The lifestyle her mother introduced her to? It was never a child's place but she had no choice. Esmé Solei, at the age of twelve, witnessed things a child should never have to. A lifestyle meant for survival but passion to most, at least according to her mother. Esmé grew accustomed to the streets being that she's around her mom twenty four seven. Unfortunately the number twelve would be embedded in her head forever. A particular night happened to change her life for the better and worse when she runs into Moses. A face the streets feared and the name that was opposite of the biblical meaning. But that's also short lived.. because she wanted everything and by all means necessary, she was going to get it.

for the black girls who just want to be happy.

It began with a wrong address-and a letter that shouldn't have been read. Kamaria's curiosity sparks a chain of letters that draw her and Zahir into a secret world of vulnerability and trust. Yet when they finally meet, they'll have to discover if reality can live up to the intimacy of their words.

𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘪𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘣, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘪𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. [𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝟣/𝟤 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝖿𝖿𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖽𝗎𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗒] cover by @backenddoll 𝙖 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

a tale of hunger & desire.

When Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans, it didn't just destroy homes-it destroyed lives, families... and the unbreakable bond between two best friends. Dejahnae and Kentrell were inseparable, the kind of connection that felt destined, unshakable. Until the storm came and ripped them apart without warning. In the chaos, they lost everything-including each other. Left with nothing but grief and unanswered questions, both were forced to survive in a world that no longer felt like home. Ten years later, survival looks different. Kentrell is now a chart-topping rapper, known for his raw lyrics and haunted sound-but behind the fame is a man still drowning in the past. The storm never really left him. Nightmares, guilt, and a pain he can't outrun follow him everywhere he goes. And no matter how far he's come, he never stopped searching for the one person he lost that night. Dejahnae, now a trauma therapist, has dedicated her life to helping others heal... even though she never truly healed herself. She's learned how to carry pain, how to bury it, how to smile through it-but not how to let it go. When fate unexpectedly brings them face-to-face again, the reunion isn't what either of them imagined. Because love didn't disappear that night... but trust did. Old wounds reopen, buried truths rise to the surface, and the question they've both avoided for years finally demands an answer- Did you leave me... or did I lose you? As past and present collide, Dejahnae and Kentrell must confront the storm that still lives inside them. Because this time, it's not just about finding each other again... It's about deciding if they can survive each other.

Milan Cozart lived on the low-end of Chicago. A part of the city that was unbeknownst to tourists, yet never seemed to leave the front cover of the news... for murders. In this cutthroat slice she called home, there was one rule: Show no mercy. However, when you hold the life of a notorious drug lord in your hands... you may find yourself hesitating. Milan knew the rule, but she also knew who Ramses Young was as well. The man had spared the life of her brother the night her parents had died. Now, he laid bleeding out in her arms. He was meant to die. Because of her, he lived. And, because of her, bodies would drop.

Their eyes met again and she leaned in this time, closing the space between them. The kiss came gentle, like neither of them needed to prove anything, but just feel one another. His hand found her waist, and her fingers tangled in the hem of his hoodie, grounding herself in him. When they pulled apart, she whispered, "You're not alone, Zyairis." He touched his forehead to hers, smiling lazily. "Not when you around, I'm not." ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘢𝘯 @𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.

"𝐘'𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧," 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐥𝐲. "𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬... 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫." 𝐈𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞. "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜." 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐣𝐚𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝. "𝐍𝐚𝐡... 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡." "𝐖𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭." 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩. Set in South Central Los Angeles, this story follows a tight circle of friends navigating love, loyalty, and life shaped by the streets. As relationships spark, fade, and collide, each choice carries weight, proving that in a city that doesn't slow down, love shows up in more ways than one and not everyone makes it out the same. "In the city of angels, everybody had a love story. Not everybody survived it."

Soul Maurielle is quiet, introverted and to herself. She's been spoiled her whole life and has had everything handed to her, whether it was from her father, a respected drug kingpin who passed when she was 18, or her twin brother Shilo who followed in the footsteps of his father. Soul isn't new to the 'street life' she hates it and all that it brings. That life did nothing but take from her family. Her brother on the other hand loved the fast life and the quick money that came with, so he followed in the footsteps of their father bringing drama to her door when and wherever. Trap has never been one for many words, he allowed his actions to speak through all that he did. And boy did his actions speak. Trap is a popular loner, so many have been around him but not many knows who he his. Even those closest to Trap barely get more than 5 words from him at a time. He handles his business and goes about his day. Trap is deep in the life, had been since he was 15. Virgil, the father figure Trap never had, was the man who took him in and introduced him to the life. His mom had been struggling with bills, his sister, who was on her school cheer team, had no way to get her gear and he had one option. Turn to the streets, one of his boys had been bragging about the fast money he was getting and Trap needed that, his boy introduced him to Virgil and it was off from there. The 2 are one and the same, both quiet, reserved and to themselves. But Soul isn't looking for love, let alone a man that's in the same life she lost her dad to. She hates the life and everything that comes with it, so why can't she just leave this man alone? Started: February 12, 2026 Finished...