So hot. Way too hot.

Evelyn Parker felt scorching hands moving across her body, and her dazed eyes fluttered open, trying to figure out what was going on.

Through the haze, a man's face appeared, slowly leaning in toward her.

His eyes burned with a sharp, almost dangerous light in the dark—like he could devour everything in sight.

"You..." She wanted to ask who he was, but before the words fully formed, his mouth crashed down on hers.

His kiss was searing, like a flame consuming her, and her body only burned hotter.

For a moment, it was like her mind went totally blank. A jolt ran through her body, making her fall deeper without resistance.

The room was dim, only a soft sliver of moonlight slipping through the gauzy curtains, casting a faint glow on the tangled bodies on the bed.

Evelyn squinted in the weak light, trying to get a better look at the man above her. His refined and striking features were half hidden in shadow, making his face look cool and unreadable.

She stared, trying hard to memorize every detail.

Beep, beep, beep, beep—

The harsh sound of her alarm cut through the silence, waking her up instantly.

That dream. Again!

Evelyn let out a frustrated sigh. This same dream had been haunting her nearly every night for over a month now. And it wasn't just any dream—it was steamy. She had a real, flesh-and-blood fiancé, yet here she was, dreaming about getting intimate with some random stranger?

She couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

And the weirdest part? The dream felt way too real.

Just then, her phone buzzed from where it rested beside her pillow.

"Evelyn! Come to the hospital—Michael's awake!" a voice shouted excitedly the moment she picked up.

Evelyn's breath caught.

"Emily... what did you just say? Michael... he's really..." Her voice trembled, like even breathing too hard might snap the moment in half.

"You heard me. He's awake! Come now!" Emily Reed repeated, her tone sure and urgent.

He's awake? Michael's really awake?

Overwhelmed with joy, Evelyn raced to the hospital.

She'd been with Michael for three years. If not for that crash, they'd already be married.

Six months ago, on their wedding day, Michael got into a terrible car accident on the way to pick her up. And just like that, he was out cold—six whole months.

She'd waited so long for this day. Now, it had finally come.

She rushed into the hospital, heart pounding, and pushed open the door to his room.

There he was.

The man she missed every single day was sitting up in bed, gazing at her with bright, gentle eyes.

It was real—Michael was awake.

Tears spilled down Evelyn's face in an instant.

"Evelyn..." Michael murmured, his voice husky and soft.

She'd lost so much weight. The round cheeks he used to tease her about were gone, her face now sharp and drawn. Without her saying anything, he could tell—she'd had a rough time.

His chest tightened seeing her like this.

"Michael, you just woke up. You should lie down a bit longer," Sophia Carter said, standing by the bed, her tone full of concern.

Sophia? What's she doing here? Where's Emily?

Evelyn was caught off guard. Just as she was about to speak, a wave of nausea hit her hard, and she bent over, dry heaving.

"Evelyn, are you okay?" Michael Reed asked, frowning with worry at her sudden reaction.

"It's nothing serious, just a little..." She waved her hand dismissively, trying to brush it off, but before she could finish, another bout of nausea came over her, forcing her to bend down again.

"You look awful and still say it's nothing? My sister told me how you've been taking care of me day and night while I was out. No way, I'm taking you to see a doctor right now," Michael said firmly, thinking she must've exhausted herself, messing up her stomach.

Evelyn didn't think much of it at first, but he insisted, so they ended up going to the gastroenterology department.

Unexpectedly, after a few checks, she got redirected to gynecology.

"Congratulations, you're about five weeks pregnant," the doctor said as she glanced at the report.

"There must be some mistake, I can't be pregnant," Evelyn said instinctively, her conscience completely clear. She figured the hospital must've mixed something up.

"Yeah, she must've just had a stomach bug or something," Michael quickly backed her up.

"Our hospital wouldn't make that kind of basic mistake. But if you're not convinced, you're welcome to do another test," the doctor replied, very matter-of-fact.

Sophia's eyes flickered with a trace of smug satisfaction when she heard the doctor's words.

With mixed feelings, the group waited while Evelyn did another test. But the result was the same—she really was pregnant.

"No... that's not possible," Evelyn muttered in disbelief, staring at the report.

Michael grabbed the papers and scanned them, his expression frozen. "This can't be. I was in a coma from the accident six months ago. There's no way you could be pregnant!"

"If it's not Michael's... then it must be someone else's, right?" Sophia mumbled, voice low but just loud enough that both of them could hear.

"Sophia, don't throw words like that around!" Evelyn shot her a glare, voice tense with anger.

She had never even been with Michael like that. How in the world could she be pregnant?

"I mean, Evelyn, I wish I could think otherwise, but the report is crystal clear. How could you be seeing someone else while Michael was unconscious? That's so messed up—it'd completely crush him!" Sophia said, twisting the knife.

"I didn't!" Evelyn shook her head desperately and turned to the man in the wheelchair. "Michael, listen to me, the hospital must've made a mistake. I swear, there's no way I..."

But then the dream she'd had earlier flashed through her mind. Suddenly, she wasn't so sure anymore.

Wait... what if that wasn't a dream at all? What if it had really happened?

"This is Central General Hospital we're talking about. Even if the first test result was a fluke, there's no way the second one is too, right?" Sophia glanced at Michael's darkening face and kept pushing it further.

Finally, the man in the wheelchair snapped. "Evelyn, how can you still deny it after all this?"

Michael gripped that glaring medical report tightly in his hand, eyes cold as ice. His stare pierced through her like needles, making Evelyn feel like she couldn't even breathe. She knew it—he totally bought Sophia's story. He genuinely thought she cheated.

But she couldn't just let it go like that. There were too many shady things about all of this. She had to explain it to him. She reached out quickly, trying to grab his arm. "Michael, please, just hear me out—"

"Evelyn, seriously? You're carrying someone else's baby and still clinging to Michael? Are you trying to trap him into being a dad?" Sophia cut her off sharply, taking a step forward and shoving her hard.

"Ah!" Evelyn stumbled and crashed to the ground, unable to keep her balance.

People had gathered around the doorway, all whispering and judging, throwing her glances filled with disgust—as if she really was some heartless cheater.

One woman in the crowd had just been cheated on herself, and seeing Evelyn just made her snap. She grabbed a newly bought ashtray from her bag and hurled it at Evelyn without thinking.

It hit Evelyn right on the head.

Blood instantly streamed down her forehead.

The room buzzed with cruel gossip. No one offered a hand or a kind word—just more insults, even telling her to go die.

Michael winced at the sight, clearly affected. But then he reminded himself—she'd betrayed him while he was in a coma. She had someone else's kid now. So why should he care?

Evelyn lay on the cold hospital floor, palms scraped and bleeding, blood from her forehead dripping down her pale face. She looked a mess. But all of it hurt less than the way Michael looked at her—like she was nothing to him now.

Her voice trembled with despair. "Michael... Can you please just let me explain?"

"There's nothing to explain, Evelyn. I can't believe you turned out to be this low. You're disgusting. Don't show up in front of me again."

Then, without another glance, he turned his wheelchair around and left her in pieces.

"Michael, wait up!" Sophia called as she threw Evelyn one last smug look and quickly followed behind.

Evelyn had never felt this humiliated. "Disgusting"? "Low"? She never thought Michael would say those words to her. She wanted to be angry—but who was she supposed to be angry at? Not even she knew who the baby's father was.

It was downright pathetic.

Just then, a group of men in black suddenly showed up. One of them, tall and calm, knelt beside her.

"Ms. Parker," he said gently, "Sorry for not coming sooner."