The next morning, sunlight poured through the curtains as Anna sipped her lukewarm coffee. A soft knock came at the door. Confused, she opened it and found a small white envelope resting on the floor. Elegant handwriting scrawled her name across the front. No sender. No seal. Just mystery.
She opened it carefully.
"You are cordially invited to a private dinner at The Royal Garden Hotel. Formal attire required. 7:30 PM tonight."
Anna's heart skipped. No name. No explanation. Just… a dinner.
Anna called Raily to confirm whether it was her.
"She said no and asked Anna, 'What happened, Anna?''
"Raily, this has to be a mistake," she murmured over the phone.
But deep inside, something tugged at her—familiar, haunting, inevitable.
Was it him?
Anna stared at the invitation, her fingers tracing the gold-embossed edge. It must be Jace, she thought. Who else would send something like this with no name? He was always trying to surprise her, always doing sweet, thoughtful things.
She called him.
"Jacy? Did you send me something this morning?"
Jace paused on the other end. "Nope. What are you talking about?"
Anna's brows furrowed. "An invitation. Fancy dinner. No name on it."
Jace chuckled. "Sounds romantic. Maybe you have a secret admirer?"
"Shut up," she said with a nervous laugh, but her chest tightened. If not Jace, then who?
Her mind flickered—not to someone she knew, but to someone she dreamt. The one she had been trying to forget.
"No… it can't be him. It's just my imagination again."
Still, the rest of her day passed in a daze, and when the evening came, she found herself in front of her closet, choosing a black satin dress.
By 7:00 p.m., Anna was standing outside the grand entrance of The Royal Garden Hotel, her heels clicking on the marble floor. She gave her name to the host.
He looked down at the list and nodded. "Right this way, Miss Anna."
The doors opened.
And then—her breath caught.
At the far end of the candle-lit room, stood a man in a tailored suit, back turned, the air around him humming with quiet power. Slowly, he turned.
Not a dream.
Reality.
As he turned around, Anna froze.
(To be continued.....)