Chapter 2

When I finally clocked in at the office, my coworker Harper immediately dragged me to the side.

"Chloe! Why are you just getting here? Let me tell you, we have a new department head! He is drop-dead gorgeous and seems so sweet and gentle.”

“Just looking at him makes me actually want to work! It's such a shame you missed his grand entrance."

Harper and I were both on the creative planning team. She had a wild imagination and loved to exaggerate everything.

As long as a guy wasn't downright hideous, she would describe him to me as a supermodel.

Well... she encountered an average of eighty "gorgeous guys" a day, so I didn't take her words seriously.

But when I saw our new boss that afternoon, I froze.

That face, which I had yearned for countless times, was standing right in front of me.

As if sensing my gaze, he looked over, but he didn't greet me. He didn't recognize me.

Right. To him, I was probably just the little neighbor girl from next door.

I comforted myself, making excuses for him, but a wave of sadness still washed over my heart.

The moment I saw him, a fire seemed to ignite inside me, burning all the way until I went to bed.

Unsurprisingly, I dreamed of him again.

In the dream, his fingers brushed against my lips, then slid down to my neck...

He kissed my neck, and my face flushed red.

I craved Ethan.

I knew it was a dream. I had lost count of how many times I had dreamed of this. In my dreams, I was always much bolder than in real life.

I heard him call my name, his voice overlapping with the one I heard at the office today:

"Chloe, you're so good, baby. I love you, Chloe."

I completely lost myself in his whispered confessions of love.

—Beep! Beep! Beep!

The alarm shattered my fantasy and dragged me back to reality.

I was still deeply immersed in my world with Ethan, unable to pull myself out. It took me a long time to remember that today was the day of my blind date.

I suppose everyone goes through a moment of clarity after being aroused. When I was sober, I absolutely hated myself for being like this.

I took a shower as usual, put on a newly bought white dress, and did some light, delicate makeup.

I had a very innocent, pure look—the classic petite and cute aesthetic with a baby face that was popular nowadays. At twenty-four, people still often mistook me for a high school graduate.

I thought about what my mom had said on the phone.

Maybe it was time to open my heart and start a normal relationship.

Ten years after I first started using Ethan in my fantasies, I decided to say goodbye to the Ethan in my head.