All That Glitters Isn't Gold

It was a national holiday and we decided to drive back to my husband's hometown to spend the holidays. One day before we left, my husband's childhood crush came crying to him that she had not managed to buy train tickets home. My husband immediately decided to let her have my seat in the car and insisted that I take the train instead. I looked at him in disbelief. There was shock in my eyes. Even my son insisted I take the train. "Mommy, Aunt Rosie is so pretty. How could you make her take the train?" I did not argue. I booked my train ticket right in front of them. However, it was to my own hometown. I no longer wanted a biased husband and a disloyal son.

Paris Poppy hates the way she looks. At a younger age, she was bullied for it. No one wanted to be her friend nor did any of the boys find her attractive. As Paris grew into a young female, she gave up on all hopes of finding her one true love, believing that no man will ever find her beautiful. Pity, Paris doesn't know her parents had already planned out a life for her. "An emotional romance read that will leave you in tears."

"Why do you want to be my bride so badly?" he questioned, his mesmerizing eyes locked Crystal's. Crystal shook her head, reminding herself of her goal. "To marry someone like you, an angel from heaven. Marrying you would be, no doubt, a blessing." She stammered, looking away. He leaned closer to her; his breath grazed her skin. "An angel?" he chuckled deviously. "Are you sure, I'm an angel?" Crystal Fei was a fiery woman with a thirst for revenge. For ten years, she has been looking for the culprit who caused her brother's death at all costs. Finally, when she was on the brink of hopelessness, a man reached out, promising her revenge on that person. But what game did fate play on Crystal when she was tasked to steal his heart in an undercover mission to avenge her brother? Will it still be a game of pretense when she looked into his eyes. The eyes that was so sharp and mysterious, his eyes that pierced her heart.

Melannie couldn't remember the last time she felt something. While Ace remembers every sting and ache. Both of their chaotic worlds collide and through every moment they share, one starts to feel and the other starts to heal. The only thing standing in between is that it's a cycle of pain, and no one knows how to get out.

Susan was maltreated and set up by her evil stepmother and step sister. She had a one-night stand with a mysterious man as a result of the abuse by her step family, and then she fled the country in shame. As a result of the one-night stand that she had with the mysterious man, she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Susan returned to her home country after nearly five years because she secured her dream job. Her life made a crazy turn as soon as she stepped back in the country with her kids. A billionaire showed up in her life, and claimed to be the father of her kids. He did a DNA test on the children without Susan's permission, and found out that he indeed was that kids father. Susan and this billionaire man, Richard Wilson fought over these kids, and at the end of the day, fell in love with each other.

When the fire broke out, I called my husband, Hector. He didn't answer. Instead, he ran straight into the flames—to save my sister, Emma. They held each other, clinging to life, while I was trapped in the basement, watching my calls go ignored until all hope burned out. Afterward, Emma played innocent, twisting everything. She told him, "Hector, don't blame Sienna. She didn't leave me on purpose... she was just scared." Her lie made me the villain, and everyone bought it. Fueled by hatred, Hector spat, "She's so vicious—why didn't that fire just take her?" Three months later, the police found my body.

The day my husband's first love, who was my sister, died, he sent me into the wilderness, all because I was not a match for the kidney transplant she needed. "Make sure Lisa can’t leave. For pretending to be Emma’s little sister, it’s time she learns her lesson," he ordered. I was abandoned in the dense forest, trapped, and left to fend for myself. Desperate, I sought shelter in a cave, trying to survive. However, wild animals soon picked up my scent and surrounded the cave. In the end, they tore me apart, and I died a brutal, painful death, with my body left exposed and torn in the wilderness. When Benjamin finally saw what was left of me, he lost his mind.

Vanessa was working as a stripper for a couple of years before she decided to call it an end and ran away from the man who she use to work for. She started a fresh life buy what happens when the past catches up on you and you developed feelings for a certain someone you shouldn't have?

On the day of Lucas' engagement, he managed to get a few lackeys to keep me occupied, and by the time I stepped out the police station, done with questioning, it was already dark outside. Arriving home, I stood there on the doorstep and eavesdropped on Lucas and his friends talking about me. "I was afraid she'd cause trouble, so I got her to spend the whole day at the police station. I made sure that everything would be set in stone by the time she got out." Shaking my head with a bitter laugh, I blocked all of Lucas' contacts and went overseas without any hesitation. That night, Lucas lost all his composure, kicking over a table and smashing a bottle of liquor, sending glass shards flying all over the floor. "She's just throwing a tantrum because she's jealous… She'll come back once she gets over it…" What he didn't realize, then, was that this wasn't just a fit of anger or a petty tantrum. This time, I truly didn't want him anymore.

His love is needy and possessive but yet, waits patiently for her broken heart to mend. Her innocent heart is forcefully shattered from deception, lies, toxicity and manipulation leading to a failed relationship and another. A third one becomes a taboo. Every man had something that would leave her regretting and in pains when secrets began to unfold. She develops fear to love and be loved by the right man. It becomes more difficult for her heart to open up when those hideous forgotten relationships hunts her back to her bittersweet past. Her hate becomes more intense. Her coldness mixed with beauty, confidence, smartness and determination makes her more alluring and wanted but how can he gain entry to a violently shut heart and how long can he wait for a flicker of hope? In this love hate entanglement, the outcome is uncertain. While one waits endlessly for a romance that would transcend work relationship the other hopes to forever shut down the desperate yearning to feel genuinely loved.