Anjel Delo Santos, a Lasallian, craved affection from her parents. It wasn't easy getting it. She had to be brilliant because her parents were intellectual people who yearned for recognition in their own fields. College was her opportunity of being brilliant. As Anjel walked on the streets of Malate, she will see a disappointed-looking River Alexandre Abad. As a fan of River, who is a DLSU student, she couldn't help but be concerned with the basketball player's state. While they get to know each other, would their eyes appreciate the silver lining in the midst of the nimbus clouds around them?

Switching to a condo would be a huge shift in Eloise Danielle Madrigal's life, the Iska from UP Manila. From living in her aunt's home, she will independently live near her school. From growing up with so many hands to help her, she will face a new life alone. Since Eloise wasn't familiar with commuting from Padre Faura that well, the cousin of her block mate, Graham Anthony Laurel, will surely be of help. This walking GPS guy that was a first-year Thomasian had quite a temper as he taught Eloise. It seems as though one of them needed to teach the other beyond directions, would Graham find a calm and kind way to tell Eloise that her head was in the sand?

Dreams begin and end in school, that's what Diwata Yvon Mahalina, a student from UP Manila, thought. Because for her, after school, you must be aiming for stability. Nothing can compare to a safe life. However, Ignacio Trillano, a guy who lived in Blumentritt and studied at FEU, disagrees. A quiet life like Diwata's dream was not fulfilling and meaningful, Ignacio argues. Ignacio was a ComArts student who was loud as an airplane flying away. Would Ignacio's words and actions be enough to encourage Diwata to begin a life beyond her comfort?

WATTY'S SHORTLIST 2023 Stuck in the never-ending responsibilities as one of the breadwinners of the family, Calisse Abigail Guillermo, an Iska from UP Manila, seeks to find true comfort between drinking and smoking. But she never does. Her desire to find consolation in everything is not found within the consumption of toxins. When she meets fellow smoker Chance Luy, a UP med student, in the bustling street of Pedro Gil, she thanks the heavens for a chance to meet him. Chance is your worn-out med student who is stingy. As they ponder about life, would they find solace as they share a moment of smoke?

♛COMPLETE Dark Billionaire Romance♛ "He bathes in blood and diamonds. If only I knew it was my blood he was hunting for." Souline Arden is an intellectual, always calculating the precise decisions that will benefit her future. After graduating university at the top of her class, she applies for the personal assistant position at Lodge Industries, eager to develop some business insight. But at first glance, she realizes that her cold and calculating boss is anything but merciful. Daniel Lodge has a plan, one he is determined to execute regardless of its sacrifices. That is how he was, ruthless, cunning, emotionless. A monster, one that doesn't hide in the dark. She wasn't supposed to enter his life, she was supposed to stay away. But he's found her, and he has no plans to let her go. When you have as much money as Daniel Lodge, you don't play by the rules, you make them. And from the moment Souline saw him, she knew there was no escape. He made her his, and set out to break her. After all, Daniel Lodge always gets what he wants, even if that meant blackmailing Souline into marriage. And revenge is a twisted game, one he will forever regret. But their marriage was doomed from the start. Why? Because it was all a lie. ••• Deep In His Soul is a twist of Beauty and The Beast. It is a dark, forced marriage story intended for mature, adult audiences as it contains dark and explicit content.

[Imperfect Girls Series #2] Jade Emersyn Cuevas has always been played by her past boyfriends. She either gets cheated on, beaten up, or treated wrong. There was not a good relationship that she remembers she has been in. She's like a magnet for assholes. Everyone was toxic. Just like her past relationships, she's with her toxic boyfriend of three years, Jake Emerson Abellano. Even though she has been hurt by him hundreds of times already, her love for him is still deeper than the wounds that he caused her. Wounds that still haven't been treated will immediately get reopened, causing her to be unable to heal. Not until Dashiell Hugo Villaflor came to break her out of the chains from her past. Genre: Romance Language: Tagalog-English Started: January 31, 2022 Ended: July 10, 2022

TO BE PUBLISHED UNDER TALKING PAGES Tears Series #4: Audrey Deana Valdez

I can't keep the smile off my face as I take my seat on the plane. I slide my bag under the seat and lean back. I close my eyes and let a blissful smile grace my face. He said I wouldn't be able to run. As if. I'm vaguely aware of someone taking the seat next to mine, but I pay no attention to said person. "So where we headed?" I choke on my own spit as my eyes fly open and whirl around to face the owner of the familiar voice. His eyes are hidden behind those damn sunglasses and a rather smug smile graces his face. I continue choking and he does nothing other than flip through a magazine. That smug smile never leaving his face. "You still haven't answered the question." "To hell." I finally manage to choke out. "Awesome," He flips a page in the magazine, "It's about time I returned home. You know, bodies to burn, lost souls to torture, I've missed it. It'll be fun." *** Nicolette Moore. A name law enforcement agencies across the world know. Though no one's ever seen the face of the world's greatest thief and hacker, everyone knows who she is by name. Nicky. She's an absolute genius. Once upon a time she wasn't the best person in the world. When her family was struggling she made some bad choices to help them through it, but when she tried to get out she got pulled in deeper. Ryder Stevenson. He's the son of the director of the FBI, and an FBI Agent himself. He's the one who brings in Nicky to get her protection from the people chasing after her. He's also the one, who gets assigned to protect her. Neither one of them like each other, and they can't go five minutes without getting in a full blown argument. She's constantly ditching him only for him to show up later and prove to her he's not that easy to get rid of. They're stuck with each other whether they like it or not. But he doesn't know who she really is. What will he do when he finds out? An FBI Agent protecting THE Hacker. The one the FBI have been after for years...this just screams chaos.

She had never trusted in love because everything she had ever known was sorrow and abandonment, so when love showed itself in the figure of someone, she refused to embrace it. However, would she be able to reject that devotion if it was tenacious and forbearing? Would she deny love if it was an art she had never seen before? Cover made by Pzalm Franzenne Fama Begasin.