Prologue

Sofia's POV

It’s 5 PM, and cheerleading practice has just ended. A wave of nervousness washes over me as I realize how little time I have before my 6 PM meeting with Dominic. I can feel the excitement building inside me, but the pressure of possibly being late makes it hard to focus. I rush to the shower, scrubbing away the sweat of practice as quickly as I can, the sound of water almost drowned out by my thoughts of him. The rush of adrenaline, the thrill of being near him again, fills my every sense, but the minutes are slipping away too fast. After getting dressed in a hurry, I jump into my car, my heart racing—not just with anticipation, but with the constant fear of running late. The road stretches out before me, endless and unfamiliar, but I can’t help but smile at the thought of being with him. I’m almost there.

And yet, in the blink of an eye, everything shifts. As I’m driving, my heart pounding in rhythm with the beating of my thoughts, a sudden jolt shakes me from my daydreams. My back bumper slams into something, sending a shockwave of panic through my body. Before I can even register what’s happened, the car lurches, veering wildly, as if it has a life of its own. My hands grip the steering wheel, trying desperately to regain control, but it’s too late. The car crashes—hurtling me toward the other side of the road. I barely have time to react before the impact with the post comes, violently shaking the entire vehicle. My breath catches in my throat, and the excitement of seeing Dominic is replaced by a suffocating wave of dread.

The impact is so forceful that everything goes black. One moment, I’m racing toward him, full of hope, and the next, the world is consumed by silence. The spinning, the screeching tires, the sudden force of the crash—all of it blurs into a haze of confusion. I lose consciousness as the darkness wraps around me, pulling me under.

I wake up to an unfamiliar stillness, a throbbing pain radiating through every inch of my body. The sterile, clinical smell of antiseptic fills the air, sharp and unpleasant. My eyes flutter open, and I find myself in a white, cold room. The brightness of the lights above stings my senses, making everything feel more distant, more unreal. It’s hard to focus, my thoughts thick and clouded, as though I’ve been adrift for far too long. For a moment, I don’t even know where I am. The room is bare, almost too clean—too perfect.

"Good thing you're awake, Sofia," a voice says, smooth but familiar. The sound makes my chest tighten with unease, and I slowly turn my head to see a man sitting beside my bed. His face is warm, his smile meant to reassure, but something about it doesn’t sit right. There’s a heaviness in his gaze, something I can’t place.

I blink, struggling to focus. "Wh-who are you?" My voice is hoarse, barely more than a whisper. I try to meet his eyes, but nothing about him feels familiar. The pain is all-consuming, a constant reminder that something is terribly wrong, but my mind refuses to grasp anything beyond that.

His smile falters, and a flicker of concern shadows his features. "I’m your husband, Sofia. Gabriel." His voice softens, the words hesitating before they leave his lips. "You don’t remember me?"

Husband? The word feels foreign, like it belongs to someone else’s life. Married? How could I be married? I search his face, my mind scrambling to form any connection, any recognition—but it’s all empty. I don’t know him. I don’t know me. My thoughts spiral, questions swirling faster than I can catch them. Why can’t I remember?

He holds my gaze, as if willing me to understand, but I see nothing that makes sense. His presence should be comforting, but instead, it feels like a puzzle I can’t solve, a life I can’t reach.

"I-I don’t understand," I stammer, my voice trembling, barely above a whisper. "What happened to me? Why am I here?"

Gabriel’s expression softens, his eyes dark with something I can’t quite name. His hand gently takes mine, his touch warm, but it doesn’t calm me. "You’ve been in an accident, Sofia. You’ve been unconscious for a while. But you’re safe now." He smiles again, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes—there’s something off in the way he looks at me. The tenderness in his voice feels like a layer over something darker, something I can’t quite place.

An accident? The word seems too distant, too impersonal. I can’t bring myself to connect it to my reality, to my broken body. I try to recall anything, a single piece of the puzzle, but my mind is a blank. What happened to me? What happened to my life?

"I... I don’t remember anything," I whisper, panic rising in my chest, tightening around my ribs. "I don’t even remember you."

For a brief moment, Gabriel’s expression hardens, his eyes flickering with something I can’t read. Then, just as quickly, he masks it with a calm smile. He leans closer, his voice low and soothing. "It’s okay, Sofia. We’ll take it slow. You don’t have to remember everything at once. Just know that I’m here, and I’ll be here for you, no matter what."

But even as he speaks those words, a feeling of dread settles into the pit of my stomach. Something isn’t right. How could I forget everything? How could I forget him? The questions pile up, each one more pressing than the last, but none of them can find their answers.