Started: 04/27/2021 Ended: 08/24/2021 Ang hirap palang tumanda. Ang hirap magbayad ng bills. Ang hirap suportahan ng pamilyang akala ay isang milyon ang suweldo mo. Ang hirap ngumiti sa nanay na mataas ang tingin sa'yo pero hindi ka kayang ipagtanggol. Ang hirap tabihan sa hapagkainan ng tatay na pinag-uubusan mo ng pera pero hindi ka maalala. Ang hirap mag-abot ng tulong sa kapatid na baon sa utang. Ang hirap intindihin ng hipag na nakakapagpa-rebond pa kahit kapos na kapos na. Ang hirap pakisamahan ng bunsong halos ilahad ang mga palad tuwing makikita ka. Ang hirap ngitian ng mga taong tanong nang tanong kung bakit hindi ka pa nakakapag-asawa. Ang hirap humarap sa mundong isasampal sa'yo na mag-isa ka. Tulong, bigay, utang. Isang iling mo lang, madamot ka na. Kasama mo sila kapag may maibibigay ka, pero hindi mo sila mahahanap kapag wala na. Ikaw ang kakayod, sila ang tutuka. Ikaw ang iiyak sa pagod, sila ang magtatamasa. Iyon ang summary ng buhay ko. Sobra-sobra ang naririnig na paghingi, kulang na kulang ang naririnig na pasasalamat. Sobra-sobra ang pagpapasensya, kulang na kulang ang natatanggap na pagpapahalaga. Sobra-sobra ang binabayaran, kulang na kulang sa kasiyahan. Kaya nang dumating sa buhay ko ang nag-iisang lalaking hindi ako nakita bilang naglalakad na alkansya, ang nag-iisang lalaking nakinig sa mahabang listahan ko ng problema, ang nag-iisang lalaking nagbigay sa akin ng kakaibang saya, ipinangako ko sa sarili na sa gitna ng hirap ng pagtanda, magtitiis ako basta't siya ang kasama. Kahit pa ang kapalit noon ay pagtalikod sa minahal na pamilya. Kahit pa ang kapalit noon ay paglaban sa mundong pinatatakbo ng kapangyarihan at pera. Kahit pa ang kapalit noon ay ang pagdurusa't pag-iisa. Siya ang ginhawa, pahinga, at kasiyahan ko. Dumating man ang araw na tanaw ko na ang dulo. Dumating man ang araw na wala na kaming sagot sa lahat ng bakit at paano. Dumating man ang araw na pareho na kaming talo.

"Do you want to be his favorite obsession?" DAHIL sa isang trahedya, ikinubli ni Virgo ang kagandahang taglay. Itinago niya iyon sa pamamagitan ng pagsusuot ng mga pang-manang na damit. Ayaw niyang maulit ang trahedya na kumitil sa buhay ng mga magulang niya. Halos magta-tatlong taon na rin siyang ganoon, hanggang sa maubos ang pera na iniwan ng mga magulang sa kanya at kinailangan niyang magtrabaho. Hindi naman siya nahirapan humanap ng trabaho dahil tinulungan siya ng kaniyang tiyo na makapasok sa Kallean Financial Firm, kung saan ang tiyo niya ang CEO. Things were normal. Kahit papaano, masaya siya sa trabaho niya. Until one day, her uncle just disappeared into thin air and he was replaced by Lucien Kallean, the owner of Kallean Financial Firm. At dahil sa sekretarya siya ng kaniyang tiyo, nangangamba siyang baka matanggal siya sa trabaho dahil wala na roon ang tiyuhin niya. Ngunit laking gulat niya ng hindi siya nito sinisante. The insolent man even kissed her and offered her to be his lover! What the hell was happening? Why on earth would a handsome man like Lucien Kallean would kiss an old maid looking woman like her? And really, his lover? Was the world coming to an end? Hindi ba nito nakikita na mukha siyang manang? CECELIB | C.C. MATURE CONTENT COMPLETED COVER: ASTRID JAYDEE

𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗗, 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟮 ┊ 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗣𝗢𝗣 𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟰 ┊ 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗗, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 Siya si Adrian Louis Guillermo--a carefree 4th year Architect major who likes playing with women. Hindi mahirap sa kanya na makarelasyon ang mga babaeng natitipuhan niya, at hindi rin mahirap sa kanya na makuha ang tanging nais niya sa mga ito. Just a typical playboy, he is. At wala siyang balak huminto o magbago. Until he crosses paths with his first ex-girlfriend and he finds out... na nagkaanak pala silang dalawa.

Bawat kirot ay may katumbas na paghihiganti. Yes, every pain demands a payback. That's the first thing I learned when I loved him. Not consciously, not right away-but slowly, in pieces. He taught me how to love. His love was wildfire-reckless, consuming, beautiful in the way it ruined everything. I thought I was lucky to have it. I thought he saw something in me. Maybe he did. Maybe he saw the parts that were already breaking. He taught me how to bend the rules, how to silence the voice in my head that said "this isn't right." With him, right and wrong blurred until they didn't matter. Until all that mattered was staying close enough not to lose him, but distant enough not to drown. And then came pain. He taught me pain in a thousand unspoken ways. In words that stung more than silence. In apologies that came too late. In touches that lingered with regret. And pain... And pain. Again and again No fairy tale. No forever. It was never about soulmates. It was just... a story. A complicated, messy, painful story. But still, I gambled. I bet my heart on something that didn't deserve it. And in the end, that so-called love? It destroyed me. It didn't just break me-it broke everything I cared about. Everyone I loved. It burned through every soft thing I had left inside me. Because that love... Was disastrous. Behind the illusion of love hid everything I was afraid of: pain, betrayal, lies, manipulation. A heartbreak wrapped in promises. A knife dressed like a kiss. But here's what no one tells you: after heartbreak comes something sharper. Stronger. Revenge. And revenge-it's not sweet. It's not cold. It's best served hot. The kind of heat that doesn't ask for closure. It takes it. I, who was a he, now turned into a she. I will serve pain out of pain. Not to mirror the cruelty, but to remind the world: You don't get to hurt someone like me and walk away unburned.

Twenty-four-year-old hotel heiress, Vanessa Rio Perez was never loved by her husband, Allen Travis Fajardo, causing her to find happiness in the arms of another man which she will regret and pay for to earn her husband's love and trust back. *** Forced into a marriage to merge their family businesses, Vanessa did not receive any attention and love from her cold and distant husband, Allen, who had never liked her from the beginning. Despite everything, she was happy because he was exactly the man of her dreams. But as months passed by and yet she received not a hint of love from him, she ended up having an affair, worsening their already complicated relationship. Vanessa now had to pay for her mistakes and try to fix what was broken in the first place. But what if she's too late? DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A FILIPINO LANGUAGE STORY

Berry Lacsamana had given up on life. But when she one day wakes up in a strange bed with someone calling her his wife, her life begins to take a different path. ****** When Berry Lacsamana wakes up in a room she doesn't recognize, hooked up to medical machines, confusion and anxiety consume her. Deepening Berry's fear is the presence of Cadmus Valcarcel who treats her coldly and and looks at her with resentment. "Finally," he said with coldness in his voice that made her shiver, frightening her. "My infamous wife is awake." Berry isn't anyone's wife, lest she is married to Cadmus. However, when she sees a photo of Cherry, a woman who looks like her from every angle, Berry begins to have some suspicions. She knew she was Berry, not Cherry... wasn't she? DISCLAIMER: This is a Filipino language story. WORD COUNT: 194,647 COVER: ASTRID JAYDEE WARNING: DON'T READ THIS STORY IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE DEPRESSING SCENES, SENSITIVE TOPICS OR MATURE CONTENT.