HARLEM

HARLEM

NGY Chanelle · Completed · 66.9k Words

614
Hot
619
Views
3
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Harlem Rahim. A girl from the hood. From Brownsville, Brooklyn.

Born of an Israelite father and an afro american mother. Quite a juvenile delinquent and not ashamed to be.

If you grew up the way I did, you'd probably be one too. Just turned eighteen years old. Poor but not stupid.

I'm gonna go all the way to get out of this mess.

To get 'us' outta this. Even discover a world out of the hood life.

But never forget where I come from. Where I belong.

Chapter 1


I sat at the window of the little apartment my mother and I shared in an old building, admiring the Brownsville painting someone had drawn on the wall on the other side of the street.

I loved my world. My quarter.

Brownsville was my home. I'd grown up there. I'd done everything there. It was part of me.

I turned and looked at my mom in the kitchen. A beautiful forty year old afro american lady. I stared at her while she cooked the little we had available.

She looked so depressed at times and it hurt me, because I knew why.

My mother was born from an American father and a Cameroonian mother. She'd grown up in America and as an american citizen.

She grew up and met my father during an organised party by a friend of hers. He was Israelite. They immediately hooked up. They had that immediate spark and fell in love.

Not long after, my father married mom even with the refusal of his own family.

Two years after their marriage, they had me.

All was fine until a few months after my birth, my father died in a car accident, leaving us to ourselves.

My father's family seized everything and they all returned to Israel. Leaving us helpless.

To this day, I could say my mother was still in great sadness which she tried to hide from me.

But I could see it. And I promised to make my mother happy again. I was going to get her out of poverty and misery.

"Pssst! Pssst! Harl!" I heard a loud whisper from out the window. I looked down and there stood one of my closest friends, Yasmin. I smiled at her.

"Watchu doing? Get your ass down here!" she smiled.

"Coming!"

I got up from the window and ran to my little room to change. I wore my old dirty converses, a white T-shirt and another shirt around my waist. Then I tied my hair up into a sided ponytail and ran out of my room.

"Going out with Yasmin?" my mom asked, smiling.

"Yes, ma. I'm gonna bring back some change if luck's on my side."

"Harlem don't do anything stupid."

"I won't."

I kissed her cheek and left the apartment.

I met Yasmin downstairs. She'd tied her hair into a bun and wore a grey pullover, jeans and converses as old as mine.

"So where're we going?" she asked me.

"Not too far. Let's take a stroll around. We might fall on someone not so lucky."

"How about Manhattan instead?"

"You got money?"

"Nope. But I know how we'll get there."

Yasmin and I strolled through the hood and into town where we took the subway discretely. And soon enough, we were in one of Manhattan's quarters.

I leaned against a wall in the streets while Yasmin and I, silently observed those who passed by.



We waited patiently until we both spotted a round man of about fifty years old. He had a briefcase in his hand and was leaving an office building. Perfect.

"Check out the fat man." Yasmin said.

"He's good."

"Let's go get him."

We casually crossed the street and walked up to the man.

"Good afternoon, sir." we both greeted.

"Yes, good afternoon." I stood a little behind him while Yasmin was in front of him.

"Sir, please we're lost." she lied.

"Really? Where do you stay?"

"Brooklyn. Don't really know how we ended up in Manhattan and..."

While she spoke, getting all his attention, I slowly and discretely stretched out a hand and removed his wallet from his pocket. He didn't feel a thing!

While Yasmin spoke to him, I looked at her and winked.

And immediately, we both took off. Running as fast as possible.

The confused man stood wondering until he felt his pockets and discovered that his wallet was missing!

"HEY! HEY! STOP!" he shouted helplessly. Too late. We were gone.

We ran up to three streets away!

Once safe, we stopped to open his wallet.

"Huh? Da hell is this??" I asked, angrily.

"What?"

I pulled out the only money present in that wallet and showed it to Yasmin.

"Ten dollars?!" Yasmin asked, surprised.

"Ten dollars! That pop was all dressed up with only ten dollars in his pants??" I couldn't believe my eyes and so did Yasmin.

We were suddenly really annoyed.

