The scream that ripped from my lungs burned my throat as it exited my mouth. Clutching the sheets in my fists helped anchor me as my first instinct was to squeeze my eyes closed at the unbelievable sight. I peeked through the slits of my eyelids to witness the dark apparition blend into the shadow of the decorative tree snug in the corner.

Before I could let the silkiness of the sheet's satin fabric register in my palms, Nolan was at my side, rocking the bed as he crawled onto the mattress. "Babe? What's wrong?" His comforting palm caressed my lower back, easing my shock and simultaneously urging me to speak.

The more I stared at it, the tree's shadow looked more like a real shadow and less like an odd, black mist a strange ghostly figure left behind. Still, it did nothing to calm my nerves.

"Something was there, looking at me." I didn't tear my eyes from where she had appeared. "A woman. I could've sworn it was a woman."

"Oh, babe." He sighed and as his breath escaped his lips, I read the skepticism all over it. "The nap didn't help, yeah? I figured it would have since it was so difficult to wake you. You know you missed the livestream?"

My eyes watered with hot tears that refused to drop. "You don't believe me."

His slender fingers caressed my chin, urging me to turn and gaze into his deep blues before he planted a soft kiss on my aching temple. "You're overworked. I get it. I'll let you get away with it this time, but we must keep our promises for the fans." He backed away, causing me to rock as he left the bed. "In fact, as your manager, it's my job to hold you to your schedule and your obligations. Unless there's a real emergency—"

"I'm telling you I saw a woman standing there." I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, feeling the searing tears sting the rims of my lids. "She looked just like me."

"Aw, babe. You sure it wasn't a dream?" The sound of him tinkering with objects near the kitchen captured my senses. "You have the tendency to get riled up before big events."

I thought about the last gala I attended and how mentally unprepared I had been to simply walk the red carpet, and realized Nolan had a point. I had just awakened from a dream of the shadowy doppelganger. It wasn't too far-fetched for me to wake up believing I had seen her in real life. I rubbed my eyes with my knuckles, being mindful of the false eyelashes barely gripping the corner of my lid. "You're right. I'm such a mess right now."

"Maybe you're coming down with some sort of bug," he suggested, absentmindedly staring at the diamond trophy on the bar counter. "Complaining of headaches, sleeping in the middle of the day— I almost thought I would never be able to wake you."

"Yeah?" I stretched, feeling my rapid heartbeat slowly drop back to normal. "How long was I out?"

"I don't think the sponsors would be too happy, but you missed the entire thirty-minute live stream," he confirmed.

What? How could that be? "But I went down nearly an hour before the live stream."

"Exactly. I tried to wake you. I mean, I shook you, pulled your arm, I even tapped your pretty little cheeks several times, but you refused to budge." He went to the fridge, probably to fetch the wine he had stashed for celebration. "We'll have Joselyn schedule you an appointment with your doc, but after the weekend." He emphasized "after" with his British accent.

"Can't we just have Dr. Desirée make a house call?" I massaged my increasingly throbbing temple. "She can come out to me. She's on our payroll for a reason."

The commotion from the kitchen stopped, and I turned to see what had caused the silence. Nolan tilted his head and stared at me unblinking. Not even a strand of hair out of place. "There's so much to do over the next two days, Babe. More promo shoots. Another live stream tomorrow with the whole Q and A. I mean, this weekend is entirely booked."

"Yeah." I nodded, getting out of bed. "You're right. It can wait till Monday." I don't know what was going through my mind. Of course, Saturday and Sunday would be super busy, and I couldn't spare twenty-minutes for a doctor to look over me.

Of course.

I stashed away my irritation and tried to do the same with the anxiety and fear that remained since the nightmare. It didn't make sense to linger on my pain, the dream, or what I saw at the foot of my bed. And I sure didn't have any intention of causing Nolan and Jos any undue stress during our time here.

"Listen." He placed a couple of empty wine glasses on the counter. "I'll have Joselyn set you up with the doctor first thing Monday morning." He cleared his throat. "Hey Jos?" he called out to her, and his British accent grew stronger with the height in volume.

