He was chaos in the shape of a man. And she was the only peace he ever wanted to keep. Kingston "Kash" Vaughn isn't just misunderstood-he's unmedicated, unhinged, and unforgiven. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after witnessing his mother's murder, Kash walks the line between genius and madness, street legend and broken boy. He doesn't trust people. Doesn't believe in peace. And he damn sure doesn't believe in love. Until her. Rai'Lynn "Rai" Tate is used to saving everybody but herself. As a crisis center worker, she's been trained to handle the darkest minds-but nothing prepares her for Kash. Their connection is magnetic, twisted, and immediate. He sees her, obsesses over her, needs her like air. And the scariest part? She needs him right back. What starts as therapy turns into obsession. Passion turns into control. And love? Love becomes a war. Because when the voices in his head grow louder... She's the only one he'll listen to. But what happens when the thing you love most is the same thing that might destroy you? 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝- 05.23.25 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝- 05.23.25 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝- 06.28.25

"Get the fuck away from me!" she snapped, trying to shove past him, but he caught her wrist with ease, yanking her right back. "Nah, ma," he murmured, tilting his head, eyes locked on hers like he was studying every little reaction. "You ain't happy to see me?" She swung at him. Hard. The slap echoed through the bathroom, her palm stinging from the impact. His face barely turned, but that smirk never left. If anything, it grew. "Awww, you mad?" He licked his lips, his gaze dragging over her like he was enjoying every second of this. "Damn, you look sexy as fuck when you mad." Tsunami felt her stomach twist in fury. "Fuck you, Dayvon," she spat, using his real name with pure venom. "You lied to me. You used me. You killed my father." His expression didn't change. Didn't flinch. He just looked at her. Calm. Confident. Like she still belonged to him. "I told you before, ma," he said lowly, stepping closer, forcing her back against the counter. "You mine. Ain't no distance, no time, no nigga gon' change that. So you can be mad all you want-yell, scream, slap me again if it make you feel better. But that don't change shit." Tsunami Corletti's new roommate is dark, dangerous, and hiding more than she could ever guess. Drawn to his secrets, she finds herself torn between her instincts as a mafias daughter and an undeniable attraction to the man she knows she shouldn't trust. But as she gets closer, Tsunami realizes she's in deeper than she ever intended-because her roommate isn't just a mystery; he's the city's most wanted kingpin. 2/8/25 Cover by the lovely: Zariyahjnovelty

Peace of mind: A state in which your brain is calm,at ease, and untroubled by worry.

𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐘 𝐗𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐘𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝, 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐊𝐲𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐇𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐚𝐢𝐥. 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭.

𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝗼𝗺𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝗼𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝗺 𝐣𝗼𝐛 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝗼𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝗺𝗼𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝗼𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝗺𝗼𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝗼𝗺 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞. 𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝗺𝗼𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝗼𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝗼? 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝗺𝗼𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝗼𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝗼𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝗼𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝗼 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝗼𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐯𝗼𝗺 𝐭𝗼 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐭𝗼 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞.

Adey Tesfeye lives a life of quiet invisibility, carefully managing her anxiety and keeping the world at a safe distance. Sweet and trusting, she often finds herself taken advantage of but avoids confrontation at all costs. Her routine is predictable, her walls high, and her heart locked away-until she crosses paths with Dayvon "Von" Bennet. Von is a hardened drug dealer from the streets of Chicago, a man used to control, manipulation, and survival by any means necessary. His dangerous lifestyle has left him detached and weary, but when he meets Adey by chance, he becomes fixated on her softness-her fragility in a world as ruthless as his. What starts as curiosity spirals into obsession as Von begins to see himself as her protector, despite the chaos he brings into her life. As Von infiltrates Adey's world, their connection grows in ways neither of them expects. Adey, drawn to Von's intensity and the promise of safety, begins to let down her guard, unaware of the lengths he'll go to keep her close. But with her best friend growing suspicious and Von's grip tightening, Adey is forced to question whether her growing feelings are love or a dangerous illusion. In The Butterfly Effect, vulnerability and control collide in a slow-burn, high-stakes romance that blurs the lines between protection and possession. Will Adey find the strength to reclaim her life, or will Von's obsession consume them both? COVER AND BANNER CREDIT: K4SHMAYY

"I'm king innis bitch, don't get yo ass killed."

"You know how special you gotta be to change a nigga like me? Huh?" He tilted her head back to make her look at him, and a faint smile grew on her face as he wiped her cheeks. "My own grandparents couldn't do it for me and I loved them more than anything. You the one for me ma. That's why I ain't told you everything yet 'cause I don't wanna run you away. I need you." He laid his forehead against hers, gently kissing her lips. "Nobody will ever believe that King Von from O Block be crying to me like this." She smiled as she gazed into his red eyes, and he chuckled, nodding in agreement. "I ain't King Von wit' you. Just love." He kissed her cheek next, and her smile grew as her arms tightened around him for a warm hug.

A fantasy becomes reality, yet more intense.