Brittany Cherry’s New Novel Will Make You ‘Ugly Cry’ (Exclusive)

Brittany Cherry has a new book, and it promises to be a tearjerker.

If you stayeddue out in spring 2025 from Sourcebooks Casablanca, is described by its publisher as “a poignant yet spicy novel that falls into BookTok’s popular trend of “books that make you ugly cry”” for readers who enjoy emotionally charged romance novels, like Colleen Hoover‘s.

in If you stayedKirra’s first love comes back into her life after a long absence, sparking feelings she thought she’d never feel again.

“Once upon a time there was a man who loved me until he forgot all the memories we’ve ever shared,” the book blurb teases. “Gabriel Sinclair will always be my first… The accident that almost took his life ripped the memory of me from his hands – and for decades I’ve let the guilt of that one terrible night tear us apart.”

Trapped in a loveless marriage to a controlling and nurturing man, Kirra knows she must push Gabriel away to protect him from the complexities of her own life. But, as the blurb says, “I can’t deny the hope that blossoms when he’s around—the chance that he might remember me, that we can rebuild the chapters of our history that we’ve lost.”

“If you stayed this is a story of hope, redemption and true love,” the message reads USA today bestselling author tells PEOPLE. “I hold this story close to my heart because it shows that no matter how dark life can get, the sun will always shine again.”

In an exclusive clip shared with PEOPLE, we get a glimpse into Kirra’s home life — and her feelings for her husband.

Kirra

Some people dreamed of dinners. A perfect space with elegant flower arrangements. Gold table and plate frames. Classical music plays in the background. Dressed guests with wine and champagne flowed at a ridiculous rate. There was such elegance to dinner parties with wealthy individuals, but the one thing that was always missing was the substance of it all.

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

I met Henry Hughes during the most difficult period of my life.

I had many regrets in my life. Choosing Henry as my husband may have been one of my three worst decisions. I no longer loved Henry. Most days I debated whether or not I even liked him. I saw his red flags from the start, but chose to silently ignore them. A part of me must have believed that I deserved this love. Part of me believed that I was lucky that someone would want me, scars and all.

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That was the problem with falling in love when you fell out of love with yourself: even monsters looked attractive then. Some say that in the worst moments of life, a person can meet someone who will bring him the warmest summer or the coldest winter. Henry was my cold front, a terrible punishment during my period of despair.

We were not in love; we were trapped in a loveless marriage. At least I was. For a long time I believed that he was my karma for the mistakes of my past.

Sometimes I wondered why I even tried to stay in such an abusive marriage as mine, but then I saw her face—Ava Hughes. The greatest gift Henry ever brought into my world. Deep down, I was afraid that if I left Henry, he would never let me see her again—and that was always enough to make me stay.

Our daughter, Ava, was a pro at hiding in her bedroom to read whenever there was a party. I wished so badly that I could hide with her. With a book in hand, of course. I’d choose fictional realms with dragons over reality with Henry and his friends any day of the week.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready to entertain your guests?” Ava asked as I walked into her bedroom with two slices of three-day-old birthday cake. We just celebrated her birthday and I was overwhelmed by the fact that I have a 14-year-old.

“I needed a moment alone before everyone came. pie?” I suggested, plopping down on the edge of her bed.

“Always,” she replied, taking her piece and diving right in. “You know, you can always tell Dad you don’t like dinner parties,” she said matter-of-factly. As if going against Henry’s plans was even an option. If he didn’t get his way, he would be a nightmare. I had to pick my battles with him, which led to dinner parties and fake smiles from people I could barely tolerate.

“Parties are fun,” I lied.

“Liar,” she replied.

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

“It seems like a very important dinner,” I explained.

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

She was not mistaken. In addition to being a genius, Henry was extremely important in his field. He didn’t think like other people, which was so nice when we first met. His business, Sweet, was a high-tech company that took home technology to a whole new place. It covered everything, and I mean everything. The latest technology uses artificial intelligence to train people in their homes to know exactly when a person wants a cup of coffee — before the thought even crosses their mind. They also worked on a system that used light to instantly improve people’s moods.

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

Henry didn’t just talk to Ava and me about his technology. His work often came with him. And of course my home was a laboratory to test everything. I lived in a fully functioning smart home that knew me better than I knew myself.

Although sometimes I wondered about the coffee system. I really thought what came first: the chicken or the egg. Did the AI ​​know that I was craving coffee, or did I smell the coffee after it was brewed and then I wanted it?

In any case, Sweet lived up to its slogan. Let us take care of the small tasks so we can make your life sweet.

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

As I said, Henry Hughes was a brilliant businessman. He was also a good father when he wasn’t traveling the world for business meetings. And when it came to his friendship? Upper tier. This man was loved by so many that I was somewhat jealous of the version of him the world got. I envied every creature that crossed his path. When my husband spoke to someone, he spoke as if they were the center of his world. It revolved exclusively around them. And when I was present to others, I received flashes of this light. Before others, I was everything to him. I was the love of his life, his sun, his galaxy. But when that door closed, I became his shadow.

It wasn’t always like that. At one point, I thought that he really loved me. Nurtured me. However, those days seemed few. Still, I put on a brave face like I was happy with him because I was more concerned with making sure my relationship with Ava was as strong as possible. You see, Ava was not my biological daughter. I met her and Henry when Ava was five years old. She was the brightest light and the greatest gift in my life that I have ever received. Although, when Henry and I first went through a rough patch, he told me that we could break up, but I would never see Ava again.

That threat alone was enough to make me stay. In my opinion, life without Ava was no life at all. Even if it meant staying in a loveless marriage. I never complained around Ava that I was living in Henry’s shadow because I knew how much she loved her father.

To be honest, I often wished I treated Henry the way Ava did. Perhaps I would have liked him and his so-called dinners much more.

Copyright © 2024 by Brittany Cherry

If you stayed Brittany Cherry is out on April 22, 2025 and is available for pre-order now wherever books are sold.