The silence of the night was oppressive, broken only by the faint hum of city lights filtering through the drawn curtains. The woman jerked awake, gasping for air.
"Haaah...! Haaah...!" Her body lurched forward, drenched in sweat as her trembling hands gripped the silk sheets. She pressed her palms against her temples, trying to steady the pounding headache that had become her unwelcome companion these past weeks.
Her chest heaved, the room spinning as the remnants of the nightmare lingered like a phantom. Disjointed images flashed in her mind—faces she didn't know, names she couldn't place.
"Damien Raphael... Lin Wanruo..." she muttered, her voice cracking. "Who are you?"
The name Damien Raphael echoed in her thoughts, vivid and unshakable. Despite never meeting him, his face haunted her dreams, accompanied by emotions too raw to ignore.
"Why me?" she whispered hoarsely, dragging herself out of bed.
