After my Yaya passed away, I didn't have anyone that cared for me. I mean, not even a month after Yaya was in the ground, he sat me down in the living room and sold me to a thirty-year-old man. I was sixteen, and my big brother, the man who was supposed to protect me, sold me off like cattle on a farm. My entire life has been to please Zayne. I'm his fourth wife and the youngest wife. Nobody has ever protected or cared for me. I was tossed the cards that life handed me and had to make do with them. That is until Cappadonna Delgato and I cross paths—again.

I knew how to love because I loved my Yaya more than life. I knew that I could love because of the baby I had grown within me and now held; I loved her more than I loved myself. As I watched this man sleep peacefully beside me, one arm around me, keeping me close, I knew that I loved him. I knew that I could see forever with him, and I knew that he would kill any and everything moving when it came to protecting me.

There were a lot of things that I could live without. I had lived without freedom for the past fifteen years. My wife was someone that I couldn't live without, and I needed her. Alaia saved a lot of people with just a touch of her hand on my arm. She calmed the beast within me, reminded me what I had at home. Alaia was someone that I refused to live without, and now, they took her from me. They touched my wife and thought they would be able to live to talk about it. You didn't touch a Delgato and thought you would live. You didn't touch what was mine and think you could live.

Blogger, Ocean Braxton, suffered a loss back-to-back, so she decided to live life to the fullest starting with her dating life. Deciding to go out on a blind date, her night is interrupted by a handsome stranger who notices her needing saving. There's an attraction, but no names or numbers are exchanged. With them seeing each other on two different accounts, they eventually agree to a date of their own. The only problem is he isn't the only date she's interested in.

In this collection are updated stories from some of your favorite Valentines.

Being more than a Daddy’s girl has always been the goal. Finding herself outside of being the baby proved itself to be the hardest thing. He seemed familiar. Something safe, someone she knew she could let her guard down around. A man that wasn’t just around because of what her last name could offer. The car she drove wasn’t the only thing that moved fast.

She's a homie hopper. She's confused. She doesn't take accountability for anything. She's f*cking her way through all her brothers' friends. I've heard more than a few of those when people talk about me, and I have even felt the same way my damn self. I didn't know what I wanted. I mean, I knew what I wanted. I wanted marriage, love, and the commitment that I made to my husband—ex-husband. I've found myself confused after my divorce from Naheim. It would have been easier to stay and forgive him for something that broke me. It would have been easier for him to stay and forgive me.

I shouldn't have felt this way about her. She's my brother-in-law's first love. She was forbidden fruit. Ain't shit ever been forbidden for me. I take what I want, and I want her. I shouldn't have these strong of feelings for a woman I just met. I wanted to lay every man who even thought about looking her way… including my brother-in-law. Erin was mine before she even knew it. Our paths were meant to cross, our futures to intertwine.

Kashmir Slayton is a man of means along with an insatiable need to have everything he wants. Currently turning a new leaf, an entrancer, who has slipped through his fingers, is pushing him to be the man he used to be. Recklessness and a raging temperament will cause him to turn the city upside down to get her back in his grasps. Lehana Wilson is on her last ounce of luck and patience. As she works from sun up to sun down to take care of an ailing grandmother, she is trying her best to keep her head above water.

A year away helped me realize that Delgato power doesn't just apply to the males in our family. Being away showed me that the same power cruised through my blood. That same power helped me remember who I am. I am Capri Delgato… Baby Doll. A lawyer by day, and the hood's princess by night. The one who will ride for her family. Ms. Delgato, who will make sure her brother never returns to prison because I know the ins and outs of the legal system. With my niece-in-law, we gonna show 'em that the Delgatos don't just run the streets…

Everything happened so fast. So much was said, and so much blood was shed. As I stood there with blood on my hands, a knife in someone's head, and everyone looking at each other, there was only one person I could think to call—my husband. Meer would figure out what to do, and he would come when I called. As I stared at what used to be my best friend, standing with blood on her hands, I realized she had shed the best friend title, and became my sister. Zoya and I stared at her, and it solidified that she would protect the Delgatos, Infernos, and Casellis as her own.

When Meer saw me off at the airport, I never expected to come home and become his wife. His daughter becoming mine. Our lives intertwining into one. I didn't think I was worthy of being loved the way this man loved me. Worthy of a man telling me how's he coming behind me and actually standing on that. He loves and accepts all parts of me. Our families have become one because of our love. For every good thing in my life, there's always a bad thing lurking. Death. Dishonor. Redemption? We're in the end game now.

