Cutting For Stone

After being humiliated by her boyfriend at homecoming, Jenna Phillips wanders into the nearby park. To her astonishment, an old manor stands among the trees. Curious, she enters to find a ballroom filled with dancing couples decked out in gorgeous masquerade masks. Injured by the press of the throng, Jenna finds herself tended by the mysterious host, a handsome young man known only as "Lord Masquerade." Invited to stay, Jenna remains, little knowing the hidden secret lurking behind those seductive eyes - or the dangerous beckoning of her heart as she begins to fall for Lord Masquerade.

Ivy Chase had the perfect life - wealth, status, and a great boyfriend. But when she discovers that her best friend and boyfriend betrayed her, she goes to her boyfriend’s enemy, Parker Wellington, for help. As Ivy plots her revenge, she finds herself drawn to Parker. Is she falling for the enemy, or is he just a pawn in her game of revenge?

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?”

After the birth of our daughter, my husband left for a dangerous mission. My in-laws' initial joy soured, and they regarded my baby with disdain. Maria, my mother-in-law, was particularly scornful. In a rare show of familial love, my father-in-law Lincoln took my daughter out for a playdate. I thought he had finally grown fond of her, only for him to strike me the moment he returned. "How dare you betray my son! I'll kill you!" "Yes! Beat that loose woman to death together with that brat!" Shifting my gaze from the report on the floor to my furious father-in-law, I pulled out several photos—my naked mother-in-law Maria, caught with another man. "Let's see who the real loose woman is!"

"Rule 1! I don't want to see your filthy hands on my kids, make sure you are clean before touching them." "Rule Two! I don't want you close to me. People like you are nothing but gold diggers." Those were the rules Lucas Maxwell, the renowned billionaire gave to Scarlett Barnes before she was finally accepted into the big mansion as a nanny. She had long dreamed of a high-paying job to foot her bills, and she finally got one. Without considering the terror she would face from Lucas, being the father of the kids she bonded with. Scarlett thought it was the beginning of a new life, without realizing it was another phase of woes for her. Fortunately, an opportunity came and she got into a contract marriage with Lucas, she gradually falls in love with him, but then secrets are revealed. Would she be able to stick with Lucas even after discovering his secrets? What happens when she herself discovers her true identity?

On the fateful day my asthma struck, Lucas was with his first love, Ariana, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing on the horizon.  He clutched my life-saving medicine, a lifeline that would soon slip through his fingers.  As I lay trapped in the shadows, I witnessed his desperation, his frantic calls echoing in the void when he discovered the shocking news of my pregnancy.  In that moment, everything changed. From that day forward, he became the guardian at my grave, a silent testament to a love that transcended even death.

My husband threw me into the crocodile pit to help his childhood sweetheart, who was a KOL, gain popularity. To make the live stream more realistic, he personally tossed bait at me. “Have you not eaten? My grandma can run faster than you!” He watched as I bled from my abdomen, believing I was just pretending to be pitiful. When I asked for a divorce, he kicked me to the ground. “Since you love pretending to be pitiful to ask for a divorce, why didn’t you just let the crocodile kill you?” I handed him a medical report. “My child died because of you. Does this count as pretending to be pitiful?”

He didn't love her but she became his Mrs. Jack. She couldn't interfere with his personal behavior and couldn't tell others that she was his wife. When his ex-girlfriend returned as promised, she handed him the divorce agreement, saying, "She's back, and I'm returning your freedom." But he just laughed and said, "Mrs. Jack, you even have our child. Where else do you want to go?"

For the past nineteen years Maya has been living with the feeling that her mom would one day return home to her since his father lied to him that she ran away the night she was born. In a quest to find answers to why her mother abandoned them, Maya found out that her mother never left instead she was killed. What would happen once she finds out that her own father is the main culprit?

Syrhane Ong is a Medical Technology student in her third year. She is clever, outgoing, and driven by a strong desire to succeed. Her family is Chinese, and they are highly traditional when it comes to marriage. Syrhane has never dated anyone because she knows her parents will pick a guy for her in the end. She was frightened of falling in love, of getting hurt, and of hurting the person she cared about. Syrhane Ong's buddy and classmate, Soren Gonzales. They've known each other since their first year of college because they're in the same class. As a result of the pressure and problems they're carrying, they've had to deal with a lot of obstacles. Unlike the other students, Soren's family is not wealthy. He is a scholar and a hardworking student who is striving to maintain a good grade while still supporting his family. That one night, though, changed everything. They began to have strange feelings for each other. The friendship between a male and female who developed feelings for each other. Owen Cujuangco, on the other hand, appeared out of nowhere in Syrhane's life. This individual will cause the two of them to break up. Because Syrhane's father wants Syrhane to marry Owen, she has no choice but to obey his father because that is the only way she can make him proud of her. Soren made a wish for the two of them, hoping that the stars would align in their favor. He wants to love Syrhane, but he knew it would be impossible due to their disparities in their current circumstances. They've been waiting for each other to cross their paths again as time passes, and time will bring them back together.