"𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐲𝐝𝐞.. 𝐈 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐞." | 𝙻𝚊𝚍𝚢𝙽𝚊𝚒𝚒 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 ©2020 |

Ceedee Lamb x Mariah The Scientist Sometimes love arrives at the right moment when you're feeling down.

"𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚 ?" (Characters in story are not the characters on cover)

"𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗲, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴❤️"

Before the crowds screamed his name, before the league talks and the magazine covers, he met her. Calista Marchand. Not the kind of girl you run game on. She was sharp where it counted, soft only when she wanted to be. Real Brooklyn - pretty in the face, slick with the mouth, and solid with her hands if you stepped wrong. She kept her circle small, her loyalty tighter. The kind of woman who knew how to turn silence into safety and side-eyes into shut-ups. Men feared her. Girls tried to be her. She didn't chase, didn't fold, didn't need nobody. Until Ibrahim Montaigne walked into her life like he had all the time in the world. He didn't come with sweet nothings or flashy promises - just steady presence. Intent in his eyes, patience in his chest, and something rare behind the way he looked at her. Like he saw through the polish and the fire, like he knew the woman behind the defense. He didn't try to tame her. He studied her. Let her be exactly who she was. The shift was slow. She still fought when needed, still had a rep in the streets and in the salon chair. But somewhere between nursing exams and late-night block parties, she started saving parts of herself just for him. The quiet parts. The delicate ones. The ones nobody else got close to. And when she crossed that graduation stage, RN-BSN stitched behind her name and her grandmother crying in the crowd - he bragged harder than anyone. Didn't care who was listening. Forget MVP, forget the championship rings. She was the win. She was the headline. The girl from Brooklyn with spitfire in her lungs, gold in her smile, and a softness only he ever got to see. This isn't a story about being chosen. It's about choosing each other. No fairytales. Just Brooklyn grit and a love that never let go.

Malaysia crawled over to him. "Ba-Babe, listen, don't die on me, please-Zane. Pleasee." She cried, rubbing his cheek. ★ "Do... wat'... I... taught yu, ma." He winced, squeezing his eyes closed and falling back onto the road again, not able to bear the sharp burn moving through his stomach. ★ 5 𝘠𝘌𝘈𝘙𝘚 𝘓𝘈𝘛𝘌𝘙... 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐬-𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐳𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫-𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐳𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫. ..there was an immediate rush of burning heat flowing through her blood. Her heart sank low. Widening her eyes at one of her brother's opps- ★ "Don't I kno yu?" He licked his full pink lips, pointing out to her chest, squinting his eyes back. ★ A harsh lump of a gulp she made shaking her head "No-." "Yea." He clutched his piece that was tugging his gym shorts down for her to see his brief waistband. Fear grew in Laylay's heart-

She's got everything to lose. He's got everything to prove. Layla Rivers is a rising star in the legal world-a sharp, no-nonsense corporate attorney at a prestigious Black-owned firm in Atlanta. Focused, elegant, and guarded, she has no time for distractions-especially not the street-savvy, charismatic type she's always tried to avoid. But when her firm takes on a major redevelopment deal tied to a mysterious local businessman, she comes face to face with Roman "Ro" King, a wealthy entrepreneur who owns a high-end luxury car dealerships, real estate, and private security. What Layla doesn't know is that Roman built his empire from the ground up-starting with hustling in the streets. His money's clean now... mostly. But his past is never far behind. Despite their differences, sparks fly. Roman is drawn to Layla's ambition and quiet strength. Layla's shaken by the raw magnetism and intensity Roman brings into her carefully curated world. As danger from Roman's past threatens everything he's built-and Layla's firm pressures her to cut ties-both must choose between what's safe and what sets their souls on fire.

Sarye "Riya" Knowles is a certified boss in every sense of the word. At just 32, she's built a brand from scratch after walking away from a toxic relationship and raising her daughter. By day, Sarye is a thriving entrepreneur running her own cosmetic company. By night, she's the unapologetic, witty voice behind the hit podcast "Pillow Talk & Real Sh*t", where she keeps it raw and unfiltered about love, relationships, sex - and why women need to love themselves first. She's known for her infamous line: "Sis... your man is NOT in prison! Stop glamorizing struggle love" Sarye knows the harsh reality of that life. But life gets real when her wild, brutally honest best friend and co-host Josalyn dares her - to write a prison pen pal. The topic? Whether love can really be found behind bars. Thinking it's harmless content and knowing full well it's against everything she believes, Sarye agrees. It's just a letter. A joke. A teachable moment. That't until she encounters Steffon "Street" Austin, a 35-year-old inmate serving time with 15 years left on his sentence. But what starts as playful dare quickly turns into long letters, raw vulnerability, and undeniable chemistry. Street isn't who she expected. Charming. Intelligent. Business-minded. A protective energy that makes her feel safe - even from behind bars. Their connection is instant but layered with complications. Soon, Sarye finds herself sneaking to the mailbox like a teenager, rearranging her beliefs, and questioning everything she's ever preached to her listeners.

"I made the decision to cheat on my wife because I liked the way you made me feel vulnerable and comfortable enough to open up to you the night before it happened. I ain't never did shit like that before and that's what made it easy for me to choose to risk everything I got for you." "That shit probably not a big deal to you but a nigga like me ain't never opened up to nobody but my best friend-and still..that's rare. I hate even talking about her with you but I don't even feel comfortable talking to Ariana about my feelings 'cause I know she gon' judge me. You don't make me feel like that."