Do you know me? Do you know anything about me besides my name? Beyond the curve of my hips, the dip in my back, and the fullness of my lips, do you know me? I was once a lavish rose dolled up in the finest couture and dripped in diamonds. Do you know me now? Once upon a time, I fell in love with this warm and sultry fragrance. A floral blend of deception and lies mixed with spices of betrayal and envy. Its aroma subdued me into a state of disbelief and naivety. Wearing the zesty scent brought counterfeit lovers to my yard. Their corruption and my desperation for love turned my garden into an empty space of dead weeds. When it felt like the vines of death were going to release their poison and take my last breath away a gardener with an attraction to my pain came and turned the hollowness in my chest into nurtured soil and planted seeds of purpose. No matter the heavy amount of cement trying to stop my rose from blooming, it couldn't. A rose is still a rose - beautiful and timeless - and I'm still London Nicole Carter. This is my story.