Aaliyah Mercer never planned to catch the eye of the campus's most respected professor. She was just trying to survive her sophomore year balancing track, six siblings, and a past she never asked for. Professor Malachi Rothwell wasn't supposed to notice her. Nine years older, painfully disciplined, raised on intellect and family expectations-he never crossed lines. Not with students. Not with anyone. But over the school year, something shifts. Not all at once. Slowly. Intellectually. Quietly. Until she is the only thought he can't outrun. Their attraction grows in silence in late-night library shadows, in classroom debates that feel too charged, in the soft places where she lets him see her and the hard places he never shows anyone. One semester becomes two. Winter turns to spring. Spring becomes summer. And on chapter fifteen, a line finally breaks. Now they must survive what happens when a forbidden love becomes the only truth that makes sense.

"Ju, I can't take anymore heartbreaks..." "You ain't gotta run I'm here to help you..." --- "Every bond comes with a price, some more than others..." "What you understand, I don't have to explain..."

She was broken, pregnant, and abandoned. He was grumpy, guarded, and done with love. But somehow, they became each other's safe place. When Amiyah Le'Rae Vynter's abusive ex finds out she's pregnant, he does the cruelest thing he can-kicks her out, leaving her homeless and heartbroken with nowhere to go. Carrying a child she didn't ask for but already loves, Amiyah vows to do everything on her own...until a caramel-skinned, tattooed stranger with a permanent scowl changes everything. Cassian Rhyse Holloway doesn't do relationships, and he definitely doesn't do drama. But when he sees a shivering, pregnant woman at a bus stop in the middle of the night, something inside him snaps. He takes her in, promising himself it's only temporary. Yet, the more he's around her-the late-night conversations, her soft laughter, the way his big hands fit over her growing belly-the harder it is to keep his distance. He's grumpy, overprotective, and quick to threaten anyone who even looks at her wrong. She's sweet, vulnerable, but stronger than she gives herself credit for. Together, they're messy, complicated, and falling for each other in ways neither expected. But when Amiyah's toxic ex tries to crawl back into her life, Cassian has to prove that he's not just her shelter-he's the man who's ready to love her and the baby she's carrying, no matter what.

Can a promise made over a century ago still be fulfilled in today's modern world that is now ruled by lust, greed, cheap thrills and meaningless sex ?? Read to find out. Started April 9th 2024 Ended April 20th 2025