Love From Afar

Bago ang kasal, nahuli ni Mithi ang fiancé niya na nagtataksil sa kaniya. Sa isang hotel room kung saan doon sana gaganapin ang unang gabi nila, ay nakita niya si Luis na may ibang kasiping. “Kasalanan mo rin naman dahil nagpaka-feeling santa ka. Ikakasal ka na sa akin pero ayaw mong haIikan kita o ayaw mong pumayag makipagsex sa akin. Mithi, lalaki ako at may pangangailangan rin ako.” Ang sinabi ni Luis na tila ba ay naging kasalanan pa niya ang lahat. Sa hindi inaasahang pagkakataon, may isang lalaki ang biglang dumating sa kwarto kung saan sila nagtatalo. Lalaking handa siyang sagipin para hindi siya mapahiya sa maraming tao. “If you can’t cancel the wedding then papakasalan kita. I’ll be your groom.” Natigilan silang lahat matapos iyon sabihin ng isang estrangherong lalaki. Dahil wala na sa sarili, isang tango ni Mithi ang isinagot niya. Isang tango na siyang naging ganti na rin sa fiancé niyang nagtaksil sa kaniya. Agad siyang kinaladkad no’ng estrangherong lalaki paalis ng hotel. “S-Saan tayo pupunta?” tanong ni Mithi “To the mayor’s office. Let’s get married!” Sagot nito na taimtim na nakatitig sa kaniya.

Kegagalan pernikahan pertamanya membuat Aara sempat terpuruk. Namun, dia memilih untuk bangkit. Hingga akhirnya dia bertemu dengan laki-laki baru yang membuat harapannya kembali muncul. Namun, apa jadinya jika laki-laki itu ternyata seseorang yang ikut andil dalam hancurnya pernikahannya dulu. Mampukah dia bertahan? Atau dia memilih untuk pergi?

For eighteen years, my bestie Sarah and I were just regular humans. And then, all of a sudden, we both awakened our werewolf blood. She ended up mated to Logan, like, the most powerful Alpha around. And me? Fate, or whatever, paired me up with Ethan, an Alpha from a pack under Logan's. The day of our mating ceremony, Sarah was all like, "Go on, enjoy Ethan's mark!" I mean, the guy had an eight-pack and was drop-dead gorgeous. But almost a year into our mating, Ethan still hadn't marked me. I cried to Sarah, "What's the point of a mate who won't even mark me?" I never expected Sarah to burst into tears too. "Logan and I… our genes aren't compatible. He can't get me pregnant. I want to break our mate bond too!" So, just like that, we hatched a plan to escape. After a "car accident," both Alphas' mates vanished. It wasn't until we started our new lives that we found out... We were both pregnant!

My childhood sweetheart who promised to marry me the moment I graduated proposed to Camille Willow, my sister, during my graduation ceremony. At that moment, Dennis Malcolm, the most eligible and admired bachelor in Blington City's elite circle, stepped forward and confessed his love for me immediately after my childhood sweetheart's proposal was accepted. For five years after our marriage, Dennis showered me with devotion, treating me with such tenderness that it felt as though I were the center of his world. But everything shattered the day I overheard a conversation between him and his close friend. "Dennis, now that Camille's on top, are you really going to keep pretending with Tracy?" "It doesn't matter. I'll never have Camille. Besides, as long as I'm here, she'll never disrupt Camille's happiness," he answered. The paper notes he held dear, each one carefully preserved, revealed a harsh truth. Each one carried her name, accompanied by heartfelt wishes: "May Camille be released from her burdens. May she find peace within herself." "May Camille achieve all she dreams of, and may her heart love freely." "Camille, we were never meant to be together in this life. I can only hope that in another, we will walk side by side." … Five years of devotion shattered in a single moment of clarity. I crafted a false identity and planned an elaborate drowning to vanish without a trace. From this day forward, in this life and all others, we shall never cross paths again.

“Marco?" she called, her voice barely above a whisper. Marco remained silent, he only arched his brow, his expression unreadable. Slowly, everything began to sink in. "Why?" Her voice trembled as she finally broke the silence that had settled between them. "Why didn't you speak up when you knew the truth, Marco? You could have saved me." Marco scoffed. "What did you expect me to do?" "DEFEND ME? PROTECT ME!" She yelled. "That's what you do for someone you love." Marco’s jaw tightened, and he leaned against the cold, steel bars of the cell. His icy blue eyes bore into hers, but there was no warmth, no love, only a distant glimmer of irritation. "Ivy," he began, his voice low and filled with everything but love, "I can't tell if you're just naive or plain daft." "You know I couldn't back you up in front of everyone. I couldn't risk them finding out that I'm mated to an Omega." ~~~~~ Ivy thought she had hit rock when she was falsely accused, added to her mate’s betrayal and then auctioned according to tradition for all female criminals. But when a handsome and mysterious Alpha walked in at the dying moment, wanting her for himself, she must decide whether to leave with him as his personal slave or remain in the pack to go through the last phase of her punishment; which could end up being her last day on earth.

Lei Kali Angeles, isa siyang barista sa isang Milk Tea Shop. Dahil sa pandemic, nagbawas ng tao ang kanyang pinapasukan na shop. Ngunit, sa mga nagdaan na buwan, unti-unti itong bumalik, at isa siya sa mapalad na tinawagan ng kanyang employer para muling magtrabaho. Pero tila ang kasiyahan niya nang matanggap ang balitang iyon ay kaakibat ng isang negatibong balita. Naging mandatory ang pagpapa-vaccine ng mga tao. Paano na kaya siya ngayon? Kung isa pa naman sa kinakatakutan niya ay ang magpa-inject. Sa pagkakataon kaya na iyon, handa na siyang harapin ang kanyang takot? O mananatili siyang tatalikuran iyon katulad kung paano niya hindi hinarap ang mga kakulangan sa kanyang pagkatao dahil sa iyon ang kinalakihan niya sa kanyang ina? Maging daan kaya ang mandatory vaccine, para tuluyan na niyang harapin ang kanyang mga takot na matagal at palagi niyang tinatalikuran?

