For the unlucky ones like Verana Soliz Andrada, the city felt so close yet so far. It is within her reach, but never in her grasp. To her, it's real but remains impossible. She was just a dreamer... taga-tanaw kung gaano kaliwanag ang Maynila. Pero sa isang iglap, natagpuan siya ng liwanag nito. Never in her wildest dreams did she think the world would give her a chance. But that light didn't show her the dirt beneath the surface. Because even in the middle of the darkness, she knew the city wasn't as perfect as she once thought it was. Everyone here is a puppet on strings. Power, connections, and wealth decide their every move. At sa mundong pera ang batayan ng lahat, anong laban niya? She's nameless, a charity case, no one. And just when she thought this part of the world would break her, Elouan Franco stepped into the picture. A man from the opposite side of the world. A name too regal for her lips. Someone so high, so bright, and so far beyond the reach of a girl like her. Pero kahit gaanong atras at takbo ni Vera papalayo, pilit pa rin siyang binabalik ng tadhana sa kanya. And it turns out, she was tied to him by strings not wrought by power, but by something she cannot name. This string kept pulling them together, rearranging every path they chose to cross with each other. Parang pinapaikot at pinaglalaruan. Yet, within the maze of doubt, they found the perfect rhythm, a rhythm the world hastily destroyed. And still, they tried to hold on. But what's the sense of holding on when, from the very beginning, the strings that pulled them closer... were destined to tear them apart?

THE LOSERS' CLUB SERIES #2 Someday you'll look back on your mistakes and laugh. To name a few instances, these are those awkward first kisses you shared with your first boyfriend, those failed recitations that your classmates don't seem to forget, and those poor outfit ideas that you once thought were cute. Iyong mga dating nakakahiya, nakakainis, at masakit para sa 'yo, pagdating ng araw, ngingitian mo na lang. Maybe by then, you'll realize how much time you've invested in being too emotional. Pero may mga bagay na kahit matagal nang nangyari, hindi natin magawang tawanan. Siguro dahil nakakahiya pa rin? Siguro dahil nakakainis pa rin? O siguro, dahil masakit pa rin? For Amari Sloane Mendoza, it's all of the above. Among all the awkward, failed, and poor instances, falling in love with her classmate, Leon Ysmael Zamora, is the only mistake she can't laugh about.

Haven Audrea Polina grew up asking questions the world never answered kindly. Bakit may mayaman at may mahirap? Bakit may magaling at may pangkaraniwan lang? Bakit may mga taong isinilang na parang sigurado na sa sarili--habang ang iba, pilit hinuhubog ang pagkatao para lang matawag na may silbi? She lives between four corners--of a room, of a classroom, of expectations she learned to carry too early. A girl who can do many things, yet holds nothing she can truly call her own. She exists quietly, believing that being ordinary is safer than hoping for more. Haven never wished upon stars. Not because she didn't believe in them--but because she feared the cost. She learned early that the universe has a way of taking something back. And with a family already held together by sacrifice and love, she chose gratitude over longing. Settling felt like survival. Until Gabriel Elias Martinez came into her orbit. With eyes that carried warmth instead of distance, he showed her a world beyond what she had learned to afford. Beyond fear. Beyond quiet self-denial. Through him, Haven saw color where she once only allowed herself comfort. And for the first time, she looked up-not to ask for more, but to wonder if she was allowed to keep what made her feel alive. Yet stars have their own sky. A light pulled too close can burn. A star forced out of its place can lose its glow. And love-when tangled with fear, class, timing, and self-worth--can become something fragile. So Haven does what she has always done. She steps back. She looks up. And instead of wishing, she prays--that the star she learned to love remains alight, even if her place is only to look up from afar.

UNIVERSITY SERIES #4. Samantha Vera from Ateneo De Manila University, the epitome of kindness, empathy, grace, and solicitude got her life ruined when her parents told her that she was marrying Cy Ramirez, a med student from UP, after their graduation.