Prologue
Logan
Afeeling creeps over me, cold and paralyzing.
The room tilts.
“You…you do know who I am, right? Angel?”
Her expression shifts, nervous now.
“You’re a doctor.” She says slowly, securing the blanket around her.
I shake my head, barely breathing. The world tilts violently beneath me, like the floor has been ripped away, leaving nothing but the black abyss below. My pulse thunders in my ears, drowning out every rational thought.
No. No, no, no.
This can’t be happening.
My hands tremble as I reach for the bed, needing something—anything—to steady myself.
My Angel.
She’s staring at me like I’m a stranger, just another face in the room. My stomach knots so tight it’s physically painful.
“Mac,” I whisper, forcing the word out through the suffocating pressure in my chest. “It’s me. Logan.”
Her brow furrows, her lips parting slightly, but there’s no recognition in her eyes. Just confusion. Wary, guarded, confusion.
“I—I’m sorry,” she stammers. “Should I know you?”
Something shatters inside me. It’s not pain—it’s devastation, raw and unforgiving. I feel it crack through my ribs, splintering into something jagged, something unbearable.
I spent weeks by her side. Held her hand. Sang to her. Begged her to come back to me. And now she’s awake, and I’ve lost her anyway.
My angel is gone.
She doesn’t even know who I am.
And just like that, every wall, every ounce of strength I’ve been clinging to for weeks, shatters.
They usher me out like I’m the one breaking.
My legs barely hold me. The hallway spins as the door clicks shut behind me, sealing me out—sealing her in. It’s like the air’s been sucked from the world, ripped straight from my lungs, leaving me hollow. My gut twists, sharp and violent. I brace a hand on the wall, half expecting to puke right here on the sterile, too-white floor.
None of this feels real.
It can’t be.
She’s just confused. Disoriented. Tired.
She’ll remember me.
She has to.
But the silence that follows me is deafening—until the memories crash in. Ruthless. Unforgiving.
Mac at five, twirling in that ridiculous pink party dress, blonde curls bouncing, one front tooth missing and that damn smile—God, that smile. The one that stole my breath long before I understood what love even was.
