Booktok July 2022

June was devastated after knowing about July's death until she discovered a familiar mark on his dead body. - - - Alien, UFOs, extraterrestrial beings -- those are the things that Juniper Gallego and Julius Lysander Ignacio love to talk about when they were still kids, but when June's family moved out, they barely communicate through letters. Until one day, July's death shocked everyone including June. She hurriedly go back to their old town only to discover a familiar mark on July's corpse —the mark they once feared when they were littles.

I don't kick up a fuss when Jasper Sutton's childhood sweetheart once again takes my spot in the front passenger seat. Instead, I obediently head to the backseat to sit with his good friend, Jonathan Clayton. When we drive along a bumpy road, my knee brushes against Jonathan's toned thigh. I deliberately leave it there, and he doesn't move. We stop for a break at a rest area. Jasper's childhood sweetheart clings to him as they head to the restroom. As soon as the door is shut, Jonathan grabs the back of my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. As I descend into the throes of passion, I can't help thinking it's no wonder people like to cheat.

Angelique hasn't seen her dad since birth; she grew up loathing her dad, who abandoned her, molding her into a strong and independent young girl. Angel's single mom raised her, living in a two-room apartment while trying to meet ends. She repays her mom by giving her best in school. Maddox came from a prominent family; his dad is a business tycoon. Despite the wealth they possessed, sadness finds its way to his heart. He is a lonesome boy who chooses to be alone with his trusted friends. Maddox became aloof after the untimely death of her mom until Angel came into his life. Their world collided when Angel got a strange scholarship to study in Maddox's expensive school. They are two worlds apart, yet they find happiness in each other's company and shrug their shoulders at whoever bombarded their friendship. Especially Cassandra, who happened to be interested in Maddox and named Angel as an outcast of their campus. Angel and Maddox surprisingly have too many things in common that falling in love was inevitable. It was a dream come true, like a fairy tale in a movie that they met at the right time they needed someone to shed light on their dark world. Angel gained a lot of haters at school, but Maddox got her back. They shared a genuine relationship until they found out who was behind Angel's scholarship. As if it was not enough, Angel's mom confessed a thing she's been hiding for so long. An event that is bound to change their status, which Cassandra took advantage of. Will Cassandra succeed? Or will Angel and Maddox's love for each other find its way back together?

Nelina and Royce met when they were both messed up. They promised themselves that being in a relationship was not their priority as they've experienced life's cruelty at a young age. Losing their prominent status, Nelina experienced bullying in school and had an abusive boyfriend. At the same time, Royce lost his grannies and was left alone. And when his then-girlfriend Roxie dumps him with no explanation, his life falls apart. However, they somehow grew affection for each other because they shared the same sentiment. But the past relationship's pain comes haunting them again when both of their exes came back at an unexpected time. How will Nelina and Royce step out from their shell and heal the wounds of the past? Will they give themselves a second chance to love again?

In this world, there are more ways to deal with a problem than the problem itself. That applies just as well to cheating men. Rich men, especially, will go to absurd lengths just to have more women in their lives. There's no trick too low, no scheme too shameless. Take my boss, for example. He handed over his stunning mistress to me. Honestly, I suspected he couldn't perform in bed, because she came into my bedroom night after night.

On the day Andrew Zelenski confesses his feelings to the pretty transfer student, everyone thinks I'll break down. They expect me to come running while crying and trying to stop him. I don't show up even after he confesses, though. Andrew has no idea that while he's busy confessing, I'm wearing his roommate's hoodie and sitting on his roommate's bed. I look at his roommate innocently and ask, "How are we going to sleep tonight now that I've wet your bed?" Spencer Lithgow looks away from me as his Adam's apple bobs. He throws a towel at me. "Go dry your hair. You can sleep once I've changed the sheets."

I've been with Hansen Fullerton for seven years. One day, he tells me he's sick of me and dumps me for a younger, more vivacious woman. I don't kick up a fuss this time. Instead, I throw away my ring and cut up the wedding gown I've just bought. Then, I take a red-eye flight away from Gold City. His friends place bets on how long it'll take for me to return and beg for reconciliation. Hansen sneers. "She'll be back in less than three days, crying and begging me to take her back." However, more than three days pass without any news from me. Hansen loses his cool and calls me for the first time. "You'd better come back once you've had enough of this, Christine." All he hears is a man's low chuckle on the other end of the line. "You shouldn't have taken this long to pacify a woman, Mr. Fullerton. Look at how someone's already taken her away from you." Hansen snarls, "Tell Christine to answer the phone!" Landon Shore lowers his head to kiss me. "She can't—she's still out of it. I have to kiss her awake first."

When my husband Jason Carter’s first love, Renee Lynn, showed up at our doorstep heavily pregnant in my past life, I still refused to divorce him. She was soon accidentally pushed down the stairs by debt collectors, killing both her and the baby. Ever since then, Jason hated me to the core. Not only did he cheat and keep a mistress, but he also conspired with her violent, mentally unstable brother to kill me. Before I took my last breath, he sneered, “You owe Renee a life. It’s time to pay up.” Fine. I must have been blind. After my reincarnation, I decisively signed the divorce papers, abandoned my savior complex, and stopped meddling in others’ fates. If he wanted to be a pathetic simp, I would let him be.

In my past life, my best friend and I married twins at the same time. We shared secrets, complained about our husbands, and teamed up to outsmart our overbearing mother-in-law—it was truly enjoyable. Until the day I nearly died giving birth to twins. As I lay on the brink of death, my best friend cradled my newborns and revealed the cruel truth. “Thank you, Bianca, for giving me such adorable twins. You had no idea, did you? The twins only ever loved me. If I had the ability to give birth, we wouldn't have used you as a tool to have kids. "You’re poor and have never been loved, so it was far too easy to manipulate you. Even the way your husband loved you? It was all my idea—I planned every move he made. “Oh, and every time you two were intimate, I was watching through the cameras—every single time!" When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day I met my best friend.

She signed a contract with him to become the lady at his beck and call. He claimed, “This is for our mutual benefit. Once the contract expires, we will be nothing but strangers.” However, he broke his promise and refused to let her go. “Liam Ackman, when will you ever let me go?” His thin lips curled up into a smirk as he picked her up bridal style. “Anna Hamilton, you are mine for the rest of your life! Don’t even think about leaving!” Turned out, it had always been a trap, and she fell for it. There was no escaping his grasp!