hard in the face— He was Matteo. The cold-blooded mafia don who climbed to the top on a pile of bodies! Ding-dong. The phone in my hand vibrated again. A new message popped up on the encrypted app: Shadow: [Baby, the cold shower didn't cool me down.] Shadow: [Did you hang up on me because you're tired of me?] Looking at those two lines, my hands trembled uncontrollably. My heart pounded like crazy. How could a powerful mafia don act like a needy, desperate lover through my earbuds? Chapter 3 "Don't hang up. Please." Another voice call popped up on the encrypted app, along with that line of terrifying text. My heart leaped right into my throat. With trembling fingers, I tapped accept, scrambled back under the covers, and buried my face deep into the pillow. "Bad... bad signal earlier," I kept my voice low, pitching it high and sweet, forcing my usual playful act. "Don't be mad, baby." The heavy breathing through my earbuds froze instantly. "I thought you got tired of me," Matteo's voice was horribly raspy, laced with an almost pathetic plea. "Stay with me for fifteen more minutes... please?" The legendary mafia don, actually talking in such a humble, desperate tone. "Fine," I whined playfully, my nerves shot. "Just fifteen minutes." The next fifteen minutes were absolute torture. I pushed myself to maintain "Siren's" hot, teasing persona, coaxing him with my sweetest purr until the phone timer hit 15:00 sharp. "Time's up, honey. I need to get to sleep." Without giving him a chance to respond, I ended the call instantly and threw the phone face down onto the blanket. Cold sweat broke out all across my forehead. According to the plan, tomorrow morning at the office, I was going to hand this account over to Sienna for good and collect my final forty grand. But right now, my whole body was shaking. If he ever found out that the girl who drove him wild with sweet, filthy talk on the other side of the screen wasn't the high-society heiress Sienna, but his ignored roommate living right next door... I didn't even dare to imagine the consequences. Three months ago, desperate to find a place, I stumbled into this mansion by accident. The day I pushed open the door, I saw Matteo shirtless in the shadowed living room, calmly wiping down a black handgun. His lean, defined muscles and brutal scars scared me so bad my knees went weak on the spot. Yet later, outside a corner café, when my landlord threw me out and I was crouched on the curb crying my eyes out, he pulled up in a black Bentley. "The spare bedroom in my place is empty," he rolled down the window, his voice flat. "Five hundred a month." That was a ten-million-dollar luxury penthouse right in the city center! I couldn't pass up a deal like that. After moving in, I even secretly used the expensive custom cologne sitting in his bathroom out of pure curiosity. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that this cold landlord who randomly showed me mercy was the very same guy I had been chasing online for half a year! The glowing texts in front of my eyes flashed frantically again: [Babe! Stop clinging to this five-hundred-dollar penthouse! RUN!] [That idiot Sienna will blow your cover the second she opens her mouth tomorrow! Once Matteo tracks it back to you... he'll cage you forever!] [Search for new apartments NOW! Pack tonight and move out the second you get paid tomorrow!] Every single word on the screen hit my heart like a sledgehammer. Yes. I had to move out. I couldn't stay greedy for this cheap luxury, and I definitely couldn't harbor any fantasies about this dangerous man. Fumbling with my phone, I opened a rental app, frantically searching for apartments as far away from the company as possible. I had to vanish from his world as fast as I could. Because I knew all too well—if a lethal man like him found out I had been playing him all along, I wouldn't even live to see tomorrow's sun. Chapter 4 "Freeze. What are you doing wandering around in the hallway this late?" His cold, heavy voice hit me out of nowhere from around the corner. I froze in my tracks, my foot stopping dead right outside my bedroom door. Matteo had just walked out of his private gym. A black towel was draped loosely around his waist. Wild, dark tattoos snaked down his sharp eight-pack, disappearing beneath the edge of the towel. Water droplets trickled down his broad, sculpted chest, glistening under the hallway light. In person, his body was ten times more intense and suffocating than in any photo. My cheeks burned like fire. Dropping my head, I tried to squeeze past him in the narrow hallway. Our bodies brushed against each other. My bare arm grazed his burning-hot skin. In an instant, an electric shock shot straight to my brain. Gasping, I jerked my head up. My eyes locked onto his deep, dangerous, pitch-black gaze. His eyes burned with raw, suppressed desire and possessive hunger—like he wanted to swallow me whole. My heart skipped a beat, and my breathing went completely out of control. "S... Sorry," I stammered. Dodging his gaze, I bolted into the bathroom, slammed the door, and locked it. Leaning against the freezing tiles, I held my burning face, my heart pounding like a war drum. That single look carried so much tension I could barely breathe. In front of the bathroom mirror, inside the laundry basket, sat my silk nightgown—soaked with water from my earlier panic. The sheer fabric clung together, looking sinfully tempting. Just then, the glowing texts flashed in mid-air right before my eyes without warning: [Girl! Don't let his body distract you! Wake