What happens when you fall for your brother's best friend? The story of Serenity & Jabari.

Ariel comes from a home where cruelty is normal-fat-shaming disguised as concern, neglect dressed as tough love. She's used to being invisible, both in class and in her family. The only place she feels peace is in books or when she sees him, the mysterious man who haunts her thoughts like a forbidden daydream. All she wants is to be chosen, just once, for who she really is. Lucien has never had something pure to protect. He's killed for pleasure, for power, for survival. But Ariel? She makes him feel again. He wants to shield her from every insult, every cruel word she's ever heard. And he'll burn the world down to keep her safe-even if it means becoming the monster she fears. To him, she is perfection in its most forbidden form. And once he's tasted her-emotionally or otherwise-he can never let go.

"I never played about you, Kurii," he said, rubbing her thigh. "Something 'bout you just triggers me." . Just read it omg.

❛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