I kept having the same weird dream.

Same man. Same desire. Same fire that burned all night long.

We never spoke. But our bodies did—pressed together in the dark, lost in heat and hunger.

I didn't even know his name.

Just his lips. His scent. The way he made me forget everything but him.

Then one day, I reported a girl in my class for cheating on an exam. She almost couldn't graduate because of it.

Enraged, she brought in her uncle. A man powerful enough to destroy my future with one word.

Everyone thought I was done for.

And when I looked up and saw that man, I thought, "Yep. I'm screwed."

It was him.

The man from my dreams.

Standing there in a tailored suit, radiating power. Cold. Dangerous. Devastatingly familiar.

My stomach dropped.

Because last night in my dream, I kissed him so hard, and bit his lip. Hard.

And now, in broad daylight, that same bite mark was on his mouth.

Real. Red. Right where I left it.

What the hell was happening?

***

When Zachary Ramirez showed up, I seriously thought I was dreaming again. I pinched my thigh to check if it was real life.

Liora Ramirez stood next to him arrogantly. "Rosalyn Lawrence, my uncle, is here. You still have time to apologize."

I barely listened to her. My eyes were locked on Zachary.

No way.

He looked exactly like the man from my dreams. His outstanding features, tailored suit, and his mouth...

There was a faint red mark at the corner of his lips.

It was exactly where I bit him in my dream. Was that just a freaky coincidence?

"Rosalyn! Are you listening to me?" Liora snapped, clearly annoyed.

"I said you better apologize! Admit you lied about me hiring someone to take my exam—say it was all made up!"

I looked straight at her angry face. I said flatly, "No."

"Have you lost it?! Do you even know who my uncle is? He's a shareholder at PrimeCore Group! He just needs to issue an order to make your offer go away. If a few companies blacklist you, you're done!"

"So what?" I lifted my chin and stared at Zachary. "I'm not backing down."

When I walked out of the office, the students nearby avoided my gaze.

They had all lied earlier.

Everyone, including the instructors and some teachers, knew that Liora cheated. But they all looked the other way. Some even lied for her sake once I exposed her.

There was just one reason behind it—Liora was known as a privileged student on campus.

The Ramirez family was already loaded. After Zachary took charge of their business, they basically blew up.

He had his hands in everything in Los Angeles—schools, theme parks, even major company investments. Getting on Liora's bad side was like directly crossing him.

Even though Zachary wasn't even 30 yet, people already treated him like a legend. Nobody wanted to get on his bad side.

Well, nobody but me.

If my report got accepted, Liora would probably be blocked from graduating. She freaked out and begged her uncle, who was overseas at that time, to step in for her.

My roommate followed me, trying to talk me out of it.

"Why go this far? You're almost graduating. Just let it go."

"You might be okay with letting things slide. I'm not."

She sighed. "Come on, her uncle is untouchable. What can we even do?"

"Funny, you didn't say that when she copied your thesis."

My roommate was choked, unable to refute.

Liora shared a dorm with us, and she always acted like she was better than everyone else. But she gave me the hardest time.

I didn't get it at first. Later on, I figured it out—it all went back to a senior she liked. She had a crush on him.

One day, I accidentally wore the same jacket as him, and people joked we looked like a matching couple. That senior just laughed and said, "I'm honored."

That tiny moment made Liora hate me.

Yes, she hated me for something that trivial. In truth, I didn't even have that senior's number.

Over time, she crushed on other guys, but her dislike for me stuck.

I headed back to the dorm and kept sorting out the proof that someone else had taken Liora's exam.

All around me, my roommates were chatting as usual.

"Did you see Zachary earlier?"

"Yes, he looks way younger than I imagined."

"Someone said he's only seven years older than Liora."

"He's so handsome. Does anyone know if he's married? Got a girlfriend?"

"Liora says he's seeing someone. Not that it matters—he's way out of our league."

"That's right."

As they talked, my mind wandered off. Those strange dreams I'd been having lately came rushing back.

