"Get the fuck off of me!" I push against his chest, but he's immovable. I smell the alcohol on his breath, and my stomach churns, both with fear and nausea. His height always gave me a sense of safety; now, it fills me with dread. It lurks in my stomach, fighting its way out and clawing up. My fists pounded on his chest, trying to make him move.

One hand grips both of my wrists, pinning them above my head. "Don't worry, my dove," he says maliciously. "I'll take very good care of you."

Like hell, he would. I push and thrash until I'm all sweaty. I can feel his other hand swiping over my cheek, wiping the tears away. Just when I'm sure I'll pass out from exhaustion and frustration, there's an alarm blazing right beside my ear.

I wake up sweating and gasping for breath. With a grunt, I silence the alarm on my phone.

6:30 AM.

"Ugh…" I groan and rub my eyes, wiping away the tears and fighting the chill of the still-lingering nightmare. That was way too real. It's been 2 years since my ex, Brian. Two whole years, but he still haunts my nightmares. Not as often as he used to, but on occasion, and whenever I'm stressed, it gets worse.

6:31 AM.

Right. I should get out of bed. With crackling fingers, wrists, and shoulders, I get out of bed and walk to the other bedroom in the house. Softly, I knock on the door.

"Sam? You up?" Nothing. I knock again. "Sam. You better give me a sign you're awake, or I'll burst into your room."

"…hmm. I'm up…"

My sister's voice comes through the door, and I smile. If there's one thing she hates, it's when I come into her room. The trick always works.

"Breakfast at 7:30!" I said. Without waiting for an answer, I walk over to the bathroom, wash my face, and change into workout clothes.

I know, I know. Working out before 7—who does that? Well, I never would've taken myself for 'that' person. But ever since my 'lovely' ex started haunting me in my nightmares, I noticed going outside in the morning for a jog or walk helps me clear my head. I put my headphones on, and with a steady beat, I tie my shoes. A minute later, the door locks with a beep, and I step out on the street.

Our house lies next to the quiet street that leads through the small neighborhood I call home. Being almost summer, the sun is already up and begins warming up my exposed shoulders. I really should've worn sunscreen already.

From the corner of my eye, I see movement behind the window. The elderly lady, who lives three houses further down, is also up. She waves at me when she notices me. I wave back and continue my run. Old people and waking up early—I've never understood why. When you've retired, you can sleep in all you want. And you have no obligations for the rest of the day. So, if you wake up at 6:30, then what are you going to do all day? But she's a nice lady. She has watched Sam sometimes whenever I had to go out for a job interview. Always secretly, of course. I never want Sam to find out. Sam doesn't want to be babied, but I don't want something to happen to her. So, secret watcher, it is. As I keep on running, my breath steady and music heavy in my ear, the fear from the nightmare slowly slips away.

By the time I get home, my mind is clear, and it's 7:15. I hear Sam in the bathroom, so I begin making breakfast. Nothing fancy, just yogurt with some fruit and oats.

"Ah, you're back again?" Sam mutters in the door opening that leads to the kitchen. She still looks sleepy. I am once again stunned by the difference between us. I have straight, blonde hair, while hers is brown and curly. She looks like our dad, and I look like our mother.

"The bathroom is free if you wanna use it." She yawns. "Thanks for the breakfast." Like a zombie, she gets a bowl and begins eating.

I chuckle. "You're welcome. I'm gonna take a shower."

No answer.

At this time of the morning, I shouldn't even bother with any questions. She either won't hear them, or if she does, she pretends she doesn't hear them. I don't give it further thought and get ready for the day. I had lunch planned with my coworker friends, and to do that, I had to be in the office earlier than usual.

My new office job is just as I planned. It's fun, I have some friends, and it gives me bigger chances to climb up the business ladder. And above all, it's stable. My boss, Jessica, is amazing and gave me a lot of opportunities to develop my career and get my life on the road. With a troubled ex and a difficult family, I needed that. And now, it's the sixth-month anniversary of my time at the same office.

I wash my hair, turn off the shower, and quickly get dressed. When I get downstairs, Sam is done eating and waiting for me to bring her to school. I pack my breakfast because I don't have any time to eat it at home, and we quickly get in the car. Music on the radio is the only sound in the car, apart from Sam’s nails clicking against her phone whenever she types something.

