Still deeply asleep, Nick savored what he had just achieved in his dream. In all his life, he had never been so proud of himself. The excitement and satisfaction in his heart were too much to contain. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he was eager to share his joy. Right when he was about to dial up Sheryl and Isla, a figure of a woman came into his view.
The sight startled him and he struggled to see her clearly. The woman walked toward him with a gentle smile on her face—the smile was so sweet that it made him too dizzy to even recognize her. For some reason, he felt like he had to turn his eyes away. When he was about to try and shake himself out of her spell, the woman quickly took a step forward to stop him. Standing before him with her hands on her hips, she surprised Nick with the aggressive action.
Dumbfounded by the gesture, Nick stayed frozen where he was, gulping out of nervousness. Slowly, she began to move closer to him again, the charming smile never leaving her face.
Eventually, the two were so close that Nick could clearly observe every little detail of her face. Her light skin radiated beauty, youth, and vigor, so much that her prolonged presence made Nick feel more and more ashamed. Before he could pull his eyes away, the woman's lips met his. Her lips felt so soft and warm as if they would soon melt and flow into his mouth like chocolate. The surreal kiss drove away all his anxieties.
Suddenly, the woman drew her head back and smiled at him. After Nick came back to his senses, he lifted his eyes and met her gaze, finally face to face with the woman who had just claimed his lips.
Their proximity made him turn bashful. Nick could feel his blood rushing up to his head, making him unable to move with his heart going a mile a minute.
"Do you love me?" asked the woman. Her voice was as gentle and velvety as the way she kissed.
Without the sweet smile leaving her face, she retreated a couple of steps. Nick had to pause for a moment after hearing what she said.
"Yes…" he replied, at last. "I love you." His voice seemed rather vague and his cheeks emitted a soft red glow.
"Well, that's good to hear."
In an instant, her sweet smile disappeared. In place of gentle eyes was an angry glare as she asked, "But do you deserve me? Do you really think a man like you deserves a woman like me?"
The sudden switch in her aura made Nick uneasy. What he had been anxious about all along finally surfaced in his subconscious, even if he had been trying so hard to avoid it. At the thought, his heart sunk.
Used to being afraid of getting hurt by the one he loved, he had learned to be very careful to not fall in love with another woman. In fact, he had built quite a sturdy barrier for himself to keep a good distance from women. In his dreams, he still had to face it.
At the very least, he was different from whom he used to be. The current Nick was a wealthy, successful businessman who took on numerous wide-scale projects—his dream had come true. With such a great deal of wealth, he had the means to pursue anyone he fell in love with. Now that he loved the woman in front of him, he wanted nothing more than to marry her.
"Cassie, marry me! I will make you happy, I promise!" he cried out abruptly. As he exclaimed, he had his arms stretched out, just waiting to wrap them around someone. But his eyes remained shut.
"What… What did you just say?"
A familiar voice suddenly pulled Nick out of his dream.
'What? Where am I?
White walls…a strong smell of disinfectant…I'm…
I'm in a hospital?'
His train of thought faded as he was left dumbstruck by his surroundings. Shortly after he woke up, he was overcome with embarrassment.
The image in his dream was still clear in his mind. What was worse, the woman in his dream was right there, standing by his bed, looking at him with a bashful face.
'Did she… hear everything? Did I say everything out loud? Oh, no…'
At that moment, all he wanted to do was find himself a hole in the ground and jump right in.
'These days, Cassie has been staying by my side, looking after me. I must've gotten so used to it and started thinking that she's been taking care of me out of love. That's the only reason why she appeared in my dream and kissed me.'
In reality, he was wrong. Even though he was extremely wealthy and powerful in his dream, Cassie still looked down upon him, mocking him, and telling him that he didn't deserve her.
The actual situation he faced was far worse.
His company was nearly bankrupt and he fell ill at a crucial time where only his new project could possibly turn things around for him—everything was put on hold.
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