Once There Was An Ugly Barnacle

I was the stand-in who looked most like my husband's first love. He put me through countless plastic surgeries, both major and minor ones, until I became her exact likeness. But then, she came back from the dead. All it took was her saying, "I don't like anyone looking like me," and he sent me right back to the operating table once more. I begged him, telling him that my body couldn't handle it anymore. Alas, he only looked at me with irritation. "Seeing that cheap imitation of her face just disgusts me," he sneered. "No matter how close you come, you'll never be her." In the end, I died on that operating table. Yet, he went mad, trying desperately to recall what I once looked like.

In order to protect my father, I was tortured for ten hours, but my father was busy celebrating his adopted daughter’s eighteenth birthday. With my dying breath, I called my father and said, “Dad, it’s my birthday today. Could you wish me a happy birthday?” “You crazy monster! You got your mother killed in order to celebrate your birthday! How could you still ask me to celebrate your birthday? You should just die!” With that said, he hung up. The next day, my corpse was placed in different flower pots and put in front of a police station. My father was in charge of inspecting my corpse, and he could immediately tell that the murderer did this for revenge. What they did to me was cruel and made a mockery of the police’s authority. But he did not manage to tell that the deceased was the daughter he hated.

Mabait. Inosente. Mapagmahal. Ganyan inilalarawan si Megan Gonzales, isang dalagang lumaki sa pagitan ng liwanag at dilim. Anak ng isang babaeng bar performer na mas mahal pa ang pag susugal kaysa sariling anak, natutunan ni Megan na ang simpleng pamumuhay ay sapat na—makatapos ng pag-aaral, makakain sa tamang oras, at maipaglaban ang mga taong mahal niya, kahit ang kapalit ay ang sarili niyang kalayaan. Hanggang sa isang gabi, tuluyang naglaho ang natitirang liwanag sa buhay niya. Sa isang underground human auction—isang gabi ng kasinungalingan, kasakiman, at kapangyarihan—ibinenta siya ng kanyang ina kapalit ng pera. Isang murang halaga, isang kahindik-hindik na kataksilan. Ang mga bid ay mabilis na tumataas: lima... sampu... tatlumpung milyon. Hanggang sa isang malamig, mariin, at makapangyarihang tinig ang sumigaw. "Isang daang bilyon. Para sa kanya." Tahimik ang mundo. Tumigil ang lahat. Doon siya unang nasilayan ni Lucien Alcaraz—isang negosyante sa itaas ng mundo, kilala sa yaman, talino, at kawalan ng puso. Ngunit sa gabing iyon, sa ilalim ng mga ilaw ng kasalanan, nakita niya si Megan. Hindi bilang isang produkto... kundi isang bagay na dapat angkinin para sa kaniyang sariling intensyon. Sa pagitan ng kasunduan at lihim na damdamin, matutuklasan ba ni Megan na ang tunay na halaga ng isang tao ay hindi nasusukat sa perang ipinambibili sa kanya? Mararanasan ba niya ang pagmamahal na ipinaglalaban siya? Halina`t subaybayan ang kwento nang ating bida.

Two years ago, as a graduate of Werewolf Medical School, I volunteered to go to the most remote and poorest pack, as it had always been my dream to help werewolf patients in need. I heard from my teacher that the werewolves in the Rogue Pack were the poorest and that their living conditions were the worst. Most of the werewolves there were old and weak, so I volunteered to go to that pack as soon as I graduated. After I arrived, I helped them build an infirmary and even set up a blood station. Every year, I led them in voluntary blood donations. But one time—right after I had taken a short break following a blood donation—they turned on me. They slandered me, calling me a selfish and heartless healer. Worse still, they accused me of faking illness, claiming I was lying comfortably in bed while patients were dying—refusing to lift a finger to save them. Not only that, they stormed into the infirmary, seized all my herbs and equipment, and completely trashed the place I had built for them with my own hands. Recalling the days I had spent day and night healing them—only to see my infirmary destroyed and my dream shattered—I let out a bitter smile. I picked up the phone and called the dean of my home pack. "I'm ready to return," I said. "I want to serve the patients in our own pack." Then, without a trace of regret, I left that place behind. However, after I gave up, the whole pack regretted it and begged me to return.

