It was so real. So very real. The dream she has about that was too weird and it felt almost real, but she knew it couldn’t be. Even so, it made her feel uneasy. She wondered why she dreamed about someone so unusual. She had never had a dream like that before, and it worried her. She realized she had never seen this man in real life, so why was he in her dream? Maybe he was just something her mind made up to confuse her.

The dream felt so real. The way he looked at her was intense, and it felt like his eyes could see right into her soul. She could still hear the sound of a gunshot in her head. That loud bang echoed like a warning she couldn’t ignore. She wanted to forget about the dream, but the more she tried, the more the images kept coming back to her. And she was starting to imagine things she shouldn't even be thinking of.

She couldn't shake his face from her mind. He had a strong jaw, the kind of beauty that could make anyone stop and stare for a moment. His lips were full and looked so inviting. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him. We're they soft? How would it taste? And then she thought about his hands, which looked long and graceful. Before she realized it, she was imagining his hands touching her, in ways that made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a long time.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Liz?” she muttered, scolding herself. “I’ve gone too long without a boyfriend or sex, and now I’m imagining things with a man who kidnapped me and almost shot me. Brilliant, Liz. Absolutely brilliant.”

She needed something to get such unclean thoughts out of her mind. Shaking her head, she reached for her iPad. The screen lit up with a headline: CEO OF AAA COMPANY, OTTO HEWLETT, GAINS MORE FAME AS HE ACQUIRES MORE ASSETS.

Her gaze drifted to the photo of the interviewee, and her stomach flipped. He looked exactly like the man in her dream. Exactly. Everything single thing were the same. For a moment she just stared. How could this be? How could the same man from her strange, twisted dream be on the news? Had she started seeing visions or something?

She quickly brushed the thought aside. That was too ridiculous. Maybe she had seen him in the news before going to bed, and that’s why her mind had conjured him up in her sleep. That had to be it. Because otherwise, what would make a rich, successful businessman like Otto Hewlett have anything to do with a third-rate novelist like her? It was ridiculous.

Still… could it be possible her dream had been real? She could almost feel the weight of his stare again, the heat in the air when he had been close. And those lips — her imagination conjured them perfectly. She shook herself. Stop thinking about him.

Liz pushed herself out of bed. She wobbled slightly, her legs feeling oddly unsteady, and a pounding headache made her feel dizzy. She steadied herself by holding onto the edge of the bed until the wave of disorientation passed.

Once she managed to get moving, she freshened up and headed to the café she always went to. It wasn’t the best café in the city, but she loved it. She came here whenever she needed to think or write. As a novelist, she liked places that were open, where she could watch people, read their expressions, study their movements, all of it was fuel for her stories. And most importantly, no matter the mood she was in, there's was just something about the place that made her feel much better or oddly, a funny incident would happen but in all, this was her perfect spot.

She had always wanted to be the best novelist, which was why she had thrown herself into writing erotic fiction, the kind of books that sold the most. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to meet readers’ expectations. Still, she refused to quit. She promised herself she would make it one day, that she would be known as Miss Liz Fred, the best novelist, not Liz Fred, the third-rate nobody.

She had just started tapping at her tablet when voices from the table behind her drifted into her ears high-pitched, excited voices. Teenagers.

“Oh God, I can’t believe I touched him! His skin is so soft!”

“Do you know he’s now among the top richest in our country?”

“I just wish he could be my boyfriend. I’m secretly crushing.”

“I heard he’s going to sponsor ten students for their education.”

“I really wanna be one of the lucky students so I can go to medical school.”

Liz blinked. Otto Hewlett again.

Was this guy really that good? That teenagers would gush over him like some kind of celebrity? Who the hell was this man, and why was he gaining so much attention from everyone? She couldn’t deny the fact that her curiosity was growing.

Why did it seem like he was everywhere lately? First, he showed up in her dreams. Then, she saw his face on the news. Now, she heard girls in a café talking about him. Was her mind just playing tricks on her? Why did he keep showing up in different parts of her life every day?

Her thoughts started to race. She could still picture him clearly in her head. She remembered how he looked at her when they were in that dark dungeon. His cold, sharp eyes seemed to see right through her. She even felt like he was watching her at that very moment.

Am I still dreaming? she asked herself. Everything felt too real, too intense. To make sure, she poked her arm. Nope, she really was awake.

So what was happening? Why did it feel like he was following her everywhere? Was she going crazy?

She didn’t have any answers, only more questions. They all mixed together and formed one strong thought in her mind: this whole situation was becoming too much to handle.