From Blood And Ash

At my wedding, a video of my fiancé cheating was exposed. I didn't make a scene; just turned around and walked away, left him to clean up the mess himself. I went back to my room and kissed my younger boyfriend. We were halfway through when we got interrupted. My fiancé stormed in, face red with shame and rage. "Is this really the time? All you can think about is kissing?" I smacked my lips, still savoring the moment. "Weren't you the one who introduced us?"

When you are growing up adults usually tell you that you can be whatever you want to be, right?! I was told I would be a starving artist if I became what I wanted to be. I let their words become me. All their words. I let them dictate the person I became. I kept the real me to myself after so many years of their hatred for that person. I let little bits of my soul break away and die to keep their torment to a minimum. I learned to not rock the boat, just keep my head down and do as I was told. I was the party crasher on their life that never left. Until I shocked them when I did. Out on my own, I wasn’t as strong as I thought I was. I settled for the first “nice guy” to come along. That quickly fizzled out after a shotgun wedding. After a year alone I met Prince Charming #2 at a backyard BBQ. I didn’t know my jerk radar was still broken. Then out of nowhere, the one I had always thought was a jerk turned out to surprisingly be my Prince Charming. Being the man, I need in my life. He became everything I needed, and everything I didn’t know I wanted. Allowing me to grow and blossom as a person which inspires him to do the same. And we live happily ever after.

Selena and Xander became mates not long ago, but Xander suddenly became cold-blooded and heartless. When the mate bond between her and Xander was broken, she reached the end of her life. Yet she got nothing but even more fierce retaliation from Xander. It turned out that he was with her only to avenge his parents in the first place. Disheartened, Selena chose to end her life. "Whatever my father owed you, I'll pay it back!" The always proud Xander knelt on the ground with red-rimmed eyes, frantically begging her to come back over and over again...

Bagi Caitlin, Efrain tak lebih dari sianida yang mampu membunuhnya--nahas sudah menghilangkan masa depan cerahnya. Efrain hanya berperan menambah luka batin, alih-alih menyebuhkan traumanya akan fragmen ketika kedua orangnya terkena kasus korupsi. Gadis itu memilih kabur ke luar negeri tanpa siapa pun tahu, lalu bekerja hingga sukses sebagai programmer. Sampai sepuluh tahun berlalu, Caitlin menerima tawaran pindah tugas di cabang baru--dalam hal ini memulangkannya ke kampung halaman. Sesampainya di tanah air, Caitlin malah menerima fakta bahwa Efrain merupakan pemimpin CloudSky, perusahaan smartphone terkenal nan sukses, sekaligus tempatnya mencari nafkah.

“So turns out Daddy Dearest didn’t just screw us over emotionally,” Luca muttered. “He was busy committing financial crimes too.” No one said anything. Not even Leo. Luca went on… “I should’ve known. The old fool always had something cooking. Even in his grave, the man’s stirring the damn pot.” He chuckled bitterly, standing up and walking to the bar. “Other fathers leave mansions, yachts, inheritance,” Luca poured a shot of whiskey, “that bastard leaves lawsuits, scandals, and a lovely side dish of FBI raids.” He downed the shot, smacking the glass on the counter. “Old fool left nothing but chaos.” Still, no one said a word. Luca leaned back against the counter and sneered. “What? Nobody gonna say anything?" After the death of billionaire tycoon Robert Van Driscoll, his final will leaves behind chaos. His three estranged sons—Leo, Jace, and Luca—must run the family company together for one year or lose everything. Leo feels betrayed after dedicating his life to the business. Jace wants nothing to do with the family. And Luca? He just wants to be free. They clash, resist, and nearly walk away. But when outside enemies begin to threaten the empire, the brothers have no choice but to unite. As they fight for control, each of them faces personal battles—old wounds, painful sacrifices, and unexpected love. Leo is haunted by a past relationship he never truly let go. Jace finds himself drawn to a woman who challenges everything he’s buried. And Luca? He falls for someone who refuses to be tamed. In the end, it’s not just about saving the company... it’s about healing, brotherhood, and risking everything for the kind of love that refuses to be bought. Written by: Terasomdi || Ogwu Kosiso

Namaku, Kanzaki Pratama. Seorang remaja SMA yang dikirim ke dunia lain oleh seorang Dewi cantik. Tugasku menyelamatkan umat manusia meski tanpa kekuatan hebat. Aku yang biasa-biasa saja diminta melakukan hal-hal yang jelas mustahil. Tak masalah. Akan aku tawarkan segalanya untuk kemenangan!

