After her estranged billionaire father dies, 𝐉𝗼𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫 inherits 42% of his empire-along with crushing debt tied to her shares and a board eager to devour her. The only way to prevent collapse is a merger with rival CEO Sébastien 𝐒𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝗼𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐮, who offers one condition: 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒆, governed by a contract that reads less like a partnership and more like a leash.

❛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

❛𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕?❜ 𝓶𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊'𝒔 voice was low, guarded-like he was already bracing for something to be taken from him. 𝓼𝒐𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚 met his stare without flinching. steady, warm and unyielding. ❛𝒐𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝒚𝒐𝒖.❜ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ Solana Thompson believes in order. In boundaries that keep people safe. In doing good without needing to be seen. Malachi Graves doesn't believe in much at all. Not after prison. Not after parole. Not after learning how easily the world decides who you are and never lets you forget it. The only thing he believes in is control. Watching first. In staying ready. In never letting himself want something that could ruin him. She's his court-mandated therapist. He's her newest complication. But Malachi notices things he shouldn't- the way her voice drops when she's serious, the way her eyes linger like she's memorizing him, the way he feels off-balance when she smiles at anyone else. He tells himself it's curiosity. Solana doesn't see the danger. Only the man trying to do better. She thinks she's helping him learn how to exist again. But proximity does strange things to people who've spent too long holding themselves together. Some lines don't blur all at once. They inch closer. They dare you to notice. And Malachi has never been good at letting go of what he thinks is his. 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐃: 𝐉𝐀𝐍 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