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"Ellie! Ellie, wake up!"
A voice broke through the suffocating darkness, shaking her violently. Ellie’s eyes snapped open, and she found herself staring into familiar, dark eyes. The fire was gone, but the residual pain lingered, her body trembling as if the heat still burned through her.
"Ellie, what’s wrong?" Lily’s concerned voice brought her back to reality, and Ellie realized she was in a hospital room, not on fire. Lily had a tissue in her hand, gently wiping the sweat from Ellie’s forehead.
"Bad dream," Ellie murmured hoarsely, trying to catch her breath. She swallowed, feeling the dryness in her throat before meeting Lily’s worried gaze. "But... it didn’t feel like just a dream."
Lily frowned, clearly confused. "What do you mean?"
Ellie took a deep breath and told her everything—the vision, the voice, the flames. Then, grabbing Lily’s hand tightly, she whispered, "I think… it’s my past. Someone deliberately set me on fire.” She paused, shuddering at the memory. "And that voice... it sounded just like Olivia’s."
Lily’s eyes widened in shock.
"That’s impossible," she said, shaking her head in denial. "It must be just an illusion. Olivia was overseas all this time. She’s Sawyer Stark’s fiancée. How could someone humble like you have ever been involved with some richi-rich brat like her?"
Ellie frowned, confusion swirling in her mind. She was so sure of it. That voice… it was Olivia’s. She knew that screech anywhere.
But how? Olivia’s face was different from the girl in her dream.
Lily sighed, pulling on her jacket and grabbing her purse from the chair by the door. "I have to go now. My shift’s starting. Take care of yourself, okay?" Her voice softened, laced with concern. "Call me if you need anything."
Ellie gave a weak smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes. "Thanks, Lily. I will." She watched her friend leave, the door clicking shut behind her.
Once alone, she turned her head toward the water bottle on the bedside table—empty. Sighing, she tried to push herself up from the bed, only to wince in pain as her foot, twisted from the accident, sent sharp agony through her body. She could barely put weight on it without feeling like she was being stabbed.
She sucked in a sharp breath, hands gripping the sides of the bed to steady herself. But there was no one around to help.
Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the empty bottle and limped out of the hospital room to find a water cooler.
A few minutes later she returned with a full bottle, her thoughts still consumed by the mystery of the voice, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been Olivia. But how could that be? Olivia had no reason to be involved in the nightmare.
"I can’t be wrong," Ellie muttered to herself. "That was definitely her voice. I know it. I’d recognize that screech anywhere. But… her face was different. Could it be that I knew Olivia before? But how would that even be possible?"
So lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice someone standing in front of her—until she crashed right into a firm chest.
Wincing, she stumbled back and looked up, annoyance written all over her face, only to find Jeremy standing there, looking amused.
Her eyes widened, and in an instant, her hand flew to her mouth. No way. She wasn’t going to let him kiss her in the hospital. Especially not when she looked this awful!
Chapter 12 Boyfriend
Seeing that, Jeremy burst into laughter. "You crack me up every time I see you, Ellie," he said. "I swear, I haven’t laughed this much in years. You’re my new favorite source of entertainment."
Ellie’s eyebrow shot up as she narrowed her eyes at him, unimpressed. "Good for you," she muttered, her tone laced with sarcasm. She lowered her hand but couldn’t stop the suspicion creeping into her voice. "Are you following me?"
Jeremy took his time to eye her from head to toe, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Sure. Your body is made of gold. I’m very interested in spending all my time following you," he said, his words thick with sarcasm.
Ellie straightened up, her posture becoming more guarded as her hand fell to her side.
"What happened to you?" Jeremy asked with a grin. "I leave you alone for a few hours, and you’re so devastated that you try to jump off a bridge?"
Ellie snickered, leaning against the hospital wall. "I was almost murdered. Someone hit me with a car. And now here I am. What about you?"
Jeremy sighed, shaking his head. "I was practicing next week’s dance for a model show when my choreographer turned out to be completely useless. Couldn’t match the music at all, and I almost broke my back. Had to fire him before I came here to get checked out, just to make sure I don’t have any serious injuries."
Then his eyes gleamed with an idea.
"Oh, right. You’re a choreographer, aren’t you?" He tilted his head. "How about you come work for me? Be my choreographer for this show, and if it goes well, I’ll hire you for more."