What started as a night out, letting her hair down, turned into a night Gianna would never forget. The moment she saved his life, she felt a connection with him. But when bad news hits her family, she might push away her future before it begins. Take a ride with the baby of the Parker sisters and see how one night changed her whole life.

Beautiful disaster. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of her. Who hurt you? The first question comes to mind when I open my mouth to greet her. Although it wasn't the easiest to reach, I knew her heart was pure. Gentle to the touch yet stubborn as a bull, she made it hard to resist her. Unintentionally, she sank her hooks in me. She was the calm before my storm. A thunderous, darkening storm with lightning that graciously exposed the paternity of my brother and me. Though the gloom of it all lingered above both our heads.

Salima Navarro, a driven young woman with dreams larger than her current circumstances, takes a job at the upscale Aura nightclub to support herself and her recovering mother. This decision unexpectedly propels her into an unfamiliar world. Deuce Dillinger, the commanding heir to a powerful family empire, is accustomed to control in all aspects of his life. Upon seeing Salima, he resolves to make her his, despite her initial resistance to his domineering personality and lifestyle.

Lana Fleming’s sister has vanished from the set of TV’s hottest show, and no one seems to care. Desperate for answers, Lana sneaks in as an extra, only to get stranded with Griffin Hart, an A-list action star with a reputation for good abs and bad decisions. Though Griffin didn’t expect to be cast as a librarian’s sidekick in a real-life thriller, he’s weirdly into it—and into her. Even more unsettling—she sees right through his playboy persona. But their meet-cute soon turns deadly when they uncover a Hollywood scandal for the ages.

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.

Liv’s happy with life in her thirties. She has two cats, one BFF, and no boyfriend, which is just how she likes it. Plus, she loves working at a not-for-profit software company where she can be her authentically autistic self. This is her happy ever after. But when her beloved firm merges with a repulsive rival, Liv finds herself competing with her sort-of-ex for the top job. Sure, Finn had been Liv’s best friend, with his nerdy good looks and their shared love of Tolkien, but there was that one night, their song, and … well, she doesn’t like to talk about it.

Meet Randi Burnett—she’s brilliant, she’s beautiful, and she works for the bride. Missing groom? Intoxicated in-laws? Crying ring-bearer? You name it, she wrangles it. Too bad her personal life isn’t thriving like her side gig as a bridesmaid for hire. Recently dumped, Randi throws herself into her biggest challenge yet when she’s hired as a maid of honor and pretend best friend for an ice queen bride. There’s just one problem—the best man is infuriating, overprotective, and anti-marriage.

I knew how to love because I loved my Yaya more than life. I knew that I could love because of the baby I had grown within me and now held; I loved her more than I loved myself. As I watched this man sleep peacefully beside me, one arm around me, keeping me close, I knew that I loved him. I knew that I could see forever with him, and I knew that he would kill any and everything moving when it came to protecting me.

There were a lot of things that I could live without. I had lived without freedom for the past fifteen years. My wife was someone that I couldn't live without, and I needed her. Alaia saved a lot of people with just a touch of her hand on my arm. She calmed the beast within me, reminded me what I had at home. Alaia was someone that I refused to live without, and now, they took her from me. They touched my wife and thought they would be able to live to talk about it. You didn't touch a Delgato and thought you would live. You didn't touch what was mine and think you could live.

After my Yaya passed away, I didn't have anyone that cared for me. I mean, not even a month after Yaya was in the ground, he sat me down in the living room and sold me to a thirty-year-old man. I was sixteen, and my big brother, the man who was supposed to protect me, sold me off like cattle on a farm. My entire life has been to please Zayne. I'm his fourth wife and the youngest wife. Nobody has ever protected or cared for me. I was tossed the cards that life handed me and had to make do with them. That is until Cappadonna Delgato and I cross paths—again.

She's a homie hopper. She's confused. She doesn't take accountability for anything. She's f*cking her way through all her brothers' friends. I've heard more than a few of those when people talk about me, and I have even felt the same way my damn self. I didn't know what I wanted. I mean, I knew what I wanted. I wanted marriage, love, and the commitment that I made to my husband—ex-husband. I've found myself confused after my divorce from Naheim. It would have been easier to stay and forgive him for something that broke me. It would have been easier for him to stay and forgive me.

