Hollis Ilaria De Guia struggles to find love and acceptance as an illegitimate daughter, but when she's forced into marriage with Tross Ashiel Del Rico, she faces the ultimate test of whether love will mend her broken heart or if the secrets of her birth will shatter her forever. *** On the day Hollis turns eighteen, her life is sealed with a signature she never signed. Her father arranges her marriage to Tross Ashiel Del Rico-the son of a powerful family who despises the very idea of her. Blamed for being born to a woman her father never loved. Hated by half-brothers who wish she didn't exist. Rejected by a husband bound to her only by duty. Hollis has carried the weight of sins that were never hers, enduring a lifetime of pain and accusations she could never escape. But as she enters a marriage built on resentment, Hollis must choose: will she live as the scapegoat of her family's lies or dare to claim a destiny of her own? DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. COVER DESIGN: Louise De Ramos

Being kept in the province of Santa Fe Nueva Vizcaya all throughout his life, Reon Alexis Monasterio had to live away far from his family. Sa takot na mangyari ulit ang bangungot ng nakaraan, nagtiis siyang mag-isa kasama ang mga taong hindi niya kadugo ngunit tinuring niya ng pamilya. He felt blank, lonely and incomplete. He knew his parents just wanted to protect him from their enemies and as much as he wanted to understand them, he can't still help but to plant disappointment in his heart. Until he met Isha, ang bagong lipat sa baryo nila. She painted lively colors to his dark world. She put genuine smile on his lips and made him laugh through her silly jokes. He easily fell in love with her within just a short span of time. Pero paano kung sa kalagitnaan nang masayang relasyon nila ay natuklasan niya ang isang sikreto na magiging dahilan para kamuhian niya ito? Would he choose to forget her and live a miserable life without her or is he willing to turn his back on his family and let himself be trapped in the arms of an enemy forever? -- Published under IMMAC PPH.

"You can't escape me Samantha. Not now. Not tomorrow. Never." wika ni Tres sa nanggagalaiting tinig. I take a step backward to avoid his skin to touch mine. May kakaibang damdamin ang pumupukaw sa akin kapag nagdidikit ang mga balat namin. And its not normal. "Y-You can't lock me up in this Island Tres! Hindi mo ako pagmamay-ari! No one owns me!" kahit natatakot ay pilit kong pinatatag ang boses ko. "No sweetheart. I. Own. You. Your father sold you to me. Pag aari kita. So better be a good girl like before kung ayaw mong magalit ako. You know how mad dogs are." Mariing wika nito pagkatapos hapitin ang bewang ko na naging dahilan ng malakas kong pagsinghap. I am trapped with the Lions cage.

"I dont do love, Maddy. I do fucking." Nagulat ako sa sobrang bulgar ng mga salita niya ngunit hindi ako nagpahalata. "Then atleast make love to me." determinadong wika ko. If I cant get his heart, well atleast I can feel how to make love to him Im too desperate. I want him. I want his love. Bigla siyang tumawa ng mapanuya kaya natigilan ako. "You dont get it, dont you?" aniya. Hindi ako sumagot kaya muli siyang nagsalita. "I dont do love, if we're going to have sex, it was purely fucking. And fucking is different with love making." sarkastikong wika niya habang seryoso ang anyo. Nasaktan ako. Parang pinilipit ang puso ko. It hurts! Ngunit kita naman ngayon sa mukha niya na wala siyang pakialam sa nararamdaman ko. "And for the record, I cant love someone who killed my girlfriend." patuloy niya na mula sa seryosong anyo ay naging mabalasik iyon. Napalunok. I am guilty. Not because I killed her but because I am the reason why she died. "B-But you're p-protecting me." "I am doing my job." Damn! I wanna shout at him, curse him and slap him. Ang sakit. Ang sakit ng harap-harapan niyang sabihin sa akin lahat ng iyon. Ang sakit na harap-harapan niyang ipamukha na trabaho lang ang ginagawa niya. Para bang wala akong pakiramdam kung magsalita siya ng ganon. And this fucking heart is aching.

"H-Hanggang k-kailan m-mo ba ako ikukulong dito A-Alas?" tanong ko na niyakap ang dalawang tuhod habang hilam sa luha ang mukha. Itinaas niya ng Zipper ng pantalon niya at lumapit sa akin. So close that I can smell his breath. Hinawakan niya ang baba ko at tumingin ng diretso sa mga mata ko. Anger, hatred and lust was visible in his eyes. "Until I die." aniya na mabilis hinalikan ang labi ko. I closed my eyes and cried. Sa sakit at awa sa sarili. "If you want to leave this hell, kill me." mas lalo akong napaiyak.

Left with no choice, Marianne Larazano sacrifices herself to help pay her brother's debt. But when problems don't seem to leave her alone, she is forced to approach Ryan Del Carmen, the guy she had a one-night stand with years ago. *** Young and innocent, Marriane Larazano gets the biggest twist of her life when her older brother asks her for help in paying off his debt. As a college student, there's nothing much she can do-until an idea comes to her mind. Marriane then joins the secret service, where she sacrifices her innocence in exchange for money. There, she meets Ryan Del Carmen, the ruggedly handsome guy she shares a steamy night with. Believing everything's finally solved, her brother brings more problems, eventually leaving her in a pile of debt. With her life now on the line, Marianne reluctantly approaches Ryan to tell him she got pregnant with him years ago. Now torn between prioritizing her safety and keeping up with her lies, can Marianne ever prepare herself when Ryan finds out the truth?

Lovice

Ametrine Carillo drifts through life, searching for something she can't name--a purpose, a color, a reason to start again. When Elos Villareal saves her by accident, she discovers a love that was never part of the canvas. *** Ametrine Carillo lives in brushstrokes and silence, drifting through a life blurred by abandonment and betrayal. Her mother gambles away their future, her father left them, and still, she clings to her art, desperate to find the color that will make her feel whole again. Then one night, violence finds her. And so does Elos Villareal. He's everything every girl dreams of. And when he pulls her from the brink, their lives collide, and love starts to bloom. Until Ametrine learns the truth: Elos once loved her stepsister, the girl who shares her passion for painting. As old wounds resurface and buried truths unravel, Ametrine must fight not just for love but for the life she's never dared to imagine. Because some hearts are not broken by accident . . . they're torn apart by design. DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. COVER DESIGN: Rayne Mariano

Loraes