When I opened my eyes I was greeted with the sight of a beautiful ocean.

The sunset, the breeze, and the seagulls... I was reliving a dream.

It was a dream so perfect that if I had not experienced it again and again, I would have believed it was real.

Suddenly the wind blew causing my hair to flutter everywhere.

"Ahh..."

And there he was.

Mr. Faceless Handsome.

He smiled, he talked and my fast heartbeat was all I could hear.

We were walking along the shores of the ocean holding each other's hands when he stopped and pulled me to his chest. And right when our lips were about to touch I was pulled back by an invisible force.

"!"

"Don't think you can escape from me"

The scenery changed to the cliff on Mount Zion overlooking the Oric ocean and there I was caught within a pair of strong arms.

"Wherever you are. Whomever you may be masquerading as" A deep virile voice reverberated in my ears.

I may not know the face of the handsome man in the ocean but this one I do.

"No matter how much you resist"

The ocean disappeared in an instant and I was standing in front of a mirror.

The crimson-red eyes in the reflection are something that I have never seen in real life. But it was one I could recognize even in my sleep.

"I. Will. Find. You"

It was inevitable since he was repeating the same words with a creepy posture.

He swept his face across my neck as if to savor the scent and placed a deep kiss on the nape of my neck biting into the skin.

He whispered to my pale face,

"Wife"









*gasp*

Ann's eyes flung open as she panted gasping for air.

"Hhhhhh!" She pressed her hands to her face and grunted.

'Why is this happening!? I want my 'hot guy in a beach' normal dream back!' She was screaming on the inside.

Currently, Ann was in the middle of the Eldom forest on the way to Parthellam. Eugene was asleep in a sleeping bag next to her and Oliver was curled into a ball on the other side.

Ann took a deep breath and gazed at the night sky above. The sky was filled with countless stars. The moons in the sky were at their fullest lighting up the camp even without the bonfire.

Today was the third of October.

It was a day that held a significant influence on Angelica.

'The day I turn twenty-one'

Ann sat up and stretched her hands.

"Again"

The crazy dream was enough to knock every bit of sleep out of her system.

Even though the information from the third eye indicated that the novel was on track with the timeline and she had cut herself off for good.

Ann had been continuously plagued with the same dream every night.

'My instincts are a mess. I guess my mind finds it hard to accept that I'm free after years of hiding'

She was unconsciously anxious.

It would take approximately two weeks to cross Eldom forest owing to it being one of the largest forests in Orion.

The entourage was halfway through Eldom and was camping for the night with everyone taking turns for patrol.

'It's fine. It's fine. I'm overly conscious'

Ann calmed herself.

She got out of her sleeping bag and reached for her satchel.

"Well, I'm not gonna sleep anyway"

She pulled out the book she had been reading throughout the trip whenever she got breaks and got to her feet.

It was time to take a night stroll to clear the troubled mind.

Ann hailed down one of the Tullus mercenaries on patrol and walked into the woods book in hand.

*rustle* *rustle*

After aimlessly walking for fifteen minutes, Ann stumbled upon an opening between the trees. There was a boulder at the center of the opening providing a perfect seat with a view of the starry sky.

Ann leaned on the boulder and looked up at the sky.

"I miss you" She mumbled clutching her necklace.

"I miss you all"

Mom, Dad, Clive, Chirpy, Addie, Julian, Riven, the Eagle Knights, all the servants in the residence, even the stupid cousins... Ann was missing them all.

At that moment, Ann noticed a presence in the woods. It was moving in her direction.

*rustle*

It was getting near. Whoever or whatever it was, it was not trying to hide its presence.

*rustle* *rustle*

The trees moved as the sound was getting closer and closer.

It was a person.

Depending on the size and stature, it was a man.

But there was no reason for anyone from the entourage to be there. It was impossible for someone to be looking for her since she notified the people on patrol.

Just as he was about to enter the opening, Ann threw the book in hand toward that direction like a frisbee aiming for the head.

*catch*

"I thought I was alone" Ann let go of the breath she was holding in unconsciously.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you" Kalan apologized, emerging from the shadows.

In his hand was the book she was holding a second ago. Kalan had caught the book before it hit him.

"Why are you here?"

