Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards For Short Story

Harper William was a mysterious figure, adept at concealing his true intentions and emotions behind a veil of secrecy. In the depths of his mind, he harbored a trove of untold stories. A river of suppressed tears spilled into his heart with every smile he wore. Aching shadows whispered tales of his buried pains behind his laughter. While his soul yearned to be seen and understood, he perfected the technique of concealing his sorrow. His family has always regarded him as a tool that can assist them in their business. He was detached from all of the sorrow and emotion. He took illicit substances to obtain some peace of mind, and no one in his family knew about it except his mother. But since the day he met Daisy Parker, everything has changed. He considered her bothersome and tried everything to get her out of his life, but he never realized that Daisy was slowly establishing a place of her inside his heart. Daisy has always regarded Harper as a Demon who has never failed to punish her in various ways. If anyone asks her whom she despises the most, she will say Harper William without hesitation.

Ruby Barlow reconnects with her high school crush on a dating site. After their first date went downhill, she decided never to contact him again. Things go crazy for her when she finds out he is the CEO of the company she always dreamed to work in.

After getting pregnant and being banished from society as a disgrace, Laura Phillips disappears for seven years, transforming herself into the best analyst in the country. Now, she is back, a force to be reckoned with in the business world, her name on every tongue in society. On her quest to find out what happened on the one night in her life she has no recollection of, Laura knew she had to tell her twins their father was not in heaven so they could stop asking for a new daddy. However, her twins surprised her with a present on her birthday. “Surprise! Mummy, we’ve got him!” her twins said with excitement, and standing between them was Jason North, heir to the most powerful corporation in New York, with the look of shock on his face.

She was deceived by people who were wolves in sheep's clothing and ended up dead on the operating table with both her eyes and uterus removed. However, God was kind enough to give her a second chance of life. She was gifted with ethereal beauty and a gaze that could kill. Every gesture and expression she made was as poisonous as opium poppy. Step by step, she laid out her scheme, swore to send people who murdered her down to hell and suffer in eternal doom. At the same time, she took great lengths to insinuate herself in the life of her ex-fiancé after breaking off the engagement in her past life for the douchebag. One day, she approached him with a seductive smile and said, "Mr. Gu, you might view me as wild and promiscuous, but in reality, I am a well-mannered lady. I am also loyal and faithful to my loved one. You will have to see past this facade in order to know the real me."

My dormmate falls in the dorm and sends the rest of us the hospital bill. She wants us to compensate her. "I only fell because you guys left a puddle of water at the door. It's only right that you compensate me, don't you think? It's not much—you each just have to give me a thousand dollars to cover the checkup, medication, transport, the classes I missed, and the mental distress I suffered." I exchange looks with my two other dormmates. All three of us politely decline. That's when she goes berserk. She screeches threateningly, "Do you know who my father is? I'll make sure you guys can't graduate if you don't compensate me!"

Sarah Parker has been a devoted wife to Steve for more than three years, not until the night of their anniversary when she caught him in bed with her best friend. Angrily, she left the apartment and went to get solace in a club where she met the estranged billionaire Justin Louis, whom she spent an impetuous night with. Coincidentally, during her next job interview, she is faced with him as her interviewer and boss. Now, Sarah has to choose between accepting the terms that came with the job and losing it!.

I want you to cry The way you made me cry Cry for me Emily Hensley is in a one-sided relationship with her husband Charles. She held back and repressed her emotions for years until one day she discovered he was cheating on her and something in her ticked She found milli hidden in the deepest, darkest parts of her soul. Milli encourages her to make him pay, to make him cry just like she cried. Punish him, just like he punished her. Broken heart Tears And blood Just how far do you think Emily will go?

"Get this woman out of here; I don't want to see her face ever again!" With those words, the warmth I once saw in my husband's eyes has gone. ***** Faking her death, Clara decided to escape her city while pregnant. She chooses to leave everything about her billionaire husband, James Morgan, behind after realizing that the man she thought would eventually love her was only growing to hate her even more. But, what if fate reunites them again? Clara with her new successful life and James with his ex-lover who is now his wife. Strangely, seeing Clara with another man sparked jealousy he never knew he had, and James wanted her back. But will Clara be willing to return to his arms after all the pain he gave? And after being faced with the option to choose James' brother instead?

"Last Time I Dug My Own Grave, This Time I Dug One for You Too" Aurelia Vance was born with everything—beauty, grace, and the promise of a legacy. As the beloved only daughter of the prestigious Vance family, she was raised to inherit the estate and carry on the family name. Her life seemed perfect, until the day her father brought home an adopted daughter—Silea. At first, Aurelia welcomed Silea with kindness, never imagining that behind the sweet smiles hid envy and ambition. Slowly, Silea began taking everything Aurelia held dear—attention, affection, and finally, Owen Ashford, the man Aurelia was destined to marry. What began as a fairytale quickly twisted into a nightmare. Betrayed by her husband, pregnant and heartbroken, Aurelia watched helplessly as Silea deceived their father, stole the Vance estate, and then—pushed her off a cliff. But death wasn’t the end. Aurelia awakens on the morning of her 21st birthday—the day her world began to crumble. Armed with the knowledge of betrayal and the fire of vengeance, she vows to rewrite her fate. This time, Aurelia won't be the naive heiress led to ruin. This time, she’ll outwit Silea, expose Owen’s treachery, reclaim her legacy, and choose her own destiny—with Theo Knowles, the childhood friend who truly loved her all along. Power. Revenge. Redemption. This time, the grave isn’t for her. It’s for them.

I was the son of the wealthiest man in Capital City, but I had never enjoyed the flattery and fake smiles that came with that title. All I had ever wanted was a normal life. Now that I was pushing twenty-eight and still single, my mom finally lost her patience. She gave me an ultimatum: go on a blind date or she’d disown me. On my way to the date, I passed by a luxury boutique and spotted a watch that immediately caught my eye. I was just about to pay for it when, out of nowhere, a man barged in from behind and slapped a black card down on the counter. “I’ll take this watch. Wrap it up for me,” he said. I stayed calm and said politely, “Sir, I saw this watch first.” However, he just scoffed and snapped back, full of arrogance, “A broke nobody like you can look but not afford it. Get lost. I’m the assistant to Ms. Jackson, the CEO of Jackson Group. In this city, if I want something, no one will fight me for it.” Ms. Jackson? Isn’t that the exact woman I was supposed to be meeting for the blind date? Without another word, I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. “Selena,” I said calmly, “do you know your assistant is out here throwing your name around to bully people?”