Wounds heal, but scars remain. So even with the possibility that one can accept and move forward, it's impossible to forget. Because there will always be an irremovable mark that will remind you of every bit of pain. Growing up without a mother was Zarih's first heartache. It scarred her more than anything else. She sees how her dad grieves for her mom all the time-even after years-and it breaks her. When Zarih learned about the possibility that she might have inherited her mother's heart disease, she knew she couldn't afford to love because she wouldn't want anyone to suffer at her death. She wouldn't want to love someone just to wound him at the end. It was easy not to fall in love, only if Ace Timotheo Salvador, her summer enemy, didn't dare touch her scars... as if they were the most beautiful parts of her existence. Zarih feels like losing it... She wants to love and be loved. Maybe he can heal her scars. Maybe their story is different from her dad's. Maybe they can have a happy ending. Or maybe... She should've not risked it at all. Maybe she could've not scarred her heart more. Finished: July 21, 2022

All her life, Mary Imogen Suarez was led to believe that she should end up with Parker Adrian Palma. Na dapat, kay Parker lang siya. Na si Imogen ay para lang kay Parker. But the problem was, Parker never looked her way, at least, not the way she wanted him to. For him, she's just the best friend-and a reminder of something he badly wanted to forget. For years, she lived with the knowledge that Parker would never like her back. Akala ni Imo, hindi na siya makakaahon sa naraaramdaman niya para kay Parker-until she met Saint Iverson Gomez de Lianño. Saint was a breath of fresh air. He's attentive, and he made Imo feel loved and appreciated-something she never felt during all the years she loved Parker. But when things started to fall in their right places, Parker decided to finally look her way. What would Imogen do? Would she brave the storm to be with Saint? Or would she tread the strings that connect her with Parker?

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?

Lost, Lose (Loose Trilogy #1) Two high school students from different academic tracks, one from Humanities and Social Sciences (HumSS) and the other from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), are united by tragic pasts that continue to haunt them. Both have lost loved ones due to past injustices-one stemming from a societal failure, the other from a scientific or technological disaster. As they work separately to seek justice for their families, they find solace in each other's company. Together, they navigate their personal struggles while discovering the possibility of love amidst their shared pain.

Loose Trilogy #2: Sweet Romantic This story focuses on the story of two HumSS students-Josaiah, from wealth, and Amari, from poverty-whose differing views on academics spark a fierce rivalry. Josaiah sees education as a means to satisfy his father's ambition, while Amari sees it as his escape from hardship. As their competition intensifies, will they remain rivals or find common ground? Sweet Romantic is a story of ambition, competition, and unexpected love. Who will rise, and who will fall? Find out in this heartfelt journey.

Bakit kaya hindi na lang gumawa ng perpektong tao ang Diyos? Bakit kailangan may mga taong halos sambahin at may mga taong halos pandirian? Bakit hindi pantay at patas ang mundo para sa lahat? Those are the questions that haunt me late at night. I belong to those who don't receive love because I do not meet people's standards. I belong to those who lack privilege because I am not considered beautiful. I am not like them. I am not like those other pretty women. I am not what he wants me to be. But then came this man, my fake boyfriend, who made me realize that I am enough just as I am. He showed me that there's beauty in embracing who you are. That there's relief in believing in yourself, even when others don't. That you can sleep peacefully when you stop worrying about others' opinions. That man is Rafael Magnius Gonzalvez, a dentistry student, who told me that among all his achievements and trophies he carried, I am the most valuable and treasured one. He treats me like I am the most loved person in the world, even after countless heartbreaks. He's a living proof that love will find me, no matter who I am.

[EDITING] timelines in this story aren't yet fixed.

OLD SUMMER TRILOGY #2 Being the niece of the volleyball team's coach, Alia is hired to design the uniforms of the players. Seven, who has had a crush on her since the first time he saw her on the campus, feels shy and awkward whenever her presence is there. What more if one summer, the whole team will have to train in the coach's province near the ocean, where Alia is also having her vacation? Every night, since Alia cannot go to the house where the team is staying, the two would just write silly letters to each other and put them in a bottle, then hang the bottle in its usual spot.

OLD SUMMER TRILOGY #3 "Winning is everything. If you don't win, you are a failure." Ice is living by those words. After her mom fails to participate in the figure skating championship because of a tragedy, she is expecting four of her daughters to pursue the same goal. Ice feels all the pressure when her sister wins during her time but pursues a different field upon winning. For Ice, the only important thing is figure skating. Nothing else matters. She is only allowed to feel something when she wins or loses a competition. Until she meets Lyonelle in the sports center during summer training, the swimmer who has already won every swimming competition he participates in. Unlike Ice, Lai has it easy. He can have fun, flirt, and be playful and still win. He is not pressured, because he doesn't think winning is the only thing that matters in a competition. He thinks enjoying what you do matters more. "And a smile from you matters too," Lyonelle teases Ice, but the latter just looks at him with no emotion on her face. "Ah, I failed... but it's okay. We still have sixty-four days of summer to spend together."

Hellary Angeles was head over heels for her long-time crush, Neo. And her obsession with him reached the point where she moved to the school where he transferred. But that new school had a myth - if a student talked to the mysterious guy who was wearing a gray hoodie, he or she would become ominous with love. She never believed that, but her curiosity led her to that one cold night when she mistook someone else for that hoodie guy! And that someone else, Nazareth Sarmiego, stole a kiss from her! Para makabawi sa ginawa, sinabi ni Nazareth na tutulungan niyang mapalapit siya kay Neo. However, as they kept on trying and trying to attain her goal, she unexpectedly fell for Nazareth. But no matter how much warmth and solace his hoodie could give her amidst this chaotic world, she just couldn't be with him because it would only hurt her more.