Sayora, a young woman shaped by years in foster care, has learned to survive in a world that has often been cruel and unkind. Scarred by abuse and misguidance, she relies on her resilience and cunning to navigate life on her own terms. Giovanni, who spent just one year in foster care alongside Sayora, once promised he would return for her after running away. But life took him down a dangerous path, and the promise was forgotten as he faced his own struggles. Ten years later, fate reunites them. Neither is the innocent child they once were; both carry the weight of trauma and the defenses they've built to survive. As their paths cross again, they must confront the ghosts of their pasts-and the hardened versions of themselves-to see if the bond they once shared can survive the scars life has left on them.

𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨? 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞, 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

"𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙. 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙤𝙧."

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱-𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝗺𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐯𝗼𝐧,𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝗼𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝗼𝐛𝐥𝐞𝗺𝐬 𝐠𝗼 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭? 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝗺𝐞? 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝗼𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜.

Amoura Genesis Scott is known as "Miss Perfect" a pageant queen raised under strict beauty standards and her mother's constant pressure to always look flawless, act flawless, and be flawless. To the world, she has it all: crowns, confidence, and attention. But behind the image, she's exhausted, insecure, and never feels like she's enough no matter how many titles she wins.

𝖠 𝗅𝖺𝖻 𝗆𝖺𝖽𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖽𝗎𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇．

"In seven days, God 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 the world. In seven seconds, I 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 mine." A short story.

Every time Dayvon looked at Salem , he was reminded that there was still a small piece of good left inside him. He met her on one of the worst days of his life, fresh out of jail and carrying more anger than he knew what to do with. While everybody else saw a criminal headed nowhere fast, Salem saw a man with busted knuckles who needed help. He'd never understood how an autistic doctor could be so oblivious to who he was. She never feared him. Never judged him. Never treated him any differently than anybody else. One hug from her felt like peace after years of chaos, and somewhere along the way he found himself depending on her more than he should've. That's why he yearned for her the way he did; why he couldn't stay away no matter how hard he tried.She stole his Antidote.

𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 people are lessons to be learned, and some people are tests to see if you paid attention.

People have spent years turning Zakai into some kind of monster. Scarred by a tragic apartment fire that took place when he was only eleven years old, Zakai has lived most of his life hiding from the world. With rumors surrounding his name and judgment following him everywhere he goes, isolation became safer than being seen. Meanwhile, Kinsley never expected a simple errand job to lead her to him. What starts as grocery store runs and brief interactions slowly becomes something neither of them saw coming. Because beneath Zakai's cold and distant exterior is a man struggling with years of guilt, grief, and loneliness. And the closer Kinsley gets, the harder it becomes to walk away. Some scars never fade, people just teach you how to live with them.