No Matter What Happens Or Happened

Sa edad na 19, gumuho ang mundo ni Castheophy Ynares nang misteryosong mamatay ang kanyang mga magulang, iniwan siyang nag-iisa upang alagaan ang tatlo niyang nakababatang kapatid. At sa isang iglap, nawala rin ang yaman at seguridad na inaakala niyang habambuhay nilang sandigan. Pero hindi siya sumuko. Sa loob ng limang taon, nagpakahirap siya, tiniis ang lahat ng sakit at gutom, hanggang sa tuluyan siyang makapagtapos bilang Summa Cum Laude sa Ateneo de Iloilo. Ngunit sa pagpasok niya sa bagong mundo bilang isang abogado, isang trahedya ang agad na sumalubong sa kanya—napagbintangan siyang nagnakaw ng mahahalagang files. At doon niya nakilala si Jaiden Wench. Makapangyarihan. Misteryoso. Walang awa. Siya ang lalaking hindi lang may kakayahang manipulahin ang mundo, kundi pati ang puso ni Castheophy. "You think you can escape me, Castheophy?" bulong nito, ang tinig ay malamig at puno ng panunuya. "You stepped into my world—now, you’re mine." Dahil sa isang kontratang wala siyang lusot, napilitan siyang manatili sa piling ni Jaiden. Ngunit sa bawat araw na lumilipas, mas lalong lumalalim ang laban sa pagitan nila. Galit o tukso? Laro o katotohanan? Habang tinutuklas niya ang madilim na nakaraan ng lalaking ito, isang bagay ang hindi niya maitatanggi—unti-unti siyang nahuhulog sa demonyong hindi niya dapat mahalin. Ngunit sa larong ito, may kailangang matalo. May kailangang magsakripisyo. At may kailangang mawala. Sa huli, pag-ibig nga ba ang magpapalaya sa kanya—o ito rin ang tuluyang wawasak sa kanya?

Meganne Lou Laxa o mas kilala bilang si Secretary Laxa, she worked hard as the CEO’s Secretary sa Estrellas Group ngunit after 10 years she resigned due to personal reasons. Gusto n’ya rin kasing magawa ang mga oridinaryong bagay lang sa iba pero impossible sa kan’ya, gusto n’yang hanapin, ano ba talaga ang para sa kan’ya? But little did she know na ang katulad n’yang mapagmahal sa pamilya, positive, dedicated, maloko at pala ngiti ay magiging the one ng isang taong hindi pa buong tanggap ng lipunan. Sa tagal ni Secretary Laxa na nagtratrabaho sa Estrellas ay nakatagpo na rin ito ng mga tunay na barkada at ng taong tinuturing n’ya bilang kan’yang matalik na kaibigan sa matagal na panahon, si Alex Estrellas na siya ring bunso ng pamilyang nagmamay-ari ng kompanyang kan’yang pinagtratrabahuhan. Ngunit biglang bumaliktad ang mundo ng sabihin ni Alex ang mga katagang, Meganne Lou Laxa, mahal kita, mahal na mahal kita higit pa sa pagiging kaibigan. Ilang taong naging alipin si Meg ng pagkakataon, na halos mawalan na ito ng sariling buhay para lang maitawid ang pangangailangan ng kan’yang pamilya. Ngayon? Handa pa rin ba siyang panindigan ang gusto n’ya kahit halos kontra ang lipunan? Na halos lahat kwinikwestiyon kung sino at ano ang tao pinili n’yang mahalin? Hanggang kailan kaya mairarason ni Meganne ang mga katagang, bakit hindi siya? Bakit hindi pwedeng siya? Bakit, what’s wrong with Miss Alex?

Agi never got the chance to breath oxygen that is not generated by machines nor had the chance to ever see and feel the warmth of the sun. After an airborne virus swept all the remaining life forms on earth, they are forced to live underground where newborns are kept in Society Two, acting as an institution dedicated to experiment and test the children, strictly following the order the government imposed. But, as things slowly got out of hand, is the place really safe for them?

The day I found out that I was a fake heiress who had taken the place of the Jones family’s real daughter, my husband, Timothy Lane, was brought back as the true heir of the Lane family. The man who once said he loved me quickly abandoned both me and our daughter. At that very moment, the real heiress, Nancy Jones, decisively broke up with the fake heir of the Lane family and got together with Timothy. According to them, this was simply ‘making things right’. After losing everything in the blink of an eye, Micah Lane, the fake heir, kidnapped my daughter and me, forcing me to call Timothy for help. However, Timothy ignored our desperate pleas and mocked us. "You two are really something. Of course the fake heiress and fake heir go together. No wonder you make such a perfect pair of actors." On the other end of the line, I could occasionally hear Nancy's raspy, suggestive voice. As I listened to them, Micah stabbed me and my daughter to death. I died a tragic, painful death. After we died, my daughter and I were my husband's final assignment as a mortician before he left the job. The man who claimed he did not care about us fell apart the moment he saw our lifeless bodies. "Wasn't it all supposed to be a lie?! Why weren't you lying to me?! "Please, don't die! Don't leave me!"

