Sacred Vows & Dirty Laundry: A Standalone Romance

Don’t nobody teach you how to hold a marriage together while it’s falling apart. Ken’Dryx Malone-Reed tried anyway—patching lies, folding hurt into smile lines, praying the vows would start working if she kept saying them. When her husband’s 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗹 finally blows, she’s left with a little boy on her hip and a 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆. Between sacred vows and all the dirty laundry that comes with them, she has to decide if 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴… 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 for once.

Then there’s Jovonie Athens—𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗙𝗟 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿 with headlines behind him and shadows he doesn’t explain. He doesn’t sell her lines; he shows up. A calm that settles the room. A 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲. With Jovonie, Ken’Dryx feels seen, covered, wanted. And when that peace is tested, he moves with the kind of 𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 that makes it 𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻.

Falling for him means stirring her 𝗲𝘅’𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵, feeding the whispers, and facing her own fear that she’s moving too fast, too soon. She hears the echo of the altar, sees the way her son watches them both, and wonders if she’s risking too much… or finally reaching for 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼ᘳ