Never Settle For Less

When my cousin died, my aunt forced me to marry her husband in order to take care of the child she left behind. She said that it was a way to pay her back for raising me after the death of my mom. For eight years of being in the marriage, I was bullied by my cousin's son, accusing me killing his mom in order to take over her home. And my husband? He never defended me. To them, I was nothing more than a mere house help. And the day I had looked forward finally came, when I could walk away from the marriage. But fate had other plans—I died in pain that very day. Now, with a second chance at life, I made one thing clear: I was done with that miserable family, for good.

'วินตา' กับ 'จาริล' ศิลปินไอดอลชื่อดังของประเทศที่ต่างก็เคยเป็นรุ่นพี่รุ่นน้องที่สนิทสนมกันมาก แต่แล้วค่ำคืนอันเลวร้ายกลับทำลายทุกอย่างที่เคยมี วินตายื่นข้อเสนอแลกกับการให้โอกาสอีกครั้ง ทว่าเงื่อนไขนั้นกลับเป็นสิ่งที่จาริลไม่อาจยอมรับได้ และเมื่อหัวใจของวินตาได้พบกับคนที่ใช่ เส้นบางๆ ในความสัมพันธ์ของทั้งสองก็เริ่มชัดเจนขึ้นเรื่อยๆ ความรู้สึกที่เปราะบางของทั้งสองจะแปรเปลี่ยนไปคงมั่น หรือจะกลายเป็นบาดแผลในใจของเขาและเธอ เมื่อคนหนึ่งรู้ตัวในวันที่สาย และคนหนึ่งเหนื่อยล้าไปทั้งใจ

When I was 14, I ran away from home and met Rosalie Burke, the real Burke heiress who had been living on the outside. After her family finally brought her home, I was the one who helped her turn their business into a success. I spent ten years at her side, and on the day they named her heir to Burke Group, she shoved me into the sea. "My fiance is the next heir to Swain Group. You have no power or influence. You're beneath me now." I blink awake, and suddenly I'm back at the moment Rosalie returns to her family. I watch her shamelessly flirt with my enemy's son, then turn on my heel and head back to my own family. I'm not helping her in this life. This time, I'm going to watch her fall off that pedestal.

I thought getting a new foster brother would be weird. I didn’t expect him to look like he walked off a Netflix show—blue eyes, tattoos, and the personality of a brick wall. My little brother’s obsessed with him. My parents act like he’s made of glass. Me? I think Carmelo’s hiding something. And I plan to find out what.

At one of the exclusive private casino parties, my eyes landed on a diamond tiara. The catch? It was the prize for a high-stakes blackjack game. Luckily, poker happens to be one of my many sins. A girl named Elara—whom I once pitied enough to introduce to Throne, hoping she’d land a job—has now declared she wants the tiara too. Naïve. Probably thought beginner’s luck was a real thing. I figured, fine. Let the cards decide. If I win, I walk away with the tiara. If I lose, I’ll find another way to soothe my pride. Easy enough. Thorne, my ever-watchful husband, leaned in and murmured, “Go easy on her.” I didn’t. I won. Beat the dealer faster than her and won the tiara. That girl cried at the table. Thorne didn’t look impressed for once. He rather seemed... irritated. I thought it was for Elara’s sake. Turns out, it was for mine. A year later, same party, different stakes. The grand prize? My own sex video. While holding Elara in his arms, my husband said to me, voice almost amusing, “Don’t you like winning prizes? Then go on. Win our sex tape back.”

My mate is Ryder Blackwood, Alpha of the pack. As the approaching bonding ceremony, he tells me that his "savior", Isabelle Morrison, is dying. She took a silver dagger meant for him three years ago. Now she is terminal, and her days are numbered. Her last wish, he says, is to leave behind a pup bearing the strongest Alpha blood. I tremble. "What about me? I'm your only mate." His voice is cold, emptied of feeling. "Don't worry. I'll always be your mate." Two days later, I receive the pregnancy test results. Isabelle is five weeks along. Turns out there was never a choice. All I get is a belated notice. What he doesn't know is that I'm the one who took the silver dagger meant for him three years ago. The healer tells me I have, at most, a month to live. I neither weep nor protest. I cancel the bonding ceremony I've dreamed of and quietly book a flight out. It leaves on the very day of the ceremony. Ryder stands at the venue of the canceled ceremony when my message reaches him. It's my unwavering rejection of him as my mate. That's when he finally breaks. For the first time, the Alpha who controls everything tastes a fear that tears the soul. He searches for me frantically, only to find every trace of me erased from his world.

My fiance, Dante de Rossi, is the heir to a mafia family in Manhorne, and he loves me dearly. Yet, a month before our wedding, he says his family has arranged for him to have a baby with his childhood friend, Isobel de Luca. Despite my refusal to agree to it, he brings it up daily and tries to push me into it. Half a month before the wedding, I receive a pregnancy report. I find out that Isobel is over a month pregnant. I have yet to give Dante my permission. This is when I realize just how fragile our years-long relationship is. I cancel the wedding and destroy everything he has ever given me. On the day of the wedding, I set off for Etolia to further my medical career. I accept a role with an international medical organization, severing all ties with the mafia. From that moment onward, he and I no longer have anything to do with each other!

.... Mali ba na mag mahal? Lalo na kung parehas kayo ng kasarian? Mali nga siguro, dahil nagmahal tayo ng hindi naman dapat at hindi nakaayon sa batas. Ngunit mas mali sigurong mag mahal kung panay panghuhusga lang ang natatanggap. Dahil kailan man hindi naging mali ang pagmamahal kahit na sa iba... ito ay kasalanan? Kasalanan na wala namang may kagustuhan. Pero hindi naman natin kasalanan na sa maling kasarian tayo nagmahal. Dahil kailan man hindi naging mali ang pagmamahal...

Seven years ago, Allyson, a designer of clothing line, was accused of plagiarizing designs after winning a contest. As a result, her husband Travis decided to send her away from the Philippines in order to avoid causing more troubles to his company. That night, Allyson intended to inform her husband of her pregnancy, but due to Travis' decision, she lost the will to do so, especially given her perception of Travis' lack of want to raise a baby. She followed her husband's command because he was the only person who supported her after her parents death. After a few years, she was given the opportunity to return to the Philippines in order to ascertain the truth about a crime that involved one of the most significant individuals in her life. When she came home, she believed that few things had changed including her relationship with her husband.

Chelsea married Russell for the sake of her dying mother. She needed money to pay the expensive medical bills. Russell never loved Chelsea and was only using her for his revenge on his family. However, he failed to notice that Chelsea was truly in love with him. Russell was surrounded by pretty ladies and never cared how Chelsea felt about it. Until one day, Chelsea asked for a divorce, because she felt depleted from this hopeless marriage. Russell then realized that he couldn't live without her and begged her to stay. But she said, "See you never, Mr. Murrillo."