"See, this is exactly why I wish we never met. You came into my life and you just keep shaking everything up!" She stressed, her stomach rumbling with rage. He only stared before his lips twitched into a smirk. "You don't even believe that dumb ass shit." --- She thought running would set her free, but freedom came with a price she wasn't sure she was ready to uphold. She ran from one trap straight into another. Dreams of dancing slip through her fingers when survival forces her into a world she would have to endure. She's dragged into the dark corners of Onyx city and life is nothing as she knew it. Then he appears. A boy who feels different, who makes her believe she might have more to live for than pain. Unfortunately, in the streets nothing is ever as it seems. Every bond comes with secrets, every touch with consequences. And when betrayal cuts deeper than love, she'll learn the hard way what it really means to be slimed out. STARTED; September 18th 2025 PUBLISHED; September 27th 2025 FINISHED; FEBRUARY 7th 2026

Four years ago, Jacquel Davis walked away from everything she loved, including Kasada Omarion-the boy next door who became her best friend, first love, and greatest weakness. Now at twenty-one and carrying the guilt she couldn't outrun, Jacquel returns home expecting familiar streets and old memories. Instead, she comes face to face with the man her childhood love has become. No longer the reckless boy with dreams bigger than the neighborhood, Kasada now stands at the center of the city's streets with power, money, and a reputation that keeps both enemies and allies in line. Known for protecting everyone around him while trusting no one himself, he's spent years burying the heartbreak Jacquel left behind beneath violence, loyalty, and control. But Jacquel's return threatens to unravel all of it. Forced back into each other's orbit, old feelings collide with new wounds as unresolved love, buried resentment, and dangerous street politics pull them together in ways neither can stop. And with rivals watching closely, the line between love and destruction quickly begins to blur.