A year away helped me realize that Delgato power doesn't just apply to the males in our family. Being away showed me that the same power cruised through my blood. That same power helped me remember who I am. I am Capri Delgato… Baby Doll. A lawyer by day, and the hood's princess by night. The one who will ride for her family. Ms. Delgato, who will make sure her brother never returns to prison because I know the ins and outs of the legal system. With my niece-in-law, we gonna show 'em that the Delgatos don't just run the streets…

When Meer saw me off at the airport, I never expected to come home and become his wife. His daughter becoming mine. Our lives intertwining into one. I didn't think I was worthy of being loved the way this man loved me. Worthy of a man telling me how's he coming behind me and actually standing on that. He loves and accepts all parts of me. Our families have become one because of our love. For every good thing in my life, there's always a bad thing lurking. Death. Dishonor. Redemption? We're in the end game now.

Everything happened so fast. So much was said, and so much blood was shed. As I stood there with blood on my hands, a knife in someone's head, and everyone looking at each other, there was only one person I could think to call—my husband. Meer would figure out what to do, and he would come when I called. As I stared at what used to be my best friend, standing with blood on her hands, I realized she had shed the best friend title, and became my sister. Zoya and I stared at her, and it solidified that she would protect the Delgatos, Infernos, and Casellis as her own.

Our family is being tested in the worst way possible. Bonds are broken, while new ones are formed. Mistakes will be made. Hearts will be broken. But at the end of the day, we're family and we ride for each other. I'm about to step into a new role, shedding the Delgato name for the last time, and stepping into my new role as Capri Inferno, the wife of Quameer Inferno, the sister-in-law of Quasim Inferno, head of Inferno Gods, and the daughter-in-law of Mina and Papa Inferno. When it's all said and done, I will make sure the Delgatos and Inferno always end up on top.

I shouldn't have felt this way about her. She's my brother-in-law's first love. She was forbidden fruit. Ain't shit ever been forbidden for me. I take what I want, and I want her. I shouldn't have these strong of feelings for a woman I just met. I wanted to lay every man who even thought about looking her way… including my brother-in-law. Erin was mine before she even knew it. Our paths were meant to cross, our futures to intertwine.

Alana Powers is a triple threat. Brains, beauty, and intelligence. As a smart and savvy businesswoman, Alana's drive and passion for ensuring the success of Powers Construction is unparalleled. Nothing and no one can get in her way—except marriage. Noah Tate is caring, compassionate, and driven by his need to succeed. Fresh out of jail, past mistakes are now behind him, and Noah is determined to prove that he has learned valuable lessons about life. This time, he refuses to allow anything to stand in his way. Unfortunately, his record is proving to be more of a hindrance than he expects.

Greer, also known as G, has been blessed with beauty, an independent mindset, and an alluring aura that hypnotizes men. However, she has never relied on a man to take care of her; she prefers to secure her own bag. As a young boss, all the D-boys are drawn to her, but making money is the only thing on her mind. Jahi, Greer's first love, has taught her all about heartbreak, which leads to the couple taking a break. But with all the women Jahi can have due to his good looks, money, and status, the one woman he can't get over is Greer.

Freedom McGurry loved Ghost like no other. Even though she was nineteen and he was a bit older, broke and trying to trap, she loved him. One night in 2009 causes her to rethink things and she disappears off the face of the earth. She leaves Ghost wondering what ever happened to his love. Liberty, Freedom’s twin, loved her man Pook. After he caught a drug case, she loved him so much that she would have held him down to the end of time. That is, until she sees another woman pregnant with his baby and wearing the same exact ring he had gifted to her.

Solomon takes care of his people. All he expects in return is for everyone on his team to remain solid. Anyone who refuses to show loyalty no longer earns his favor, and family is not exempt. Kaori Randall embraces one concept: love and be loved. She is raised by parents and grandparents, who are examples of happy, healthy relationships. Kaori has high expectations when it comes to her own happiness, which makes the failure of her own love life a huge disappointment.

Normandee Tribune dedicates her life to saving the lives of children. While she loves her job, it doesn't fill the void of not being able to have the one thing she desires more than anything—a family of her own. Amid her fertility struggles, she's forced to come to terms with the reality that she may have put her heart in the hands of the wrong person. Things begin to shift after she's reunited with the knight in shining armor who once helped her during a devastating loss. Now, Normandee is left with hard decisions only she can make.

Having been raised by a kingpin, Frank was groomed to follow in his footsteps. Stanley had begun to teach Frank the game when he was only ten years old, but love was never part of the curriculum. When CeCe met Frank, she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. She thought their love would last forever. Even though her mother hated him, CeCe fell in love with Frank Disciple. He showered her with any and everything her heart desired, but the one thing she needed from him, money couldn't buy.