"Girl, we gotta return home with fifty dollars each. You with me?" I asked her.

"You know me."

"Let's get some people really scared. But not too much. Don't want the cops on me."

"Same here. Now let's get serious."

We adjusted the little pistols we'd put in the waistbands of our jeans. Yes, when things got a little hard, I preferred to use a gun. No harm done. It was a little game we always practiced and of course my mother wasn't aware.

Yasmin and I had succeeded in stealing about three more wallets after we'd explored other streets. We were careful not to get caught.

But what got us really satisfied, was the last theft.

We'd followed a well dressed lady into an empty street. It was already evening, fifteen past five exactly.

She turned into a quiet and dangerous street, unaware that we were behind her.

Luckily, after the second theft, we'd bought ourselves plastic clown masks for a dollar. Perfect for our little crimes.

We wore the masks and approached the woman from the back.

"Hello." I said quickly standing in front of her, blocking her way and pointing the gun straight at her.

The lady froze, afraid. She tried to turn and escape but Yasmin was there, pointing a gun too.

"Going somewhere?"

The woman began pleading.

"P-please. Please! Take everything, spare my life!"

"I like that. Your purse! Now!" I yelled at her.

Trembling, she threw the purse at me.

I quickly opened it.

Two hundred dollars. Yes!

I threw the empty purse at her and motioned for Yasmin and I to run away.

We ran as fast as we could, removing our masks and hiding our guns, laughing all the way like kids.

When we were far away and safe, we stopped to rest a little. We were both panting.

"Woo! Hahahaha."

"Hahahah, that was fun tho." Yasmin said.

"I know right." I stood up straight, "Guess how much I got from her purse." I said, breathless.

"How much?"

"Girl two hundred dollars."

"Woah! Altogether we got 250!"

"Yup. Let's share the fifty for ourselves. The hundreds, we take 'em back to our moms."

"Yeah. Let's get some Pringles and Pepsi. I'm starving!"

I laughed.

"Hahahaha me too."

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

Real Heiress, Hidden Boss​

Real Heiress, Hidden Boss​

17.3k Views · Completed · Aria Woods
They wanted a real daughter, so they traded me for her.
On the engagement day, my fiancé slipped a ring on her finger. My parents handed me a train ticket to oblivion.
They celebrated their victory while I disappeared.
What they didn't realize was that letting me go was the worst mistake of their lives.
I am the surgical prodigy saving lives that science deems hopeless. I am the muse of the art world. I am the true heir to a dynasty they couldn't even dream of.
Now, I am back.
Not as the girl they abandoned, but as the storm they prayed would never come.
My ex-fiancé kneels in regret. My fake sister chokes on her jealousy. And the CEO who once looked through me? He is now crawling, desperate to taste the success he once threw away.
The joke isn't on me.
It's on them.
Iron And Glamour Just Don't Mix

Iron And Glamour Just Don't Mix

5.5k Views · Ongoing · Kit Bryan
Have you ever seen a screaming toddler and thought, wow, they just can’t be the same good-natured kid who was eating cereal ten minutes ago?
Well… Sometimes you just might turn out to be right.
It turns out, the fae stole my little brother. In his place? A pixie with boundary issues and a talent for home repairs.
I’ve spent my life taking care of everyone else. So when my baby brother is taken, I don’t hesitate. I walk straight into a faerie mansion and make a bargain with its infuriatingly charming master.
Kie is everything you’d expect from a dangerous fae, beautiful, political, and entirely too amused by me. Power wrapped in a smirk. Sensual, mischievous, and far too aware of the effect he has on people. He agrees to help me find my brother.
For a price.
Now I’m bound by a faerie bargain and navigating a world of glamour, manipulation, and ancient rules I definitely should have learned sooner, enchanted forests, political games, magical contracts, and a fae lord who treats seduction like a perfectly reasonable negotiation tactic.
Iron is how I keep people out.
Glamour is how he draws them in.
And apparently, they just don’t mix.
The millionaire's ugly secretary

The millionaire's ugly secretary

1.9k Views · Completed · Naulis Machado
Demetrio Laureti is the most sought-after millionaire in town. An arrogant, domineering and extremely handsome man, he is used to taking all the women he wants into his bed. When his secretary is fired, he immediately sends for a new one. Confident that they have hired the most beautiful of them all, he decides to make a bet with his best friend and conquer Evangelina Anderson, a woman of grotesque appearance, which is not at all to the taste of the Italian, but, however, manages to drive all his senses crazy.

