Cradle Robber

"Shadows of the Past" is a story about *Natasha Fernandez* (26),the daughter of a billionaire who never enjoyed her childhood due to the loss of her mother and her father's busy schedule. She struggles with health issues and finding true love until she meets *Jamal smith* (29) who rescues her from a robber and becomes her friend, and eventually her husband. Years later, Natasha hires her childhood friend *Imade Martins*(25) a home tutor for her adopted daughter *Tessa* (3). However, Natasha is heartbroken when she discovers Jamal's affair with Imade, and she uses her power to frustrate Imade's business life. Unbeknownst to them all, Jamal is the biological father of Imade's daughter, whom she lost in the hands of a matron to an orphanage some years back. Imade leaves for another city where she falls in love with her boss, Mr. *George Henry,*(34) an influential business tycoon and a single father. Twenty years later, *Roy Henry,* George's son, falls in love with Tessa, Natasha's daughter. However, their love is jeopardized after a family introduction takes place, and complicated truths unravel, putting Tessa's life at stake. The story explores the drama and chaos that ensue as the characters confront their past and navigate their present relationships.

In the coastal quiet of Baler, a studio is born—not of architecture, but of intention.* Founded by Yam, a poet whose words cradle pain gently, and Franc, an artist who paints tenderness into walls, the studio becomes a refuge for those learning to stay—with grief, love, longing, and themselves. As visitors arrive, they leave behind more than footprints: a sigh recorded in bamboo, a poem tucked into the “Found Letters” shelf, a mural painted in crooked lines. Through zines, tea, silence, and sketchbooks, the studio teaches softness as revolution. Ren creates the *Window of Soft Returns*, an installation of anonymous voice recordings—each whisper forming a community of echoes. Drew builds the *Staircase With No Wrong Turns*, inviting people to walk through emotions without shame. Franc offers brushstrokes as brave work, and Yam curates writing circles that map healing in half sentences. Together, they host festivals that feel like hugs, and they begin traveling their archive, letting softness cross oceans. Even those who once left—like Miguel—return, discovering that some doors never truly close. Others, like Tala, capture the studio’s sound and turn it into a podcast of breath and becoming. Over seventy chapters, the studio transforms into something larger than itself: a mural of memory, a sanctuary for second chances, a place where return is sacred and voice is proof of survival. In the final bloom, the studio stands not as a monument—but as a reminder: > *“Staying isn’t easy. > But chosen together, > it becomes home.”*

Lilienne Winslow "I'm a mess of warm chaos but I won't let you see it in my eyes, I smile every time but I won't let you see the sadness behind them ,it's pathetic" Rowan Sinclair "Your chaos doesn't frighten me; it draws me in. you wear a smile that dances like sunlight through shadows, but know this, my love: I see beyond the facade. Behind those shimmering eyes lies a world of storms, and it's not pathetic, it's beautifully human. Let me be your anchor in this tempest; let me cradle your sadness and transform it into something radiant. Even when you feel lost, I'll be right here, holding you tight." Neither of them ever wished for the union of marriage, not the weight of a promise, that felt more like chains. two souls adrift, untamed, untouched by love's hand.Yet fate, with silent steps, wove them into one, In a bond neither sought, but neither could withstand. He, a man of steel, a man of few words and of unshaken resolve, She, a spirit of grace, a woman of quiet strength,carrying wounds, no one cared to see. In the quiet vows exchanged, hearts kept their guard,But in the silence between them, emotions sparked, unbarred. In his silence, she found a space to breathe. In her fragility, he found something worth protecting.