Books Like Mass Effect

BLURB: Five years ago, Althea ran away from her marriage. No goodbyes, no explanations—just a desperate escape from a life she never wanted. Now, fate plays a cruel joke on her when she unknowingly applies for a job at Montevista Group of Companies, only to come face-to-face with the man she abandoned… Xander Montevista He’s no longer the reckless man she once knew. He’s powerful. Dangerous. And merciless. At sa unang araw pa lang ng trabaho niya, isang nakakakilabot na tanong ang sumalubong sa kanya— "Are you still a virgin, my wife?" And just like that, her nightmare begins. Xander is furious. He wants answers. He wants revenge. But above all—he wants her back. And this time… Althea can never escape him again.

Ariah is an aspiring journalist, who dreams to become successful in her chosen field just like her mother. But an unexpected turn of events led her to unravel the mystery that happened 30 years ago, the controversial Hacienda Vergara Massacre. Because of her innate curiosity, she started to solve every piece of the puzzle about the mystery that has been buried a long time ago but unknown to her, what she's about to discover will bring a tremendous onslaught on her and her mother's life. Would she still dare to make things right or would she just let things be buried like they used to be?

Si Aubrey Mañas ay gagawin ang lahat para mailigtas ang kanyang maysakit na ina mula sa kamatayan. Wala siyang ibang magawa kundi humingi ng tulong sa kanyang mayaman, malupit na lolo, na brutal na itinakwil ang kanyang Ina dahil sa pag-aasawa ng isang mahirap na lalaki. Pumayag ang kanyang lolo na tumulong. In one cruel condition - kailangan niyang pakasalan ang makapangyarihang CEO na si Adon Gustav. Adon is breathtaking in every way - gorgeous as sin and has a devastating effect on women. PERO galit na galit si Aubrey sa kanya. Siya ay kasing lupit at walang awa tulad ng kanyang Lolo. His rules are the laws, and must be obeyed. Will they end up together? Will their feelings develop? Or will they choose to get away with each other?

Sa mismong araw ng kasal nila, nalaman ni Luna ang mapait na katotohanan—ginamit at pinakasalan lang siya ni Damon upang saktan ang babaeng dating karelasyon nito. Dala ng matinding sakit at pagkabigo, nagpasya siyang iwan si Damon sa araw ding iyon. Tahimik itong naglaho nang walang paalam. “Hanapin n’yo siya! I want every inch of this estate searched!” sigaw ni Damon habang galit na galit na naglalakad paikot sa marble flooring ng hall, ang mga palad niya'y nakasukbit sa kanyang buhok na tila ba hindi malaman kung ano ang uunahin—ang takot, ang galit, o ang pagkasira ng loob. “Sir Damon,” lapit ng isa sa mga security. “We’ve searched the entire estate… wala po talaga si Ma’am Luna. Even the guard at the back gate said walang nakitang dumaan.” “She can’t just run away with my child!” singhal niya, boses niya'y halos mapunit sa dami ng emosyong nagsasalubong sa dibdib. “Do whatever it takes—bring her back! Now!” Pagkalipas ng anim na taon magmula noong maglaho na parang bula si Luna... "Boss, we found your wife. She just landed at the international airport." "And she’s with three kids... who all look exactly like you." "But there’s another man with them—and one of the kids is calling him Dad."

Mary Anne Monferrer was a rebellious daughter of the sinking empire facing bankruptcy which was the Monferrer Hotels. She lived a cruel life with her family, and was treated like an outcast. Her parents were heartless, and wanted her to taste their wrath as they blamed her in the death of their favorite daughter. She was forced to be sold, and was soon to be the sixth wife of Señor Adolfo Gutuangco, an old pervert man that used his power as a Billionaire to taste and impregnate every virgin woman that he wanted. Her parents wanted her to be their scapegoat just to save themselves and their sinking empire in the scandal and bankruptcy. She didn’t agree with what her manipulative parents wanted. They should be the one who needed to deal with their own dilemma. With that, she ran away from hell, and let herself be drunk in Arum to forget her miseries and pain in the family. She even shamelessly seduced a stranger that caught her attention, and asked to have sex. However, the heated one-night stand Mary Anne shared with the hot stranger would make accidentally pregnant with his babies. And little did she know that her world turned upside down, because the man that devirginized her was Daxton Delvecchio, a Multi-Billionaire that had a dark secret for being a Mafia Boss.

