Jokes Are Half-meant

"We are not meant for each other, cause you're not mine and I'm not yours to begin with."- Kseniya "I can surrender everything just for you to be mine. I can do destruction to the heaven and underworld to let them know that your mine to begin with."- UNKNOWN

Joy Santos only wanted a quiet life in the province. But one messy fight, one sosyalera enemy, and one powerful matriarch later—she finds herself shipped off to Manila as a personal maid, buried in debt, and completely out of her depth. Enter Attorney Caelius Montemayor: rich, ruthless, perfectionist... and unfortunately, her new boss. He’s everything Joy can’t stand—suplado, Englishero, and constantly correcting her Bisaya-tagalog grammar. She’s everything he hates—baduy, tactless, and always one step away from disaster. Their worlds were never meant to collide. But under one roof, bickering turns to tension, and tension turns to something neither of them can control. Just when feelings get too real, Joy disappears—without warning, without goodbye. Years later, she’s back. Not as a maid, but as a fierce new lawyer… and Caelius’ biggest rival in court. What she doesn’t know? He’s still not over her. What he doesn’t know? She’s hiding more than just her heart. Some battles aren’t fought in the courtroom—they’re fought where it hurts the most.

For years, Lira lived a simple life in the province—until a stranger came and turned her world upside down. Her grandmother. A Montenegro. Biglang nagbago ang lahat. She was offered a life of wealth and privilege, but in exchange, she had to leave everything behind and live with a family she never knew. On her way to Manila, fate played a cruel trick. Naiwan siya sa isang stopover—walang pera, walang gamit, walang paraan para makarating sa bagong buhay niya. Then she meets him. A stranger. Dark. Dangerous. Powerful. "Nothing in this world is free," he tells her. "If I help you… what will you give me in return?" She has nothing. Except herself. One night. One mistake. One secret that can never be spoken. Kinabukasan, naghiwalay silang parang estranghero. Akala niya tapos na ang bangungot. But when she finally steps inside the Montenegro estate, her world shatters. Because he is there. Xavier Montenegro. The man who stole her innocence. The man she must now call "uncle." But something feels… off. Their gazes hold too much tension. Their connection is too intense. And deep down, something tells her—something tells him—that they were never meant to be family. Their secret is dangerous. Their attraction is forbidden. Pero habang pilit nilang nilalabanan ang nararamdaman, lalo lang silang nauubos. And when the truth finally comes to light, Lira will have to ask herself: Was that night truly a mistake? Or was it only the beginning of something far more dangerous?

Noami grew up in the quiet comfort of the orphanage, raised by nuns and surrounded by children who, like her, were longing for a family they never had. She had long accepted that the four walls of the orphanage would be her home for the rest of her life. But fate had other plans. Her peaceful world shifted the moment a stranger came looking for someone else—her twin sister, who had been adopted years ago and now lay in a hospital bed, unable to wake. In a desperate plea, the woman who adopted her twin begged Noami for a favor only a sister could give: take her place. Pretend to be her. Marry the man she was supposed to wed. And just like that, Noami became Mrs. Arvenze. The wife of a doctor she didn’t even know. A substitute in a marriage that was never meant for her.

A case of mistaken identity. A twisted plan. An unexpected love. Isabella Delgado lives a quiet life as a regular office worker in Manila—routine days, instant coffee, and a heart still nursing quiet dreams. But everything changes when she’s suddenly kidnapped off the street by strangers who mistake her for someone else. Her captor? Lance Alonzo, a cold, calculated billionaire with a broken heart and a twisted agenda: to make Sofia Marie Cruz, his ex-girlfriend who betrayed him, fall in love with him again—only to break her heart the way she broke his. But there’s a problem. Isabella isn’t Sofia. She only looks exactly like her. When Lance discovers the mistake, it’s already too late. Isabella knows too much, and letting her go could destroy his reputation. So he keeps her locked in his private estate—just until he figures out what to do. But as days pass and secrets unravel, Lance finds himself drawn to the very woman he never meant to meet. And Isabella? She may be trapped—but her spirit refuses to be broken. Not by a man with a plan. Not by a heart with unfinished business. What started as a revenge scheme becomes a dangerous game of deception, desire, and redemption. Because sometimes, fate doesn’t make mistakes. People do.

