Abyss Map

In the coastal quiet of Baler, a studio is born—not of architecture, but of intention.* Founded by Yam, a poet whose words cradle pain gently, and Franc, an artist who paints tenderness into walls, the studio becomes a refuge for those learning to stay—with grief, love, longing, and themselves. As visitors arrive, they leave behind more than footprints: a sigh recorded in bamboo, a poem tucked into the “Found Letters” shelf, a mural painted in crooked lines. Through zines, tea, silence, and sketchbooks, the studio teaches softness as revolution. Ren creates the *Window of Soft Returns*, an installation of anonymous voice recordings—each whisper forming a community of echoes. Drew builds the *Staircase With No Wrong Turns*, inviting people to walk through emotions without shame. Franc offers brushstrokes as brave work, and Yam curates writing circles that map healing in half sentences. Together, they host festivals that feel like hugs, and they begin traveling their archive, letting softness cross oceans. Even those who once left—like Miguel—return, discovering that some doors never truly close. Others, like Tala, capture the studio’s sound and turn it into a podcast of breath and becoming. Over seventy chapters, the studio transforms into something larger than itself: a mural of memory, a sanctuary for second chances, a place where return is sacred and voice is proof of survival. In the final bloom, the studio stands not as a monument—but as a reminder: > *“Staying isn’t easy. > But chosen together, > it becomes home.”*

Hailey thought marrying Rome Martinez would be the adventure of a lifetime—and she was right, just not in the way she imagined. As a kindergarten teacher who thrives on structure and routine, Hailey never expected to fall for someone like Rome: mysterious, spontaneous, and utterly unpredictable. Their whirlwind romance swept her off her feet, and saying "I do" felt like diving into uncharted waters—thrilling, terrifying, and full of possibility. But marriage without a map is more complicated than Hailey anticipated. Rome refuses to be tied down by rules or expectations, believing that true love needs no boundaries. What started as exhilarating freedom soon leaves Hailey adrift, craving the stability and normalcy she never knew she needed. As the lines between adventure and chaos blur, she begins to wonder: Can a marriage survive when only one person sets the course? Without boundaries to guide them, Hailey and Rome's relationship teeters on the edge. Will their love be strong enough to weather storms of jealousy, misunderstanding, and unmet needs? Or will their vastly different visions of marriage pull them apart? When one partner's desires eclipse the other's, can intimacy—physical and emotional—truly flourish? In this compelling and heart-wrenching story, discover what happens when love collides with reality, and whether a marriage built on passion alone can find its way to solid ground. Some journeys change you forever. This is one you won't want to miss.

A young psychologist, Maria Reyes, fresh out of college, decides to take her first freelance case to build her résumé. Feeling bold and free on her graduation night, she let herself loose after getting charmed by an alluring mysterious man. One drink leads to another and another, and she finds herself drowning in passion in his bed. She reads him like a map and falls for his scars before she even asks for his name. But the morning brings the brutal truth, Darian Wolfe is her father's enemy, a ruthless businessman, an heir to the empire sworn to destroy her father's legacy. She vanishes before he wakes, unable to face what has been done. Weeks later after being able to set up her new office, the past begins to blur until her first patient walks through the door. It's him, Darian Wolfe. Her expression freezes when she sees him. He walks around her office uninvited. He takes a seat without a word. The silence between them is thick with everything unsaid. And then, he looks unblinking in her eyes. "I have a lot to... unpack, Dr Reyes," he says, with a dark smile. "Let's start with a woman I met two weeks ago at a bar," he says, pulling out a red panty from his pocket.

“Miss Bella!” Saad ng isang kasamahan ko sa trabaho. “Nakalagay diyan ang bagong project mo.” Ika nito sabay lapag ng folder. Agent Snow got an assignment again. Hindi tulad ng ibang taong kailangan niyang bigyang serbisyo, ang isang ito ay hindi basta bastang tao. He is one of the dominant and well-known businessman in their country, an Ace! She entered a non-government military secret agency five years ago through the Ace of Hearts, Akihiro Leati Zhang-Hernández, a Chinese-Filipino businessman and a former military personnel. Being the most favored by the boss among the secret agents, she was envied by her colleagues and was often called as a snobbish frost. One day, the boss called her for another mission; aside from protecting a man, she was given the chance to dig clues of the accident that happened five years ago which she suspect is related to her. Assigned in protecting the Ace of Spades of the Asian business, Lance Joshua Villarreal-Sinclair, she was forced to enter the world of the elites where she found herself being dragged into the abyss of finding pieces of clues about her own identity.

"Thirty million" I heard a male voice echo round the walls of the hall which silenced everyone. Who would bid that high just to buy me? "Thirty million dollars" the male voice spoke up once again, a young man striding confidently forward like he owned the very building with his bidding card raised up. He was eighty percent taller than everyone in attendance. I sucked in breath at his refined but cold appearance. His tuxedo hugged his body and showed of his impeccable muscles. His dark long hair was slick and let to fall, not a single strand out of place. He had the profile of a greek God but his features lacked warmth and empathy. His brown steel eyes burrowed into mine, a look of disgust on his face for me. "Sold!" the chairman hit the gavel on the table after a brief moment of silence since no one else was willing to bid higher. A wave of ovation took the hall, men chattering amongst themselves and whistling. "Get her ready and bring her to me" he pivoted and sharply ordered one of the armed bodyguards standing close to the podium. He owns me now. **** When a ruthless mafia lord bids for an innocent girl, can her innocense survive in the abyss of his darkness?

