A drunken night on a girl's trip leads to a secret relationship between two best friends.

"Tell me you don't feel it. Tell me I'm imagining this, and I'll never bring it up again." He looked at her for a long moment, and she could see him fighting himself. "I can't tell you that," he said finally. "Why not?" "Because it would be a lie." -- Naomi "Nay" Shields is a 24-year-old lifestyle YouTuber with over a million followers, known for her beauty, travel vlogs, and "perfect" relationship with longtime boyfriend Messiah "Si" Banks. On camera, they're couple goals. Off camera, she's just surviving him. Messiah is a flashy, manipulative drug dealer in Atlanta-respected in the streets, but emotionally abusive behind closed doors. After cheating multiple times, he traps Nay further with a viral public proposal in Tulum. Now, she feels stuck-scared to leave the brand they built and scared of him. But everything shifts when Messiah's older half-brother, Zyair "Zy" Banks, returns home from a four-year federal bid. He's the opposite of Messiah-quiet, gritty, observant. And he sees right through Nay's pain. When Messiah gets shot in a setup and ends up bedridden, Zy moves in to "keep things in order." As tension brews and the house grows quiet, stolen glances turn into whispers... into touches... into something neither of them planned. What happens when love grows in the shadow of abuse? When the one man who sees you is the one you should never want? And what happens when Messiah finds out? 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝- 06.28.25 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝- 07.09.25 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝- 08.20.25

"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."

"Solè, why'd you stay?" "Because, Zaire... you the first thing that ever felt worth staying for." ❀ 🝳 ❀ Harlem held the noise. Solè gave Zaire the quiet. Zaire Knox, Harlem's quiet storm, known for his ties to the streets and a gaze that read people faster than they could lie to him. Respected. Feared. Loved. With scars buried deeper than his tattoos, he never planned to love soft. Until a Harlem vinyl shop left behind by his late grandfather forces him to slow down, to breathe, to find his real purpose in the world beyond the streets. Solè Sinclair, soft but unbreakable, raised by her father after loss. By day, she serves warmth behind the counter of a café. By night, she disappears into her art, trying to paint the parts of herself no one ever sees. When their worlds cross, the city shifts. What starts off tense and unexpected turns tender. Together, they learn love can hold you just as fierce as the streets ever did, and softer, too. But love in Harlem always asks one question: what are you willing to risk when the heart wants more than the streets ever offered? A Harlem story. A hood love. A soft place to land. ❀ 🝳 ❀

"I got one big ass album for you, It got over 900 pictures of you." He confessed making her jaw drop. "Do you even be picking out the best pictures and delete the rest of the ugly ones??" She looked at him in shock. "Fuck no, I keep every picture of you." He said while opening the house door and let her walk in first. "You're so crazy inlove, it's okay though me too." She smiled softly at him. "I thought you only liked me a lil bit." He locked the doors and followed her to the bedroom. "I changed my mind. I can do that." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked in the bedroom. "Type shit." He laughed and shook his head at her. Messiah was so deeply in love with Juani, nobody could tell him anything about her. He loved her with all his heart and felt like she was the reason he had smiled so much in what felt like forever. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝- March 20, 2024 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝- March 24, 2024 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝-June 16, 2024 @𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒✰

𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦..

"So when you gon' stop playing and let me hit that shit, Zuria?" Mitch asked while he smoked a blunt in my mother's living room and we both sat on the floor. "Let you hit this?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I watched him blow smoke into the air. "Yeah." He smirked, cockily. "How about when you learn how to talk to your girlfriend?" I took the blunt out of this hands and smashed it on the ashtray that was on the coffee table. "Whatchu do that for?" He bit his bottom lip, leaning into me. "Hm?" He went on, softly biting my neck. "I've told you, you can't smoke in here, Mitchell." "You're really not even supposed to be here." I said to him, considering my mother did not condone boys in her house but here he was. He'd completely ignored me though as he mushed his head into my neck, leaving small kisses. "Stop." I whined playfully as he pushed himself up onto me and kissed my lips, pushing me backwards with our lips still attached. "Mitch." I spoke nervously as he climbed on top of me while I now laid my back onto the carpet. "Let me hit that shit, ma." He spoke softly into my ear as he continued leaving kisses on my neck. "Mitch, we cant. My mom will be home from work soon." I expressed to him but he ran his hands up my school skirt anyway. "Stop bitchin'." "Let me finally pop that cherry, Z." He spoke, putting his lips on mine as he slowly moved my underwear aside and rubbed his fingers against my Girl. "Mm." I moaned, unfamiliar with this feeling but it felt great. And though I knew my mother would be here soon, I no longer wanted to stop. He continued rubbing it as I laid there, looking up into his eyes. As I did, he smirked down at me and I smiled small, rubbing a hand down his cheek. I was so in love with this boy.

Reentry Case 007: Male, 37, assault with intent to kill, parole conditions strict. Not to be left alone with female staff.

❛𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆?❜ he asked, voice low like it wasn't meant for nobody but her. 𝒛𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐡 didn't speak, just tilted her head a little and stepped in close. she traced one of the tattoos on his arm, finger light like a whisper...when she finally looked up, slow and lazy, doe eyes glinting beneath her lashes--she kissed the corner of his mouth. once, twice--then pulled back. 𝒐𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢 smirked. ❛𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒔𝒐.❜ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ She doesn't speak-not out loud, not anymore. Zariah Hart's been quiet since the night she lost everything, and moving to The Palisade at Skyview Apartments was supposed to give her a fresh start. No expectations. No questions. Just peace. But peace gets complicated when a man like Omarion Jordan starts showing up in it. He's nothing like she expected. Tatted, quiet, with eyes that read people better than they speak. A mechanic with a past he doesn't explain-and a presence that says more than his mouth does. He doesn't ask about her silence. She doesn't flinch at his reputation. Somehow, that's enough. What starts as simple glances turns into shared space. What feels like comfort turns to something neither of them planned for. But Atlanta doesn't forget what people try to bury. And sometimes, the loudest truth is the one you never say out loud. 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐃: 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺.... 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘇𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲. 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦.... 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.