Hearts in the Ashes - Carlos Sainz Jr. au

In a fractured future ruled by silence and obedience, peace is nothing more than a programmed illusion. After a global collapse, a shadowy figure known only as the Emperor rose from the ashes to claim control. Through advanced memory reprogramming, he built a glittering world where the elites live in sterile perfection-obedient, ignorant, content. Meanwhile, the Scavengers-those left behind in the ruins-scrape together survival and cling to the pain of truth.

Every year, one Scavenger is selected for the Ascension: their memories wiped clean, they are reborn among the elites. The ritual is hailed as mercy. But to the Scavengers, it is a quiet execution.

Soleil "Sol" Kael, a brilliant and defiant mind in the Scavenger ranks, has spent her life resisting the system with code, invention, and secret sabotage. She is known underground as a spark too dangerous to be snuffed out. When she is chosen for Ascension, the community is stunned. To Sol, it's not a prize-it's obliteration.

Then the Emperor makes a broadcast that shatters every norm: Sol will not just ascend. She will marry the Empire's most revered enforcer.

Carlos Sainz, known across the elite world as Operator, is more symbol than man. Cold, calculating, and unflinchingly loyal, he is the Emperor's hand-the perfect executioner and protector. His name is spoken with awe and fear. To the Empire, he is a weapon. To the Scavengers, he is the face of oppression.

But as the wedding approaches and their lives intertwine, cracks begin to form beneath the surface. Operator begins to question the memories that shaped him. Sol senses something human buried deep beneath the armor. What begins as mutual mistrust morphs into something far more dangerous-curiosity, vulnerability... and the glimmer of rebellion.

In a world where memories can be rewritten, control is everything. And love-if it's real-might just be the glitch that topples the entire system.