When struggling artist Elira Virel signs a secret marriage contract with billionaire CEO Kael Thorne, it’s supposed to be simple: no love, no expectations, no real commitment. Just six months of pretending to be his wife in exchange for saving her father’s collapsing company. But things stop being simple the moment she steps into his world — a world of power, cold stares, unspoken pain, and rules she’s not allowed to break. Kael is mysterious, guarded, and dangerously unreadable. Elira knows she’s just a pawn in his bigger game… but why does he look at her like she’s the only truth he wants to believe in? As secrets from his past begin to resurface — including the return of a woman who claims to be his former fiancée — Elira finds herself tangled in a web of lies, revenge, and emotions she swore she wouldn’t feel. She was never meant to fall for him. But in a world of lies, love was never part of the plan… Until it was.

Samantha Davis fell pregnant, and she knew nothing about the man she slept with. After being disowned by her father, she left the city to start anew. Raising her own children, Samantha strived and overcame. Little did she know, her twins meant to find a daddy, and they weren't settling for any less! At three years old, her babies asked, "Mama, where Dada?" "Umm... Dada is far away." That was the easiest way for Samantha to explain to her kids the absence of a father. At four years old, they asked again, "Mommy, where is Daddy?" "Umm... He is working at Braeton City." Yet again, Samantha chose the easy way out. After nearly six years, Samantha returned to the place that had long forsaken her, Braeton City. She knew she was bound to answer her kids' curiosity over their unknown father, and she concluded it was about time to tell the truth. However, one day, her twins came to her with glistening eyes and announced, "Mommy! We found Daddy!" Standing before her was a block of ice, Mr. Ethan Wright, the most powerful businessman in the city. *** Book 1 of the Wright Family Series Book 2: Flash Marriage: A Billionaire For A Rebound Book 3: I Kissed A CEO And He Liked It Book 4: The Devil's Love For The Heiress Book 5: I Fell For The Boy His Daddy Was A Bonus Note each story can be read as a standalone. Follow me on social media. Search Author_LiLhyz on IG & FB.

Love is undefined, unbound by rules. It is something that no person could actually give meaning to until he finds that one human being who gives him the exact definition of it. But is love enough to keep two people together? Or is it just another ideology that somehow got wired into everyone's brain? Or maybe people who are in love are simply blind enough to see the reality and would rather continue living in that paradise dream?

When Shay lost her father at 16 years old she became the sole provider for her mother and brother. This meant giving up on her dreams of becoming an architect and working day and night to help support her mother. After many unsuccessful job interviews, Shay lands a job as the executive assistant to the CEO of one of the world's most renowned architectural firms in the world. Just when she believes her life is on the right track she meets a mysterious stranger while she's out celebrating her new job with her two best friends. One night passion led Shay down a path she never expected. Waking up next to the handsome stranger, in Las Vegas with a hangover from hell, a diamond engagement ring on her finger and a marriage certificate with her name scrawled next to another...Tristan Hoult. (Accidentally Yours: 151 Chapters & The sequel Love Me Again: 131 Chapters)

Aria Lancaster was never the chosen one. Laging nasa anino ni Sienna-ang perpektong panganay, matalino, maganda, palaban. Si Aria? Tahimik. Sunod-sunuran. Hindi pinapansin. Hanggang sa tumakas si Sienna. A scandal no one saw coming. Just hours before her arranged marriage to Damian Valtor-the ruthless CEO every family wanted to be aligned with. Para maiwasan ang kahihiyan at tuluyang pagbagsak ng pamilya nila, si Aria ang ipinasuot sa gown. Walang tanong-tanong. Pretend. Smile. Say "I do" to a man who was never meant to be hers. Damian Valtor is cold. Calculated. Furious. He knows this isn't the woman he agreed to marry. Pero tinuloy pa rin niya. Because power is everything-and Aria? She's just a pawn. A weak replacement for her strong, flawless sister. But Aria is done playing nice. Done being quiet. Done being invisible. Sa isang kasalang binuo sa kasinungalingan, Aria and Damian enter a war of wills. She's not the weak girl he expected. And he's not as heartless as she thought. What started as a six-month deal slowly begins to blur... into something dangerously real. But when secrets rise and Sienna returns, Aria must face the truth: Will she always be second best? Or will she finally become someone's first choice?