"It's so hot... unbearable..."
Half-asleep, half-awake, Charlotte Alston tossed and turned restlessly, her body burning up. An overwhelming discomfort crept over her, as if ants were crawling under her skin. She struggled to open her eyes, but everything was shrouded in a thick fog, making it impossible to see clearly.
Suddenly, she sensed someone near her, a man, his warm breath brushing against her ear. Panic shot through her, but when she tried to move, she found herself unable to. Her limbs felt heavy, immobile, and a strange noise buzzed in her ears.
She felt the heat in her body intensify as she struggled to make sense of what was happening. Then, an unexpected pain jolted her awake, a sharp discomfort that made her wince. She gritted her teeth, trying to endure it, but her awareness slipped away, fading further and further.
Her mind went blank, and then, there was nothing.
When Charlotte finally came to, her head throbbed as if it would split open. Dazed and confused, she blinked her eyes open, only to find herself in an unfamiliar situation. It felt like she had just lived through a scene from a novel she had read.
In her dream, she had become a factory worker in the 1980s, about to go on a blind date. Before the date, her cousin, Emma, had warned her about the man she was going to meet: "That soldier might be injured, maybe even missing a limb. He's probably older than you, with a bad temper."
Emma had insisted she slip something into the man’s drink to ensure nothing would happen during their date, and, as always, Charlotte had followed her cousin’s advice.
But the dream had taken an unexpected turn. What Emma had provided wasn’t harmless; instead, it had been a powerful substance, and in her nervousness, Charlotte had accidentally drunk the tea herself.
Suddenly, the hazy dream flashed into vivid memory. She recalled the plot of the novel: two strangers, meeting for the first time, ended up in a situation neither had expected. And it was all due to her cousin’s deceitful scheme.
Still reeling from the dream, Charlotte blinked again and her surroundings came into clearer focus. Next to her lay a man, and she gasped in disbelief. He was tall, muscular, and very much real. His sharp features, deep-set eyes, and strong jawline gave him a commanding presence.
Startled, she sat up quickly, only to be hit by a wave of pain radiating from her waist. Everything suddenly fell into place. This wasn’t just a dream. Somehow, she had traveled into the world of the novel she had been reading the night before: *Back to the 80s: Bedded by the Military Officer Nightly.*
And now, she was inside the body of a minor character, also named Charlotte, a woman who would meet a tragic fate after just a few appearances in the book.
As she tried to process this, loud footsteps and voices echoed from outside the door.
“Adultery! Adultery! Make way for the law!”
“Inspector, I saw them enter the room together. It’s shameful behavior!”
“Inspector, they’ll face punishment when they’re caught!”
“Open up! The inspection team is here!”
Charlotte’s heart sank. This was exactly how the plot in the book unfolded. Her cousin Emma had set everything up, orchestrating the scandal to destroy her reputation.
The footsteps and voices outside grew louder as the inspection team knocked on doors, checking each room. Charlotte remembered how the original character had lost everything—her job, her dignity, and ultimately, her life—due to this very scandal. Meanwhile, her cousin had used the situation to worm her way into the good graces of the male protagonist, Lucas Caldwell, a respected and handsome military officer.
Emma had gone on to marry him and live a life of luxury, all while Charlotte’s character met a tragic end.
But this time, Charlotte wasn’t about to let history repeat itself.
Thump, thump, thump!
“Open the door! The inspection team is checking!”
Her time was running out. The footsteps were getting closer, and soon they would reach her room.