Lei Kali Angeles, isa siyang barista sa isang Milk Tea Shop. Dahil sa pandemic, nagbawas ng tao ang kanyang pinapasukan na shop. Ngunit, sa mga nagdaan na buwan, unti-unti itong bumalik, at isa siya sa mapalad na tinawagan ng kanyang employer para muling magtrabaho. Pero tila ang kasiyahan niya nang matanggap ang balitang iyon ay kaakibat ng isang negatibong balita. Naging mandatory ang pagpapa-vaccine ng mga tao. Paano na kaya siya ngayon? Kung isa pa naman sa kinakatakutan niya ay ang magpa-inject. Sa pagkakataon kaya na iyon, handa na siyang harapin ang kanyang takot? O mananatili siyang tatalikuran iyon katulad kung paano niya hindi hinarap ang mga kakulangan sa kanyang pagkatao dahil sa iyon ang kinalakihan niya sa kanyang ina? Maging daan kaya ang mandatory vaccine, para tuluyan na niyang harapin ang kanyang mga takot na matagal at palagi niyang tinatalikuran?

Marrying Lucas Darken, son of the wealthiest IT company CEO in the city, was all Taya had dreamed about since their first meeting. But the pride and joy of marrying Lucas turned into a disaster, after Taya discovered the affair Lucas had been hiding. To her surprise, the girl Lucas had been having an affair with was none other than her so called best friend. Damaged, Taya tried hard to cover her unbearable pain, but deep inside, she swore that Lucas would suffer way worse than she did. Being drained mentally and emotionally, Taya eventually decided to leave her bitter life behind, moving away to a small town, hoping for a new adventure all her own. Her journey led to her meeting the attractively secretive Declan Mercer, a man with deep deep pocket, who changed Taya's life completely. Declan helped with her transformation from a meek, soft spoken, heart-broken girl, into a tough, blunt woman. However, as Taya got closer to Declan, she learned that he was in fact the most feared mob boss in history. Further, with Lucas' reappearance and Declan claiming Taya to be his one and only, along with Ella showing up that she dragged Taya through another level of hell, could Taya survive this time?

My mother claims my husband has cheated on me and pushes me to get a divorce. I want to collect evidence before proceeding with anything—if it's true, I have to uphold my rights. Yet she causes a scene at an art exhibition I've worked on for three years, humiliating me in public and making me sound like a gold digger. "How are you any different from a prostitute when you're holding this dumb exhibition with a man's money? I didn't raise you to be a gold digger! How can you be so revolting?" She slashes the million-dollar paintings in the exhibition, claiming that she's doing this for my good. She wants me to see the error of my ways and return to the right path. Meanwhile, I clutch my bloody hand, which she slashed with her blade. I say, "You say you want me to return to the right path, but is that what it really is? You want me to divorce my legally wedded husband, who's a CEO, without a penny to my name. "Then, you want me to marry a 45-year-old cheap man who has a child and no money? He even wants me to support him!"

“Marco?" she called, her voice barely above a whisper. Marco remained silent, he only arched his brow, his expression unreadable. Slowly, everything began to sink in. "Why?" Her voice trembled as she finally broke the silence that had settled between them. "Why didn't you speak up when you knew the truth, Marco? You could have saved me." Marco scoffed. "What did you expect me to do?" "DEFEND ME? PROTECT ME!" She yelled. "That's what you do for someone you love." Marco’s jaw tightened, and he leaned against the cold, steel bars of the cell. His icy blue eyes bore into hers, but there was no warmth, no love, only a distant glimmer of irritation. "Ivy," he began, his voice low and filled with everything but love, "I can't tell if you're just naive or plain daft." "You know I couldn't back you up in front of everyone. I couldn't risk them finding out that I'm mated to an Omega." ~~~~~ Ivy thought she had hit rock when she was falsely accused, added to her mate’s betrayal and then auctioned according to tradition for all female criminals. But when a handsome and mysterious Alpha walked in at the dying moment, wanting her for himself, she must decide whether to leave with him as his personal slave or remain in the pack to go through the last phase of her punishment; which could end up being her last day on earth.