Chapter 1

Three years.

That' s how long it had been since they threw me out of this city.

I stood on the balcony of my new apartment, looking out at the familiar skyline that no longer felt like home. The city hadn't changed, but I had. Three years ago, the thought of being here without Ethan Hayes would have shattered me. Now, I just felt a deep, hollow emptiness.

The love I once had for him, a desperate, all-consuming fire, had burned out. All that was left was ash.

They said I was obsessed, that I was crazy. They said I tried to ruin his life because he chose someone else. The papers had a field day with the story of the poor, delusional medical student and the wealthy business heir. Especially the part about Emily Vance, the woman he chose. The part they said I fabricated.

Now, I was back. Not as a student, but as a doctor. And the city was ready to judge me all over again.

My parents had thrown a welcome-home party. It was a mistake.

The air in their lavish living room was thick with whispers and sideways glances. I could feel their eyes on me as I stood by the window, holding a glass of water I didn't want.

"Is that her? Sarah?"

"She has some nerve showing her face here after what she did."

"I heard she was in a mental institution abroad. Looks like they let her out."

"Look at her, so cold. She' s probably plotting something. Poor Ethan, and poor Emily. They just got engaged, you know."

I heard it all. Their words were dull, distant sounds, like buzzing flies. They couldn't touch the core of me anymore. That part of me was already dead. I just wished they would leave me alone.

My mother came over, her smile tight and anxious. "Sarah, darling, why don' t you come and talk to Mrs. Albright? She was asking about you."

I didn' t move. "I' m fine here, Mom."

She wrung her hands. "Please, Sarah. Just try to be... pleasant."

Pleasant. A simple word that felt like an impossible demand.

Then, everything stopped.

The low murmur of the party was cut through by the sharp, authoritative voice of a news anchor on the large television mounted over the fireplace. My father liked to keep the business channel on, a constant stream of stock tickers and corporate news.

"We have some breaking news coming in," the anchor said. "A tragic update on the condition of renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carter, who was involved in a multi-car pile-up last week."

My head snapped toward the screen. The name echoed in the hollow space inside me, a sudden, sharp sound in a silent room.

Ben Carter.

Why did that name feel so important?

"Hospital officials have just confirmed that Dr. Carter, celebrated for his humanitarian work and groundbreaking research, has been declared brain dead. His family has made the difficult decision to..."

The anchor' s voice faded away. My glass slipped from my fingers and shattered on the polished floor. The sound was loud, violent, but I barely registered it.

A pain, so immense and so raw, ripped through my chest. It wasn't a thought. It was a physical force, a tidal wave of grief that buckled my knees. A sob tore from my throat, a sound so full of agony it didn' t feel like my own.

I didn' t know who Dr. Ben Carter was.

But I knew, with a certainty that defied all logic, that I had just lost everything.

The room fell silent. The whispers stopped. Now, the stares were not of judgment, but of sheer confusion. My mother rushed to my side, her face pale with shock.

"Sarah! What is it? What' s wrong?"

I couldn' t answer. I just knelt there, amidst the broken glass, choking on a grief I couldn' t name for a man I didn' t remember. Everyone in this room, everyone in this city, thought my world revolved around Ethan Hayes. They were waiting for me to break over his engagement to Emily.

But I hadn' t shed a single tear for him.

Instead, I was destroyed by the death of a stranger on the news.

Through the blur of my tears, I saw a pair of expensive leather shoes stop in front of me. I looked up.

It was Ethan.

His face, usually so composed and distant, was a mask of confusion and something else. Concern. He crouched down, his movements hesitant.

"Sarah?" he asked, his voice low. He reached out, his hand hovering over my shoulder before resting there gently. The touch was warm, but it did nothing to stop the shaking.

"What happened? Who is Dr. Ben Carter?"