I chase my six-year-old daughter out of the house on a cold winter day. I cut her new clothes to pieces and dirty her dainty little face with mud. Then, I give her all my savings. She looks at me tearfully and reaches out for me, wanting me to hold her. However, I harden my heart and push her away, saying, "Leave! Go to Bowen Group and look for their CEO, Logan Bowen. Show him my death certificate and your DNA test—he'll take you in." She sobs while looking at me. "Don't you want me anymore, Mommy? Let's go look for Daddy together." After a brief silence, I say, "I can't go with you. I lied to him back then to have you." Yes, I'm a liar. I orchestrated everything from meeting Logan, dating him, to ultimately leaving him with his child in my womb. Even the death certificate I've given my daughter is fake. From beginning to end, I've lied to him about everything except our daughter.

Moans. I hear moans. "Ugh! Faster!" I covered my ears like an innocent child hoping that they would quite down. I ran back down the kitchen and drank a glass of water. I'm not paid enough for this. Thinking back and I was already regretting my life decisions— NOT! Now that I have discovered how much of a big womanizer this fiancée of mine is, I think I now have a reason to dump him. Disguised as his maid is so hard just to get intel unto what his true colors actually are. Honestly wasn't the best idea, but it definitely is the most efficient one. I sat on the counter of the kitchen and rested my head on the table over my folded arms. Perhaps a nap might help innocent me up. Just when slumber finally came, I heard sloppy footsteps coming down the staircase. The "young master" finally finished his business. I went to meet them at the bottom of the stairs to greet his lady friend safety on her way home. "I can't wait for tomorrow night," she said in a seductive tone and batted her lashes on him. I held back my urge to barf. Her arms are all over him as if she was the drunk one when in fact it was my good for nothing fiancé. "You're too loud," Timothee replied as it was his way of rejecting girls. And yes, another girl cried that night. She won't be expecting to sleep with him again. As the lady went out the door, I look at the young master. His hair wet, topless and jeans unbuttoned. "Don't drool over me, scullery maid." And with that he went back up. Jerk!

My wife dies in an accident, leaving me and our son, who's just started kindergarten, behind. I barely make it through the funeral. However, when I get home, my in-laws come knocking with my wife's brother in tow. They want to take over my wife's fortune, including an old bungalow my parents left me for me in the city. I finally realize that my wife has changed me so much that her family has never seen me tearing people's throats out.

Despite a decade of marriage, Simon never once shared my bed, claiming that he had pledged himself to ascetic practices and that it was beneath him. I thought that he suffered from some shameful ailment and guarded his secret like a devoted fool, until my birthday, when I came home to find him entangled with a brothel worker before the floor-length mirror. When I lunged forward in rage, he drove a shard of that broken mirror straight through my heart. When I awoke, I was gripping my phone, its screen illuminating a message Simon had just sent: [I’ll still give you a lavish wedding, but the marriage certificate? That belongs to her.]

Fedora Smith was done with love. Finished. Buried. Betrayal had ripped out her heart and torched it—her boyfriend of four years and her best friend of twenty-five caught pants down on the very anniversary sheets she gifted him. And their excuses? “You’re not attractive anymore.” “You took too long to marry him.” Fine. If love was a game, she was rewriting the rules. Now, she runs The Bridal Fix, an elite agency providing fake marriages for a steep price—rent-a-bride services for men needing to fool their families, secure an inheritance, or stage the perfect breakup. Fifteen weddings, fifteen divorces—no strings, no mess. Just business. Until Judah Carlstone. He hires her like the rest—one contract, one wedding, one payday. But Judah asks too many questions. Looks at her too long. And when he smirks and says— "Tell me, Fedora… how does it feel to say ‘I do’ and not mean it?" For the first time in years, she has no answer. Because this was never supposed to feel real.

Two years after we marry, my husband moves his sister and her family into our marital home. The four of them settle down and refuse to leave. So, I quit both my jobs. I laze around at home all day and splurge on various things. I have so many parcels delivered that they pile up by the door. Occasionally, I ask my husband and his sister for allowance. When the management office sends someone to chase for our maintenance fee, my husband breaks down so loudly that everyone in the building can hear him. He asks me whether I've lost my mind—who will support the family if I don't work? How will we survive without money? Am I going to allow our family to starve? So, it turns out he does know that we'll starve without anyone generating income. Why does he and his sister stay at home and plot to take away all my money, then?