A Place Called Home

My parents' enemy kidnaps me and livestreams chopping off my fingers just to force them to show up. For a time, the entire Internet searches for my parents. But what they don't know is that the captain who appeared in the livestream is my biological father. At that moment, he's on a beach in Hashford, setting off magnificent fireworks for his adopted daughter. And on their barbecue table, the livestream of my fingers being severed is playing. Later on, when I survive long enough to be rescued, I reach out my mangled hand to touch my parents. They recoil in disgust and leave without looking back, taking the adopted daughter out for Wersole food. But they don't know that the thing hidden within my mangled palm will make them regret their actions beyond measure.

After my brother, Don Matteo Sabella, finds out I have a crush on our family Consigliere, Lorenzo Gallo, for years, he spikes Lorenzo's wine and has him delivered to my bed. That night, he pushes deep into me, and we lose ourselves in each other. When the sky begins to lighten, Lorenzo stays, kisses my temple, and asks me to marry him. Now that we are married, he is all those things—gentle, perfect, and fiercely possessive—handing me almost everything I desire. I truly believe I've landed the kind of love every woman in our world dreams about. That illusion lasts until the day Matteo gets taken out in an assassination. After that, Lorenzo steps up as the Sabellas' new Don. It isn't long before he says he has family business to handle and disappears overseas for three years. Even on the day I deliver our daughter, Luna Gallo, he can't come home because of some emergency. Then I hear a recording that's blowing up on the family's internal network. His Consigliere chuckles and asks, "Don, what do you think has changed the most since you took over the family?" Lorenzo answers in this offhand tone, "It's definitely the fact that I can finally give those I care about most a home. But it also means I'm even more worried that Eliana and Sofia will be targeted because of me…" My blood runs cold. Eliana Rossi is his adopted sister, and Sofia is her daughter. Turns out every business trip, every absence, every so-called emergency Lorenzo has is about them. He has another home out there. That night, with my hands shaking, I dial the encrypted line. "Matteo, we've found the traitor. Isn't it time you stopped pretending to be dead and came to take Luna and me away?"

A girl trying to survive the cruelty of the world and a man looking for peace and purpose. They are bound to meet and fulfill the promise they made from their past life; that they will cross different lifetimes to find each other until their love find its way home. A brave soldier and an extraordinary girl lived a chaotic love story in the middle of a war. An activist and a doctor, a love that rose between the pavements amidst the Martial Law. And a story of a boy and a girl who's trying to look for a reason to survive and hold on to their lives. Three different stories in three different lifetimes of the same people who chose to love and chase it until they're finally home.

After five years of self-imposed exile, Alex returns with a vengeance, determined to seized back the fragments of the existence he once cherished.little did he know , on that very day Venassa would reappear, electrifying his world with a magnetic field like never before. Cought in the whirlwind of emotions, Alex couldn't hold back the overwhelming desire he felt for Venassa . Without a moment hesitation he vowed to make her his again, to reignite the flame of their once untamed passion. But Alas , he soon realized that the journey to reclaim her heart would demand much more than he had anticipated. And just as the light of triumph began to flicker within Alex's grasp, The sinister demon that had cast him into exile resurfaced from the depths of darkness. Bound by the treacherous shackles of his tumultuous past, he stood at a crossroads, torn between two irreconcilable choices: The woman who held his heart in her delicate hands , or the fragile remnants of his shattered life. Is dear old Venassa worth risking it all ? or would he break her again? Just what other demons lurk in the dark waiting to strike ? And Would Venassa still want him if she knows?

For our college graduation trip, I spent a whole week glued to various travel apps, finally snagging a half-price couples' train package. I was just about to share the good news with my boyfriend and call it a night when his message came through. "Anna's going through a breakup. She needs to get away and clear her head. We're gonna use those tickets." "See if you can grab yourself another single ticket. It's not that much anyway - like five or six hundred bucks." For a moment, I was speechless. Before he received the scholarship my dad’s pack had specifically established for him, five or six hundred dollars used to be his entire monthly allowance. After a moment of silence, I picked up my phone: “Dad, prepare a private jet for me. I want to take a trip alone before graduation.”