UP!] [He loves the wild, bold persona you faked—the one who dares to talk trash to his face! Not a quiet good girl in glasses like you!] [For tomorrow's face-to-face meet, Sienna booked a top luxury winery! They're heading straight to his private estate right after! He ain't saving himself for you!] [When he finds out it was all a lie, you're both dead meat... Take this chance and RUN!] Every word on the screen stung my eyes, dousing the dangerous spark inside me like ice water. Yes. He was a high-and-mighty mafia don, and I was just a corporate worker chatting for seventy grand. I turned on the faucet and splashed freezing water over my face. The icy shock brought all my sanity rushing back. Wiping my face dry, I took a deep breath, stepped out of the bathroom, and walked straight to the master bedroom and knocked. A few seconds later, the door pulled open. Matteo had changed into a black silk robe, the collar slightly open. "What is it?" He looked down at me, his voice flat and unreadable. Clenching my fists behind my back, I looked straight into his eyes. "Matteo, I wanted to tell you... I'm moving out." Matteo's pitch-black eyes narrowed, and the air around him instantly plummeted to sub-zero. "Reason." "I got a boyfriend, and he wants us to move in together," I lied, keeping my voice steady. "Thanks for looking after me. I'll leave the keys tomorrow morning." The air in the hallway seemed to freeze completely. After a long pause, a slow, cold smirk touched the corners of his lips. "Fine. As you wish." "Leave the key on the table." Matteo's voice was ice-cold. Before the words even settled, he slammed the door shut right in my face. The loud slam echoed through the empty hallway. I stood there, my palms soaked in cold sweat. Chapter 5 Early the next morning, Matteo left to handle family business. The whole mansion was dead silent. I called in sick for the morning and shoved all my belongings into two large suitcases as fast as I could. After cleaning the room spotless, I walked up to the master bathroom down the hall. On the vanity, the black bottle of luxury custom cologne sat quietly under the cool light. Driven by a crazy impulse, I stepped closer, picked up the bottle, and sprayed a light mist onto my wrist. The crisp, dark scent of bitter citrus and cedar instantly filled the air. It was his scent. The same scent that drifted through my earbuds every single night, easing me to sleep. I let myself have this one last secret greed. Ding-dong. My phone vibrated suddenly. A new message flashed on the encrypted app: Shadow: [Tonight at eight. The penthouse suite at The Peninsula Manhattan.] Shadow: [Baby, I've waited for this day for way too long.] Obsession and dangerous hunger oozed between the lines. The glowing texts in front of my eyes flashed like crazy: [Holy shit! The Peninsula Penthouse! That's Matteo's private domain!] [This mob boss is insanely possessive! He doesn't just want a casual date—he wants to cage his girl forever!] [Thank God you're running, girl! Normal people can't survive a dark mafia boss's love!] Every word on the screen wiped away the last bit of hesitation in my heart. I accepted the invite for Sienna: [Sounds good. See you tonight.] Dragging my suitcases behind me, I walked out of the luxury mansion without looking back. I checked into a budget hotel near the Financial District. Once my bags were settled, I sent Matteo a final text: [Matteo, I've moved out. The key is on the living room table. Thanks for everything. Wish you the best.] Send. Block. Delete. All in one smooth motion. At one in the afternoon, I met Sienna on time at a café near my office. Dressed in a hot red dress and dark sunglasses, Sienna sat in a booth, looking thoroughly impatient. "Did you bring it?" She raised an eyebrow, her tone sharp. I pulled out the phone, quickly logged out, cleared the app cache, and handed it over. "The account is primed exactly how you wanted. He's waiting for you at eight tonight at The Peninsula." Sienna's eyes lit up as she snatched the phone. She scrolled through the chat history. When her eyes hit those deeply intimate voice notes and dirty texts, her face turned into a wild mix of shock and envy. "Damn, Nora," Sienna smirked, a hint of jealousy flashing in her eyes. "You look like such a boring prude with those glasses on, but you really know how to wrap a man around your finger, don't you?" She pointed at a private voice note, her tone half-joking, half-bitter. "He actually agreed to a request like this... Wow. I'm almost jealous." My back went stiff, but I forced a professional smile. "I get paid to do a job. Miss Vance, can I get the final payment now?" Sienna scoffed softly and slid a forty-thousand-dollar check across the table without hesitation. "After tonight, this man belongs to me," Sienna's blood-red lips curved into a triumphant smile. "Now, get lost." I pocketed the check, stood up, and walked out. Stepping out of the café, the harsh sunlight stung my eyes. A quiet, hollow ache bloomed deep in my chest. For six whole months, that man had bared his softest vulnerabilities and darkest desires to me through my earbuds. From today on, he belonged to someone else. I felt like a gardener who spent months nurturing a rare, exquisite rose—only to hand it over to a stranger the exact second it bloomed. "Don't be stupid, Nora," I gripped the check tightly in my palm, whispering to myself. "He's a ruthless mob boss. He kills without blinking. You're just a nobody." This dangerous virtual game was officially over. I had to erase him from my life completely.