Simple Past Present

If turning 18 is a curse, Artemis Velasquez couldn't ask more. No debut celebration, being forced to have a vacation at her grandmother's, and remove all of her luxuries in life. Leaving her with no choice, she had to cope with simple living until she saw a wishing well where it was believed that any spoken wish would be granted. Accidentally falling into it, she discovers Salamanca where people live with power and magic, and encounters her grandmother's good-looking yet mysterious adoptee, Stalwart Augsburg, through whom she finds out about their family's origin and its tragic past. Learning everything builds her strong resolve, attends the most prestigious magical school, and promises to bring justice to their family. Yet, it is easier said than done. The new-found world is far different and too complicated. Old customs, an awakening war, wicked schemes, and formidable enemies are ahead. Can someone from the modern world rectify the past? Can someone who just accidentally fell into the wishing well make a difference?

TRIGGER WARNING!!! YOUR MORALS WILL NOT SURVIVE THIS BOOK!!! This story contains themes of obsession, possessiveness, stalking, emotional manip-ulation, and psychological control. It is unapologetically intense and unsettling in all the right (and wrong) ways. Be guided. *** Eight years ago, Shannon watched her stepbrother get handcuffed and taken to jail for a crime she committed. He took the fall for it without hesitation. Not because he was noble. God, no. But because obsession looks a lot like love when you're seventeen and scared. After that night, she never went to visit him in prison, nor did she reply to any of his letters. She buried him with the past and went on to live a peaceful life without him. But the past never forgets. Eight years later, when she was living a simple, peaceful life, had a decent job and a husband who loved her deeply, Shannon's past came knocking at her door. Strange things start happening... Doors left open. Favorite things mysteriously re-placed. Eyes she can't see but feels always watching her. Everyone says she's paranoid. Everyone says He is still in jail. No one believes her when she says she had a STALKER. Her judgment is already upon her because, now, HE is out of prison. And the first place he goes is her doorstep, because he says she owes him her life. And he's come to collect what's his. How far can Shannon run from a man who never stopped loving her in the most ter-rifying way? A man who'd kill anyone, even her husband, just to make her his? HIS NAME IS KENAI... The Stalker You Never Want To Have. *** If you enjoy slow-burn stalker dynamics and morally gray characters, this one's for you.

Rosa never imagined that her quiet, ordinary life would be turned upside down by colliding with a billionaire. Literally. After an unexpected incident, Alexander Wade, icy CEO and heir to a vast company, suggests a contract marriage to fulfill a clause in his grandfather’s will, she agrees reluctantly as it was the only hope she could find. To Alexander, it was simple: marry, inherit, move on. But nothing about Rosa is simple. With every stolen glance and every unexpected moment, the line between pretend and reality begins to blur. Suddenly, it’s not just about signatures and legalities. It’s about feelings he never intended to feel. But when his glamorous ex, Daphne, returns and his manipulative mother schemes to tear them apart, Rosa and Alexander's fragile connection is tested. Secrets resurface, betrayal cuts deep, and love is no longer enough on its own. Now, Alexander must make a choice; hold onto the past he's always known… or fight for the woman who unexpectedly stole his heart.

The day Naomi Blake would be the happiest of her life turned out to be the worst and it changed everything. Dumped by her fiancée two hours before their engagement party, Naomi drowned her heartbreak in alcohol. She woke up the next morning hungover…with a stranger in her bed. Desperate to forget the night, she left him a note calling him the worst mistake of her life and walked away certain she'd never see him again. But fate had other plans… Weeks later, the same man appears with a contract that could erase her family's crushing debts if she agrees to marry him, now Naomi is caught between danger and desperation. Six months. That's all rehearsal requires: six months of marriage, six months of pretending. No falling in love, no digging into his past, no breaking the contact, the rules are simple enough. Will Naomi be able to walk away after six months or will this dangerous arrangement turn into something real she can't escape?

The world snapped back into focus, the memories of my brutal end crashing into the present. I was back—right here, right now, the exact moment Jarrold Jameson was trying to hand me that obscenely expensive purse. In my past life, he'd had a nasty fight with his precious Cindy Mayford. To make her jealous, he decided to use me as his pawn. I'd been stupid enough to love him once, but my pride had revolted. I'd refused to be a stand-in. It didn't matter. He kept engineering "accidental" run-ins, crafting one public misunderstanding after another, all to get a reaction from Cindy. I had done nothing wrong. I gained nothing. But I became Cindy's enemy. Her jealousy festered until it turned lethal. She had me kidnapped. The men she hired left my body shattered and broken. And Jarrold? He held his sobbing darling close and whispered those unforgettable words, "She got what she deserved." In the end, they stepped right over what was left of me and walked off into their picture-perfect life. Now, staring into his smug face, a cold clarity settled over me. This time, everything would be different. I snatched the handbag from his grasp. "A present for me?" I asked, my voice sweet, a sharp, calculated smile on my lips. "I love it. But just so you know, for next time… I've always preferred the classic design from her family's brand. That's the one you should be buying me."

