{COMPLETED} ho just read it

Janelle isn't searching for love-she's searching for survival. Growing up between Miami grit and New York ambition, she knows the rules of the game: never trust too easily, never get too comfortable, and never let your guard down for a man. But then there's Malik. Dangerous, magnetic, and carved straight out of every bad decision a girl swears she'll never make twice. One night is all it takes-one dinner, one kiss, one glance that lingers too long-for her carefully built walls to start crumbling. And Malik? He's hooked from the moment she walks into his world, leaving him restless, addicted, and craving more. As their worlds collide-his empire built on shadows, hers balanced between loyalty and survival-Nelle is pulled deeper into a love she doesn't know if she can trust. Between late-night texts, roses at her door, and secrets she refuses to force him to confess, a spark ignites into something dangerous... something consuming. But in a city where every glance could be a warning and every touch could cost everything, can passion survive the truth? Or will desire become the most dangerous trap of all? A story of heat, hustle, and heartbreak-where the line between power and vulnerability blurs, and love feels as intoxicating as the city itself.

𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴

𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙥𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪

"I got myself thru all of this at the end of the day."

"You trust me?" he asked, eyes turning soft once they made contact. "Maj, I-I-" "I said do you trust me, Lucky?" he repeated, voice hard. "...yes," she breathed out, and his next words came without hesitation, sending a chill down her spine. "Then shoot."

Cassie, a seventeen year old girl from Wisconsin, navigates her way through the end of her junior year in High school following her mother's recent job loss resulting in alcoholism, her father's emotional detachment, and an unexpected blossoming romance between her and a depressed, rich girl from Hawai'i.

Santana Silver being a senior in high school thought she had everything planned out. Her dreams of being a hairstylist were becoming a reality and she couldn't fathom the thrill. She was hardworking, dedicated, and stayed true to herself. One of the loyalest of her peers and sometimes it got her into a lot of trouble.

𝐙𝐨𝐡𝐫𝐚'𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐙𝐨𝐡𝐫𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐬. 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 (𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧), 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐲? 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭

" how do you know when you love someone"