"Oh, man. Ain't I supposed to be the comedian of this relationship?" He laughed some more. "You coming for my job now, or sum'n? 'Cause imma need severance pay." The kitchen got quiet. She didn't laugh with him. "You should probably just do it, Meech." "What?" His smile faltered, searching her face like he missed the punchline of the joke. "Hol' up. You bein' forreal right now?" "I mean..." She shrugged weakly. "Maybe once we have proof-" "Proof?" He jerked his head back. "Proof of what, Trin? Of some shit I already know? You gon' trust some random ass stranger's word over mine?" "They're clearly not some random ass stranger to you." • • • • • • 𝚃𝚠𝚘'𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚢... 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎'𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚍. ✨👻 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝟻 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 (𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚗-𝚘𝚏𝚏)

He stared at her, "Wow." "Yeah." She lifted her chin in the air. "Wow. Because every time you talk about marriage and kids, it feels like the end of me. Of my freedom. My career. My identity." "And every time you avoid it? It feels like the end of us." He fired back. Silence slammed between them. "Well." She broke it first, her voice quieter but crueler. "Maybe you just picked the wrong woman." He rubbed his jaw in thought, "Shit, maybe I did." • • • • • • 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚕𝚎? 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝? 🥀👻 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝟺 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 (𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚗-𝚘𝚏𝚏)

"She not like the others, Ma. She real." Phoenyx spoke with conviction. "She makes me feel-" "Like a bitch." Persephone cut in, raising off of the couch. "You lettin' her soften you up. I ain't raise you to be no simp." "Forreal, Ma?" Phoenyx felt the heat rising to his face, a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "Why can't you just let me have this?" "Have what?" Persephone scoffed. "This shit ain't you. You gon' start actin' like somebody's fuckin' husband now? You think love gon' save you in these streets?" • • • • • • 𝙰 𝚗𝚎𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚊 𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎. ❤️‍🔥👻 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝟹 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 (𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚗-𝚘𝚏𝚏)

"Damn. Hasn't even been that long and you got a whole rock on your finger now, huh?" "...What are you doing here?" She unthinkingly rubbed her swollen belly, the tight knots forming in her stomach at the same time. "What you mean? I came for the art." His tone was sarcastic as he gestured at the paintings on the walls. She watched his eyes drift down her body, before he tightly clenched his jaw. "But I see I have more than one thing to congratulate you on." He said, bitterly. • • • • • • 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛? ❤️‍🩹👻 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝟸 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 (𝚜𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚕)

"So you just wanna fuck me forever, and that's it, huh?" "I ain't say-" He sucked his teeth. "We already talked about this shit, Z." "Nah." She chuckled dryly. "You just keep shutting me out." "Why you doin' this to me, Ma?" He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hm? Why you tryna fuck everything up?" • • • • • • 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚗𝚘𝚗-𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚊 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌, 𝚊 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌 💌👻 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝟷 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜

Nyla Monroe Brooks was just a girl from Clayton County with a dream and a talent for hair. Nasir Vaughn was Harlem's biggest rap star. Their worlds were never supposed to collide. But when sparks fly between the soft-spoken salon owner and the dangerously protective rapper, love grows faster than either of them expected. Fame. Drama. Jealous enemies. And a baby girl that changes everything. Through it all, one thing becomes clear...

"In our world, a wedding ring isn't a promise of forever. It's a beautifully disguised death sentence." Alani Vance was never meant to be a pawn. The fierce, fiercely independent daughter of the South Side's most elusive fixer, she spent her entire life engineering a way out of the underworld's toxic grip. She has the brains, the sharp wit, and a spine made of pure steel. But when a high-stakes betrayal threatens to wipe her family off the map, her father makes the ultimate tactical gamble-trading Alani's freedom for the protection of the city's most ruthless executioner. Enter Morrone "The Monolith" Moretti. Cold, calculating, and entirely devoid of mercy, Morrone is the iron fist of the Moretti syndicate. He doesn't want a wife, he doesn't do vulnerability, and he certainly doesn't have room in his blood-soaked life for a woman who refuses to bow to his command. To him, Alani is just an obligation wrapped in silk-a political alliance meant to secure the borders and solidify his claim to the throne. From the moment Alani walks down the aisle in a dress that feels like a shroud, the battlefield is set. Morrone expects a quiet, submissive mafia bride who will stay behind the reinforced walls of his fortress. Alani expects a monster who will try to break her spirit. Neither of them is ready for the wildfire that ignites when their worlds collide. As a deadly new syndicate pushes against their borders, trying to exploit the fractures in their forced union, Morrone's possessive instincts kick into dangerous overdrive. He might not have wanted a wife, but nobody touches what belongs to the Monolith. And as Alani uncovers the dark truths behind the arrangement, she realizes that the cold, terrifying man who bought her freedom might be the only sanctuary she has left.

𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 : 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 200 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