Chunin Exam Arena

Tuwang-tuwa si Pauline matapos na malaman na nakapasa siya sa entrance exam ng isang kilalang pamantasan sa Maynila ngunit kaagad na napalitan 'yon ng lungkot nang ma-realize niya na hindi niya sigurado kung makakapag-aral nga talaga siya sa kolehiyo dahil sa hirap ng buhay nila. Tanging pagtatanim lang ng mga gulay at prutas ang hanap-buhay ng mga magulang niya na talaga naman na hindi sapat sa kanila lalo na lima silang magkakapatid. Gusto niya na makapagtapos ng pag-aaral para matulungan ang pamilya niya na makaahon sa hirap kaya hindi na niya pinakawalan pa ang pagkakataon na makapag-aral siya kahit alam niya na mahihirapan siya lalo na wala silang pera. Gagawa na lang siya ng paraan para matugunan ang pag-aaral niya. Naghanap kaagad siya ng puwedeng mapagtrabauhan para may pang-tuition siya ngunit hindi 'yon ang kanyang nahanap kundi nakilala niya ang isang guwapo at hot na football coach na si Matthew. Sinabi ni Pauline ang nais niya dito kaya inalok kaagad siya ni Matthew kung gusto niya na maging sugar daddy niya ito. He will give everything to her. Wala na siyang kailangan na problemahin pa. Hindi na niya kailangan na maghanap ng trabaho para may pang-tuition siya sa pag-aaral hanggang sa makatapos siya. All she needs to do is to say yes to him. Papayag kaya si Pauline na maging sugar daddy si Matthew? Is she going to refuse him to be his hot sugar daddy until she fulfill her dream—finishing her studies?

I, Gianna Johnston, am born into a family of prodigies. My dad, Henry Johnston, is a computer science professor from Hafford University. My mom, Naomi Liddell, is a medical professor at Starvard University. And my brother, George Johnston, is an international math olympiad champion. Meanwhile, I'm barely passing my math classes at school. George gets so mad at me that he immediately writes down three full sets of math exam questions and exclaims, "You're so dumb that you're nothing but an embarrassment to Mom and Dad and me! "Don't you even think about leaving the house and embarrassing us again without completing all these math questions!" Mom then forces a few pills straight down my throat. Those pills are one of her inventions, called "smart pills". However, she doesn't care that I'm choking so hard on them that my eyes roll to the back of my head. "Stop using excuses, saying that you're tired or sleepy. These pills will keep you up for 24 hours without sleep. That should be enough time for you to complete all those math problems!" Dad then turns on "Strict Mode" on the smart house system, Domi. He says to me, "And don't even think about escaping the house to look for help. I will lock the door and cut off every signal going in or coming out. If you don't finish your work in time, nobody will even care if you die here!" After that, the three of them leave me behind and head off for their vacation in Hervaii. While shutting the door behind them, however, the vase of flowers full of water suddenly crashed into Domi's control panel. I'm choking so hard on the pills that I feel asphyxiated. I keep banging my fists against the front door for help. However, Domi, who has now short-circuited, keeps repeating, "Please complete your math questions, Gianna. Study hard and be a good student. "Study hard and be a good student. "Study hard and be a good student." I grip the sheets of math problems in my hands in agony. Will Mom, Dad, and George finally be happy when they see that I'm giving up my life for this?

After my stepsister, Jennifer Nichols, died in a tragic accident, Julian Asher hated me for ten whole years. He was the youngest star attorney in Vaxton Bay. He was always calm and composed, yet he never once hid his disgust toward me. I gave up everything for him: my education, my family, my friends, even the inheritance I was meant to receive. I stayed by his side through the grueling bar exam and the brutal early days of his career. But all he ever said was, "Miley, if you really want to please me, go ahead and die." The only woman he ever loved in this lifetime was my stepsister. And I realized that far too late. It wasn't until a fire broke out unexpectedly in the courthouse archives and I was trapped upstairs that something changed. Julian ran in to save me. The blaze devoured everything in its path. In the end, he shoved me out of the rubble. The collapsing steel beams crashed down on him. Blood spilled everywhere. Outside the operating room, I fell to my knees, begging the heavens to let him live. Before he died, he left me one final message with the doctor. "Miley, I hope we never meet again in the next life." At his funeral, his mother slapped me hard across the face—again and again. "You're a cursed wretch. Killing Jennifer wasn't enough for you; now you've killed my son too. I never should've agreed to let Julian marry you." His father dragged me to my knees by my hair, forcing me to kneel. "This is all my fault. I was too soft-hearted. Julian saved you three times, and all you ever brought him was misery!" Everyone believed I was the reason Julian died. And deep down, I believed it too. In the end, I slit my wrists and took my own life—only to awaken back in university, at the very moment we was supposed to get engaged. This time, I made a choice. I would not chase after him again. I would step aside and let him be with the one he loved most—my stepsister, Jennifer.

