milaniwaddy_
Imani Monroe built herself into a masterpiece-a Black Southern girl-turned-New York powerhouse, polished enough to stand beside her picture-perfect fiancé, Preston Hale, and fearless enough to handle the spotlight that follows him everywhere. Their engagement is supposed to be the final touch: love, luxury, and a future designed for headlines.
Except one problem.
Imani is already married.
Buried deep in Alabama-beneath red clay roads, porch lights, hometown gossip, and the memories she swore she outgrew-is Jackson Whitaker, the white boy who loved her before the world taught her love could be dangerous. He's steady, stubborn, and still looks at her like she's the only truth in a room full of lies. And he's the last person she wants to face... because he's the only person who ever knew her before she learned how to perform.
When Imani returns home to quietly finalize a divorce, she expects a quick signature and a clean escape back to Manhattan. Instead, she collides with everything she left behind: family secrets, old wounds, tight-knit Southern chaos, and a love that never really let go. As Preston arrives to control the narrative, and the town begins to whisper, Imani must decide what matters more-the life she crafted to survive, or the life that might finally let her breathe.
Because some vows don't fade.
They wait-like magnolias in the heat-until you're brave enough to come back and claim them.