A sweeping, heart-wrenching, standalone from New York Times bestseller Pepper Winters.

"Things you should know about me from the very beginning: I was born to true love, witnessed the destruction it causes, and vowed never to let such agony happen to me. I am not a story-teller like my father. I am not a writer like my mother. I am just a son - their son. I am happy being alone. And that is all I ever want to be."

Jacob

The day he was born, Jacob learned his hardest and longest lesson. It wasn't a lesson a boy should learn so young, but from his earliest memories he knew where happiness lives, so does tragedy. Where love exists, so does heartbreak. And where hope resides, so does sorrow. That lesson carved him from the kid to the teen to the man. And nothing and no one could change his mind.

Hope

I first met him when he was 14 at a movie premiere of all places. A movie based on his parent's life. He was stoic, strong, suspicious, and secretive. I was only 10, but I felt something for him. A strange kind of heartbreak that made me want to hug and heal him. I was the daughter of the actor hired to play his father. We shared similarities. I recognized parts of him because they were parts of me. But no matter how many times we met. No matter how many times I tried. He stayed true to his vow to never fall.