Will Demetrio be able to conquer his ugly secretary? Will Eva be able to forgive Demetrio after this bet?
The mafia princess return

The mafia princess return

970.3k Views · Completed · Tonje Unosen
Talia have been living with her mother, stepsister and Stepfather for years. One day she finally get away from them. Suddenly she learn she have more family out there and she have many people that actually love her, something she have never felt before! At least not as she can remember. She have to learn to trust others, get her new brothers to accept her for who she is!
Pregnant by My Husband's Rival Alpha

Pregnant by My Husband's Rival Alpha

21.4k Views · Completed · Christina
I woke up three years into a marriage I barely remembered—pregnant with twins that weren't my husband's.

Those words should have destroyed me, but the truth was worse: I'd been used as a broodmare by the man who swore to love me, set up in a hotel room with a stranger because My husband Alexander Cross couldn't father children himself, and now I carried the secret babies of Damon Lester—the most powerful and dangerous Alpha in San Loris—while my own family replaced me with the daughter they'd always wanted. But when that same stranger's doctor appeared at my door, when twenty million dollars exchanged hands over a fake perfume bearing my secret identity, and when Damon's gray eyes locked onto mine with recognition I couldn't afford, I realized my carefully hidden life as the legendary perfumer Vera was colliding with a pregnancy that could cost me everything.

Could I protect my babies from the husband plotting my death, hide my true identity from the Alpha who's been hunting me for years, and reclaim the freedom I'd buried along with my dreams—even if it means standing alone against the wolves who see me as nothing more than a womb to be used and discarded?
Chosen By The Lycan King

Chosen By The Lycan King

7.6k Views · Ongoing · IdeaInk Six Cats
“I want you, Tessa,” He whispered against my neck. Subconsciously, I arched my back into him. He groaned, his hands grabbing my ass. “No, scratch that, I need you,” He mumbled. “I’m not sure…” I trailed off. “I’m broken. I'm not the right person for you, Zane,” A soft moan escaped my lips as he bit down on my neck. “I-I’m not the best for you,” I whispered. “I don't care. You are mine,”***Tessa Griffin has always lived her life as the broken Omega. Even her own father hated her and when she realized her mate was the Alpha of her pack, Tessa was devastated because he despised her. When the Dark Lord attacked their pack and Tessa was given as a substitute and sacrifice to him, she never thought her life would take a amazing turn. Zane Pierce was rumoured to be the ruthless and cruel Dark Lord. He was known to use women for his pleasure and he knew nothing than be the cruel person he was until he met her. Darkness looked over Zane but she was his light and now that he found this woman…Zane wasn’t ready to let her go.
A Queen Among Darkness (Book 4 in the Gods' Saga)

A Queen Among Darkness (Book 4 in the Gods' Saga)

6.6k Views · Ongoing · ADB_Stories
Isolde’s life was full of love and joy. She was set to be High priestess of the makkari, but everything changed in a single night when she lost everything at the hands of someone she thought she could trust.

For centuries, she has been on the run, helping the supernatural community under the cloak of anonymity while she works to clear her name and save the very people after her from destruction.

Enemies are closing in, but an unexpected complication befalls her when she realises she’s been fated to someone who wants her species exterminated. After all, an evil chance seldom comes alone.

A Queen Among Darkness is the 4th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.

