Laika The Space Dog

“I need you. Babayaran kita, just name your price, after.” Umiling si Carol, “N–No, don’t– huwag kang lalapit.” mariin na tugon ni Carol, habang unti-unti siyang nakakaramdam ng pagkahilo at pinipilit na lumalayo siya sa estrangherong lalaki. “Wala pang babaeng tumanggi sa akin ng ganito. Sorry, Miss, but I won’t let you go that fast– not now that I need you, bago pa ako magkalat ng eskandalo sa labas.” — Carol is secretly married with someone na hindi niya pa kahit kailan nakikita. Dalawang taon na silang kasal, pero sa picture lang, tapos bata pa roon ang asawa niya sa picture. Nang araw na kikitain na niya ang kaniyang asawa sa condo unit nito ay aksidente siyang napagkamalang bayarang babae ng isang lalaki, at ipinasok siya sa isang unit na may tila isang lasing at naka-drogang lalaki. After that night, tumakas siya at takot na takot na mahanap pang muli ng lalaki. Not knowing that is her husband! Laking gulat niya ng pag-uwi niya sa bahay ay annulment papers ang naghihintay sa kaniya. She thought she would be free now, ngunit ang hindi niya alam ay nakatakas man siya sa kaniyang asawa, pero nabaliw naman ito sa kaniya dahil sa gabing may nangyari sa kanila at pilit na ipapahanap siya sa mga tauhan nito! Kapwa nila hindi alam na mag-asawa pala sila!

After graduation, I struggle to find a job, while my girlfriend easily lands a position at a major company. She has been with me for two years, and to cheer me up, she even lets me hold onto her payroll card. Once I finally start working, she worries about my long commute and immediately buys me a car. Everyone around us envies me for having such a thoughtful girlfriend. To save up for a house, I secretly deposit my salary into her account. A year later, we decide to get married. Excited, she grabs my hand and says, "I know you don't have much saved. I don't need any wedding gift. All I want is your love." I am deeply touched by her consideration. But on our engagement day, she pulls out photos of me with a dozen women and accuses me of cheating. I look closely and realize I have never even met any of them. Then she shows me my card's transaction history, filled with charges at the notorious Solara Club. "You had my payroll card, and you used my money to indulge yourself!" she cries. "I'm not marrying you. Return my car and all the money you spent over the years. It adds up to 800 thousand dollars." I calmly place the payroll card she gave me on the table and say with a smirk, "Fine, let's settle this properly." When I present the detailed account prepared by my top lawyer, she is stunned.

I ditched a shot at studying abroad to help my boyfriend, Gavin Censori, launch his startup. Stuck it out with him through seven brutal years. Then boom—success hit, and so did the ghosting. On Valentine's Day, he hit me with the classic "work's crazy" excuse. Instead of showing up, he had some random delivery dude drop off a box of cosmetic samples. Samples. Later that night, his secretary Rebecca popped up on my feed, flexing hard. Caption: [With a boss like this, why go home early?] Pic: A box of high-end makeup. Same brand. Hers weren't samples. I dropped a comment: [You're doing great at your sidechick job. Gold star.] Gavin called instantly, losing it. "What's your problem? She's just an employee! I bust my ass making money for you, and you're always jealous!" I laughed. Didn't even yell. Just dumped him. Seven years, and I'd never touched a dime of his. Joke's on him—his precious startup? Secretly bankrolled by me. Fast-forward three years. Business summit. He rolled in wearing a tailored suit. The second he spotted me with a bag of bottles, his smirk kicked in. "Didn't like those cosmetics I gave you, huh? Now look at you—reduced to bottle collecting?"

Over the weekend, I went with my best friend to one of the premium auto shops owned by my company to get her car serviced. Just as we were about to leave, someone stopped me and ordered me to wipe down her car. I explained that I didn't work there, but she got angry anyway. She flipped a 10-cent coin at my face. "Consider it an honor that I'm letting you wash my car. A broke girl like you has probably never even seen a luxury car in her life! I'm trying to broaden your horizons, and you're not even grateful?" I shot back, "You're right. I've never met a car owner who can only spare 10 cents. Consider my horizons broadened." She exploded on the spot. "Do you even know who I am? The chairman of the Penzo Group is my mother-in-law! Scared now?" I paused for a beat, then calmly called Leo Penzo. "I hear your mother went behind my back and found you a new wife?"

On the day I decide to quit the game, multiple comments suddenly streak across my vision. "Great news! The female supporting lead is finally quitting the game!" "Stacy no longer has to worry about getting exposed for using the supporting lead's game account to get into online relationships with others!" "Stacy is really smart! Every time she uses the supporting leads account, she always uses the in-game voice chat function! That supporting lead has no idea that Stacy has been doing this behind her back!" "Wow, Stacy really is blessed to have reeled in such amazing men!" "I can't believe she used the female supporting lead's max-level account to flirt with four of the best players on the server!" "At 2:00 pm later, she'll be meeting her first target, Lewis Johnes, the cold and aloof campus heartthrob, at Riche Cafe!' "Tomorrow, Stacy will be meeting the best assassin in person. The day after that, she'll meet the rich scion who's also ranked second on the list! She really is amazing with her time management skills!" The "Stacy" that the comments mention is Stacy White, my roommate. She actually impersonated me to flirt with four top-tier players on the server, huh? More comments streak across my vision once again. "Why isn't Heather leaving right now? Lewis is already waiting for Stacy!" "This is their first sweet date as a couple! Oh gosh, I can't wait to see it unfold!" I turn to look at Stacy, who's touching up her makeup in front of the vanity mirror. Only then do I understand that I'm the female supporting lead the comments are talking about. A small smile appears on my face. Since Stacy is impersonating me to become a Casanova, then it's not wrong of me to attend those meetings and reap the reverse harem she has prepared for me, right?

