When tragedy strikes Marley's family, the last thing she is looking for is love-until Elijah, her nephew's teacher, shows her it's worth fighting for. ***** 26-year-old Marley Wright's world is flipped upside down when her beloved brother is admitted into rehab and she becomes the primary caregiver for his two teenagers. Little does she know that her nephew's handsome high school teacher, Elijah, is the man who's going to fill her life with unbelievable passion. But when their exes come back with malicious intentions, Marley and Elijah's lives change beyond their wildest imaginations. And when tragedy strikes, will their love withstand the pressure? Content and/or Trigger Warning: mention of substance abuse. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

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

"So you just wanna fuck me forever, and that's it, huh?" "I ain't say-" He sucked his teeth. "We already talked about this shit, Z." "Nah." She chuckled dryly. "You just keep shutting me out." "Why you doin' this to me, Ma?" He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hm? Why you tryna fuck everything up?" • • • • • • 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚗𝚘𝚗-𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚊 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌, 𝚊 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌 💌👻 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝟷 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜

"Damn. Hasn't even been that long and you got a whole rock on your finger now, huh?" "...What are you doing here?" She unthinkingly rubbed her swollen belly, the tight knots forming in her stomach at the same time. "What you mean? I came for the art." His tone was sarcastic as he gestured at the paintings on the walls. She watched his eyes drift down her body, before he tightly clenched his jaw. "But I see I have more than one thing to congratulate you on." He said, bitterly. • • • • • • 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛? ❤️‍🩹👻 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝟸 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 (𝚜𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚕)

"𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭." 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦. "𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭." 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.

She crosses paths with a man whose charm feels effortless and whose presence feels safe... until the shadows around him start to move. She falls for him quick unaware that he's carrying a life she's never seen - a life stitched together with danger, loyalty, and secrets heavy enough to break anyone who gets too close. As their worlds intertwine, the truth begins to surface in pieces, forcing her to question everything she thought she knew about love, trust, and herself. Their connection is real, undeniable even, but the double life he lives threatens to pull them under. In a story where loyalty twists, danger breathes, and love refuses to let go, one question lingers above all: Will the secrets he hides be the thing that destroys them... or the fire that binds them tighter than they ever imagined?

Janeisha "Neisha" Bambi has always survived by keeping a low profile. She don't get caught up in the kind of business that comes with bodies, secrets, and street names that echo. But all it takes is one night-one favor for her best friend-to slide her straight into the orbit of Seven "Saint" Carter. Saint is discipline wrapped in menace. A man the streets don't just respect,they fear. The type Neisha promised herself she'd never look at twice. He doesn't chase, beg, or explain. Yet somehow, he does all of this for her. And when that calm, unreadable gaze settles on Neisha, her careful world starts to crack. Now Saint's patience is running out, Neisha's defenses are falling apart and the pull between them is starting to feel less like a choice and more like fate. He's trying to shield her from the life he lives. She's trying to decide if loving him is salvation or self-destruction.

"You want tater tots, I'm finna make some." Kamaria rubbed her stomach feeling hungry. "Why you say it like that?" "Say what, like how?" She questioned, raising her eye brows in confusion since she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. "You say Ta-ter like Tay-Tah. Like Tayta." He kept his eyes trained on her, not missing how the corners of her mouth twitched trying not to smile. "Imma call you that now." He declared with a shrug. "Uhh no you ain't, and you could've just said you ain't want none." She shut it down waving him off. "Okay...Tayta." He smirked. --- Ever since a small child, Kamaria had always been the feisty middle child bringing life to every situation with her vibrant ways. She never took mess from any one, and was big on defending herself. Toting a big heart, she always saw the good in people, which had to be her best and worst trait wrapped in one. Known for her spirited ways, her life is turned upside down when one deadly night occurs. Changing her life for the worst. Samir was always the outgoing friend of his group. Known for his unapologetic attitude, he never had to feel like an outsider with his two bestfriends. Although the life of the party, Samir struggles to be contempt with living a normal teenage life, always finding himself in the middle of troubling situations. It wasn't until one fatal evening that changed his view on life, forever. Fast forward years later, brilliant and ambitious Kamaria finds herself struggling with her academic life as the trauma she has endured takes a toll on her every day life. Focused on securing her future life throws her in for another loop when the past she had been avoiding shows up with a bright smile on his face, crashing full force into her life. Being back in the presence of one another their worlds collide in a whirlwind of emotions and an undeniable connection between the two of them. Started; October 20th 2023 Published; October 22nd 2023 Finished; February 29th 2024

They never expected to see each other again after that night. What happened in that room was supposed to stay there, a fleeting secret neither of them would speak of again. But fate has other plans. A month later, they come face to face in the last place either of them imagined. (ProfessorxStudent)

𝙎𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 , 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚.