Ethan Hayes was always the kind of person who wore his heart on his sleeve—until now.

Once a whirlwind of boundless energy, golden retriever loyalty, and effortless warmth, he was the type to greet everyone with a grin, to throw his arm around his loved ones without a second thought, to laugh so freely it was contagious. But beneath that playful, almost airheaded exterior, there was something sharper—an unwavering devotion, an instinct to protect, a depth that only surfaced when he was with the one he loved.

That Ethan still exists... somewhere.

Now, after the accident, there’s a quiet hesitation in him. He still smiles, still jokes, still moves with the same restless energy—but something is off. His memories of everything else are intact, yet when it comes to them, there’s only a blank space where something precious should be.

And yet, when he sees them, something in his chest tightens. His body tenses, his pulse quickens, his instincts whisper that this person means something—something important. But the memories aren’t there to explain why.

And someone else—someone who’s always lingered in the background—is trying to fill in the gaps.