chapter one

Noah’s POV

As I slowly opened my eyes, the harsh hospital lights immediately attacked them.

Seriously, who invented hospital lights? Were they trying to heal patients or interrogate criminals?

Voices echoed around me, muffled and unclear, making my already pounding head hurt even more.

“Noah.”

I turned toward the strangely familiar voice and found a man standing beside my bed.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

Sharp jawline.

Annoyingly handsome.

Unfortunately… I had absolutely no idea who he was.

“Who are you?” I asked weakly.

The question made him freeze.

A visible frown immediately appeared on his forehead.

“What do you mean, who am I?”

Well, excuse me for not memorizing the face of every attractive stranger on earth.

I squinted at him more carefully.

He looked familiar… very familiar actually. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t place him.

“I’m Noah…” I dragged slowly, waiting for him to introduce himself.

And while waiting, my brain unfortunately decided this was the perfect time to notice how good-looking he was.

Like seriously unfair-looking.

I wondered briefly what his abs looked like under his shirt before mentally slapping myself.

Focus, Noah. You are literally in a hospital bed.

Then he dropped the biggest bomb of the century.

“It’s me. Ethan. Ethan Vale.”

I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Hold on.

Ethan Vale?

THE Ethan Vale?

No way.

I mean… now that I looked closely, he did resemble Ethan. Same eyes. Same annoying serious expression. But this version looked older. Taller too. More mature.

Which honestly felt illegal.

“If you’re Ethan,” I started carefully, “why do you look like… this?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “Like what?”

“Older,” I said immediately. “And more mature.”

“This is how I’ve always looked.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“No. People don’t age overnight.”

Wait.

Why was I even arguing with him?

This idiot was the reason I was in the hospital in the first place.

“You know what?” I snapped suddenly. “You’re the reason I’m here! Why would you tell me to meet you after school?”

Ethan’s entire expression changed.

“What do you mean after school?”

“Yes, after school!” I repeated. “You literally texted me saying it was important. Then I got hit by a car because your dramatic ass couldn’t wait until morning.”

Okay… maybe I was being slightly dramatic.

But in my defense, I was currently wearing a hospital gown that exposed my dignity to the public.

Ethan stared at me like I had personally offended his ancestors.

Then his face slowly lost color.

“Noah…” he said carefully. “What year do you think it is?”

I blinked at him.

What kind of stupid question was that?

“2016,” I answered immediately. “Obviously.”

The silence afterward felt wrong.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

Ethan looked away first, running a hand through his hair like he was stressed out of his mind.

Before I could question him further, the hospital room door suddenly opened.

A doctor walked in with two nurses following closely behind.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” the doctor said quickly while flipping through a file.

“Unfortunately,” I muttered under my breath.

One of the nurses snorted before pretending to cough.

At least someone here appreciated my suffering.

The doctor stepped closer to my bed.

“Noah, I need you to stay calm while I ask a few questions.”

That sentence alone guaranteed I would not stay calm.

“Why is everyone acting weird?” I asked suspiciously. “And why does Ethan look like he’s about to faint? Did he finally fail a math test?”

Ethan rubbed his face tiredly.

Wow.

Even exhausted he still looked annoyingly handsome.

Life truly had favorites.

The doctor ignored my question completely. Rude.

“How old are you, Noah?”

“Twenty.”

The doctor nodded slowly before exchanging a glance with Ethan.

I didn’t like that glance.

Not one bit.

“And what’s the last thing you remember before the accident?”

“I was on my way to meet Ethan after class because apparently he enjoys ruining my life both academically and physically.”

Silence.

Again.

Honestly, these people needed hobbies.

Then the doctor finally sighed.

“Noah… you were only unconscious for three days.”

“Okay?”

“But based on your responses…” He hesitated briefly. “You appear to have lost approximately ten years of your memory.”

I laughed immediately.

Because obviously that was impossible.

A ridiculous joke.

A terrible joke, honestly.

But nobody else laughed.

Not the doctor.

Not the nurses.

Not Ethan.

And suddenly…

I didn’t feel like laughing anymore.

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