Hard Work Beats Talent When Talent Doesn't Work Hard

Having dated for five years and been married for seven, she had never missed his birthday in the past 12 years. The 12 gifts from previous years were carefully placed in the storage closet. However, this year's birthday gift...

A curse is cast upon everyone in this village, reducing us to mutes. But once a villager's lover takes three laps around the back mountain and marries said villager successfully, the curse on that villager will be broken. My childhood friend, who's the same age as me, has already gotten married and embraced his life as a regular person. Even my cousin, who's just turned 18 years old, has her curse broken as well. I, on the other hand, am about to turn 30 years old soon, and yet I'm still a mute. Whenever I'm about to get married, all of my ex-fiances, who kept telling me that they'd love me with all their hearts, would do anything just to terminate our engagements right after they came out of the back mountain. In order to proclaim his deep love for me, my tenth fiance, Isaac Jameson, tells me confidently that he'd definitely marry me once he's done with his laps around the mountain. But as soon as his words fall, his expression changes the moment he sets foot into the mountain. To my horror, Isaac picks up an axe from the ground and begins hacking at me with it. "Why are you still alive in this world? Why can't you just die already?" I can only lie on the ground while suffering from intense pain. I have no idea what's in the back mountain and why the same outcome will happen every time. Why is it that the entire village can break their curse so easily, and yet I can never get married despite having gone through it ten times in a row?

At a class reunion, I ended up getting together with my high school crush. However, one evening, as I was scrolling through a social media platform, I was suddenly bombarded with mentions tagging me in a shocking post. The content left me seeing stars. "My girlfriend has a car, a house, a great degree, and she's stunning. Yet, somehow, she's into me! Haha!" "To be honest, she's too exceptional, and it's kind of killing my sense of masculinity. Once I manage to get my hands on her assets, I'll have her give me two kids and then live life on my own terms. She won’t be able to control me then." "You guys can stay jealous. Not like you know her anyway, so what can you even do to me?"

Angel Anzores was used by her aunt and uncle to pay off their debt after they hid her younger brother, Angelo, and threatened to sell him if she refused to comply. Left with no choice, the young woman had to obey the people who took them in after their parents died in a car accident. Salvatore Ravalli, known as "Tore" in the underground world, is a ruthless 35-year-old mafia leader to whom Angel's aunt and uncle owed money. He finds himself drawn to Angel. Will Angel be able to accept the man who initially threatened her using her own brother's life? What will Salvatore do when Angel discovers that he was involved in the accident that claimed her parents' lives, leading her and her brother into the life given to them by their so-called guardians? Can Salvatore save the woman he loves from the clutches of his equally ruthless enemies?

She was about to share her wonderful news, but he beat her to it with a revelation of his own: “I think we should get a divorce.” In an instant, her entire world crumbled. “Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll divorce you.” --- Because she had used her family’s influence to force Parawee into a marriage he never wanted, he had spent three years merely enduring her. But now, Nicha—the woman he had always loved with all his heart—was back. “Let’s get a divorce.” He finally made his move to end it, expecting a clean break and a fresh start. --- Kajarin had been in love with Wee for as long as she could remember. She had begged her family to do whatever it took to make him hers, even though she knew his heart was already occupied. “I have some good news for you.” She had been ready to tell him, but his sudden demand for a divorce changed everything. Now, she had no choice but to bury her secret as deep as it would go. “Let’s head to the district office. I’ll give you the divorce you’ve been waiting for.” She was done. Truly, utterly done with it all. --- While driving his favorite yellow ride, Thamnithi was suddenly flagged down by a woman in a cream mini-dress. She looked like she was running from something, and moved by a sense of kindness, he decided to pick her up. But that one good deed was about to become a moment he would never forget for the rest of his life. “Damn it, Tham! What have you gotten yourself into?!”

