Theo Ashcroft learned early that silence was safer than truth. Haunted by a past he refuses to name, he lives his life carefully—never staying too long, never feeling too deeply. Iris Calloway is the opposite. She wears her kindness openly, even as she hides the cracks beneath her calm smile. She believes some wounds don’t need to be erased—only understood. When their paths cross, two guarded souls find an unexpected refuge in each other. But healing is never simple. Secrets resurface, words remain unspoken, and love demands a courage neither of them is sure they possess. Between ashes of who they were and the silence of what they fear to say, Theo and Iris must decide—will they keep running from their pain, or finally face it together?