The words echoed, a promise she wore like a blindfold. “Give me a chance to prove to you that love is beautiful.” Kensington Darley had believed him. At twenty-six, she was the beautiful, trusting daughter of a gilded cage, and she had willingly traded her own life’s map for the one drawn by her boyfriend. His choices became her destiny; his whispered needs, her sacred law. Until the moment his love demanded her degradation. He didn't ask her to empty a savings account. He didn't ask her to sell the family jewels. He asked for her body, for her dignity, to be sold piece by devastating piece. The debt. It was a cold, unforgiving beast, and the only currency powerful enough to silence it was Kensington's unwilling performance in front of a camera. Every forced smile, every feigned moan, was a knife-edge decision she made in the name of love. She despised the spotlights, the sterile sets, the shame that clung to her like cheap perfume—but she did it. Because she loved him. But as she watches the man she is saving—the man who allowed her to be lost—a single, poisonous question begins to bloom in the darkness of her despair: Does he love her back? If the answer is no, what becomes of a woman who has sacrificed everything for a lie? And how will Kensington Darley ever learn to trust a single word, let alone love, again?

“Apa!!!” Deva setengah teriak setelah mendengarkan apa yang dikatakan wanita di depannya yang selalu dipanggil Boss oleh orang-orang di kantornya. Wanita yang duduk santai sambil menatap wajah Deva yang pucat pasi setelah mendengarkan apa yang dikatakannya tanpa wajah bersalah yang bernama Adelia Cantara Hermawan, nama itu terpampang jelas di papan nama di meja kerja wanita itu “Apa kau tuli?” tanya wanita itu. Deva terbelalak, sikapnya langsung salah tingkah di depan wanita itu, dia tidak percaya hari ini dia di lamar oleh bosnya sendiri. “Anda bercandakan,” kata Deva mencoba tertawa dan berharap ini hanya prank belaka, tapi wajah dingin bosnya membuat senyum di bibir Deva langsung hilang begitu saja. “Kau sudah berapa lama bekerja denganku, apakah aku tipe orang yang mempunyai waktu untuk bercanda?” jawab Adelia. Deva berdiri lalu berkacak pinggang, “Ini bukanlah hal yang dapat anda putuskan sendiri, bagaimana anda bisa memanggil saya lalu meminta saya untuk menikah dengan anda, bagi saya menikah harus dengan orang yang kita cintai,” kata Deva panjang lebar. Adelia menyenderkan badannya di kursi sambil melipat tangannya, “Kau kira aku benar-benar ingin menikahimu?” kata Adelia lagi sambil membuka laci mejanya dan mengeluarkan sebuah map hijau ke atas mejanya.

Sierra bit her lip to stop herself from moaning loudly. He is thrusting inside her harder and faster, as if he is branding her from inside out. "Haa" she muffled her cries of release by biting her cheek Hard. After all, the other room is where Xavier's fiance is getting ready, the man who just released his cum inside her body. Meticulously Xavier adjusted their clothes before kissing her on her lips. "Please let me go" she pleaded with him. He is about to go and attend his own engagement party with another woman in a matter of minutes. Xavier's eyes turned as dark as the abyss of hell. "Don't even think about it darling. You started this, I will decide when to stop this, if at all we ever did. Don't forget that you are mine Sierra. Now be a good girl and come and attend my engagement party" with that said, he left. What would happen if a man who doesn't believe in emotions like love meets a girl who is craving for affection and love? Can he give her what she craves before it's too late? And the said man is her best friends uncle, who is as mysterious as they come.

Lilian Reed is a determined young woman, working at the exclusive Shadow of Sophia club to support her dreams of becoming a nurse and leaving behind the exploitation by her stepmother, Diane, and her stepbrother, Liam. But her life crumbles when Diane sells her for a fortune to the feared Cassian Moore, a mobster whose presence exudes power and danger. The first encounter between them is marked by a brutal rescue and a gaze that burns like fire, planting the seeds of an irresistible sexual tension. Trapped in a dark agreement, Lilian is dragged into Cassian’s underworld, where each touch of his, firm on her chin, warm against her skin, threatens to dissolve her defenses. Every whisper laden with promise pulls her into an abyss of desire. Between the fear of being consumed and an overwhelming attraction, she proposes to work to pay off her debt and earn her freedom, but Cassian has other plans. “Understand once and for all, Lilian Reed. You belong to me now. You will work for me and answer only to my orders,” he declares, sealing the agreement with a brutal kiss that leaves her body trembling and her mind ablaze. As memories of a painful past resurface and danger closes in, Lilian struggles to resist the mobster's dominance, but will her heart be surrendered to him before she escapes this hell?

His steely gaze bore into mine, an abyss of emotionless darkness. "Marc-" "SHUT UP!" I flinched, a shudder coursing through me. He came on closer, his fingers tightening around my neck, a cruel parody of a caress. I met his frightening stare, I stared at him breathing heavily. "Just be still." I lowered my face, eyelids fluttering shut, as if seeking solace in the darkness. "I own you." His declaration resounding heavy in the air, an unbreakable chain binding me to this desire’s. In that moment, I knew - there was no escaping the clutches of this man who held me captive, body and soul. **************** In the heart of a city shrouded in shadows and secrets, Elena Santiago's life takes a dangerous plunge. Her father's debts drag them to the doorstep of Don Marco De Luca, an astute and enigmatic mafia overlord, thrusting Elena into a world of scary gambles and lethal allure. Boundaries blur between allegiance and survival as Elena must survive through a web of deception, where every move becomes a battle cry. With her family's future teetering on a razor's edge, she finds herself torn between defying the merciless Don and submitting to a life of total servitude. ******** Will she succumb to his desires… or hers?!