I was a broke, jobless, and unhappy woman until I met my new mysterious neighbor whom I mistook for a thief on the first day. There was something strange about him, a mystery I couldn't place my fingers on. I couldn't care less about who he was. He was the most annoying man I had ever met anyway. However, seeing him on my night out with my best friend and his promptness to help me caught my attention. He was more than just the new man in Woodstock. He was a man I'd fall in love with in a heartbeat. Gosh! I had just left a tumbling relationship. A man was the last thing I needed in my life, but a man like Lucas wasn't just a regular man. Then, Lucas offered me a job I couldn't deny. He offered me a job as the in-house chef. I found out Lucas' mysteriousness was because he was a popular billionaire in Boston. He didn't only have a big billionaire family, he had a scandal waiting for him up at Boston. He had a woman, Kimberly, who was carrying his child. This revelation was going to crumble my world. However, Lucas wouldn't give up without a fight. His family stood against our union while Lucas' arm surrounded me even at the expense of losing his billionaire title. We stood together as we fought the forces willing to pull us apart.

Valencia, akrab di panggil Cia. Seorang gadis ceria, cantik dan pandai di sekolahnya. Feroka Hatcher, akrab di panggil Aka. Seorang cowok cool tak banyak bicara dan justru terkesan sombong. Pintar dan banyak prestasi juga di sekolahnya, jago basket dan atlet karate andalan sekolahnya. Dua tahun sekelas tak lantas membuat Cia bisa mengenal dan akrab dengan cowok bernama Aka. Hingga diam-diam dia sering memperhatikannya dan menaruh kagum yang dalam pada cowok itu. Sebuah ketidaksengajaan atas tugas yang di berikan kepada mereka oleh wali kelas akhirnya membuat jalan komunikasi mereka tersambung. Hingga merubah pertemanan tak di duga itu menjadi sebuah hubungan cinta remaja. Aka yang pendiam ternyata memang memiliki kehidupan yang lain daripada orang kebanyakan. Hidupnya tak lepas dari tangan dan mata bodyguard pelindungnya yang justru membuat kehidupan bebasnya terkekang. Semua itu karena orang tua Aka adalah seorang pengusaha kaya raya kelas internasional dengan musuh dimana-mana. Itulah alasan bodyguard mengikuti dirinya kemanapun meski tak selalu nampak oleh mata, mereka orang suruhan daddy-nya. Kehidupan Cia mulai terseret ke dalam kehidupan Aka yang penuh batasan. Dan kehadiran Jordi sebagai rival Aka untuk mendapatkan cinta di hati Cia menjadi batu kerikil kisah manis cerita cinta mereka di usia muda. Suatu hari Jordi mengajak Aka bertanding balapan liar, dan di sinilah petaka terjadi karena kecurangan Jordi. Aka kecelakaan, koma dan di kabarkan akan meninggal dunia. Cia menjadi stres setengah gila di buatnya. Akankah Aka dan Cia bisa mempertahankan cinta kuat mereka di tengah ujian cinta yang harus mereka hadapi?

Diana Kensington was caught up in a Web of lies and betrayal. Her long-term lover, who she had been with for seven years, cheated on her with her parent's biological child, Serena Kensington, who they had just found after she had been missing since when she was still a toddler. Diana had found out on her sick bed while receiving an IV treatment in the hospital. She got home, met him and confronted him but he denied having anything to do with her. Diana ends the relationship even though Marcel promises to marry her either way. Hurt by the fact that she had seen some things fall out of his trouser pocket that suggested he was having an affair. She insisted on breaking up. She goes straight to her friend's house, and they both go to a bar to have a drink; Diana gets drunk and decides to prove to Ciara that she can have any man she wants. She approached a man and even kissed him; unbeknownst to her, the man was the elder brother to Marcel, Raphael, a young Billionaire who wasn't interested In his parent's money. She leaves without exchanging contact or knowing his name. Their path crossed again on Marcel's grandfather's birthday. After a very dramatic and tense scenario, he offers to marry her so that the revenge plan could be more successful, as he would also become the sole òwner of Lorenzo's corps. Would everything go as planned? Would she be able to cope as the heiress of Lorenzo's dynasty?

Hidup Dahlia mulai kacau saat malam dia menghadiri acara pernikahan putri tirinya. Saat tanpa sengaja dia mabuk, keesokan paginya dia mendapati dirinya terbangun dalam pelukan seorang pria. Tidak hanya itu, karena pria yang semalam berbagi kenikmatan bersamanya adalah Kai Ronan, sang mempelai pria. Atau kalau itu tidak cukup jelas; Dahlia tidur dengan menantunya sendiri. Tidak sampai di sana, Kai Ronan malah bersikap seolah apa yang mereka lakukan bukanlah kesalahan. Dan yang lebih buruk adalah … pria itu terobsesi kepadanya. Apakah hidup Dahlia bisa tetap tenang setelah itu? Terlebih ketika kebenaran perlahan terungkap. Dan bisakah dia tetap menganggap Kai sebagai menantunya? *** Written by Asia July. Cover edited in Photoshop. Pic from Unsplash – Jeferson Gomes