Book 1 of Inheritance Series Banks Mitchell has had a plan since she was sixteen Play soccer at UNC, follow in her mother's footsteps, and love Noah Martinez the way she always has steady, certain, safe What she didn't plan for was Ivy Ivy Martinez has spent four years filing away the memory of one kiss that was never meant to mean anything. Banks called it practice. Ivy called it the moment she understood exactly how much trouble she was in. She watched Banks fall for her little brother anyway and told herself that was fine That she was fine She almost believed it They've been best friends their whole lives. Grew up in the same circle, at the same beach house every summer, around the same kitchen tables and their mothers best friends long before either of them took their first breath. Banks and Ivy were unavoidable in every aspect except the one that mattered most Now they're roommates Same apartment. Same walls. Same 2am silences that stretch just a little too long. Ivy knows every version of Banks Mitchell the girl who laughs too loud, cries at Disney movies and will look you dead in the eye and deny it, and has never once in her life slowed down long enough to feel something she wasn't ready for The problem is Banks is starting to feel something she is very much not ready for Noah is 30 minutes away, finishing his senior year, and texting every night like clockwork. Riley Mitchell is coaching right across campus and already sees too much. And Ivy is right there wild and warm and familiar pretending she isn't waiting for something Banks doesn't even know she's capable of giving One kiss was practice This is something else entirely 18+ | sapphic romance | boyfriend sister | roommates | slow burn | forbidden | college | found family | The Inheritance Series

Stephanie Walker is eighteen, moving across the country from Los Angeles to New York to begin her dream: law school at NYU. A new city, a new home, new friends, new everything. She's excited, but sleepless nights, old wounds, and quiet struggles follow her everywhere. She wants to live like any other college student, to blend in, to feel normal, but life hasn't been simple, and surviving on her own is harder than she expected. Every late night, every study session, every solitary drive home reminds her that life doesn't come with easy answers. Some nights, she leans on quiet habits she'd never tell anyone about, just to make it to morning. Elena Shay is thirty-two, NYU's Dean and a respected law professor. Her life is built on control, precision, and endless responsibility. At work, she's commanding, elegant, untouchable. Outside it, she's soft, warm, and human, but never careless. Elena doesn't date casually; she doesn't waste time or energy on anything that isn't worth it. She's deliberate, certain, and careful... Until Stephanie. Stephanie isn't just another student. She's sharp, captivating, and unafraid to be herself in a way that draws Elena in deeper than it should. Suddenly, the carefully maintained line between professional and personal life begins to blur. The rules, the expectations, the life Elena's worked so hard to control all scream that nothing between them can ever happen. And yet, the pull becomes impossible to ignore. As their worlds collide, Stephanie discovers a side of life she's never dared to touch: warmth, comfort, attention, and desire from someone who sees her fully, not as a girl with a "rough" childhood, but as a woman. Together, Elena and Stephanie fall into chaos, vulnerability, and longing they didn't know they were missing. Every glance, every touch, and every moment carries risk. Risk of exposure, of judgment, of everything crashing down, all shaped by the choices resting in their hands.