If hell was a person, the answer would be emitted faster than a blade through his annoyingly flawless flesh. Theodore Matthew Armani. I thought about how satisfying it would be if I could rip that smug smirk on his face and plaster it on the screen, where his obnoxious name lay victorious. It was our high school graduation, and Theodore and I were the students competing for valedictorian. Unfortunately, he prevailed triumph and he did not waste a single opportunity to rub it in my face. That is what he's doing right now. As the valedictorian, he is tasked to deliver the yearly speech. He stood on a stage that I was supposed to reign on, and his voice sounded confident. "Thank you to everyone who supported me along my struggles and victories, you are all deserving to be here." struggles my ass. "Alas, it seems there is one person I must thank. Isabella Sinclair Beaumont, thank you for being my biggest competitor. You will always remind me that victory doesn't come in rank." What the actual fuck. I will not hesitate to run up that stage, pull his perfectly styled hair, and push him off the stage had it not been for my best friend, Vivienne holding my hand back. He came back down after his speech and turned to me, "Congratulations, Beaumont. Looks like you have yet another silver medal to hang on your wall of shame." I shot him the most fake smile I could muster. "Congratulations, fucker."

2023 Watty Award Winner || Biggest Twist (Special Prize) stand alone the little mermaid retelling. complete A mermaid cannot cry. Cerenia Louise knows it very well. They were tailed beings without souls therefore the privilege to produce tears was out of the question. Yet, in her previous lifetime, she cried for a prince who cannot return her love for him. Her greatest sacrifice was futile because he cannot love her back and he married another woman which ultimately broke her fading existence. However the angels saw her purity and Cerene was given a chance to live once again, this time, as a human with a soul. Contrary to her previous mission, this time, the prince who's in his reincarnated form named Raghnall Lastimoza must not fall in love with her or else, she will once again feel like fading into bubbles - losing Ragh in the process. When the opportunity of being loved back becomes apparent, will Cerene live her life at peace in the shorelines? Or accept Raghnall's love in the raging sea?

Kier and Violet had the kind of love people envied-fierce, passionate, and seemingly unbreakable. He was her calm, the one man she dared to trust with every cracked piece of her heart. But some betrayals run so deep they poison everything good. When Kier crosses a line Violet never thought he would, the perfect romance they built begins to crumble. What he did cut her in a way nothing else ever had. The man she loved became the one who broke her the most.

Determined to keep her brother alive, Kyla Endrano agrees to bear a child for Zevero Montalvo in exchange for a large sum of money. As they navigate their arrangement, Kyla finds herself torn between her need for money and a love she's been longing for. *** Desperate to save her younger brother, dentist Kyla Endrano takes on a second job as a bar waitress to make ends meet. However, her situation takes a huge turn when Zevero Montalvo offers her money to bear his child under a simple agreement: they'll live together, she'll get pregnant, and after giving birth, she'll leave with enough money to pay for her brother's treatment. Kyla believes everything should be easy, but as they grow closer, she finds herself unexpectedly falling for Zevero, and he for her. Now torn between her love for him and her goal to save her brother, Kyla faces an impossible choice. Will she choose love, or will she sacrifice her own happiness to save a life? DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. COVER DESIGN: Rayne Mariano