Jack Lewis had always lived in the shadows of South London, a 20-year-old kingpin of a small but ruthless drug operation. His reputation was built on fear, and emotions were a luxury he couldn’t afford. But everything changed the moment he met Gemma Morgan.

Gemma was Dwayne’s sister. Dwayne, Jack’s best mate, was locked up for something Jack had a hand in, and Jack had promised to look after his family. Gemma, at 19, was different from anyone Jack had ever known. Soft, innocent, but with an intensity in her eyes that neither scared nor intimidated him. The first time Jack saw her, she was standing in her mum’s doorway, arms crossed, eyes challenging him. He’d barely exchanged words with her before walking away, but something about her lingered.

Over the following weeks, their paths crossed more often. Jack started visiting Dwayne’s family, ostensibly to check in, but secretly hoping for a glimpse of Gemma. There was something magnetic about her, something that unsettled him. She wasn’t afraid of him, didn’t treat him like the feared figure everyone else did. She saw something beyond the walls he’d built around himself.

One rainy night, Jack showed up at her door, the storm outside a mirror to the chaos in his head. He didn’t want to talk, but somehow, they ended up in her living room, and Gemma could see right through the tough exterior he’d spent years perfecting.

“You don’t have to do it alone,” she said softly, her voice cutting through his layers of arrogance and pride.

Her words hit him harder than any punch ever could. He was used to doing things alone, used to carrying the weight of his world on his shoulders, but something in her eyes made him question everything. The walls around him started crumbling, piece by piece.

In the quiet that followed, Jack kissed her. It was sudden, raw, and unlike anything he’d ever felt. The world outside ceased to exist. She was all that mattered, and in that stolen moment, he didn’t care about the risks. He didn’t care about the consequences. For the first time, he allowed himself to feel something real.

“We can’t let anyone find out,” Jack whispered, his breath mingling with hers.

Gemma’s response was simple, but it rang with resolve. “We’ll keep it a secret.”

And so, they did. Their love, hidden away in the shadows, a secret they both knew was dangerous but also the one thing in their lives that felt like it could save them from everything they were running from.