Haiku Tungkol Sa Ina

It was him. The man I had just been accused of murdering in cold blood. The man whom I've been forced to consume poison because of. Or, had I seen a ghost? Why was my supposedly dead husband standing in the midst of those people, smirking in accomplishment. As the venom of the poison spread through my body and like I was going to rip apart because of the pain, I gave in to the paralysis that rushed me and then closed my eyes shut, tears finding their way out of my closed eyes regardless. “P…please, G… God,” I mumbled with the final breath in me. ~~~ And, suddenly, my eyes were opened, and I was standing in front of him. And he was smiling widely at me, asking what I thought of the wedding dress. But, this was weird because this was from three years ago. Then, my eyes dropped on the calendar. Was I hallucinating? I… I have been reborn?!

Sweaty and calloused hands, heavy breaths, and bruises of the pasts has been what Calithea Amara Noval trying to either dodge or manage to turn down. Hindi niya pinangarap lumaban para mabuhay, pero hindi rin niya pinagsisisihan na lumalaban siya para sa buhay. The tranquil she couldn't recognize at any bumps and holes of her life she has been trying to revamp isn't like the black-and-blue-mark on her skin, but shades darker she couldn't conceal. The roars of beast outside the match ring put a pause on as she saw Theon North Ledesma inside. She didn't welcome him at all, but he happened to found his way inside her. Sa bawat pagpasok ni Theon sa sistema niya ay siya'ng paglabas ng katotohanan sa pagkatao niya. Winning the Conquest has been her thirst to get out of the Underground, para sa ranggo, para sa pribadong pagkatao habang nagbabanat ng buto. Pero ang katotohanan na ang yumao niya'ng ama ay isang dating manlalaro kapalit ng buhay at si Theon na sa kanya'y pumatay ay hindi niya matakbuhan, sinubukan pero hindi mabitawan. Caving in for a peaceful life on the south, she managed to do a living, and brought out a living. Pero sa pagtakbo, kahit anong tulin ay mayroong mas matulin. Kailangan niya'ng mabalikan ang ina, kailangan niyang makuha ang posisyon ni Theon sa Mafia para masira ito. Pero sa bawat hakbang paakyat, unti-unting nabubutas ang kan'yang nilalakaran kasabay nang pag-angat ng mga rebelasyon, kung ano siya, at sino siya. Sapat na nga ba ang posisyon ni Theon para makuha niya ang inaasam na panalo? o hindi na niya kailangang kunin ito? Pumasok siya sa isang laro, at tatapusin niya ito sa isa pang laro. Ang sipa at suntok na para nga ba kay Theon o sa iba na humahatak sa kaniya?

"If I touched you, you’d never go back to him." Arden's words rang in my head. My breath caught. Now that I was out of the palace, nothing stood between us. No gilded cages. No cameras in every corner. No Ivana breathing down my neck. Nothing to stop him from making good on those words. And the worst part? A traitorous part of me was curious. What if he was right? Arden was Richard’s brother. The wrong man. The forbidden man. And yet my body betrayed me. My heart beat harder just thinking about him. My lips tingled at the memory of his voice, his smirk, the way his eyes had lingered on me like he saw everything I tried to hide.

A year into our marriage, Timothy Grant suddenly turns abstinent. He builds a private chapel in the villa and always carries a rosary with him. No matter how I tease or tempt him, he stays cold and distant. My seduction attempts don't move him. One night, I stand outside the bathroom door and watch as he releases himself to a photo of another woman. So, Timothy isn't heartless. His heart just doesn't beat for me. I trick him into signing the divorce papers and vanish from his world completely. And yet, I later hear that he is going mad searching for me! The next time we meet is at his uncle's wedding. I wear a white wedding gown, and he looks at me with tear-filled eyes. He just can't bring himself to think of me as his aunt!

Sheer fate was what turned our bittersweet love into a happy ever after. Fate? I myself erased and rewrote our love story to give it the happy ending we deserved. I was promised to Matteo Giuseppe, the youngest son of the most powerful family in the Chicago Outfit but I was given away to Salvatore Berlusconi, the Capo dei Capi of the New York Famiglia. I was sold to him as an object marking the end of the Great War, or rather, it was me atoning for the sins of my father. A wedding solely about duty, honour and atonement. ••••••••••••••• “ If you told me about the darkness inside of you, I'd still look at you like you are the sun.” Book one of A Mafia's Love Chronicles.

"You either fuck him or you will no longer be a ballerina in my company." The director’s words made me freeze for a moment. My throat went dry, my body numb. This wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal. I trained my whole life for the stage, not to be someone’s prostitute. "When?" I asked, tears already forming in my eyes. "TONIGHT." That one word shattered everything inside me. It wasn’t a request, it was an order.

How can a love be so patient but suddenly lose its will when the right time finally comes? “G-gusto kita, Jeo!” “Higit pa nga yata don. H-hindi ba pwedeng kahit s-subukan mo? Kahit ngayon lang iparanas mo naman sakin na akin ka,” nagmamakaawa kong bulong. Walang kaalam alam ang lahat na kasal na ang poging CEO na si Jeo sa nag-iisang sekretarya nitong si Ysobelle. Isang taon— isang taon ang hinintay ni Ysobelle pero si Kaela pa rin ang minamahal nito. Dito na tuluyang napagod si Ysobelle, umalis siya ng walang paalam at ang tanging iniwan sa asawa ay kapirasong papel ng divorce paper na may pirm niya. Simula ng umalis sa poder ni Jeo ay sinimulan niya ang pagdiskubre sa magagandang tanawin sa Pilipinas. Ngunit napadpad siya sa Palawan, sa lugar na ito nagtagal si Ysobelle dahil sa ganda ng mga tanawin. Ngunit masyadong mapaglaro ang tadhana, ang pamilyang napamahal na sa kanya puso ay ang pamilya rin ng dati niyang asawa. Ito na ba marka ng tuluyan nilang paghihiwalay? O ito na ang magiging simula ng pag-usbong ng pagmamahalan nilang dalawa. Can love really bloom from a man’s broken heart and a woman’s pierced heart? Or will waves keep on pushing them apart?

"It's my mother's 60th birthday today, but you brought home your first love, and you're asking for a divorce? Couldn't you have waited just one more day?" "Nope!" "Fine. I agree to the divorce. From this day onward, we no longer have anything to do with each other!" After the divorce, a beautiful CEO, a superstar diva, and even a princess all begin making their moves. After the divorce, I stand unrivaled as an expert in both medicine and martial arts, my power and influence unmatched. After the divorce, your family falls apart, losing everything. I know your heart is breaking, and regret is eating you alive, but why are you sobbing at my feet now?

He aimed for a better life, but slumped into ruins. His life could have been filled with light, but he instead plunged into darkness. Tears and snort was how he lived his life but why was his heart beating so fast? "I think I fell in love..." Brewster cried out. But would his love ever be reciprocated? He had no idea if he was worth it.

Naging masalimuot ang kanyang buhay matapos siyang i-kasal. Matapos siyang makakuha ng kapangyarihan, parehong lumuhod sa harap niya ang kanyang biyenan at hipag. “Huwag mong iwanan ang anak ko,” pagmamakaawa ng kanyang biyenan. Sabi naman ng kanyang hipag, “Bayaw, ako’y nagkamali…”