❛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

Was it ever me... or just him?

"𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗲, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴❤️"

"She never asked to be chosen second. He never asked to love soft." Ka'Lani Simone Harris spent her whole life watching boys pick her brownskin twin, Imani, first. Every text, every glance, every "you cute but..." - it all ended the same. But when Juelz Amir Thompson steps into her world - quiet, tattooed, hood-smart, and realer than any man she's known - he flips her entire mindset. Only... Ka'Lani ain't sure if he really sees her, or just another shadow of her sister. Juelz got demons. A past that moves quiet but dangerous. And love? That shit was never part of the plan. But Ka'Lani pulls something out of him nobody's ever touched - not his exes, not his block, not even his blood. Now the city watching. Girls throwing shade. Secrets resurfacing. And his enemies? They don't like seeing him soft. But love like this? Ain't soft. It's bold. It's bruised. And it refuses to be background. This ain't no fairytale. This is hood love

𝖭𝖺𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗂 𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝖾𝗋 senior𝗒𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗈𝖿 𝗁𝗂𝗀𝗁 𝗌𝖼𝗁𝗈𝗈𝗅 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝖾𝖾𝗍𝗌 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾. 𝖲𝗁𝖾'𝗌 𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗇 𝖻𝖾𝗍𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗐𝗈 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝖲𝖾𝗏𝗒𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖩𝖺𝗒𝗏𝖾𝗈𝗇. 𝖤𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝖲𝖾𝗏𝗒𝗇 𝗌𝖼𝗋𝖾𝗐𝗌 𝗎𝗉 𝗆𝗎𝗅𝗍𝗂𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾𝗌 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗄𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗌 𝗀𝗈𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖻𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗌 𝗁𝗂𝗆. 𝖡𝗎𝗍 𝖩𝖺𝗒𝗏𝖾𝗈𝗇 𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝖲𝖾𝗏 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗐𝗋𝗈𝗇𝗀. 𝖲𝗈 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗂𝗍 b𝖾? 𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗈𝗋 𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗍

❝𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃.❞

"𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭." 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦. "𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭." 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.