Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards For Short Story

---WARNING: Dark Romance. Mature Audience Only. Contains Sexual Content, Dubious Consent, and Intense Situations.--- He watched her from the shadows, a hidden obsession. She fainted at the slightest fear. He was just a boy then, powerless against the campus kingpin who tormented her, a rival heir to a brutal empire. But empires fall. And obsessions, once set, never die. Years later, on a moonlit beach, Seraphina's world shatters. Her boyfriend, a cruel cheat, humiliates her for a bet and leaves her for dead. She awakens to a familiar face—Alessandro Torricelli, now a ruthless Mexican mafia boss who takes what he wants. He’s back to claim what he believes is his: her. He promises freedom in 365 days if she doesn't fall in love. But Alessandro's world is a gilded cage of raw power, inescapable desire, and dangerous games. As Seraphina navigates his opulent fortress, fighting his possessive touch and the unwanted hunger he ignites, their volatile dynamic sparks a dangerous game of seduction. They keep score, each erotic encounter a win or loss, unknowingly binding them closer with every calculated move. Yet, beyond their sensual battle, a chilling reality looms: her old tormentor, Dino Moretti, still stalks the shadows, and this time, he's coming for them both. With a brewing war threatening to consume his empire, Alessandro vows to protect her, even from herself. But can Seraphina survive his love, escape his enemies, and resist the magnetic pull of the man who sees her fragility as a weakness to conquer, and her defiance as a challenge to possess? In this city of shadows, hearts are collateral, and their game of love is the most dangerous score of all.

"Take my life but don't ruin my soul, please... I...I am a widow, " Tears streamed down from her eyes watching that sinister man hovering over her and she softly hissed, when he slightly pressed the tip of the knife against her chin. "I didn't take your husband's life in front of your own eyes so that I could let you go, " And her gaze got befuddled when she had found him to wipe the that knife against those tears in the corner of her eyes which made her fear to engulf her more vigorously because she thought he was going to pierce it into her skin because she had seen him taking uncountable number of lives with no remorse. She again shut her lashes and waited to feel the sharp pain of her skin penetration but in the very next second, she felt the knife to get apart from her skin and warm drops of liquid falling on her lips and her eyes got opened when that liquid proceeded inside her parted lips and her tongue felt that metallic taste and see saw his palm bleeding. She teared up like a child by watching his soul quivering smirk. "Leave me.. Lea..." Her words got stucked into her throat when she felt his palm to grab her jaw which made her stirred and then she looked into his flaming darken eyes with her redden watery ones and her body turned numb ,feeling his palm getting inside her panties whereas, her eyes never stopped shedding tears . "Why? " That question fell out from her mouth which was reeking over her whole existence that why . Why she was going to endure all of that and why she was fated to get ruined by him ? "BECAUSE I AM INSANE FOR YOU " *DARK ROMANCE*

Parehong natali sa force marriage sina Eya at Jeck dahil sa negosyo ng mga magulang nila. Sa simula palang alam na ni Eya na hindi siya mamahalin ni Jeck dahil may kasintahan itong tinatago kahit pa kasal na sila. Pero kahit ganoon, hindi niya parin napigilan ang mapaibig sa asawa. She can't help but to fall inlove with him over and over again. Minahal niya si Jeck na wala man lang pakialam sa kanya. Ngunit paano kung sa isang gabi na pareho silang lulong sa alak ay may nangyari sa pagitan nila na pareho nilang hindi inaasahan? At ito ay biglang nagbunga? Umasa si Eya na iyon na ang magiging simula upang maging maganda ang pagsasama nila ni Jeck pero mali siya. Nalaman niya na nagfile si Jeck ng divorce para pakasalan na ang totoong mahal nito. Pipiliin niya bang sabihin na nagdadalang tao siya? O papayag siyang tuldukan ang kasalan na hindi nila pinlano para maging masaya ang lalaking mahal niya?

Bain and Gia met in Sizzling Strip, a pub along Times Square where Gia works. Bain is hunting for the perfect woman to propose a deal to—be his girlfriend and convince his mother he is in love with another woman so she will help extricate him from an arranged engagement with a socialite he wanted to back out of. Gia can’t believe the exorbitant fee she is going to get paid with, until he informed her there will be—possibly—a marriage contract should it come to it. And the reason she was qualified for the job? Not only did he like her, he feels she is attracted to him, too. But Gia has important reasons to accept the proposal--her mother has cancer and needed money for treatment, they're going to lose their house and her nanny, and she is a semester away from graduating college. It isn't like it’s going to be hard pretending to be the girlfriend of a wealthy, hot and sexy businessman. So the contract is signed and all and she is set to follow her boyfriend to Texas to start the game and meet with his mother. Whatever else could go wrong?