Sabi nga sa kanta, ❝Kay gandang pagmasdan ang iyong mga mata, kumikinang- kinang at di ko maintindihan.❞ Yun pa lang, ramdam ko kung gaano kita gustong makita'ng lagi. Dahil sa segundong madampian ang labi ko ng mga labi mo, sa mga oras na masilayan kong nakatingin ka rin sa'kin, yung saya na ipinaparamdam mo, abot langit. Yung tipong hindi ko maipaliwanag. ❝At sa paglisan ng araw, akala'y di ka mahal. At ang nadarama'y di magtatagal. Malay ko bang hindi mapapagal. Iibigin kita kahit gaano pa katagal.❞ Mahal, para sa'yo yan dahil sa magpakailan man, ikaw at ikaw lang ang alam ng puso ko na ibigin. Ngayon, bukas, at hanngang sa araw na ang ating mga paa'y magpantay, ikaw at ikaw lang aking mahal. It was Veronica's letter to her present lover, Miko Diaz. Both were in love, have set their future together, and plans to hold hands until eternity. But one night, the moment she opens her eyes, she found herself in the strange world where Lance (her ex-lover is still alive) In that place, he is her husband and they have kids together. Drowned in many unanswered questions, will she find her way out or she will continue to live in the world of which her past love belongs.

Selene gave her all her love, her loyalty, her life. But when she learned the truth behind her husband's betrayal, it was already too late. Now reborn, she's no longer the naive wife they once controlled. This time, she's playing by her own rules. And payback… is only just beginning. But being back is only the beginning. What Selene didn’t expect… was that this new life wouldn’t follow the same script. Her past may have been tragic, but this present? It's unpredictable. The players have changed. The game is messier, new enemies new allies and new secrets. And everyone’s out to get what they want and Selene is caught right in the middle of it all. And then… there’s Collins. Collins never believed he’d be able to feel desire again — not with Sarah, the fake girlfriend he barely tolerated. Not with the desperate women who threw themselves at him. He had long accepted that he’d been broken beyond repair, emotionally and physically dismantled with no urges. Until that night. The M&D Corporation party. when the drug hit. He felt it — the spinning, the heat, the blur. And all he wanted was to get away. And in his struggles to hide he stumbled into the wrong restroom while shoving a figure out of his way in his haze… only to be met with a spark that shouldn't have existed. It should’ve ended there. But fate doesn’t let go so easily. Because the woman? She’s married off-limits and complicated..

The love that has a huge gap and like heaven and earth. That's how Hershey Mae Mendoza describes her second love, Frich Yuan Lim Guerrero, the cousin of her ex-boyfriend-Alex. Hershey's family is just an ordinary family lives in the Province of Cavite. Yuan's family comes from a well known family of Billionaire's in China, so his family strongly objected to the love between the two. For Yuan's parent, he should also stay with a rich woman which is contrary to Hershey's state of life, so it became a big obstacles for them. The story of Hershey and Yuan began when Hershey had the opportunity to study in De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, one of the most famous school in the Philippines that only the rich can afford to study. Hershey thought that Alex was his true love but she felt very sad and disappointed when she suffered a heart attack and chose to leave her and leave the country for his treatment. They separated and there She met Yuan, Alex's cousin who was disappointed with her former love, Hani. Hershey's and Yuan's path crossed unexpectedly. They leaned on each other and  their love healed her broken hearts. But the relationship that gradually developed only caused so many obstacles. Time and time again, fate made the two face the gap in their life status. When the time passed, people and tragedy test the love they hold onto. What if the love from the past suddenly return and ready to fight the present? Will they fight for their love? Will they continue to cling to a kind of love that is forbidden? Or they will just let each other have fun in the company of others?

Quinley Ysabelle, a certified nobody, a loner and a simple highschool student who is about to graduate from the secondary level. But because of a school retreat, everything has changed. Knowing that she is not just a simple human but a hybrid that has a tiara in her head.A princess who possessed such a divine magic inside her. A half-human and half-fairy who will cause the ruin and order of the kingdom. But what if, she got stuck between that two situation because of someone.Could she still choose her heart over mind? Or her mind over heart?

Gianna Castillo never imagined her life could be turned upside down by one man. Cold, dominant, and dangerously handsome, Anthony Sinclair is the CEO who turns her every workday into a nightmare. One day, Anthony shocks her by offering a contract marriage to stop his mother's interference, promising a salary increase in return. Gianna immediately refuses, unwilling to marry the man who made her life miserable. But everything changes when Gianna discovers her mother is secretly battling cancer. Desperate to save her, Gianna swallows her pride and accepts Anthony’s offer. Their public marriage shocks everyone and places Gianna under ruthless judgment, scrutiny, and whispers of greed. In the midst of chaos, judgment and growing feelings, Anthony's past suddenly returns—his ex-girlfriend, Sonia. Old feelings resurface, lines begin to blur, and the contract that once felt simple becomes dangerously complicated. Now trapped between duty and desire, Gianna must face the question she never expected to ask: Will Anthony choose his first love… or the woman he married by contract?.