For three years of marriage, she—Camelia Collyn—was merely a wife on paper. Calvin Ashford—her husband—had never touched her, nor had he ever loved her. When the truth was revealed—that she was only a substitute, and that her husband had been saving himself for his first love—she knew the end of this marriage had already been decided. Calvin Ashford intended to divorce her. Of course, it was all for the sake of returning to Samantha Rose (Tata)—his first love who had come back. However, one mistake on the final night changed everything. Camelia left, leaving behind the divorce papers, and strangely, instead of feeling happy about Camelia’s departure, it was quite the opposite. Why was that so?

Five years ago, Nina Hale lost everything… her family, her reputation, and the man she once loved. Betrayed by her own sister and abandoned by those she trusted most, she disappeared without a trace. Now she’s back. With a new identity and a burning determination, Nina is ready to reclaim her life and chase the dream she once gave up: becoming a star actress. But her return awakens old enemies, and her scheming sister Lydia is determined to ruin her again. Just when Nina thinks things can’t get worse, she’s caught in another trap… and unexpectedly crosses paths with a quiet, lonely little boy. Ethan Grant hasn’t spoken in years. Feeling responsible for him, Nina agrees to stay and help the child come out of his shell. But she didn’t expect Ethan’s dangerously charming father, Lucas Grant, to enter the picture. Cold, powerful, and impossible to read, Lucas slowly finds himself drawn to the woman who brightens his son’s world. What begins as a simple act of kindness soon turns into something far more complicated, because Nina came back for revenge. She never planned to fall in love. ********** “I saw you with him,” Lucas said quietly, but the tension in his jaw gave him away. Nina exhaled, crossing her arms. “You don’t get to care.” “Don’t I?” He stepped in, close enough that she had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes. “This is just a contract.” “Then why does it bother me?” His hand hovered near her waist, not touching—yet. “It shouldn’t.” Her breath faltered. His gaze darkened, “And yet it does.”

My fated mate, Alpha Rylan, turned cold the moment our bond snapped into place. They all say I'm just a lowly omega. That I'm not good enough for him. I started to believe them. To think my wolf was broken. Maybe this wasn't a mate bond at all, just a pathetic crush. Then, on the day I finally decided to give up, a second wolf awakened in my mind: Echo. She screamed at me that Rylan craved me. That he loved me. And just like that, my hope was rekindled. He hurt me ninety-eight times in seven years. Seventy-seven of those were for his adopted sister, Morrigan. Each time, Echo insisted he just didn't know how to show his love. And favoring Morrigan? That was just to make me jealous. To see that I cared. But the ninety-ninth time was the last straw. He left me for dead in enemy territory. When I woke up, the gift he'd prepared for me was in Morrigan’s hands. I was done. Finally. I called the Elders with a single request: "I want to sever my bond with Alpha Rylan. I'm leaving. For good."

My African American Mom married a rich Japanese man. As I moved the skeleton of my new bed next to the window, I felt a gaze focused on me. Outside my window, was the house next door. The house shape was similar to ours, so it also had a window facing mine at the same level. Standing there on the other side was a skinny Japanese boy. As soon as I laid eyes on him, he stiffened, then shyly smiled and waved. His hair was all over the place, seeing him in his tanktop I thought to myself that he must've just rolled out of bed. But wasn't it the afternoon already? The boy says something but of course I can't hear him with my window closed so I slide it open. "Eto....hi." He tried in English. If someone were to tell me later I'd come to care about him deeply, I'd find that hard to believe. For as long as I could remember I've always felt empty. And that emptiness, I hid on instinct.

Masaya at makulay ang buhay ng isang artista. Tulad ni Aaron, na halos nasa kanya na ang lahat: kasikatan, kaibigan at minamahal na kasintahan. Ano pa bang kulang? Siyempre, para sa kanya ay wala na. Pero paano kung isang araw ay may magbago. Paano kung isa sa mga ito ang mawala sa buhay niya? At pumalit ang isang responsibilidad na hindi niya minsan na isip sa tanang buhay niya.