The click-clack of high heels announced her presence as she pushed the door open and entered the room. Bright white light from the studio across the hall lit up the space behind her. "Hey, guys! You rang?"

I sighed, reluctant to make a big deal out of my issue. "Can you schedule an early morning meeting with Dr. Desirée for Monday? My head is killing me." The throbbing was relentless and no matter how much I tried to not let the pain grasp my attention, that became the one thing I focused on.

"Aw, the stress getting to you?" She frowned, her shoulders dropping to portray her disappointment. "You're gonna do great like you always do. So many people's heads are gonna explode when they see you on that catwalk next week. You got this, girlie."

"Yeah, I know." I huffed, trying to ease the subtle ache that traveled from my head to my neck. "I'm just physically beat."

She frowned. "I get it. I'll get you set up with Dr. Desirée early Monday. Is there anything else you need before I head out?"

"That's everything." Nolan nodded.

"Alrighty." She waved, twiddling her manicured fingers in the air before pulling the studio keycard from her name brand purse. "See ya tomorrow." She turned and closed the door behind her. We listened to her receding footsteps as she crossed the large studio and exited the building.

As soon as she left, I went to my neatly stacked bags and suitcases in the corner of the room near the sofa and coffee table. I searched my purse for my cell phone but only sunglasses, a pack of mints, lip gloss and other junk stared back at me.

"Can I help you find something?" Nolan offered.

"Yea, I can't find my phone."

"I have it here." He pulled it from his pants pocket in a seductive motion that reminded me why I enjoyed his hands so much. With his sensual swagger, he made his way around the bar counter before placing it in my palm. "What's the issue?"

"No issues," I said while taking the phone. "It's just, the woman. I saw her in my dream, and she reminded me of my mom."

He paused, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets, changing his demeanor from spicy to arctic in seconds. "You're not calling her, are you?"

"Well, I thought I'd just check in..."

"No offense, Babe, but that woman is psycho," he scoffed, shaking his head in disapproval. "This is nothing new to you."

"Yeah, trust me. I agree, I just thought—"

"I mean, she doesn't support you or your career, your decisions, and especially our relationship. Much like my own folks." His jaw clenched, further highlighting his chiseled jawline.

It wasn't unusual that we were both dealing with parents who refused to be a part of our lives, each for different reasons, but mostly due to the direction we decided to take regarding our careers and love life.

"You're right," I sighed, rubbing my temple, trying my best to rid myself of the flush of embarrassment and frustration, "and I really don't want to remind you of what you went through with your parents—"

"Then don't." He shrugged and went back to the kitchen.

I stared at the phone in my hand, debating if I should continue the conversation and try to explain or change the subject.

The only contact I've had with Mom was around six weeks ago when I had been invited to walk the catwalk for UpTube's Fashion Week alongside other fashion influencers. All the excitement due to the event being streamed live she turned it into dread when she made it clear she had no interest in watching or supporting.

"Not as long as you continue to let those people treat you like a worn tampon," she had said. "They have only one use for women like you, and even though you perform to their liking, they'll eventually throw you out with the rest of the used trash." No matter how much I disagreed, she wouldn't budge. "That Nolan too. He's no different."

But she was wrong. Nolan had always been business oriented and serious about his work, and one thing he would never do was get rid of me. Right? He had been the one to encourage me to follow my dreams, opportunities be damned. He was the only one who told me, "If opportunities don't present themselves to you, create your own. Don't wait for others to tell you 'You have what it takes.' Show them." And ever since, luck has been in my corner.

I placed the phone on the coffee table and sat back on the couch. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Nolan smiled, showing off his cute dimples. "I know what you were thinking. You, my pretty, were thinking of doing an impromptu live stream to talk about fashion week and those sexy leggings you're wearing. Maybe we can save face with the SSL sponsorship."

I nodded, thankful for the potential distraction. Any distraction from the eerie figure of my dreams was a welcomed one. "Yeah, good idea."

~~~

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