It's Not Like That

In the coastal quiet of Baler, a studio is born—not of architecture, but of intention.* Founded by Yam, a poet whose words cradle pain gently, and Franc, an artist who paints tenderness into walls, the studio becomes a refuge for those learning to stay—with grief, love, longing, and themselves. As visitors arrive, they leave behind more than footprints: a sigh recorded in bamboo, a poem tucked into the “Found Letters” shelf, a mural painted in crooked lines. Through zines, tea, silence, and sketchbooks, the studio teaches softness as revolution. Ren creates the *Window of Soft Returns*, an installation of anonymous voice recordings—each whisper forming a community of echoes. Drew builds the *Staircase With No Wrong Turns*, inviting people to walk through emotions without shame. Franc offers brushstrokes as brave work, and Yam curates writing circles that map healing in half sentences. Together, they host festivals that feel like hugs, and they begin traveling their archive, letting softness cross oceans. Even those who once left—like Miguel—return, discovering that some doors never truly close. Others, like Tala, capture the studio’s sound and turn it into a podcast of breath and becoming. Over seventy chapters, the studio transforms into something larger than itself: a mural of memory, a sanctuary for second chances, a place where return is sacred and voice is proof of survival. In the final bloom, the studio stands not as a monument—but as a reminder: > *“Staying isn’t easy. > But chosen together, > it becomes home.”*

My best friend takes me to a beauty salon for a facial. A young and handsome employee there latches onto me. He's tall, good-looking, and is great with women. He knows just the right things to say and is flirtatious without being lecherous. He shows me the pleasures of being a woman… I forget all about my boyfriend and allow him to make me descend into the throes of passion. What I don't know is that there's a price I can't pay behind the gentleness…

Seraphine Hale, a genius musician, announces her return to the country. When a reporter asks whether she's back for her first love, she smiles icily. "Are you talking about that trash? It wouldn't be any of my business even if he were to drop dead tomorrow." What she doesn't know is that I've already been dead for close to a decade.

Keira is beautiful, smart, and the next Luna of her pack. Her mate Dawson is the next Alpha, and they are the perfect couple. But behind close door their relationship isn’t all it seems. In a physical fight, Keira has to pick between her pack and her life. Leaving her pack behind, she sets out to make a new life. But her old one doesn’t stay hidden for long.

Riccardo Salvatore Armani is a man with a great body and brilliant mind who can be compared to a Greek god but with the heart of Lucifer. Yes, with both devilish and lovable hearts. Everyone conquered his devilish heart and none conquered his lovable heart, or yet… With no parents, no helpers, no bodyguards, no friends, no past, and no girls around, he is living a robotic life with the only character of yelling at people and killing ruthlessly everyone who comes in his way. Ishita Kapoor is a girl with a goddess physique, an Angel heart, and a brilliant and stupid brain at the same time. Having everyone around her, she is living a best yet worst life because of society's pressure on her. Everyone who sees her from the outside will see her best life but only when those who get to see under her always-covered body, will come to know her true life. Having everything and everyone doesn’t help her in her state.But, when a simple dare locked these two people in 2000sq. feet for 24 hours, he thought that this was just a day and it wouldn’t change his life and she thought she successfully completed her dare with the mystic man but they both didn’t know that there was more on their way which would change their life completely. MAFIA'S NOT SO INNOCENT GIRL is created by Priya Amour, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

After dating in secret for seven years, Mitchell Zahn decides to propose to me on the day his birthday album is officially released. But during the birthday party, he publicly invites Isabella Claxton, a composer and my sister, to work with him. I follow Mitchell to ask him for an explanation. That's when I hear him and his friends chatting and joking inside the lounge. "You're so loyal to your first love, Mitchie. You couldn't wait to ask her to work with you upon her return. What are you going to do about Gabriella, though? Will she accept how your relationship ends when she's written so many songs for you?" After a moment, another person laughs and says, "To Mitchie, Gabriella has always been a replacement for Isabella. Now that Isabella is back, her replacement has to go. Don't you agree, Mitchie?" I wait for a long time before hearing a soft sound of agreement.

Ara once thought Logan was her perfect lover. He was everything she dreamed of—charming, sophisticated, and with a deep love for art that matched her own. Together, they shared long conversations about paintings, literature, and life, and Logan seemed to understand her in ways no one else ever had. For a while, she truly believed he was the perfect man, the one she was meant to be with forever. But when she discovered the truth, she realized he’d only been using her to get closer to the woman he truly wanted. Heartbroken and betrayed, Ara walked away in the pouring rain, her heart shattered but her resolve stronger than ever. She would never let him back in. Three years later, Logan resurfaces—not through a business deal with her company, but through an unexpected acquisition of one of its key partners. Determined to win Ara back, Logan is no longer the man she once knew. He’s cold, relentless, and will stop at nothing to force her back into his world. “You can’t escape me, Ara. This time, I’ll make you stay.” But Ara is no longer the same woman she was. Her fierce independence and stubborn heart refuse to let Logan back in, no matter how hard he pushes. As their past resurfaces, secrets about Logan’s possible connection to her father’s death threaten to unravel everything.

For years, Erin has grappled with guilt since her high school classmate passed away. Under the influence of the friends she trusted, Daryl faced challenges that resulted in his tragic demise. Seven years later, Erin did not expect that fate would punish her further. In her stepfather's will, he decided that all their wealth would go to the Arvesso family, the same family that had lost a member before. Erin now found herself caught up in this arrangement. Perhaps that was her punishment—to be the wife of Orion, someone who harbored intense resentment towards her. She believed he would let go of the past once they were married. However, it turned out that before becoming her husband, he had played the role of a protective brother. He agreed to the marriage to torment her.

She was wrongly thought of as a person that kidnapped her younger sister just to marry him. She was tortured cruelly even when she was seven months pregnant. But for the sake of her baby and the so-called love for him, she swallowed her resentment and carried on. However, she found it so hard to endure his cold attitude when her sister turned out to be alive and came back safe and sound. At the cliff, the rogues sent by her sister advanced upon her with evil intentions. In despair, she jumped off the cliff with her baby. In this life, she would never see him again.

Divine Zuma, aka Vines has given up on ever finding a mate and love. In a land where the alpha must have a mate to ascend the throne,he is rejected as alpha King and exiled as a sentry to the northern border. What happens when one fateful evening a frightened and injured young lady,Aliyah stumbles through the border and turns out to be his mate? He does not trust her though especially when she claims she is unable to shift to her would form because of a curse. With so many hidden enemies,will he let her break down the many walls he has built up around his heart and let himself be loved or defy the moon goddess and reject his mate?