"I want you to beg for it." His head snaps up, eyes wide. "What?" "You heard me. Beg, Sonny." ── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ── 𝙆𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙮𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨 is all impulsive charm and sun-warmed skin, freshly dumped and flat broke after her summer sorority girl's trip falls apart. 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙆𝙞𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 is her older brother's best friend - uptight, infuriating, and tagging along at the family's Lake Alpine cabin to study for the Bar exam after getting unceremoniously dumped himself. They were never meant to spend the summer together. But now they're stuck under the same roof, with too many grudges, too few bedrooms, and one strict rule from Kate's brother, Adam: don't kill each other. What starts as mutual loathing begins to twist into something far more dangerous. The arguments get more heated. The silences heavier. And one kiss turns into something they can't unthink, can't undo, and definitely can't tell Adam about. And while Kathryn seemingly operates on rejecting emotions other than rage, Sonny craves feeling. The two draw a line in the sand. She wants something hate-fueled and hot. He wants something sweet and tender. It could never work... until it does - and it risks ruining every family dynamic they've ever known. Because hating each other was easy. But wanting each other? That's when the real problems start.

Malika Danai is pressure. Friendly, social, and loved by all, Malika thrives in college and is often seen as a mirage - seemingly real and attainable but disappears when approached. She's a party girl to the core. Loves to drink, flirt, and explore with her best friends, Ayana and Isabella. Her beauty is undeniable. With curly black hair cascading over her shoulders and golden-brown skin that glows no matter where she's at, Malika's presence is impossible to ignore. Her dark brown eyes often sparks with mischief, and her full two-toned lips often curves into teasing grins that hints at secrets she rarely shares. Malika excels at a lot of things but she was never the study type. She prayed the night before exams and hoped that her grades would at least give her a passing score and somehow, that always worked. Until now... Her grades are barely holding on- good enough to pass, but not good enough for a sorority like the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA). She wants to join. No she needs to. It's the only way she can prove to her mother that she's worth it. And she'll do whatever it takes. Even if it means casting her pride aside to get help from the boy who loathes her existence. Meanwhile... Theo Sinclair is a weapon. An academic weapon that nobody can beat. Coming from an old money family where the expectations and bars are set high, Theo surpasses them all and is often pushed towards greatness by his family. Yet he has a big flaw: boredom. Because of his uncaring attitude towards everything and everyone around him, Theo is often alone. Deliberately avoiding attention and validation from peers; he thrives in the silence and rhythm of his own scheduled routines. He has only one rule; 'Never let myself feel things I can't control.' To him, parties are ratchet and vile. An enigma vastly contrasting his reverence for solitude, silence, and carefully ordered thoughts. So when he's pushed into an unwanted arrangement, he resents the intrusion because slowly, his rule...