Ares Gabriel Salazar has always believed in love that when Cupid aims his arrow, you don't get a choice. You fall, hard. No rewinds. No escape. Just fate doing its thing. So when Aidan Lysander Angeles moves into the neighborhood, all clean-cut smiles and polite nods. Aidan may look like the perfect good boy, but Ares sees the restlessness in his eyes. The part of him that wants to break free, to be seen for who he really is. And maybe . . . to be loved. Ares didn't expect to be the one hit. But when you meet someone who makes your heart race and your beliefs shake, what else is there to do but fall?

In a cutthroat pre-law program, Jackson clashes with Kenzo, the arrogant classmate he can't stand, until he discovers that the very man who infuriates him holds the key to his freedom to become who he truly wants to be. *** Jackson Ramirez is done with broken promises-his mother's sacrifices, his father's prison sentence, and the suffocating pre-law program he never wanted. The last thing he needs is Kenzo Adachi, the arrogant classmate who gets under his skin. But when animosity sparks into something deeper, Jackson must deal with a past that ties their families together in betrayal. In the wreckage of secrets and pain, will Jackson and Kenzo choose each other in the end? DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. COVER DESIGN: Rayne Mariano ILLUSTRATOR: Ri Ot

Santiago Alverio is torn between family expectations and his own internalized fears from homophobic relatives. As he enters a casual fling with Diablo Delgado, he discovers that love, patience, and acceptance might be the blueprint to healing and embracing his true self. *** Santiago Alverio has always lived by the rules of his family, peers, and a silent world that tells him who he should be. As a civil engineering student, he hides behind toxic masculinity and the fear of being noticed because of expectations and a homophobic upbringing. Then comes Diablo Delgado--fearless, affectionate, and unapologetically himself. What begins as a no-strings "friends with benefits" arrangement slowly converts into something deeper. With every touch, every unguarded smile, Diablo breaks the walls Santi has built around his heart. But love is never simple. Santi is caught between family pressures, societal judgment, and his own insecurities. Will he ever realize that happiness was never about meeting expectations but about choosing the person who makes him feel whole? DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. COVER DESIGN: Rayne Mariano ILLUSTRATOR: Ri Ot

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.

If only you've given me a reason to stay.