Maiden Mother Crone

In my previous life, my three sons told me they wanted to set up a Family Bond Fund for me. Each of them would deposit three thousand dollars every month. I cried with gratitude, truly believing that decades of sacrifice had finally paid off. One of them even said, "Mom, you've given us so much. It's our turn to take care of you now." However, eight years later, I was told I have uremia. That was when I discover that the bank card, which supposedly held the fund, couldn't even cover the dialysis deposit. Soon after, my eldest son video-called me. He said he wanted to buy a better apartment in a good school district. He was short of 150 thousand dollars for the down payment and asked if I could lend it to him first. My second son came to the hospital with his wife and daughter. He didn't ask about my condition at all. Instead, he kept showing off his daughter's piano competition trophy, hinting that he needed 50 thousand dollars to enroll her in a prestigious international piano program. My youngest son was even more straightforward. He said he had his eye on a limited-edition pair of sneakers and wanted me to pay 30 thousand dollars for them as a birthday gift. The moment they realized the bank account didn't have enough money, their faces fell. "We each put in three thousand dollars every month. Over eight years, that's at least eight hundred thousand dollars. Mom, are you hiding the money from us?" To force me to reveal my savings, they took turns pressuring me, switching between sweet talk and threats. They even told relatives that I had dementia and had been scammed out of my money. Unable to take it anymore, I yanked out my IV late one night and walked out of the hospital, only to be hit by a car, dying instantly. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back on the day of my hospital checkup.

The top-tier charity auction in Manhattan is about to begin when my boyfriend’s stepsister spots a pearl necklace she likes. Wanting to buy it as her birthday gift, my boyfriend reserves a bidding seat. But due to a mistake by the organizers, the seat had actually been reserved by someone else before he booked it. An elderly lady dressed plainly says the seat is hers, yet they show no intention of yielding. I force my boyfriend to give the seat back to the woman. But Amy storms out in a fit of anger. That night, gunshots echo through the neighborhood. A stray bullet hits her, and she bleeds out on the spot. He calmly arranges her funeral, yet still keeps his promise and marries me. Soon after, my father dies in what is ruled an accident. On the day of my father’s funeral, he storms into the church with his men. Looking at me kneeling before the coffin, he smiles arrogantly. “Olivia, this is what you owe Amy! If you hadn’t stopped me that day, the seat would’ve been hers! She wouldn’t have run out in anger, and she wouldn’t have been shot! Let me tell you something—your father was killed by me. And now it’s your turn!” Right in front of everyone, he shoots my younger brother—who had been kneeling beside me, begging for mercy—dead with a single bullet. His bodyguards pin me down and drag me out of the church as I watch helplessly, his blood pooling before my father’s coffin. When I open my eyes again, my boyfriend is glaring angrily at the waiter, about to explode. What he doesn’t know is that the plainly dressed old woman in sunglasses is the mother of the current Don of the most powerful Mafia family in New York—the Morretti family. And that Don is famously devoted to his mother.

When I get mutilated by the killer, my Mom, who works as a forensic doctor, is currently shopping with my older sister, Winona Langdon. After the killer gouges out one of my eyes, he unlocks my phone and sends Mom a video call invitation. But the video call only rings a few times before Mom rejects it. When the killer tries calling her again, he finds out that my number has already been blocked. He merely shoots me a mocking smile in return. Once the police have discovered my body, Mom can't help but curse at the killer for his brutality after seeing how badly I was decimated. But what she doesn't recognize is that the twisted-looking corpse actually belongs to me, her unloved daughter.

Since I can remember, I have been a liar. That is the conclusion my mother made about me. After my twin brother, Daniel Benson, and I are born, she becomes obsessed with a so-called scientific parenting method. So, she puts a lie-detecting collar on each of us. Whenever we lie, the collar lights up in red. The moment it turns red, she presses a remote and shocks me. She says it will help form muscle memory to correct the bad character in me. Daniel's collar is always green. Even when he tears my mom's favorite clothes to shreds and calmly claims a dog does it, the collar still glows green. But I am different. Even if I just say, "Mom, I’m thirsty," The collar would suddenly flash a blinding red light. Then, a current shoots through my neck and into my body, making me tremble in pain. At first, I try to explain. But my mom always says the same thing. "The machine doesn't lie. You have to feel pain to learn. I'm doing this for your own good." After being shocked thousands of times, I slowly start to believe that maybe I am truly born a liar.