Books in the series in order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Generation Coming Soon)
The Devil’s Contract: Kiss Me Like A Lie

The Devil’s Contract: Kiss Me Like A Lie

2.3k Views · Ongoing · Diana Matthew
My heat hit me in the middle of my own engagement party to a man who kills Omegas.
The air in the ballroom was suffocating, filled with the scent of expensive wine and predatory Alphas. I felt the familiar, terrifying burn start low in my stomach. My suppressants were failing. I am an Omega pretending to be a Beta, and my fiancé, Reign Montgomery, is a powerful Enigma who believes Omegas are nothing but weak whores.
I rushed to the restroom, locking myself in, praying the scent wouldn't leak. My hands shook as I dialed for help, but the door handle turned. Reign stood there. He didn't look at my face; he grabbed my wrist, pulling it to his nose, inhaling deeply. His dark, soulless eyes bore into mine. "You smell different," he whispered, his voice dangerously low. If he finds out what I really am, I’m dead.


Reign Montgomery promised himself he’d never get involved with an omega. Not romantically, not physically, not even by accident. He doesn’t trust them, doesn’t want them, and refuses to let anyone become a weakness.
Soren Fox has lived his whole life making sure no one ever learns what he truly is. An omega pretending to be a Beta, fighting in underground rings just to survive and keep his sister alive.
But one contract drags them into a dangerous partnership of lies, heat, and power, and when Soren is kidnapped, Reign realizes too late that the omega he never wanted has become the one person he can’t live without.
BROKEN TRUST

BROKEN TRUST

10.9k Views · Completed · O.J Thewriter
She broke their marriage. He walked away.

Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.

Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.

Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
Where The Ice Gives Way

Where The Ice Gives Way

146.5k Views · Completed · Sheridan Hartin
Charlotte Pierce is used to surviving in motion. New towns, new schools, the same old house on the edge of nowhere, and the same rule that keeps her standing. Keep her twin brother, Charlie safe. Keep his hockey dream alive. Keep her own needs quiet. She works too much, sleeps too little, and saves the one thing that still feels like hers for the middle of the night, when she can lace up her worn skates and carve freedom into dangerous frozen ice. Charlotte and Charlie shifted once, years ago, and never understood what it meant. They had no pack, no guidance and no protection. Just two twins clinging to each other and pretending the voice in their heads was stress, imagination, or loneliness. Then they move to Wellington.
Blake Atlas scents his mate the moment Charlotte arrives. The bond hits hard and unmistakable, but Charlotte doesn’t recognise it. She doesn’t know why her chest keeps pulling toward the one boy she absolutely cannot afford to want. Blake is Charlie’s new hockey captain. Charlie’s chance at making something good. Charlie makes it clear; his sister is off-limits and Blake tries to do the right thing, but secrets don’t stay buried forever. Rogues prowl the edges of town. The ice cracks. The bond tightens. Then Charlotte’s rare white wolf awakens, the very thing that makes her powerful, also makes her a target.
Shanti needs Shakti. (Peace needs strength.)

Where the Ice Gives Way is a slow-burn YA paranormal romance filled with fated mates, protective alpha energy, fierce sibling loyalty, found family pack bonds, hurt/comfort, and quiet, aching tension. It’s a story about first belonging, learning to be cared for, and what happens when the girl who has always held everyone else up finally falls, and someone catches her.
Dangerous Love with the Mafia

Dangerous Love with the Mafia

6.4k Views · Ongoing ·
On the worst day of her life, Sarah Davis loses everything—her surgical residency, her home, and her dignity.
Driven out by her adoptive mother and sexually harassed by her boss, she stumbles into a seedy bar, desperate to drown her sorrows. There she meets Alex: sharp, devastatingly handsome, and impossibly charming.
What starts as a wild one-night stand blossoms into a tender, almost surreal romance—art galleries, riverside walks, and whispered promises that feel too perfect to be real. But when Alex vanishes without a word after a morning of gentle intimacy, Sarah is left with a hollow ache and a creeping doubt.
Their encounter was no accident. Behind Alex's blue eyes and skilled touch lies a darkness far deeper than she ever imagined—and the love that burned so bright may come with a price that could destroy her.
Tempted By The Enemy

Tempted By The Enemy

4.2k Views · Completed · rituparna darolia
Twenty-two-year-old Alyssa Van Every is in a dilemma. Her close friend, Sienna, is marrying billionaire, Lucas Donnelly who, along with his brothers, happens to be her older brother, Alex's sworn enemy.
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.