Lumaking puno ng pagmamahal si Jayda ng kanyang mga magulang.Mahirap man sila ay naibibigay naman sa kanya ang kanyang mga pangangailangan at naigapang siya sa pag-aaral.Nakapagtapos siya ng kursong edukasyon at sa awa ng Maykapal ay naipasa niya ang board exam ng maluwalhati.Sa paghihintay niyang makapasok ng trabaho sa gobyerno bilang isang pampublikong guro ay napagpasyahan niyang magpartime bilang isang tutor ng isang 6 year-old na batang lalake na nirekomenda sa kanya ng kanyang propesora sa universidad kung saan siya nakapagtapos. Ang inaakala niyang simpleng bata lang ang kanyang tuturuan magbasa ay isa pa lang napakakumplikadong trabaho dahil sa tiyuhin nitong ubod ng strikto,dominante at walang puso kung umasta.Mukhang hindi lang ang bata ang kanyang magiging tutee pati na rin ang tiyuhin nito, paano niya kaya mapapalambot si Jethro Montenegro, na isang kilalang tycoon monster na walang puwang ang pag-ibig sa puso nito kung hindi poot at galit? Mahuhulog kaya sa kanya si Jethro na sa unang pagkikita pa lang nila ay nagpakita na ito ng disgusto sa kanya? Jethro Montenegro Isang kilalang eligible bachelor na business tycoon.Sa edad na 30 ay nanatili itong binata at walang planong mag-asawa dahil na rin sa responsibilidad na naiwan sa kanya ng kanyang yumaong bunsong kapatid, ang anak nitong si Timothy. Siya ang nagsisilbing legal guardian ng bata dahil ulila na rin siya sa magulang.Binuhos niya ang kanyang oras sa pagpapalago ng naiwang negosyo ng mga magulang na minsan hindi niya nabibigyan ng oras ang pamangkin.Naghire siya ng tutor ng bata upang matuto itong magbasa ngunit hindi niya inakala na pati siya matuturuan matibag ang pusong matigas pa sa bato.Mapapaglabanan niya kaya ang namumuong pagtangi niya kay Loren o magpapatangay na lang kaya siya sa kakaibang alindog ni Jayda sa kanya?

For five years, I fought illegal matches in an underground cage ring to scrape together enough money to repay the massive high-interest loan I had taken out to treat my son Luca’s illness. Dragging my still-dislocated left arm, I rushed to tell the father and son the good news. Yet when I reached the door, I saw the capo who managed the cage arena bowing low before my husband, Vicenzo. “Underboss, Eva said she’ll repay the loan in a few days. Do we still keep pretending to pressure her?” Vicenzo idly spun the Browning in his hand, the diamonds set into it worth enough to buy the entire cage arena. “No need. She’s suffered enough these past few years. Even when she had two ribs broken a few months ago, she didn’t dare tell us.” Elena, his sworn sister, seated beside him, let out a soft laugh. “Vicenzo, what if she’s a spy sent by a rival family? After all, you are the underboss of the Carlini family. “Besides, Luca has been pampered since he was little. How could he live with someone who reeks of blood?” My six-year-old son wrapped his arms tightly around her neck and echoed her words. “I don’t want a woman covered in scars as my mommy. Just looking at her wounds makes me feel sick.” Then he turned to her and pouted. “Aunt Elena, I wish you were my mommy.” Vicenzo hesitated only a moment before looking at them indulgently. “Then we’ll test her for another six months. If she remains this obedient, I’ll officially let her become part of the Carlini family.” I watched the farce with cold eyes, because to avoid frightening Vicenzo, the ordinary librarian I believed him to be, I had hidden my identity as the principessa of the Moretti family. Also, to keep from being found by my family and my fiancé, the Don of the Carlini family, I had not touched a single cent of family money. Instead, I chose to earn it with my fists in places piled with the dead. So it seemed my endurance and sacrifice were nothing more than a taming game in their eyes.