Pasca dipecat dari pekerjaan lamanya, Alsha memilih untuk menjadi 'Pacar Sewaan' dari sebuah agensi tempat salah satu temannya bekerja. Namun, suatu ketika terjadi sebuah insiden yang memicu kesalahanpahaman, yang kemudian membuat Alsha terjebak dalam sebuah pernikahan dadakan bersama dengan kliennya.

Olivia Ricci is the daughter of a wealthy business man who imports exotic flowers or at least that’s what she has been led to believe.Her parents are too strict with her and have forbidden her to date anyone. That’s until Stefan Corvino comes along, an arrogant and mysterious man who sweeps her off her feet. For some reason Olivia ignores, her parents do everything Stefan says; they even let him date their daughter.Olivia has no idea who this man is or why does he has such power over her family. All she knows is how attracted she feels to him, but she is going to find out the truth and what’s Stefan connection to her family’s obscure business to decide if she can love him or not.

Lily Lai, a young lady of twenty-three, remains pure and untainted by the sinful desires of people even after enduring years of intense brutality and indifference from her parents. All she yearns for is to savor the sweetness of love, something that is foreign to her. she meets Lucas Fernandez, a cold-hearted and mysterious man. He makes it clear to her from the beginning that his world isn’t filled with a bed of roses nor is it full of sunshine but one of risks and selfish desires, yet for an odd reason, it attracts her to him even more. Is it the way his indifference glows in his eyes, the lethality that oozes from his aura or the darkness she’s feeling but cannot resist? Lucas makes Lily desire feelings she never knew existed while she reveals to him another outlook on life. In a world where danger freely lurks in the shadows their bond is as intoxicating as it is dangerous. Lily’s past, filled with wounds from years of torment and trauma she tries to forget will slowly unravel coupled with the mysteries around Lucas. Will Lily survive his hell that makes him who he is when she has already battled her own demons? Will her light overshadow his darkness or will his darkness swallow her whole?

Nakilala ni Angela Bautista ang dalagang mahilig sa pocketbook na si Heart Del Rio. Bitbit nito ang mga libro nito nang lumapit ito sa kaniya at binago ang takbo ng kaniyang mundo. Simula noon ay naging anino na niya ang dalaga. Naging maayos naman ang pagkakaibigan nila, ang kaso, pumasok sa eksena ang walang modo nitong kapatid na si Brian Del Rio. Inutusan siya ni Brian na layuan niya ang kapatid nito sa hindi niya maintindihan na dahilan. Kahit labag sa kaniyang loob ay sinunod niya ang binata at doon nagsimula ang kalbaryo ng buhay niya. Naging mas makulit pa si Heart at panay padala ito sa kaniya ng kung ano-ano na naging dahilan bakit na-chismis sila sa campus. Brian Del Rio to the rescue. Nagpanggap ang binata na ito ang nanliligaw sa kaniya para lang matabunan ang issue nila ng kapatid nito. Isang pagpapanggap na hindi dapat siya sumang-ayon. Maraming binitawan ang binata na mga pangako sa kaniya, but promises are meant to be broken. Hindi natupad dahil bigla na lang itong nawala at hindi na muling nagpakita pa sa kaniya. Dapat pa ba siyang maghintay? O dapat na siyang mag-move on dahil pagpapanggap lang talaga ang lahat?

18+ Silvermoon pack held a lot of memories for Diana; all of them bad. On the night her parents were murdered in cold blood, six-year-old Diana was forced to run for her life, and escape to a minority pack; Redmoon pack. Sixteen years later, she is back, and only in search of greener pastures. But the goddess has more in store for her. She discovers her two mates, the Herd Brothers, the most powerful wolves in Silvermoon pack, and it is a sweet and erotic ride between the three of them. Until she finds out they are both the sons of the man who tore her life apart. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and Diana is determined to serve the Herd family on a golden plate.

Pushed off the cliff by her step-sister, Eve Knew no life other than pain and betrayal, and as she plunged to her death, she swore she was going to make all who hurt her pay. Years later, she's back with a new face and a new name and there's only one thing on her mind. Revenge and she was going to get it, no matter what it took. But she is not the only one with a thirst for vengeance... Raphael Batista was framed for Eve's alleged suicide and he knew exactly who framed him and was going to make them pay, his revenge was also going to extend to anyone who tried to help them out, even if the person was a woman who made his blood burn with fierce passion and reminded him a lot of Eve who was supposedly dead. There is no going back for them, or is there, especially when the truths are coming out to light and their antagonist is someone who would do anything, even kill to keep what they'd taken.