"Solè, why'd you stay?" "Because, Zaire... you the first thing that ever felt worth staying for." ❀ 🝳 ❀ Harlem held the noise. Solè gave Zaire the quiet. Zaire Knox, Harlem's quiet storm, known for his ties to the streets and a gaze that read people faster than they could lie to him. Respected. Feared. Loved. With scars buried deeper than his tattoos, he never planned to love soft. Until a Harlem vinyl shop left behind by his late grandfather forces him to slow down, to breathe, to find his real purpose in the world beyond the streets. Solè Sinclair, soft but unbreakable, raised by her father after loss. By day, she serves warmth behind the counter of a café. By night, she disappears into her art, trying to paint the parts of herself no one ever sees. When their worlds cross, the city shifts. What starts off tense and unexpected turns tender. Together, they learn love can hold you just as fierce as the streets ever did, and softer, too. But love in Harlem always asks one question: what are you willing to risk when the heart wants more than the streets ever offered? A Harlem story. A hood love. A soft place to land. ❀ 🝳 ❀

"𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎, 𝚈𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝"✮

"𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚢, 𝚒'𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒 𝚍𝚘... ...𝚊𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚒 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚒 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠."✩ 𝚂𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝙶𝚘𝚝 𝙼𝚎

" 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚎."☆

" I don't even like you like that." Her face scrunched up in disgust watching water drip from curls in his hair. " 'Cause you love me. Just like I love you." He retorted with a grin, disregarding the deflecting she was doing. --- They were two sides of the same city-until one move split them down the middle. Elijah and London were inseparable once, bonded by childhood summers, beat-up bikes, and secrets too deep for anyone else to know. Unfortunately, when Elijah's mom packed up and moved her family across Onyx to a rival neighborhood, everything changed. She always thought when she spoke to him again he would've changed like her. She was witty, sarcastic, and had a low tolerance, but he was still the same calm , sweet, cute boy with a heart the size of the sun. Some things haven't changed. Some things never change. The pull between them, the memories that still burn etched marks in their brain, and the words they never said out loud. In a world where loyalty can be life or death, and love isn't always enough to cross old lines, Elijah and London find themselves circling each other again. --- STARTED; MAY 26th, 2025 PUBLISHED JUNE 6th, 2025 FINISHED; SEPTEMBER 27th 2025

"See, this is exactly why I wish we never met. You came into my life and you just keep shaking everything up!" She stressed, her stomach rumbling with rage. He only stared before his lips twitched into a smirk. "You don't even believe that dumb ass shit." --- She thought running would set her free, but freedom came with a price she wasn't sure she was ready to uphold. She ran from one trap straight into another. Dreams of dancing slip through her fingers when survival forces her into a world she would have to endure. She's dragged into the dark corners of Onyx city and life is nothing as she knew it. Then he appears. A boy who feels different, who makes her believe she might have more to live for than pain. Unfortunately, in the streets nothing is ever as it seems. Every bond comes with secrets, every touch with consequences. And when betrayal cuts deeper than love, she'll learn the hard way what it really means to be slimed out. STARTED; September 18th 2025 PUBLISHED; September 27th 2025

"𝚈𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚟'𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐"☆ 𝚂𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝙼𝚢 𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐

"Beautiful things don't ask for attention." In a world that thrives on conformity, August is an anomaly. Raised in a secretive overbearing family, she was chosen to leave its hidden grounds-not for freedom, but for duty. Sent to college to become the strategic mind for her generation behind the family's growing empire, she tries to move through the world like a ghost, draped in gothic shadows with secrets too heavy to share but her style is just too much to go unnoticed by judging eyes unscathed. Then she meets Kason through his older brother. A rising rapper with a reckless charm and a hunger for something real, dealing with battles of his own, he's instantly drawn to August's eerie demeanor and the quiet storm that lingers behind her dark mysterious eyes. She's nothing like the women he's used to-unbothered by trends, and untouched by the need for validation. The more she resists, the deeper he falls, his infatuation turning into an obsession he can't shake. One he cant let go of. As their worlds collide, the slow burn of their connection threatens to ignite everything August has been taught to suppress. With her past closing in and expectations pressing down, she must decide if she's willing to defy everything she's ever known for the chance at something dangerously real. In a society that demands she fit a mold, August stands in defiance. Unfortunately, love has a way of making even the strongest question their silence. STARTED; February 22nd , 2025 PUBLISHED; MARCH 18th, 2025 FINISHED; MAY 27th, 2025

"You ain't even that cute." Jojo playfully rolled her eyes allowing Dice to pull her arm to wherever he seemed to be leading her. "Where are you taking me!" She grew annoyed with the anticipation. "On a trip, just chill." -- For as long as she can remember, Jojo Rosewood has lived a picture-perfect life in a suburban area located in Chicago-designer clothes, private schools, and a glamorous lifestyle all thanks to her high-powered mother. Evidently her perfect world seems to be a lie when it comes crashing down as her mother's secrets come to the light, forcing her to face reality. Now having all of her family's assets cleared she's every bit of confused on what to do. With nowhere else to turn, Jojo is forced to leave behind everything she knows and move across a plethora of states to live with her father, a man she barely knows due to distance, and his new family. Learning to balance the shift in culture and the chaos of her first year in college all in one, Jojo struggles to adjust to her circumstances and blend into a world where her privilege no longer holds any weight. Things grow even more complicated when she meets Dice, her half-brother's best friend-a well mannered , street-smart young adult who seems to embody everything Jojos maternal side of the family warned her about. Dice is equally frustrating and intriguing, with a no-nonsense attitude that calls Jojo out on her unrealistic expectations. As their chemistry builds, Jojo finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about family, loyalty, and love while Dice struggles letting Jojo take a trip to his world. Started; December 18th, 2024 Published; January 4th, 2025 Finished; March 2nd, 2025

𝖨𝖿 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝖼𝗋𝗂𝗆𝖾, 𝖳𝖾𝗅𝗅 𝗆𝖾 𝗐𝗁𝗒 𝖽𝗈 𝖨 𝖻𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗂𝗇 𝗒𝗈𝗎