An unbearable stillness pinned me to my bed.

I couldn’t move.

Couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t run.

I knew I was dreaming…

but that did nothing.

Something chased me in that darkness.

I couldn’t see it.

Couldn’t name it.

But I knew one thing with absolute, bone-deep certainty—

If I stopped, I would die.

Then suddenly—

the alarm exploded into the silence.

I shot up in bed, drenched in sweat.

My chest burned like I had been running for real.

The alarm, usually annoying, felt like a lifeline today.

My head throbbed.

My body felt heavy.

The fear hadn’t left.

I dragged myself to the kitchen, made coffee, and stared at the steam like it could pull me back to reality.

Scrolling through my emails for distraction…

one subject line froze me.

“From AG Group Company.”

My heart stuttered.

I opened it.

“Miss Irya, you have been selected as the new project team leader…”

Everything blurred.

My fingers trembled.

I dug my nails into my cheek just to feel something real.

I wasn’t dreaming.

This was happening.

I called Priya immediately.

She screamed before I said a full sentence.

We celebrated.

We laughed.

Then I told her about the nightmare.

“Maybe sleep paralysis?” she asked.

Maybe.

But the dream felt too heavy… almost like a warning.

Priya tried to calm me.

“Focus on the good news, Irya. This job can change everything. Even your dad’s treatment.”

I nodded, even though a part of me was still trapped in that dream.

At the office, congratulations poured in.

Smiles. Applause. Compliments.

But I saw it.

The envy.

The resentment behind their eyes.

A strange part of me fed off it.

I hated that…

but it was there.

“Irya?”

My manager’s voice cut through my thoughts.

“You okay?”

“Just overwhelmed, sir.”

He smiled. “Dinner tonight. Team celebration.”

I forced a smile back, but something twisted inside me.

This didn’t feel like a celebration.

It felt like a shift.

A beginning.

Or a warning.

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