It's The Thought That Counts

She's still ten years old when a tragedy comes to her life. Hindi alam ni Sheiha kung ano ang gagawin. She was with her cousin that time when that scene happen. Nanginginig sa takot ang batang katawan, kumakalabog ang pusong hindi magkamayaw sa pagtibok dahil sa nasaksihan. After ten years of preparing herself to make a revenge, she accidentally met a person who will make her belief upside down. She wanted revenge but he... he open the door so Sheiha can see the light of that dark room she's in. Should she chase the light to be with the man she love? Or stay in that dark room to continue her revenge even if it cause her life? "Don't stay on that dark past, please chase the light I've give you. Chase it and you'll find peace." "What if... what if I don't? Paano kung hindi ko magawang maging kampante, maging payapa hanggat hindi ko nagagawa ang bagay na matagal ko ng gustong makamit? Would you stay in that dark room with me? Serves as my light to see the path I'm taking?"

Book 2 of The Alpha’s Contract. Please read Book 1 before attempting to read this book. A lot has changed in Neah’s life in the last few years. From being a woman of slavery to discovering the hidden truth of her identity, life has not been simple. Neah and her mate, Dane, have taken on several enemies while growing from strength to strength as a couple and a family. But with a bloodline like hers and her children, it means there are more problems around the corner, and they don’t always come in the form of enemies. This book is also being continued under the original title

When the fire broke out, I called my husband, Hector. He didn't answer. Instead, he ran straight into the flames—to save my sister, Emma. They held each other, clinging to life, while I was trapped in the basement, watching my calls go ignored until all hope burned out. Afterward, Emma played innocent, twisting everything. She told him, "Hector, don't blame Sienna. She didn't leave me on purpose... she was just scared." Her lie made me the villain, and everyone bought it. Fueled by hatred, Hector spat, "She's so vicious—why didn't that fire just take her?" Three months later, the police found my body.

Janine’s plan was simple: just one night. One night to earn enough money to ease the crushing weight of her mother’s medical bills and secure her brother’s future. She had no intention of staying. This job—this world—was a desperate detour, not a new path.But the moment she stepped into that room and locked eyes with the man sitting like royalty in the shadows, everything shifted.He wasn’t just any client.He was Theo Lucas Guevara III, the man she had only seen from afar—on TV screens, in headlines, in the hushed gossip of women who dreamed beyond their means. Powerful, untouchable, and dangerously magnetic.She thought he would take what he wanted and leave.But to her surprise, the billionaire didn’t just want one night.He wanted her.And he was willing to pay any price to keep her.

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…

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.

“There's this thing when you meet a person but all you feel is hate even though he didn't do anything to you.” Maybe that’s what JR feels for Gerard. Once the other man saw Gerard’s face, all it takes is a second from a face devoid of any emotion to scowling one when JR lays his eyes on him. Imbes tuloy na matuwa si Gerard na nakita na niya sa wakas ang matagal na niyang hinahanap na matalik na kaibigan noong mga bata pa sila, nawala ang saya na iyon nang maramdaman niya ang pagkadisgusto ni JR sa kanya kahit wala naman siyang ginagawa rito. Hindi na siya umamin at ang pag-aasam na maging kaibigan ito muli ay nauwi sa wala. But why after years of not seeing each other, John Raven suddenly wants to be friends with him again? Why was the other hell bent on making up with him? Naaalala na ba siya nito o may mas malalim pang dahilan ang paglapit ni JR sa kanya?

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.

Isla, a young woman who is in dire need to pay off her mom’s medical bills, thinks that she’s scored her dream job at a big fancy jewelry company. But when the company’s charismatic CEO, Victor, secretly hires her to be his personal assistant with ulterior motives of his own— he’s trying to free his wrongfully imprisoned grandfather by following the breadcrumbs of a dangerous secret with her help— her world is turned upside down. When Isla becomes closer and closer to Victor and his enigmatic life, she starts feeling an undeniable attraction towards him. But her feelings become complicated when she learns the truth about Victor’s original intentions. Isla has some soul-searching to do, torn between betrayal and love, because she was only ever a means to an end for Victor. Meanwhile, Isla faces challenges from other women who vie for Victor's attention, adding further pressure to an already delicate situation. Isla must decide whether to trust her heart or seek justice for herself and her mother.

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.”*