She never wanted him, she hated his family, she hated his elder brother, Lucas, for raping her, she hated the Winston's family and that hatred spread to her relationship with him, she never thought that she will get married to Damien Winston. But it happens when Lucienne wakes up one day and finds herself in the body of Cherry, the arranged bride of Damien Winston. She has to take onto the new identity of Cherry and marry from the same family she hated so much. She wants to go back to her own body but she can't... She must stay with Damien Winston as his wife, she must take the man who raped her as her brother in law. Will she ever let go of her hatred towards the Winston's family? What happens when her brother in law, her rapist, suddenly wants her? And more, what happens when the real Cherry is back and wants her position as the wife of Damien Winston? Will Lucienne give it up for the rightful owner or will she fight for something that was never hers, the heart of Damien Winston?

My boyfriend insists on hiking up a snow-covered mountain to see a waterfall. That very day, I fall from the peak. When I regain consciousness, I've lost my memories and broken a leg. Even my boyfriend has become my brother-in-law. Everyone turns their backs on me, but my psychologist, Quinton Scott, comforts and guides me. One day, he gets on one knee before me with a bouquet and a diamond ring in hand. He proposes as the medical personnel watch, and I weep with joy. Half a year after our marriage, I hear his friend say, "Looks like your hypnosis has gone well for the past year, Quinton. Speaking of which, you've already helped Winnie get what she wants. Why bother marrying Jennifer?" "Did you think I wanted to? I was afraid she'd suddenly regain her memories and try to hurt Winnie. It's easier for me to watch her like this." "Is it worth going to such lengths for Winnie? You cleaned up so many of her messes, and you're now using Jennifer for that…" "I'll do anything as long as Winnie is happy." Quinton stubs out his cigarette. After a long silence, he says, "Besides, I'm just borrowing Jennifer's womb. I'm putting trash to good use!"

Once a Luna, now a grieving widow and omega, Luna returns to Stone Prime with a silent vow to protect the Prime Cub and uncover the truth behind her mate’s death. But when Kieran—the guy she once loved and the Alpha falsely banished—returns with a contract marriage and a warning, everything she thought she knew begins to unravel.

Arla-Rosa gave her heart to the wrong man and paid the ultimate price, her life, and the lives of her unborn children. Betrayed by her family, ruined by love, discarded like trash, she was left to die in the cold, her trust shattered and her spirit broken. But death was not her end. It was her rebirth. Waking six months before the night of her greatest betrayal, Arla is no longer the naive, trusting girl they destroyed. This time, she sees the daggers hidden behind smiles, the poison laced in sweet words. This time, she has no intention of forgiving. No plans to surrender. No mercy to spare. Armed with the knowledge of what’s to come and a heart forged in fire, Arla-Rosa is ready to play their games... only now, she is writing the rules. And when the final reckoning comes, they will learn one brutal truth: The phoenix does not forgive. It burns.

Joseph Larkin, my husband, who has been missing for seven years, suddenly comes back. Not only does he bring another woman back, but he is also asking me for a divorce. Joseph says, "Mabel risked her life to save me. That's why I have to marry her to repay her. If you know what's good for you, you'll tell everyone we're already divorced." Looking at his haughty expression, I calmly say, "But I've already married someone else." Joseph laughs disdainfully. "Who are you trying to fool? Everyone knows you only have eyes for me."

Jace Maddox is a billionaire tech CEO known for his cold heart and strict routines. Behind closed doors, he's a man haunted by betrayal, grief, and secrets too heavy to share. River Hale is an ex-military bodyguard with nothing left to lose. Disgraced and angry, he’s hired to protect the one man he can’t stand, Jace Maddox. When a dangerous scandal threatens to destroy Jace’s empire, the only way to survive is a fake relationship. A staged romance to control the media. But fake feelings start to feel real. As secrets unravel and enemies close in, both men must face their pasts, and the truth about what they’ve come to mean to each other.