"𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭." 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆: 𝐒𝐙𝐀 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐒 𝐅𝐓. 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐓. 𝐒: 𝐃𝐞𝐜. 𝟓 𝐅: 𝐌𝐚𝐫. 𝟑 (Originally named "Loyalty and Love in the Trenches") -#1 in blackpeople

Aaliyah Johnson is in her final year at Magnolia State University, where she's balancing a scholarship, an art degree, and the pressure of not knowing what comes next. Elias Carter, the university's baseball captain, seems to have everything figured out, except his own heart. When mutual friends and a poetry club bring them together, sparks ignite in the most unexpected ways. She's brilliant and blunt; he's disciplined and mysterious. But between classes, practices, and the expectations of everyone around them, connection becomes the one thing they can't plan for. From strangers to friends to something far deeper, their story grows with every season, rooted beneath a magnolia tree that sees it all. Autumn brings sparks: "I'm curious about you, but I don't even know why yet." Winter, closeness: "You calm me when I didn't realise I needed calming." Spring, love: "I've known for a while... I just didn't want to ruin it." Summer, uncertainty: "Even if everything changes, you've changed me already." Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the images used both on the cover and throughout the story.