Here I am again... Different day, different hour, but trapped in the same haunting cycle, she thought. Tiara stood before the mirror, her reflection staring back like a stranger she couldn't escape. The hatred she felt wasn't loud it was quiet, cold, and relentless. Her eyes welled with tears as they traced the outline of her body, every curve now a battlefield. She despised what she saw. Not because she always had, but because somewhere along the way, the love she once had for herself faded... and she didn't know how to bring it back.

We keep it gutter We f*** with no rubber We be on top of covers He got a n**** and I got a b**** We don't tell on each other

"You know how special you gotta be to change a nigga like me? Huh?" He tilted her head back to make her look at him, and a faint smile grew on her face as he wiped her cheeks. "My own grandparents couldn't do it for me and I loved them more than anything. You the one for me ma. That's why I ain't told you everything yet 'cause I don't wanna run you away. I need you." He laid his forehead against hers, gently kissing her lips. "Nobody will ever believe that King Von from O Block be crying to me like this." She smiled as she gazed into his red eyes, and he chuckled, nodding in agreement. "I ain't King Von wit' you. Just love." He kissed her cheek next, and her smile grew as her arms tightened around him for a warm hug.