City of Secrets

Sonia Ziva Hollis speaks four languages, plays the violin like a prodigy, and can dismantle complex logistics in her head. But the one thing she cannot do is make her family love her.

Abandoned by her father at two, ignored by her narcissistic mother, and outcast by her brother, Sonia has accepted her fate: everyone leaves eventually. She fills the silence with baking, ballet, and dark romance novels about tall, blonde women who take control-because in real life, no one ever stays to hold her.

Enter Soyona Santos.

Intimidating. Antisocial. A black-market broker who trusts no one. Soyona has no business being charmed by a tiny, curvy ballerina in pastel pink, but Sonia's brilliant mind and infectious giggles break through every wall Soyona has built. When Soyona realizes Sonia is drowning in a house full of people who don't notice her, she does what she does best: she takes control.

From carrying Sonia out of a mattress store to teaching her chess, Soyona becomes the safe harbor Sonia never had. But when the lines between protector and lover blur, Soyona has to prove to a girl with abandonment issues that some promises aren't meant to be broken.

She asked me if I promised to never leave, would I believe her. I said yes. I think I meant it as a prayer.

18+ | Explicit | Mommy Issues | Age-Gap Romance