She's Promised to Him, But I Have Her Heart

Book excerpt: Relationships can be tricky when there is a certain dynamic of power shifted in one person’s favor. Nika owns a two-family flat in the Ville neighborhood and rents her bottom apartment to Usian, who grew up in the area. Their relationship is one of mutual respect and understanding, but they always butt heads, which is what contributed to the uptight personality that Nika always displays. Usian is much older than Nika and thinks she’s an entitled brat, while Nika thinks that Usian is a hood rat that will eventually end up back in prison. Amanika, aka Nika, has her entire life ahead of her, but for some reason, she can’t figure it out. She went to college and graduated with honors from Washington University, with a degree in education; however, that’s not really what she wants to do. Since Nika was a teenager, she worked at her aunt’s African hair braiding shop, where all of her family works. They’ve been applying pressure for Nika to get married, and before her father died, he arranged her to be wed. She wants to be able to pick the man she marries, and her mother doesn’t seem to have a problem with it because she wants her daughter to be happy. However, the elders in the family are against it, and with her mother being Muslim, it makes things even more complicated. Jasper Simpson Jr., aka Usian Shakur, is an ex-convict trying to keep his life on track. He used to be a big-time drug dealer until he was locked up and served ten years in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering. He chose not to go back to the life, but a lot of his friends are still deeply involved and trying to get Usian to get back into the game. He found Islam while he was locked up and changed his way of living to better his life, but living in a neighborhood where drugs and violence dominate, there’s a fine line between doing the right thing and succumbing to the pressures of your environment.