In this twisty psychological thriller, a family man’s perfect life splinters into obsession, delusion, and dangerous secrets after the reappearance of his first love—who died eighteen years ago.

Hospital exec Ethan Bell has it all: a loving wife, two children, a promising career, and a comfortable home in the Seattle suburbs far removed from the darkness of his past.

Until he sees her.

Fawn Blom, Ethan’s high school sweetheart and first love. The girl who’s haunted him since that fatal accident almost twenty years ago. She’s here, at his favorite coffee shop—definitely not dead. And suddenly, his carefully constructed world doesn’t seem so perfect.

Consumed with the promise of a second chance, Ethan’s obsession with Fawn grows, deepening with each lie he tells, every erratic behavior he can’t explain away. But his former psychiatrist isn’t convinced Fawn is real.

As Ethan struggles to reconcile his long-held grief, the fabric of his reality slowly unravels. And if it turns out Fawn isn’t actually there, everything he’s built—everything he’s hoped for—could disappear for good.

M. R. Collings is an award-winning author and former spine surgery PA who traded the OR for the page. Drawing on her medical background and fascination with human behavior, she writes psychologically layered stories exploring the tensions between love and obsession, identity and illusion, and truth and perception. As Melissa R. Collings, she also writes humorous, heartwarmingly romantic stories about the messy, beautiful ways we love and grow.

When not writing or plotting, M. R. likes studying preventive health, losing herself in a painting, and having deep conversations with her husband and two children in Nashville. Her imagination often lands her in trouble, and she lives by one philosophy: Nothing is impossible—even when the darkness says otherwise.

Subscribe to her newsletter and discover behind-the-scenes fun, medical moments, and other extras at www.melissacollings.com, or connect with M. R. via Facebook (@MelissaRCollingsAuthor) and on Instagram and TikTok (@melissarcollings).