Painbehindsmile Stories

Grace has always been told her name means something-radiant, peaceful, strong. But at twenty-three, working as an invisible virtual assistant, she feels anything but. Behind the emails and calendars is a past she can't quite outrun: a relationship that began when she was fifteen, wrapped in the illusion of love but built on quiet manipulation. As she navigates adulthood with humor, work friends, and unexpected moments of joy, Grace begins to unravel the truth about who she was, what she survived, and the woman she's becoming. Poignant, honest, and deeply human, MMK is a story of reclaiming identity, healing in spirals, and finding power in naming your own worth.

Those lines and words which can only understand by those whose trust is either broken or who have their best friends with them

Hanna Kathrina Mendoza. Isang simpleng dalagang lumaki sa hirap. Inampon siya ng tiyahin niya matapos masawi sa aksidente ang nanay niya. Akala niya, ganun na lang talaga ang takbo ng buhay sakto lang, mahirap, pero kontento. Sa Vion University, second year MedTech student siya. Dito niya unang naranasan ang totoong impyerno. Hindi dahil sa hirap ng pag-aaral, kundi dahil sa mga sikat at mayayamang estudyanteng ginawang laro ang damdamin niya. Mga bully na halos kontrolado ang campus: BOYS: Athan, Liam, Franco, Zeildrick, Alden GIRLS: Cassandra, Ysabel, Thea Harap-harapang pang-aalipusta. Below-the-belt na pang-iinsulto. Ginagawa siyang katatawanan. Kahit wala siyang ginagawang masama, parang kasalanan na agad ang paghinga niya. Hindi siya perpekto. Hindi rin siya palaban. Pero hindi rin siya bato para 'di masaktan. This is a story ng mga kabataang katulad ni Hanna yung sinasaktan, inaapakan, at hindi pinapakinggan... pero araw-araw lumalaban. Sa mundong pinuno ng panghusga, deserve mo bang maramdaman na tao ka rin? Kung ikaw si Hanna... kaya mo pa ba?