"Oh yeah, by the way," she tells me, her eyes still on her phone. "I have a party at Christina’s today. So, don’t pick me up!"

Assuming she’s messaging Christina, I nod. "Yes, I got it. I won’t pick you up." I continue. “Don’t stay out too late today, and no drinking.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“If I smell alcohol on you when you come back, I really will not like it.”

“Yeah. I got it.” She briefly looks up from her phone. “Don’t be so paranoid. I won’t become like him or something.”

A blush creeps up. “I know. I’m just saying.”

“Okay…”

I can almost feel her roll her eyes at me, but she continues instead, clicking away on her phone. The music on the radio continues, making it a bit less quiet, but I’m glad when I make it to the school.

“Have fun today!” I say this as Sam opens the car door and steps out.

“Yup. You too, bye!” She waves as she turns and walks toward the school. Us being sisters and me acting like a mom is often awkward. It’s especially awkward when she brings up my ex. And she knows it too.

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Arriving at work, I'm the first one in the parking lot. That is, until I see Jessica's car pulling up right next to me in the parking spot.

"Melody, good morning!" She waves at me, all smiling and so unlike me.

"Morning, Jessica. Early as wellI see?" I smile back politely.

Jessica is a 45-year-old woman who looks to have it all figured out. Her hands are neat, her nails are always done, as are her clothes, and she always comes in heels. Compared to her, I look like a toddler.

"Yes, my husband told me to take some time off of work so he could take me out for a romantic dinner." She smiles warmly. "He's the best husband someone could wish for."

Oh yeah, and she's also married. If I had just one word to answer what the perfect life would look like, I would just say Jessica. A loving husband who helps her with everything she asks for and does not ask for. An equal. He's doing some chores; she's doing some chores. Equally distributed. I always get depressed whenever I listen to her rambling about her perfect husband. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to be single and live with Sam. At the same time, isn't it kind of sad when you want a partner who does the bare minimum? Such as chores? Like, the bar is so low, and yet, I haven't found one. The irony isn't lost on me, believe me.

We walk into the big business center together and take the same elevator to the 17th floor. A younger gentleman with black hair joins us in the elevator as well, but when he sees that the 17th floor is already pressed, he relaxes his hand and greets us.

Jessica greets him back, as do I. I haven't seen him around, but on the 17th floor, there's also another company located, so I figure he works there.

The chances of us meeting again are slim, and I don't want to come off as overly friendly. By the looks of him, he seems young, about my age. If there's anything I don't want, it’s for anyone to think I'm available. I quickly glanced at him. His black hair is tousled, and it looks like he tried to style it by brushing his hands through it. If I hadn't met Brian, my ex, this guy would've been my type.

"What about you?" Jessica asks, dragging me back to our conversation. "Coming in early for work makes me think you have evening plans as well." She raises her eyebrows suggestively.

I laugh a bit awkwardly. "No such thing; trust me. I planned to have lunch with the girls, and I just wanted to put in some extra work. I have that big client I'm working on, so I don't have the luxury of taking an hour extra off."

Jessica sighs. "Ah, so hard-working. Have you already forgotten what I said? Relax and live a little more instead of working all the time."

The bell of the elevator rings, and the three of us go out, walking towards the reception, where the employee greets us politely. Here's where I usually go right, and Jessica goes left.

"I know; I haven't forgotten. I promise, after this client, I'll take it easy for a little bit." I laugh. "It feels a bit weird to promise to relax for my boss, though."

Jessica laughs too. "Well, I'm not every day's boss, you know?" She winks. "When you decide to take it a little easier, you gotta live a little. Go on dates, perhaps. You have a nice face; I'm sure the boys are lined up for you." After that comment, she pats me on the shoulder and wishes me good luck with the work. Then she turns to the guy who got out of the elevator with us. "Mr. Hong? Please come with me."

I look at them while they walk away. It looks like I underestimated the presence of Mr. Hong. I shake my head, trying to focus on the work that awaits me. "Well, Jessica," I murmur while walking to my desk, "believe it or not, I'm not willing to go on dates. I don't have romance in my cards. And honestly, I don't want it." The nightmare from this morning resurfaces for a second. I shiver. No, I'm sure of it. Romance isn't for me, and I'm not even sure if it's real.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a depressed person, nor am I a pessimistic one. I only happen to know so many bad examples of 'romance' that I don't believe in it. My parents didn’t have it. Their parents also didn’t have it. When I first met Brian, I thought my story would go a bit differently, but I was wrong. In my opinion, true romance comes with every blue moon, and I have never seen a blue moon.