In those dreams, Zachary would take off his flawless suit, and I'd drop all my defenses.

We couldn't talk, so we gave in to our desires, letting our actions say everything.

The weird part? Before today, I'd never seen Zachary in real life.

So how on earth was I dreaming about him?

There had to be just one explanation.

Maybe I had seen his photo before and just didn't remember. Maybe my brain had filed it away and used it in my dreams without me realizing it.

That had to be it.

As for the cut on Zachary's lip, it was probably just a coincidence.

Although those dreams were kind of embarrassing, no one would ever know if I didn't say it.

To stop dreaming about him, I stayed up until sunrise. Around noon, my roommate shook me awake.

"Roz, get up. Someone is looking for you."

"Who is it?"

"Zachary."

That got my eyes open fast. She gave me a look full of gossip.

"He's waiting downstairs. You'd better hurry."

I washed my face quickly and rushed outside.

Even standing off to the side, Zachary stood out. He was tall, straight-backed, and still managed to draw attention from every direction.

He looked me over and asked, "Did you have trouble sleeping last night?" His voice—it hit differently.

I'd imagined it so many times in my dreams. Now I finally heard it for real. It was deep and addictive.

"How'd you know?" I asked.

"You've got dark circles."

"Oh... So, what do you need?"

"Liora told me you plan to post her situation online.

"If the higher-ups keep covering for her, I will."

Zachary pondered for a moment and said, "Our company's already dealing with some public relations problems. Can you ease up a bit? Name your price."

"No," I refused without hesitation. "If I give in to people like you once, I'll never be able to live with myself again."

"People like us?" he repeated, raising his brows like he didn't get it.

"Yeah. People like you, with all your power and money, always look perfect on the outside—but underneath, you're rotten. And you stay that way by stepping on people like me."

Zachary didn't argue. He just stared at me for a second and asked a strange question, "Is that what you think of me?"

"Of course. You and Liora are family. With a niece like her, how good can you be?" I turned and started going upstairs.

Then, he called out, "Rosalyn."

"Anything else?"

He paused for a moment and said, "Try to get some sleep tonight."

That was impossible. I had a night shift to pull.

Liora wasn't bluffing. I might lose my job offer. I needed to save up and move to another city.

The convenience store I worked at was open all night. My shift ended at six in the morning. I was exhausted, my eyes barely staying open.

I thought I might've dozed off. Because suddenly, I saw Zachary. His black Maybach was parked by the curb, and he was looking right at me.

It had to be a dream.

I walked over to him and said, "Aren't you only supposed to show up at night? It's six in the morning."

I'd never dreamed of him during the day before.

Zachary didn't reply. That was normal. In dreams, the other person usually didn't talk back.

Seeing that usual cold expression, I got irritated.

"You've got such a nice face, but you're awful in real life." I reached up and touched his cheek.

He didn't stop me. He just patted the seat next to him like he wanted me to get in. So I did—and sat right on him, just like in my dreams.

Zachary shifted his legs and adjusted his position so I could sit more comfortably.

"Your niece picked on me. The teachers ignored it. And you backed her up, too.

"But you have no idea what she did to me.

"She cut up my dress just because I bought the same one she had.

"She said I was shameless and wore fake stuff. How would I even know the brand? It might've been, but I paid for it myself with my savings."

Zachary's expression flickered.

"Now, I just expose the truth, you want companies to blacklist me..."

Since I figured he couldn't hear me anyway, I poured out all my grievances in reality. At the end, I bit his shoulder hard.

"I'm done dreaming about you—this is the last one."

But then, he suddenly grabbed me, holding me tight. "No. I'm not okay with that."

I froze.

Did he just... talk? And did I actually hear him?

Wait. That couldn't be right. I was confused.

Then, he said it again, "Rosalyn, you're not asleep. This isn't a dream."

This time, I heard it clearly.

At that exact moment, someone knocked on the car window.

"Uncle Zachary, why'd you call me out here so early?"