I was the top engineer at the National Deep-Sea Institute—and the only person in the world with real deep-sea rescue experience. When my younger brother's submarine went down and he called for help from 35,000 feet below, I hung up on him. Then, calm and unhurried, I went straight to the police station and turned myself in for leaking classified research data. A few minutes later, my father called, furious. "Your brother's life is hanging by a thread—where the hell are you?! I demand you to get to the site and save him right now, or you won't see a single penny of the family fortune!" I pulled the blanket over myself and said into the phone, perfectly composed, "Busy. Don't bother me—I'm trying to sleep."

The day I was about to quit the game, countless floating comments suddenly appeared before my eyes. [Finally! The villainess is quitting!] [Now Janet Cole doesn’t have to worry about getting exposed for using her account to flirt online.] [The heroine is so smart–she always uses voice chat in-game. The villainess has no idea.] [Janet is living the dream–using her max-level account to juggle five top-tier players at once!] [At 2 PM today, she’s meeting her 'No.1 catch'–the cold, untouchable campus heartthrob Cedric Barnes!] [Assassin god tomorrow, rich scion the day after… her time management is insane!] The Janet they were talking about… was the fake heiress who had taken my place in my own family. She had been impersonating me–using my account to flirt with five elite players at once? Then more comments appeared… [Why hasn’t the villainess left yet? The male lead is already waiting.] [This is the first sweet date between the leads–can’t wait!] I turned to look at Janet, touching up her makeup in front of the mirror–and suddenly, it all clicked. The 'villainess' they were talking about… was me. So the real heiress–me–was nothing more than a disposable side character, a stepping stone for the fake one? A faint smile curled on my lips. If she could impersonate me online and play the field, then me showing up in person and stealing everything... wouldn't be too much, right?

Right before the last full-length practice exam ahead of the SAT, my boyfriend, Blake Romero, who had always ranked in the top ten, somehow ended up with a score of zero. His eyes were red as he clung to me, his voice shaking while he said he had developed severe test anxiety. "Samantha, there's no way I'll get in this year. Can you stay back and retake the year with me? I can't do this without you." Looking at how pale he was, I almost gave in. On my way to the school clinic to grab him some meds to calm his nerves, I accidentally overheard him talking to a girl from a poor family. "Blake, what if Samantha finds out you're lying to her?" His voice turned soft, almost indulgent. "Relax. She loves me so much that she would give up anything for me. Even if she finds out, so what? Besides, her family's loaded. Losing a year won't matter to her. Arrington University only has two spots this year. As long as Samantha doesn't take the exam, those spots are ours." Standing outside the door, I felt as if I had just had a bucket of ice poured over me. So this was his plan! He was willing to ruin my future just to clear the way for the girl he really cared about. What he didn't realize was that Arrington University had only ever been my backup, something I chose just to stay by his side. Without him dragging me down, I could aim for something better.

"I'm inlove with him since when I was eight, and he's eighteen years old before; now, he's twenty-eight and I'm eighteen. I call him Uncle Lucas, sometimes Ninong Saint." Lady Eve Yamashita has been in love with Saint Lucas since he took her in at the age of eight after her father (Taro Yamashita, a Yakuza leader) was killed by another Yakuza organization. Every year—Saint Lucas would send her his favorite macha cake, and when Lady Eve turned fifteen, she confessed to Saint Lucas, but sadly—Saint rejected her. Lady Eve Yamashita has been in love with Saint Lucas since he took her in at the age of eight after her father (Taro Yamashita; a Yakuza leader) was killed by another Yakuza organization. Every year—Saint Lucas would send her his favorite macha cake, and when Lady Eve turned fifteen, she confessed to Saint, but Saint rejected her, believing thier ten-year age gap is too large, chooses someone else. One night, Saint came home very drunk. He didn't realize that the room he entered was Eve's room where the girl was sleeping soundly. But, because of Eve's thin clothing, Saint couldn't stop himself from attempting to touch Even and ended up lusting. Eve, woke-up, but didn't stop herself 'cause that was what she wanted too; there was a heated exchange, and months later Saint found out that he had gotten Eve pregnant that night, but Eve run-away and hide.

Iniwan ni Samira ang limang taon niya ng nobyo na si Xandros dahil naniniwala siya na 'yon ang makabubuti para sa binata. Ngunit hindi niya inakala na sa kan'yang pag-alis, siya pala'y magdadalang-tao na. Itinago ni Samira ang kanilang anak dahil sa takot na baka ito ang siyang maging dahilan upang mawala sa binata ang lahat ng pinaghirapan nito. Malalaman kaya ni Xandros ang patungkol sa kanilang anak ni Samira? O ang pagkabunyag kaya ng kanilang anak ang siyang magiging dahilan ng pagbagsak ng binata? Let's find out.