For the remainder of the morning, I just work. I put Jessica's words out of my head and made sure a part of my work was done before lunch. The big client, Mr. Miller, is demanding more and more, and I am considering if I should just tell Jessica about it. He wants me to write the revisions, but that is not my work. Grammatical and spelling checks, sure. Yes, give him advice about how to better engage with the readers. It's not my job however, to rewrite his work into something sellable.

"So, are you just going to sigh all day, or are you going to have lunch with us?" When I tear my eyes away from the paper before me, I see Ava looking down at me with her arms crossed. Ava is my direct supervisor, who works under Jessica. Jessica and she have a lot of meetings together, which Ava then directs to me and to Isabella, who stands right next to her, forever holding her notebook. Isabella joined the company about 3 months ago and is the assistant to Ava, although Ava also lends her as my assistant sometimes, which I'm forever grateful for.

"Sorry, what time is it?"

"Way too late, as usual." She turns to Isabella. "Remind me again that when we're planning a lunch with Miss Busy, we have to leave 10 minutes early."

I grin. "Sorry, again. Let me just fix this one sentence. Then, I'll join you!" I hear Ava sigh next to me, but then she leaves.

"Let's go, Isabella." And then to me: "5 more minutes!"

Eventually, they ended up shutting my laptop down after making sure I'd saved it and dragging me out. We go to the place we usually visit. It's a cozy café that serves all kinds of coffee, cakes, and lunches. It's nothing fancy, but the vibes are great, and, not to forget, it's a book café. Everywhere you look, there are books. And the best part is; you're encouraged to read them by the staff.

Having ordered our food, Ava is the first to bring up the gossip. "So, has anyone seen Mr. Hotshot already? I've heard we're getting a new employee, and he's going to work in our team."

"Mr. Hotshot? Who's that?" Isabella's curiosity chimes in.

"Mr. Hong," Ava says with an air of mystery. "Sounds cool, right?"

I bite my sandwich and don't dare say a word this morning. If I heard Jessica right, that means I've met this so-called 'Mr. Hotshot'.

"Melody. You're suspiciously quiet." Ava looks at me. "Spill."

I smile awkwardly. "Well, I was going up the elevator this morning with Jessica, and a younger guy whose name is Mr. Hong joined us." When I don't say anything else, the girls urge me to go on.

I laugh. "He's cute, I think. I'm not looking for anything right now. Also, if you're right and he's going to be working on our team, that means he's going to be our coworker. Dating coworkers will only bring trouble."

"Yeah, yeah." Ava waives my concerns away. "We know. But this could be good, right?"

I raise an eyebrow at Ava. "Good? In what way? As I said, dating brings trouble."

"Who said anything about dating?" Ava says.

The conversation falls silent, and even Isabella, who is usually the chattiest out of the three of us, falls silent.

I laugh. "What? You're talking about a rebound, friends with benefits?" When she doesn't say anything, I sit back in my chair. "Wow, you want me to lose my job, huh?"

"No, of course not." Ava laughs. "I'm just saying it could be good to get back into the dating game. After what you've been through, you deserve it."

I sigh as I take a sip from my drink. "That's cute, but dating or whatever with a coworker is the worst idea ever. I'm never going to do that."

"Hm, sad. I hoped we could go on a double date." She says it innocently.

I know she's everything but innocent. If the stories are true, then she has dated more than 20 guys. Not long, of course, and no strings attached. Still, I respect her for doing her own thing and not being ashamed of it. If I were to do that, I would have anxiety about what people were thinking of me.

After our lunch, we get back to work. I'm in the middle of fixing one of Mr. Miller's mistakes, which is still not my job when Jessica walks in with Mr. Hong, or "Hotshot.".

"Ava, Melody, and Isabella Let me introduce you to Jason Hong. He will be part of your team as a literary agent, just like Melody. " She guides Jason towards me.

"Melody, your task is to teach Jason everything you know and make him feel part of the team."