Brittainy Cherry’s New Romance Will Make You ‘Ugly Cry’ (Exclusive)

Brittainy Cherry has a new book on the way, and it promises to be a tear-jerker.

If You StayedThe book, due out spring 2025 from Sourcebooks Casablanca, is described by its publisher as “a heartbreaking yet spicy romance that belongs to BookTok’s popular trend of ‘books that make you ugly cry,'” comparing it to the romance superstar. Colleen Hooverstyle. The publisher says this book was also a turning point for Cherry because “for the first time in her career, she felt confident enough as a Black woman to write her main characters with Black identities.”

Inside If You StayedKierra’s first love returns to her life after a long absence and stirs up emotions she thought she would never experience again.

“There once was a man who loved me until he forgot all the memories we shared,” the book’s synopsis teases. “Gabriel Sinclair would forever be my first… The accident that nearly took his life took away my memories – and for the last ten years, I have allowed the guilt of that terrible night to keep us apart.”

Trapped in a loveless marriage with a controlling husband and raising children, Keirra knows she must distance Gabriel from herself to protect him from the complexities of her own life. But as the synopsis states, “I cannot deny the hope that blossomed nearby, the hope that he might remember me and that we could reclaim the parts of our story we had lost.”

“If You Stayed “It is the story of hope, salvation and true love.” USA Today the bestselling author tells PEOPLE. “I hold this story close to my heart because it shows that no matter how dark life gets, the sun will always shine again.”

In an exclusive excerpt shared with PEOPLE, we get a look at Kierra’s home life and how she feels about her husband.

kierra

Some people dreamed of dinner parties. Perfect space with elegant floral arrangements. Gold silverware and plate settings. Classical music is playing in the background. Guests dressed to the nines, pouring wine and champagne at a ridiculous pace. There was such elegance to the dinner parties attended by the wealthy, but what always seemed to be missing was the substance of it all.

My husband Henry was a perfectionist. He was also one of the brightest minds in Maine, if not the world. But when my husband wasn’t a super genius, he was busy being my biggest heartbreak.

I met Henry Hughes at the most difficult time in my life.

I have many regrets in life. Choosing Henry as my husband might be one of my top three worst decisions. I didn’t love Henry anymore. Most days I was debating whether I even liked him or not. I had seen his red flags all along but had chosen to silently ignore them. At the time, part of me probably thought this was the love I deserved. Part of me believed I was lucky that someone would want me; scars etc.

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That’s the problem with falling in love when you’re not in love with yourself: Even monsters seemed attractive back then. Some say that in the worst moments of a person’s life, he can meet someone who will give him the hottest summers or the coldest winters. Henry was my cold front, my chilling punishment in a time of despair.

We weren’t in love; We were trapped in a loveless marriage. At least I was. For a long time I thought it was my karma because of the mistakes in my past.

Sometimes I wondered why I bothered staying in a marriage as rocky as my own, but then I saw her face: Ava Hughes. The greatest gift Henry ever brought to my world. I was secretly afraid that if I left Henry he would never let me see him again, and that was always enough for me to stay.

Our daughter Ava was an expert at hiding in her bedroom to read a book whenever there was a party. I wished so deeply that I could hide with him. Of course, with a book in my hand. I would take fictional lands with dragons over reality with Henry and his friends any day of the week.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready to welcome your guests?” Ava asked as I entered the bedroom with two slices of three-day-old birthday cake in hand. We had just celebrated his birthday, and I was blown away by the fact that I had a 14-year-old.

“I needed some time alone before everyone arrived. Cake?” I offered, kneeling on the edge of his bed.

“Anytime,” he replied, grabbing his own slice and dove right in. “You know, you can always tell Dad you don’t like dinner parties,” he said matter-of-factly. As if opposing Henry’s plans was an option. If he didn’t get what he wanted, he would become a nightmare to deal with. I had to choose my battles with him, which resulted in dinner parties and fake smiles at people I couldn’t stand.

“Dinner parties are fun,” I lied.

“Liar,” he replied.

Ava was a pro at reading me like an open book. Some days I swore he knew me better than my husband.

“I think this is a very important dinner,” I explained.

“All of Dad’s parties are important,” Ava commented, shoving a forkful of Funfetti cake into her mouth. “Because he important.”

He wasn’t wrong. Not only was Henry amazing, but he was extremely important in his industry. He didn’t think like other people, which was refreshing when we first met. His business, Sweet, was a high-tech company that took home technology to a whole new place. It covered everything, I mean everything. The latest technology has used artificial intelligence to learn about people in their homes; so he could know exactly when a person wanted a cup of coffee before the thought even crossed his mind. They were also working on a system that used light to instantly brighten people’s moods.

While what he accomplished was impressive, I was a little intimidated by how little control his technology gave people. If AI can be used to brighten a person’s mood, it can probably also be used to darken a person’s personality. I didn’t like the idea, but Henry told me I wasn’t knowledgeable enough to understand what he was doing.

Henry not only talked to Ava and me about his technology. Most of the time, his work came home with him. And of course my home was a laboratory where everything was tested. I lived in a fully functioning smart home that knew me better than I knew myself.

Sometimes I wondered about the coffee system. It seems very “which comes first, the chicken or the egg” to me. Did the AI ​​know I wanted coffee, or did I just smell the coffee after it was brewed and then crave it?

Either way, Sweet stayed true to his motto. Let us take care of the little jobs so we can make your life sweet.

You can’t go a week without seeing his name in the headlines. He was basically the next Steve Jobs when it came to innovation. He even went through the black turtleneck and blue jeans era when he hit the road.

As I said, Henry Hughes was an excellent businessman. He was also a good father when he wasn’t traveling the world for business meetings. But when it comes to her friendships? Top level. This man was loved by so many people that I was a little jealous of the version of him that the world accepted. I was jealous of every being that crossed my path. When my husband talked to anyone, it was as if that person was the center of his world. It just revolved around them. And when I was in front of others, I would receive flickers of that light. In front of others, I was his everything. I was the love of his life, his sun, his galaxy. But when those doors closed, I became his shadow.

It wasn’t always like this. For a moment I thought you really loved me. You valued me. But those days seemed few and far between. Still, I put on a brave face, as if I was happy with her because I cared more about keeping my relationship with Ava as strong as possible. Ava was not my biological daughter. I met her and Henry when Ava was five. He was the brightest light and the greatest gift I have ever received. Although when Henry and I first went through a rough patch he told me we could get a divorce but I’d never see Ava again.

This threat was enough for me to stay alone. To me, life without Ava wouldn’t be a life at all. Even if it means staying in a loveless marriage. I never complained about living in Henry’s shadow around Ava because I knew how much she loved her father.

To be fair, most of the time I wish I felt the way Ava does about Henry. Maybe I’d like him and his dinner parties better.

Copyright © 2024 by Brittainy Cherry.

If You Stayed by Brittainy Cherry is out April 22, 2025 and is available for pre-order wherever books are sold.