Failure Tattoos

Arielle Sarmiento was supposed to marry her long-time boyfriend, Lucas De Leon, but he didn’t show up on their wedding day. And the most painful part? She caught him in bed with her best friend, Bianca Yllana. Walang ibang nagawa si Arielle kundi magpakalasing sa bar. Doon niya nakilala ang isang lalaking estranghero. Silas Ferrell. Siya mismo ang nagyaya ng one-night stand dahil gusto niyang makaganti at gusto niyang makalimot. Silas didn’t hold back. They shared a night of heat, desire, and reckless abandon. That night, she gave him everything... pati ang pagkabirhen niya. Kinabukasan ay umalis siya sa condo ni Silas nang walang paalam. Pero pagpasok niya sa bago niyang trabaho, isang gulat ang bumungad sa kanya. Ang lalaking naka-one-night stand niya ay ang boss niya—si Silas Ferrell. Sa parehong araw, dumaing ang mundo niya. Ang ama niya ay na-diagnose ng congestive heart failure, at kailangan ng emergency surgery. Malaking halaga ang kailangang ilaan. Agad. Doon siya inalok ni Silas ng sampung milyong piso, kapalit ng kasal. Tinanggap niya ang alok dahil kailangan niya ng pera. Pumirma siya sa kontrata nang hindi binabasa. Ikinasal sila sa huwes. Pero nang mabasa niya ang kontrata sa bandang huli, natigilan siya. Walong buwang pagsasama bilang mag-asawa. May walong buwan din siyang obligasyon sa kama. Pero paano kung may mabuo sa pagitan nila? Paano kung mabuntis siya? Tatanggapin ba ni Silas ang bata, kung simula’t simula pa lang ay katawan lang niya ang habol nito, at malinaw sa kontrata na hindi siya puwedeng mabuntis?

My mom is a retired supermodel. She's added a monitor to the weight scales at home so that she can monitor my and my sister, Abigail Teller's perfect body weight. If my data goes up by 0.1%, Mom will ban me from eating for the next three days. But the thing is, Abigail keeps eating fried chicken every day, yet her monitor's light is always green. Mom claims that Abigail's still going through puberty. I defend myself, saying that I've gained weight because of the bloating caused by my period. As Mom points at the red light emitted by my monitor, she exclaims, "The data is never wrong! If you've gained weight, that means you've been snacking far too much!" After getting punished many times, I begin believing that being fat is a sin. On the night of my 20th birthday, the long-term diet I've been placed on has triggered my kidney failure, which causes me to bloat up everywhere. I kneel on the floor and plead to Mom that I'm seriously ill. But that's when the monitor lets out a shrill alarm. When Mom sees the 5% increase in my body fat data, she puts me through a devillish punishment. I can feel the electric currents jolting through my body. "It's bad enough that you've secretly snacked on cake, but to even lie in my face about your illness? I'd like to see how long you can stay stubborn for!" Having said her piece, Mom locks the door and takes Abigail out to celebrate her birthday. I guess Mom is correct. Monitors never lie. I'm the one who's at the wrong for being a glutton. That's why I've transformed into a monster who doesn't deserve any love at all. I'm sorry, Mom. I'll only drink water in my next life.

When my best friend and I realized we had been reborn and traveled back several decades, we locked eyes, collapsed into each other's arms, and sobbed, shouting that we wanted to break off our engagements. The entire neighborhood whispered that we had lost our minds. But only we knew the truth. In our past lives, this was the day everything was sealed: she married a battalion commander, Ned Stark, and I became the wife of a high school teacher, Robbie Stark. My husband betrayed me. For the sake of that pretentious whore, Scarlett Wheaton, he stole my university admission letter and let her take my place on campus. The world mocked me as a failure, and Robbie stood by in silence. After we married, every time he touched me, he would immediately write another love letter to Scarlett—atoning for his supposed guilt. "Scarlett, even if I can't be with you in this life, my soul will always belong to you alone." Even my own child despised me, calling me an ignorant village woman, urging me again and again to divorce so that his father could be with his "true love," Scarlett. And my best friend, Rachel Croft—born the daughter of a factory director—was tricked by her husband, Ned, under the pretense of buying a house. He drained her savings and her wages for twenty long years. It wasn't until she fell gravely ill and went to sell the house that she discovered the deed he had given her was a forgery. The real house—the one paid in full—was in Scarlett's name. One of Scarlett's dresses cost more than my friend's entire monthly salary. When Rachel begged to reclaim what rightfully belonged to her, she was met only with contempt from Ned and her child. "All you ever care about is money. You're nothing like Scarlett, who isn't materialistic at all. Your illness is retribution," Ned had said. "Exactly. Only someone as noble and kind as Scarlett deserves to be my mother!" her child had said. Rachel and I both spent our lives working ourselves to the bone, only to end with nothing—dying bitter and broken from the injustice. But this time, fate has given us another chance. I will go to university. Rachel will become a wealthy woman. This time, without us paving the way, those shameless men and that wretched woman think they can still live happily ever after? Dream on.