He prayed for her in the dark. She begged to God for him to let her go. Ky'leigh Ace thought loving a man like Julian "Toro" Cortez was just part of growing up in the Southside. But when he got locked up, she found out the truth: being in love with a gang member was one thing-raising his daughter alone was another. Six years later, he's back. Fresh out. Full of pain, pride, and poison. But Ky has changed. She's colder now. Stronger. Smarter. And she's been keeping Jurnee away from the streets. But Julian doesn't play when it comes to his daughter. Or Ky. In the world they come from, love ain't sweet-it's war. And every night, somebody's out there whispering a Lover's Prayer just to survive it.

"to gutta to play with a ngga"

𝘒𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘺 ༯ Apart of the FAMU & Heaven series. You don't have to read FAMU or Heaven is a Teenage Girl to read the book!!

" I don't even like you like that." Her face scrunched up in disgust watching water drip from curls in his hair. " 'Cause you love me. Just like I love you." He retorted with a grin, disregarding the deflecting she was doing. --- They were two sides of the same city-until one move split them down the middle. Elijah and London were inseparable once, bonded by childhood summers, beat-up bikes, and secrets too deep for anyone else to know. Unfortunately, when Elijah's mom packed up and moved her family across Onyx to a rival neighborhood, everything changed. She always thought when she spoke to him again he would've changed like her. She was witty, sarcastic, and had a low tolerance, but he was still the same calm , sweet, cute boy with a heart the size of the sun. Some things haven't changed. Some things never change. The pull between them, the memories that still burn etched marks in their brain, and the words they never said out loud. In a world where loyalty can be life or death, and love isn't always enough to cross old lines, Elijah and London find themselves circling each other again. --- STARTED; MAY 26th, 2025 PUBLISHED JUNE 6th, 2025 FINISHED; SEPTEMBER 27th 2025

'𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎.

"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

𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 '𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐧 - 𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢

𝐌𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮

"𝐈 𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 '𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮... 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 '𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞."