𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 is far from perfect. Before starting her senior year of college, she's already guaranteed her position as the black sheep of her once prestigious family. To make matters worse, she took up bedding the rival family's eldest son, Jackie Jackson. The relationship blurs the boundaries that should exist between a professor and student, but since it remains casual as much as a secret, she doesn't care how it could affect her reputation--that is until she meets Jackie's charming, sweet-talking younger brother. 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧 has got it all. In fact, he's the face of the music program and the record company that shot his family into local stardom. Like his talent, his popularity is immeasurable, and he seems to be the Jackson family's prized possession. So after having a tense encounter with him and his older brother, Evelyn can't help but wonder why Michael is so drawn to her and determined to convince her that she's just like him, that the Jackson family isn't all it seems. As they forge an unlikely bond, generations of secrets slowly reveal themselves and threaten to rip their families and fortunes apart at their seams, creating new animosity between the brood of brothers. In the end, the pair is set up to answer the age old question: Is blood thicker than water? And will familial burdens and status overcome the rest of their lives? Disclaimer: This story contains mentions of a large age gap/power imbalance, drug use, violence, domestic abuse and sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.

He's the King of Pop - flawless in public, falling apart in private. At the height of his fame, Michael Jackson is drowning in the chaos of fame: drugs, betrayal, and the crushing weight of the image he's been forced to wear. Behind the lights, he seeks escape in an affair with Vanity - a brilliant, troubled singer who knows exactly what it means to be adored, consumed, and discarded. Their connection is intense, reckless, and far too real. But as their bond deepens, the lies around them tighten. A young actress plays the role of his perfect partner. Executives, bodyguards, and hangers-on keep secrets that could destroy them both. And at the center of it all is the House: a glittering, dangerous playground where pleasure hides poison - and nobody walks out clean. Set in 1980s Hollywood, House of Balloons is a story of love, addiction, control, and what it means to be truly seen when the whole world is watching.

In the heart of the summer of 1970, Michael Jackson and Madeline Winters met, and at once, the children became inseparable. Underneath that summer sun, an imperishable connection blossomed between them; a connection that, across their passage to adulthood, never once withered. It's now 1984. Despite leading quite separate lives, Michael and Madeline remain as close as ever. However, Michael struggles with a vast secret that he has hidden from a very oblivious Madeline since the age of thirteen: He is, in every way, in love with her. Since Madeline seems to not feel for him as he feels for her, he hides his love for her out of the fear that, in the wake of its reveal, his cherished relationship with her would be ruined. Thus, he sacrifices what he longs for most. He endures his pent-up love for her, in spite of its unbearable pain, for the assurance that she will remain by his side. When he suffers from a scarring accident while shooting a Pepsi commercial, however, the terror of almost losing him unshackles certain emotions for Madeline that she had been, unconsciously, battling to suppress for quite some time.

True connection often lies in the most unexpected places.