Choosing to live independently in a highly urbanized city is a decision Latisha Thaviya Fallarco made at such a young age. Despite her parents prohibitions, she still managed to convince them by performing well in academics. She wanted to attend parties, get drunk and dance in the club, go shopping, and explore neighboring cities. She wanted to live her life to the fullest in the place she considered the best. Yet, she never saw the coming of an incident that would end that kind of lifestyle. She was forced to leave and be with her family. Latisha thought that living in a province would be hard for her, but she was wrong. In a particular town in Iloilo Province, she found her true home. Ps. This story is written in Filipino and English.

The newly-appointed leader, Eileen Shaffer, fantasizes herself as a queen. Because of that, she treats me like her personal maid. On her first day at work, Eileen sends me a list consisting of 16 workplace rules. Not only does she request that I prepare warm water that must be proven to be 113 degrees Fahrenheit by a thermometer every day, but she also wants me to prepare three meals per day for her. I'm not allowed to order takeout. Those meals must be cooked and prepared by me so that the food is safe and clean to eat. Finally, shit hits the fan at the Thanksgiving holidays. Eileen has the nerve to call me 18 times at 2:00 am just so I can leave a like on her son's video. Unable to tolerate her antics anymore, I slap her on the spot. "I'm the daughter of this company's CEO, and yet I have to slave away at work every day! Do you seriously think you're an actual queen now?"

After her step sister ran away from her marriage to the billion-dollar heir, they took Emerald Jane Campbell as a stand-in to fill the void her stepsister left. Forced by her greedy mother, Emerald can't do anything but to follow. She was tied to the disabled billion-dollar heir for three years and all she got was cold treatment from him. Years later, a kidnapper appeared in their lives. The kidnapper threatens the life of Emerald until Jude Rafael Sanders— the billion-dollar decides to do what it takes to protect his wife, Emerald. Secrets began to unravel one by one. But what if Jude finds out his beloved wife was conspiring to the kidnappers? Find out how tension intensifies in their roller coaster marriage.

On the day the SAT results are revealed, the fake heiress, Layla Sanders, colluded with our homeroom teacher, Richard Hoffman, to report me for cheating during the exam. When I stared at both copies of the exam papers that showed the same steps and formulas, I couldn't defend myself at all. In order to preserve Layla's pride, my own parents actually forced me to admit to stealing the exam questions in advance. Then, they had me forcibly admitted into a mental asylum. The Sanders family claimed that I had gone crazy just so they could keep this particular skeleton sealed in the closet. They abandoned me, letting me be tormented endlessly in the asylum. When I finally escaped from the asylum, I died in a car crash that was meticulously staged by Layla. Only on the verge of my death did I finally realize that the so-called "blood is thicker than water" mentality was nothing compared to a tear shed by Layla. The moment I open my eyes again, I've gotten reborn in the exam hall. This time, I choose to submit my exam paper without anything scribbled on it. I'd like to see just how someone with a total of zero points can possibly copy off the so-called top scorer of SAT.

I'm Jax Ryder, heir to the most powerful investment group in Veridian City. I had just returned from studying abroad. My father, worried I might impulsively marry the wrong woman, arranged a marriage for me with Everly, the heiress to the up-and-coming Sinclair Group. It was strictly a business arrangement. But that didn't mean I intended to just go through the motions. At the very least, I had to personally bid on the mansion that would serve as our marital home. And so, I found myself at the annual Starlight Charity Gala. When the legendary prime real estate, the "Siren's Cove Estate," was presented as the final auction item, I raised my paddle. Just as the gavel was about to fall, an arrogant voice cut through the room. "What right does a nobody like you have to bid? Step aside." The grand hall fell silent, the only sound the frantic clicking of camera shutters from all corners. I turned my head. A man in a flashy, sequined suit stood there. He swirled the champagne in his glass, his posture reeking of arrogance. Before I could even speak, the auctioneer brought the gavel down. "Sold! Congratulations to Mr. Brian Vance on winning the 'Siren's Cove Estate'!" I frowned, a flicker of anger rising within me. "The bidding wasn't over." "That's against the rules." Brian sneered. He looked me up and down, his eyes filled with contempt. "The rules?" He curled his lip. "Listen up. I'm Everly Sinclair's favorite stepbrother. In Veridian City, what I say goes." I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. This was interesting. My fiancée's stepbrother. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. "Everly, your dear brother just snatched the marital home I'd picked out. What are you going to do about it?"