Eight years ago, Rae Mitchell left Glencoe, Georgia without a goodbye. No note, no explanation, just a suitcase full of ambition and a heart too full to stay. She was supposed to outrun the memories. The whispers. And especially Khalil Reed, the boy who once made her believe in forever. But now she's back. Her grandmother's unexpected fall pulls her home, and with no job, no apartment, and a scandal she's still trying to forget, Rae has nowhere else to go. Glencoe hasn't changed, but Rae has. And so has Khalil. Once her first love, now the man she ghosted, Khalil isn't interested in forgiveness or small talk. He's running a business, raising his teenage sister, and trying not to care that Rae's name still hits him like it used to. In a town where everyone remembers who you used to be, Rae must confront what she left behind-family, friendship, and the one person who never stopped waiting for her to come home. But some wounds don't stay buried. Some love never really leaves. And some promises are made to be broken... until they aren't.

❛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 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚞𝚜" ©𝙺𝙰𝚈𝚇𝙳𝙸𝙾𝚁 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙳𝚄𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 𝟾/𝟸𝟻/𝟸𝟶