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

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

"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?

Rewriting Routes Series #1 Syera Vani has always been mistaken for her twin sister more times than she can count. She's lived her life in someone else's shadow, wishing that, just once, someone would choose her. Then Rafael Rios enters her world. And when their lives begin to intertwine, Syera starts to believe that maybe, just maybe, someone finally sees her for who she is. But when intentions blur and feelings deepen, Syera wonders if he really saw her or he just saw her as a reflection of someone else. The road is quiet. So are they. And everything they never found the courage to say lingers in the space between them... on the drive home. - started: 06 | 22 | 25 ended: 08 | 09 | 25 cicacade © 2025

Does fixed marriage actually works? What if you loved someone else, but you have to marry someone that you didn't love? What if you're not ready to get married, but the situation requires you to? What if getting married means living inside a home that you're not comfortable to live to? Will you still say the oath or break it for your freedom? But breaking the oath will put her life in chaos. So, can she really break it? Or she will just live with it forever? *** Date Started: November 2022 Date Ended: September 2023

THE LOSERS' CLUB SERIES #4 How does it feel to live with tons of what ifs and should-have-beens? Knowing that under different parameters, you could have worked it out. Knowing that if you only weathered the storm together, you could have built a home in each other's arms. Napakaraming sana--ganiyan ang naging takbo ng buhay ni Ysabelle Katana Montecer. Sana mayaman siya. Sana mas maganda. At sana may kapangyarihan siyang ibalik ang oras. If only she had listened to the little voice in her head, she could have been in a relationship with the only man who ever caught her attention--River Mattias Fuentabella. But it was too late for her. She was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. A heartbeat away from silence. Kahit ayaw niya, kailangan niyang tanggapin ang hatol ng tadhana. River would always be out of her reach. He was close, but not too close enough for her to hold. They could have happened. They could have been together. But sadly, they never were.

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.

(Gemstone Chronicles #3) She spent years chasing him. But when the moment she let go, he was the one left searching only to discover the pearl he had been overlooking all along.

(Gemstone Chronicles #1) A diamond is rare, precious, and hard to break. And he treats her as his prize to be claimed.

Yvonne Maica Lim is an aspiring UAAP court side reporter for UST, she was so close to getting her football player crush after plotting on him for almost a year...but everything fell apart when she had to fake date the infamous star basketball player of the UST Growling Tigers instead. Book cover by cottonbro studio in pexels