I married Zephyrus Jones under a one-year contract—walang sabit, walang emosyon, puro pirma lang at katahimikan. Kailangan niya ng asawa para sa billion-dollar deal. Kailangan ko ng pera para mailigtas si Papa. We lived like strangers under one roof… hanggang sa dumating ang araw na iniwan niya ako—papers signed, puso kong wasak, at mga pangakong hindi natupad. Sabi niya, may mahal na siyang iba. Sabi niya, never akong naging parte ng plano. Kaya nag-divorce kami. Apat na taon ang lumipas, bumalik ako—hindi para sa kanya, kundi para sa sarili ko. Pero nang muli ko siyang makita, he wasn’t the cold-hearted man I once knew. Ngayon, he looks at me like I’m the only thing that matters. Ang problema? Natuto na akong mabuhay nang wala siya. At ngayong bumalik siya sa buhay ko… hindi niya alam na may kambal kaming anak—at wala akong balak sabihin sa kanya.

"Isabel, what are you doing there!" madiin na sigaw sa akin ng kung sino. "Ninong, hindi ko po alam. Ano po ba ang nangyari?" pagtataka ko. "What? Stop acting like an innocent! Sabihin mo nga sa akin. Plano mo ba ang lahat ng 'to, Isabel!" mahigpit niyang hinawakan ang kamay ko. Sa pangigigil niya kulang na lang ay mapilayan na ako. "Ninong, tama na po ang sakit po. Hindi ko po talaga alam kung bakit ito nangyari. Please, ninong tama na..." pagsusumamo ko sa kaniya. "Isabel! Wala ka na ngang kwentang anak! Ginanito mo pa ako! Alam mong fiancee ko ang ate mo! Kaya bakit ka narito sa kwarto ko!" Tila nadurog ang puso ko at ang mundo ko. Hindi ba niya naaalala ang angyari kagabi. Bakit ganito si Ninong. Ang ninong ni Isabel ay nagngangalang Ryan De Guzman, 30 years old. Isa siyang pinakamagaling at pinaka-sikat na doctor sa buong mundo. Galing siya sa mayamang pamilya. Kinakatakutan din siya ng karamihan dahil sa ugali niya ngunit hindi alam ng iba ang pagiging mapagmahal nito at masyadong obssessed. Si Isabel Cordova ay 20 years old. Galing sa pinakamayan na pamilya at isang tagapagmana. Naging single since birth dahil sa pagiging mahigpit ng ama niya. Nang mamatay ang kaniyang ina ay nagkaroon ng panibagong asawa ang kaniyang ama. Nagkaroon din siya ng ate. Matalik na magkaibigan ang ninong ni Isabel at ang ama nito. Ikakasal na rin si Ryan sa ate ni Isabel. Subalit, may isang pangyayaring naganap sa pagitan ni Isabel at Ryan na magiging dahilan ng pagbabago ng lahat. Paano nila haharapin ang pagbabago? Ito ba ay masama o magiging kabutihan?

Ang salitang kasal ay wala pa sa isip ni Olivia dahil inienjoy niya pa ang kanyang buhay. Inuubos niya ang kanyang panahon sa pagta-travel sa ibat ibang bansa. She is enjoying her life. She just turned 22 and yet, hindi pa rin niya natatapos ang kinukuha niyang kursong business management. Not until she found out about her marriage. His father agreed to an arranged marriage with the son of his kumpare years ago. She was dumbfounded with the news and she couldn't believe that his father made a decision like this. "How could I marry a man that I don't love? How could I get into marriage when I am not yet ready?" She asked her parents while crying. Hindi niya matanggap ang lahat kaya isa lamang ang pumasok sa isip niya, ang pagtakas. Can she really runaway to her soon to be husband?

Ilana accepted the heartbreak her husband Gray inflicted in her—embracing the pain and relationship failure. She has experienced heartbreak twice—both from men who shared the same last names, Montemayor. The heartbreak didn’t kill her—it kept her alive, and afraid to love again. However, an uninvited visitor came to her door—trying its luck to be embraced like how it should be. Ilana tried so hard to avoid her growing feelings. However, the certain man who was just another presence in her life became everything to her. She forgot how she was before him. She laughed. She joked. She teased. All after he came. If this is another chance for Ilana to love again, she won’t deny it cold-heartedly. But how can she give this love a chance when the root of her love trauma left something in her that she could never get rid of?

"And if the devil was to ever see you, he'd kiss your eyes and repent." – Farouq Jwaydeh He kissed her lips, then her eyes, after the priest said that they may. Such an unexpected act that the called "heartless Billionaire" could ever do in an arranged marriage. And there she thought everything was just a misunderstanding, everything that people have told her was nothing but false news. Rumours. And he was only like that because of how people treated him. So she fell. But no. She only thought wrong, very very wrong. After keeping herself inside the lies her whole life, knowing how everything she was told was nothing close to the truth, she ties herself to him, to a stranger who knew her better than she knows herself. He was indeed the heartless billionaire, and she was his wife.