you gone be the death of me... but i love you

He holds her heels. She lets her guard down. And in the space between city lights and silence, two people who weren't looking for love start to feel something they can't explain. No drama. No rush. Just raw connection and a spark that won't quit.

Salem had always been a bright light in a world that tried its best to dim her. She was a twenty-year-old woman with warm brown skin, a heart full of kindness, and hands that worked magic. Since she was eighteen, she had built a name for herself with her own nail business, a craft she poured her soul into. Her work wasn't just about making nails pretty-it was about making people feel beautiful, cared for, and heard. But behind her warm smile and soft voice was a childhood weighed down by hardship.

Lay'lani's life been hell behind closed doors-pretty smiles covering bruises, silent cries no one ever hears. Her boyfriend Man-Man? Ain't just abusive... he's obsessed. Controlling. Feared in the streets. And when she finally tries to leave, he makes one thing clear-if he can't have her, nobody can. Then Da'joun steps in. Lowkey but dangerous. The one who sees through her pain. He never asked to fall for her-but now that he has, he'll do anything to protect her... even if that means killing for her. Now with a baby on the way, enemies circling, and Man-Man hunting her like prey-every moment is borrowed time. This ain't just a love story... It's survival. How far would you go to protect the one you love... when love itself could get you killed?

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥

I grew up quiet-tucked away in a house where silence felt safer than being seen. Tessa was the only one who understood. Two girls from different homes, but the same kind of broken. Then Amira arrived-bold, loud, and full of life. She introduced us to a world we'd only watched from a distance. Including him. The boy I should've never fallen for. The one who taught me what it feels like to want, to hope... and to break. This isn't a story about popular girls and perfect endings. It's a story about first heartbreaks, fractured homes, and the parts of us we lose when we finally try to live.

•These niggas all talk they don't got no bodies. I be with the GANG ONLY you be with erybody • ~Darri

" Youngboy I ain't never met no one like you before, yeah She said that she like the way I wear my clothes I know we got one thing in common we both want the dough She told me she won't be for me she just gone hold me down When I first met you to be real I had to stare you down"