My mother was and is a lot of things, but I never knew she would dare leave her Billionaire husband on the Alter stranded. My soon to be step-father was a lot of things, but he wasn’t one to accept humiliation. And for that reason he made me Amelia, the daughter of my runaway mother to take her place on the alter.

Umambon sa Baguio nang gabing iyon, at si Lia Santiago, heartbroken sa betrayal ng ex na pinsan niya, ay napadpad sa Luna Azul bar. Doon niya nakilala si Rafael Ilustre, mysterious, commanding, at intense, at nagkaroon sila ng gabing puno ng tawa, tequila, at titig na nag-iwan ng hindi malilimutang connection. Nagising si Lia na wala si Rafael, pero may ring sa daliri at note na nagsasabing “No regrets”—at doon niya na-realize na siya ang live-in partner ng ina niya. Sa brunch at dinner, lumabas ang forbidden attraction at guilt, habang unti-unting nabunyag ang nakaraan nina Rafael at Vivian. Sa terrace at villa, bawat dialogue at sulyap ay puno ng tension at emosyon, habang lumalalim ang mystery at personal stakes. Ang nobela ay isang emotional rollercoaster ng forbidden attraction, family secrets, at choices na magbabago sa buhay, at magpapa-question sa puso at isip ni Lia sa bawat sandali.

A web of secrets and lies threatens to destroy a marriage and a friendship. When Sophia sacrifices her son to save her friend's marriage, she never expects the truth to come back to haunt her. But as deception and betrayal unravel, Luciano is left with an impossible choice: his wife or the truth. Will Hanna's greed prevail, or will Sophia's selfless love redeem them all?

Look at me, Rory. You are mine." Dominique Blackwood’s voice was a deadly whisper, his grip like iron as he pulled her close. His words cut deep, but the fire between them was undeniable. Aurora "Rory" Thompson never imagined her quiet, artistic life would end in chains. But when her father sells her to the ruthless mafia kingpin Dominique “The Devil” Blackwood to settle a debt, she is thrown into a world where love is a weakness, and power is the only currency. Feared by his enemies and worshipped by his allies, Dominique is a man who controls everything, except her. Rory defies him, challenging his authority and refusing to break under his rule. But the more she resists, the more their dangerous attraction grows. As secrets unravel and enemies close in, Rory must choose: run from the Devil, or risk everything to stand beside him. In San Andreas, where love and power collide, survival comes at a cost, and sometimes, the heart is the most dangerous weapon of all.

Part One: Gwendolyn Young, perky Gwendolyn Crutoe has her life planned out; marry the love of her life Albert and take care of her drunken father. What then happens when her subconscious father gambles her and loses? She is whisked off by a total stranger and with no hope of getting her old life back or the man of her dreams. Part Two: Alexa Given a second chance at getting a good life, Alexa just has one thing in mind, to live life to its fullest. But what happens when something... or someone else occupies her mind.

My mom treated me like the dirt beneath her shoes but worshiped my cousin like a queen. Since I could walk, I had scrubbed clothes and cooked meals, but I would still be yelled at or smacked if I messed up. On the contrary, my cousin twirled in princess dresses and played the piano. She was cherished by my aunt and uncle like she was the center of their world. Then came the day everything changed. At my cousin's birthday party, my mom got drunk and spilled the secret—she switched me and my cousin at birth. It turned out that I wasn't her daughter; I was my aunt's daughter. I was over the moon. Finally, I thought I'd found my real family, people who might actually care about me. But when I told my aunt, she just smirked. "You think I didn't know? I don't want you. You'll never be my daughter." Her words hit me like a bucket of ice water. I couldn't understand. Why didn't anyone want me? But that day, I made a vow—I'd never beg for anyone's love again. Years later, when I got into Mayward University—the best educational institution in the country—I threw two DNA test reports on the table in front of them. For the first time, they both looked terrified.