Serein Chua learned early that love doesn't stay. It drifts, it betrays, it chooses someone else. When her father left to build a life with his mistress, she stopped believing in forever and started believing in control. No labels. No promises. No heartbreak. So she began treating people as convenience. Temporary comfort, nothing more. She took what she wanted, gave only what was needed, and never stayed long enough to be left behind. Until Hughie Azrael. He wasn't loud or demanding. With his soft, almost delicate features and quiet strength, he didn't look like someone who could shake her rules apart. Yet behind his calm presence was a man built on responsibility, steady in ways she never allowed herself to be. And for the first time, Serein found herself drawn to someone she couldn't easily use, forget, or control. Someone she couldn't help but be lured by.

Chiara Asunción has survived a life of betrayal, trauma, and neglect, yet the scars run deep. Rebellious, guarded, and carrying the weight of her past, she trusts no one until Demian Chavez, her former senior and now professor, enters her life. Quiet, steady, and strangely attuned to her pain, he offers something Chiara thought she'd lost forever: a chance at justice, healing, and maybe even love. But can Chiara let down her walls for a man who seems so detached yet so determined, or will the shadows of her past keep them apart forever?

Disclaimer: This is the first book that I've ever written. Proceed with caution and understanding. --->> Hiraya Francesca is the golden child of Eunthastica University Foundation, the genius prodigy is bound to nothing but success. She treaded her life with grace and confidence. For her, failure isn't a roadblock but a redirection for something greater. A perfectly curated diamond amidst stone and sand. A perfectly curated success in a world full of commonness and mediocrity. Hiraya can have anything in this world, may it be beauty, brain, or boys. Everything. Except for Deimos Soledad de Merced. Kaya noong nagkaroon ng pagkakataon at hinayaan nitong makapasok si Hiraya sa buhay nito ay hindi na niya pinalagpas pa ito. She seized her chance and gambled, ngunit tama nga yata ang sabi nila; lahat ng matatalino, pag dating sa pag ibig ay nagiging bobo. She poured her heart and soul into all the oceans that she sailed and the spaces in between that she crossed, only to be welcomed by betrayal and loss. She loved him, he despised her. She trusted him, he betrayed her. She watched him tore her kingdom, and offer it to his own queen. Stripped out of her own title, the golden child lost her kingdom and crown. Date started: December 2023 Date finished: December 2024

"I would burn the heaven and hell if that's what it takes to be with you." Mathéo Isaiah Antonio has been living in darkness and anger all his life. Haunted by the tragedy that once happened to their family, he wants nothing but revenge. He will do everything to get what he wants, even to the extent of burning the world to ashes. Not until he met Thalia Santiez. He knew that the moment he laid his eyes on her innocent eyes and gentle smile, hindi na siya makaka ahon pa dito. Thalia Santiez has loved Isaiah Antonio to death, ngunit paano kung siya mismo ang dahilan ng lahat ng trahedya na dinanas ng pamilya nito? With the sins of the past lingering within them- will they live their lives in atoning for the sins of yesterday or will they be each other's saving grace?

Disclaimer: This is the second book that I've ever written. Please proceed with caution and understanding. --->> Eros Soledad de Merced was born to lead, rule, and dominate. Born as the eldest grandson of Soledad de Merced, everyone knew the weight of the crown he was born to carry. He was a man destined to lead. A boy who was born to rule. A man who carried the weight of his responsibilities with excellence and perfection. Eros knew what was expected of him at a very young age, so everything was carved into his mind. He knew his life, and he knew his future. For him, there was no room for failure. It was perfect, it was good... until it wasn't. One summer. A girl named Winter. Cold as her name might sound, yet she was able to set fire to his perfectly drawn life. The plans that were carefully built along his path suddenly became unclear. And amid his crumbling life was her, Winter Eloise Cojuangco. The woman who owns the pair of the most perfect forest green eyes he'd ever seen. The woman he left behind to fulfill what was expected of him. And the very same woman also happens to be the mother of his son. Date Started: December 2024 Date Finished: February 2025

Kairos Levi Soledad de Merced was chaos and wildness altogether. A lover of the world and all the pleasures it has to offer. Love and commitment? That never existed in his vocabulary. He was the type to give you the highs and all the best things in life, leaving you wanting more, only to be forgotten by him the next day. Chasing the wild tide of life and living without inhibitions was his way of life. He prefers all things physical and casual. He wants his life to be simple, easy, and hot- the same way he wants his woman to be. Ma. Anisa Sta Ines is smart, confident, strong-willed.... and smart again. Matalino, matapang, magaling. Pero hindi maganda. All her life, she has been nothing but an extra in everyone's story. The wingman, the third wheel, and the go-to person for everyone interested in her friends. She knew she was never meant to be chosen, never meant to be pursued. She was the calm of a Wednesday morning; The stability that people usually take for granted. But her stability and peace ceased to exist when Kairos rejected her love letter in front of the whole Eunthastica. Not because he rejected her in front of the whole school. But because the letter wasn't for him, it was supposed to be for Iñigo, his cousin. ---- Started: June 2025 Completed: September 2025

Elara Soledad de Merced thrives in attention and affection-being the youngest and only daughter, never once did she experience being set aside and treated as someone deemed unworthy. All her life, she was treated with utmost care and love. The princess with a perfect life who had never gone through hardship. Boys dream of her. Girls look up to her. Some hate her. Whatever she does, everyone follows. Second to none, rejection was something she was never familiar with, until him-her first love and the only man who ever rejected her. But not even her first rejection could stop her, so she pulls out her highest heels and her sparkly little dress, because what Elara wants, Elara gets. Luis Silvino Prodigalidad is what she wants, and she will get him, even if it means painting his hurricane into pink skies.

Kio Soledad de Merced always kept his life quiet and private. He never wanted anything flashy and grand. Attention and spotlight were the two things he never wanted to have. Calm and easy, that's how he preferred his life. Shiloh Lumiere Bendia's life was far from what he wanted, she was born for the spotlight. Living under the scrutinizing eyes of the world, Lumiere's life consists of cameras and flashes following her whenever she moves. The world gravitates around her, and everyone who sees her is drawn to her light, including him. The moment he saw her on that stage with the spotlight shining on her, he knew he would spend his whole life admiring her from afar. But with the twist of fate and a little luck, his fate might have changed. A secret moment. A lingering stare. Quick stolen moments behind the camera that no one knows about. But to what extent can they sacrifice for a losing battle they knew they would never win? To love is to risk. To risk requires courage and courage is only found in places we're too scared to take. ---- Date Started: March 2025 Date Finished: June 15, 2025

After years of loving the brilliant but emotionally guarded Maxwell, Yaz finally gets the chance to be with the man she's always wanted. But misunderstandings, rival suitors, family expectations, and dangerous secrets threaten a love that refuses to stay within limits. *** Yaz has loved Maxwell for years. Smart, successful, and admired by everyone around him, Maxwell seems impossible to reach despite their growing closeness. As their relationship deepens, Yaz finds herself caught between hope and heartbreak, uncertain whether the man she loves can truly choose her. Surrounded by a powerful family, complicated friendships, persistent rivals, and unexpected dangers, she must decide how much she is willing to fight for the future she has always dreamed of. DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. COVER DESIGN: Rayne Mariano