✨ FRAGMENTS OF A FORGOTTEN HEART ✨

Adrian Hayes hated the sound of silence.

Most people found silence peaceful. A moment to breathe. A moment to think.

But for Adrian, silence was where the memories lived.

The ones he couldn’t explain.

The ones he couldn’t control.

The ones that came without warning and disappeared before he could understand them.

He sat alone in his apartment, staring at the blank page in front of him. His fingers rested on the pen, but he hadn’t written a single word in almost twenty minutes.

The title at the top of the page stared back at him.

“Memory Formation and Trauma Response.”

It was supposed to be a simple research assignment.

A topic he should have been comfortable with.

After all, Adrian Hayes was a psychology student. Understanding the human mind was what he spent years studying. He knew how emotions influenced decisions. He understood how trauma affected behavior. He could explain why people built walls around painful experiences.

But when it came to himself, all his knowledge felt useless.

Because Adrian’s own mind was a locked room.

And he didn’t have the key.

He looked away from the paper and toward the window.

The city outside was already awake. Cars moved through the streets below, people hurried to work, and life continued as if the world had never stopped.

Sometimes Adrian envied people who could live without questioning every forgotten moment.

He couldn’t.

Not anymore.

His first memory gap happened when he was young.

At least, that was what everyone told him.

He didn’t remember the event itself. He only remembered what came after.

The hospital visits.

The questions.

The worried expressions adults tried to hide.

And Noah.

His brother had been there through everything.

Noah was the person who stayed.

The person who protected him.

The person who always told him the same thing whenever Adrian asked about his missing memories.

“You don’t need to remember everything to move forward.”

Adrian never liked that answer.

Because deep down, he knew there was something everyone was refusing to tell him.

Something important.

Something painful.

His phone buzzed on the desk, pulling him away from his thoughts.

A message from Noah.

Don’t forget breakfast. You have class at nine.

Adrian stared at the message for a moment before smiling slightly.

Noah had a habit of treating him like he was still a child.

He typed a reply.

I’m twenty-four, not twelve.

The response came almost immediately.

You still forget to eat when you’re stressed.

Adrian sighed.

Annoyingly, Noah was right.

He locked his phone and stood up.

His apartment was small but comfortable. Everything had its place. Books arranged by subject. Clothes organized by color. A calendar filled with reminders.

People often called him disciplined.

Organized.

Responsible.

They never saw the reason behind it.

Adrian needed order because chaos terrified him.

Chaos was where memories appeared.

The university campus was crowded when Adrian arrived.

Students moved between buildings, laughing and talking, carrying books and coffee cups.

Normally, Adrian enjoyed watching people.

It was part of who he was.

A person’s posture, their expressions, the way they spoke — all of it revealed small pieces of their emotions.

But today felt different.

There was a strange energy in the air.

Groups of students stood together, whispering.

“What’s going on?” Adrian asked his classmate, Daniel.

Daniel looked surprised.

“You haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?”

“The guest lecturer.”

Adrian adjusted the strap of his bag.

“No.”

Daniel lowered his voice.

“Lucien Armand is here.”

The name meant something.

Adrian just wasn’t sure what.

“Should I know who that is?”

Daniel looked at him like he had asked a ridiculous question.

“Are you serious?”

Adrian shrugged.

Daniel laughed.

“Only you could be studying psychology and not know one of the most famous criminal profilers in the world.”

Criminal profiler.

The words caught Adrian’s attention.

“Why is he here?”

“Guest lecture. Apparently, he’s discussing criminal behavior and psychological patterns.”

Adrian said nothing.

He wasn’t sure why, but something about that name bothered him.

Lucien Armand.

It felt strangely familiar.

Like a word he had heard in a dream.

A dream he couldn’t remember.

The lecture hall was filled before Adrian arrived.

He chose a seat near the back.

He preferred observing rather than being observed.

A few minutes later, the room became quiet.

Lucien Armand entered.

Adrian immediately understood why people talked about him.

Lucien didn’t need to demand attention.

He naturally had it.

He was tall, dressed in a dark suit, with a calm expression that revealed almost nothing. There was something intimidating about him, not because he appeared cruel, but because he appeared impossible to read.

Adrian found that unusual.

Everyone showed something.

A nervous habit.

A small reaction.

A hidden emotion.

But Lucien showed almost nothing.

And that bothered him.

Lucien began speaking.

His voice was calm and controlled.

“Human behavior is rarely random. Even the smallest actions reveal something about a person.”

Adrian listened despite himself.

Lucien continued.

“The mistake most people make is assuming they understand someone because of what they see on the surface.”

Something about those words made Adrian uncomfortable.

Because Adrian knew better than anyone that appearances could hide the truth.

Lucien’s eyes moved across the room.

Then stopped.

On him.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

And Adrian felt it.

That strange feeling again.

Recognition.

Like his mind was reaching for something buried deep.

A flash appeared.

A hallway.

A cold floor.

A voice whispering his name.

Adrian’s breath caught.

Then everything vanished.

“Are you alright?”

The voice was closer now.

Adrian blinked.

Lucien Armand was standing in front of him.

When had he moved?

“I’m fine,” Adrian said quickly.

Lucien studied him.

Not casually.

Carefully.

“You looked like you remembered something.”

Adrian’s expression changed.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

For the first time, something unreadable passed through Lucien’s eyes.

Almost like surprise.

Almost like recognition.

Then it disappeared.

“Maybe you don’t.”

Lucien stepped away.

But Adrian couldn’t forget the look on his face.

Because it wasn’t the look of a stranger.

It was the look of someone who had found something he had been searching for.

And Adrian had no idea what it was.

Adrian Hayes had always believed that people were easier to understand than they appeared.

A person could say one thing while their body revealed another.

A forced smile could hide sadness.

A confident voice could cover insecurity.

A calm expression could hide fear.

That was why Adrian had chosen psychology.

He was fascinated by the invisible things people carried.

The emotions they buried.

The memories they avoided.

The truths they refused to admit.

But lately, Adrian was beginning to hate how much he understood.

Because understanding people meant noticing when they were lying.

And everyone around him was lying.

Especially Noah.

Especially Lucien Armand.

Adrian sat at his desk, staring at the same page of his textbook for the fifth time.

He had been awake for hours, but he had barely processed anything he read.

His mind kept returning to one sentence.

“There are things about