Almost was never enough. The most is where it all lies; the second is no different from losers. If you want to be chosen, be the best among the options-a sweet rule to every test, a bitter reality Eiah was raised in. She gives everything a hard try, even though she can't grasp it all just right. Maybe she was chasing the wrong things. Maybe she needs to work harder. Maybe she's really... almost there. Whatever it is, she's determined to prove her father she's worthy of her name-but heck, not to the point of marriage! That's why, when he demanded that she get engaged while still in college, she had to 'call a friend', Chase, an accounting junior who has kissed girls everywhere. They had to level up their call sign. From bes to babe, will fake couple rings work? Or was it, again, just another almost? Almost the right move; apparently not the best. Maybe they should've just sat with their friendship bracelets rather than become almost too-almost what they aren't meant to be, almost everything they could no longer be.

Kaleigh Millan craves escape and thought she'd find it in Middletown Cafe, her cousin's coffee shop. But her fresh start is obliterated the moment she sees him: Jenkin Carter. He's the man linked to her brother's death five years ago, now working behind the counter, serving coffee and apologies she refuses to hear. Forgive Jenkin Carter? Kaleigh would rather drink poison. Forget how he disappeared after her brother died? Impossible when he's now standing inches away and pouring her coffee. She won't forgive. She can't forget. When their encounters bring feelings she thought were long dead, how long can she hold out against it? DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. BOOK COVER DESIGN: Rykell Arriola

Yuno, a painter and delivery guy, lives his life like a dish served without toppings. No flavors, no attachments, just bare survival. Though selfless and determined to stand on his own, Yuno's solitude is a paradox: he pushes away help yet silently craves connection. But when Cid, a sexually frustrated swimmer, offers him financial support in exchange for an unconventional deal, Yuno is forced to reconsider the simple life he's chosen.

Everything started when the notorious troublemaker Benj Ferrera came back to school after months of being hospitalized due to a car accident and met the transferee turned heartthrob, Rael Villarin, who had been hired by his mother to be his tutor for the school year.