Midterm Exam

Tuwang-tuwa si Pauline matapos na malaman na nakapasa siya sa entrance exam ng isang kilalang pamantasan sa Maynila ngunit kaagad na napalitan 'yon ng lungkot nang ma-realize niya na hindi niya sigurado kung makakapag-aral nga talaga siya sa kolehiyo dahil sa hirap ng buhay nila. Tanging pagtatanim lang ng mga gulay at prutas ang hanap-buhay ng mga magulang niya na talaga naman na hindi sapat sa kanila lalo na lima silang magkakapatid. Gusto niya na makapagtapos ng pag-aaral para matulungan ang pamilya niya na makaahon sa hirap kaya hindi na niya pinakawalan pa ang pagkakataon na makapag-aral siya kahit alam niya na mahihirapan siya lalo na wala silang pera. Gagawa na lang siya ng paraan para matugunan ang pag-aaral niya. Naghanap kaagad siya ng puwedeng mapagtrabauhan para may pang-tuition siya ngunit hindi 'yon ang kanyang nahanap kundi nakilala niya ang isang guwapo at hot na football coach na si Matthew. Sinabi ni Pauline ang nais niya dito kaya inalok kaagad siya ni Matthew kung gusto niya na maging sugar daddy niya ito. He will give everything to her. Wala na siyang kailangan na problemahin pa. Hindi na niya kailangan na maghanap ng trabaho para may pang-tuition siya sa pag-aaral hanggang sa makatapos siya. All she needs to do is to say yes to him. Papayag kaya si Pauline na maging sugar daddy si Matthew? Is she going to refuse him to be his hot sugar daddy until she fulfill her dream—finishing her studies?

After the college entrance exam, my parents left me at home and took their adopted daughter on a trip to the beach. A typhoon hit, and the three of them never came back. When the news reached me, I did not cry or throw a tantrum. I had their deaths registered right away and pulled out the life insurance I had bought in advance. I received one hundred million in compensation. My fiance scolded me for caring only about money. What he did not know was that I had been reborn. In my past life, after I learned about their deaths, the huge debts they had left behind fell on me. I gave up the chance to go to college and started working to pay everything back. I fought to protect our ancestral home from debt collectors. My fiance stayed with me and cheered me on when I came home late at night from delivery runs. But he never gave me a single cent to help. At thirty-five, I finally cleared every debt. On my birthday, I bought myself a ten-dollar cake to celebrate. Just as I was about to blow out the candle, the door opened. My parents and their adopted daughter, who should have died in the typhoon, walked in dressed in designer clothes. They smiled at me smugly. “Well done! We can finally believe that you aren’t greedy for money. You’ve passed the test. From today, you are qualified to be the daughter of the Jameson family.” “Jane, this brilliant idea was all thanks to you.” My adopted sister smiled. She leaned close and blew out my candle. The only light left in my twenty years of lifetime went out with it. My body gave in to exhaustion. My heart failed. I collapsed and died on the spot. When I opened my eyes again, they were about to head to the beach in the middle of the typhoon. I bought a massive accident insurance policy for them on the spot. This time, all I wanted was for them to disappear from this world forever.

After my stepsister, Jennifer Nichols, died in a tragic accident, Julian Asher hated me for ten whole years. He was the youngest star attorney in Vaxton Bay. He was always calm and composed, yet he never once hid his disgust toward me. I gave up everything for him: my education, my family, my friends, even the inheritance I was meant to receive. I stayed by his side through the grueling bar exam and the brutal early days of his career. But all he ever said was, "Miley, if you really want to please me, go ahead and die." The only woman he ever loved in this lifetime was my stepsister. And I realized that far too late. It wasn't until a fire broke out unexpectedly in the courthouse archives and I was trapped upstairs that something changed. Julian ran in to save me. The blaze devoured everything in its path. In the end, he shoved me out of the rubble. The collapsing steel beams crashed down on him. Blood spilled everywhere. Outside the operating room, I fell to my knees, begging the heavens to let him live. Before he died, he left me one final message with the doctor. "Miley, I hope we never meet again in the next life." At his funeral, his mother slapped me hard across the face—again and again. "You're a cursed wretch. Killing Jennifer wasn't enough for you; now you've killed my son too. I never should've agreed to let Julian marry you." His father dragged me to my knees by my hair, forcing me to kneel. "This is all my fault. I was too soft-hearted. Julian saved you three times, and all you ever brought him was misery!" Everyone believed I was the reason Julian died. And deep down, I believed it too. In the end, I slit my wrists and took my own life—only to awaken back in university, at the very moment we was supposed to get engaged. This time, I made a choice. I would not chase after him again. I would step aside and let him be with the one he loved most—my stepsister, Jennifer.

Lumaking puno ng pagmamahal si Jayda ng kanyang mga magulang.Mahirap man sila ay naibibigay naman sa kanya ang kanyang mga pangangailangan at naigapang siya sa pag-aaral.Nakapagtapos siya ng kursong edukasyon at sa awa ng Maykapal ay naipasa niya ang board exam ng maluwalhati.Sa paghihintay niyang makapasok ng trabaho sa gobyerno bilang isang pampublikong guro ay napagpasyahan niyang magpartime bilang isang tutor ng isang 6 year-old na batang lalake na nirekomenda sa kanya ng kanyang propesora sa universidad kung saan siya nakapagtapos. Ang inaakala niyang simpleng bata lang ang kanyang tuturuan magbasa ay isa pa lang napakakumplikadong trabaho dahil sa tiyuhin nitong ubod ng strikto,dominante at walang puso kung umasta.Mukhang hindi lang ang bata ang kanyang magiging tutee pati na rin ang tiyuhin nito, paano niya kaya mapapalambot si Jethro Montenegro, na isang kilalang tycoon monster na walang puwang ang pag-ibig sa puso nito kung hindi poot at galit? Mahuhulog kaya sa kanya si Jethro na sa unang pagkikita pa lang nila ay nagpakita na ito ng disgusto sa kanya? Jethro Montenegro Isang kilalang eligible bachelor na business tycoon.Sa edad na 30 ay nanatili itong binata at walang planong mag-asawa dahil na rin sa responsibilidad na naiwan sa kanya ng kanyang yumaong bunsong kapatid, ang anak nitong si Timothy. Siya ang nagsisilbing legal guardian ng bata dahil ulila na rin siya sa magulang.Binuhos niya ang kanyang oras sa pagpapalago ng naiwang negosyo ng mga magulang na minsan hindi niya nabibigyan ng oras ang pamangkin.Naghire siya ng tutor ng bata upang matuto itong magbasa ngunit hindi niya inakala na pati siya matuturuan matibag ang pusong matigas pa sa bato.Mapapaglabanan niya kaya ang namumuong pagtangi niya kay Loren o magpapatangay na lang kaya siya sa kakaibang alindog ni Jayda sa kanya?