Ann got suspicious. It was half past two. Why was he there? Or why did he come when she was there?

"Beside your leg" said Kalan as he walked towards her.

'Leg?' Ann glanced beside her feet.

She wanted to facepalm when she noticed a small box, the size of a ring holder. It was in her nature to get suspicious.

"Oh?"

Ann crouched down and picked up the small box. It was only half visible in between the grass. If it weren't for the moon shining brightly, she wouldn't have noticed it.

A pair of boots stopped before her eyes. Ann looked up to find Kalan standing in front of her. She got to her feet and passed the box to Kalan.

"I must have dropped it when I was here earlier" He hesitantly took it in his hands and stared at it.

'How the hell did I mistake this man for that b*stard' Ann discreetly clicked her tongue. It was all because of that crazy dream.

'My senses were momentarily heightened and I panicked' She cried. But the damage was already done.

Ann awkwardly scratched her cheek and explained,

"I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else and.... threw a book at your face"

"It was me who surprised you. It is only natural you would react like that" Kalan bowed his head and apologized again.

'Is he an angel?'

Ann saw a halo glow behind Kalan. It felt wrong to compare the compassionate and well-mannered Kalan with the b*stard who extravagantly proposed to his girlfriend above his wife's murder sight.

While Ann was busy self-loathing, Kalan turned over the book in his hand and read its title.

'He and his other half'

He flipped through the pages and started to skim its contents without any warning.

"!"

By the time Ann came back to her senses, Kalan had already gone through ten pages and was turning onto the eleventh.

Flustered, Ann swiped the book from his hands at the speed of lightning and hid it behind her.

'Why is he reading that!?'

The first ten pages were riddled with explosive graphic R-rated scenes that even she found hot reading.

"That.... that"

Embarrassed, Ann's face blushed red. She tried to come up with excuses, but the neurons in her brain were firing at rapid phases that they gave up and collapsed leaving her on her own to come up with a defensive PR strategy.

"..."

Kalan blinked with extended hands. He seemed confused by Ann's sudden change in attitude.

"You recognize this. Don't you?" Ann raised her eyebrows.

Usually, people who encounter these kinds of books either twist their faces in disgust like Jade does or become extremely embarrassed like Eugene. Not read it calmly like Kalan was demonstrating.

"Do you read these?" Ann's eyes widened.

"No"

Kalan answered flatly. He stopped her before she could jump to conclusions and added,

"I don't read it. But I am familiar with the genre"

If he was not interested in the genre but was familiar enough to read it without batting an eye, it must be someone he was extremely fond of.

'That's right!'

Ann realized in an instant who Kalan was talking about.

'His wife! She must be a fan too!'

"But the names in this book are..." Kalan dragged, unable to finish his sentence.

"Haha... The name what?"

Ann laughed trying to act innocent.

"The setting sounds like I've heard it before..." Kalan narrowed his eyes on her.

"Haha..." Ann avoided looking into his sharp eyes.

But the cat was out of the bag anyway so there was no use in hiding it.

"Ah... yes. It is about your historic figures" Ann swept her fingers across the cover of the book.

Though Kalan may have been cool about it. Not everyone would like to watch their historic figures being featured in an R-rated BL novel.

"It is restricted in Orion. So...sssh! Keep it a secret"

She winked and chuckled causing a small smile to appear on his face.

"It's a good book. Easy way to learn history if you ask me" Ann took a seat on the boulder and tapped beside her urging Kalan to sit down.

'Especially for people like me who hate long boring books'

"But the sad part is. I know how it will end. They're both gonna die..."She clicked her tongue and sighed.

"That aside your wife must be loving this book"

"It's all about the time you spend together with a loved one that matters" Kalan interrupted her,

"They will forever be a part of our lives since we will remember them. Even if they are in a distance we cannot reach or at an arm's length"

"..."

Ann was taken aback by his words.

There was longing and sadness in his voice. It was as if he was missing someone he held dear.

He was right. As long as we hold them in our hearts they are always there as a part of us.

"You must be missing your wife..." Ann smiled playfully.

It was a case quite common among mercenaries and merchants that take long jobs. Since it takes weeks or months to return home they tend to have emotional battles from missing their other half.

But Ann regretted asking almost immediately after seeing Kalan's expression.

"My wife left me"