Story Driven Meaning

My husband and his beloved mistress died together in a car accident. They left me with a pair of illegitimate children. Eighteen years passed in a blur. I poured my heart and soul into raising those children until, at last, they earned admission to Corvell University, the country's top university. But on the very day they received their acceptance letters, my 'dead' husband returned. And beside him stood his mistress. She clutched my husband's arm and beamed at me. "Thanks to your tireless care, my two sons finally made it into Corvell. If not for you, the two of us wouldn't have been free to live so happily together all these years..." Later, my husband demanded a divorce. He wanted to marry his mistress and reunite their perfect little family of four. I didn't cry, nor did I rage. I only smiled and said, "Sure."

When the zombie apocalypse hit, pets leveled up into guardians. Three per person. That was the cap. My buddy dropped serious cash on three Caucasian Shepherds. My landlord dumped his fish and started raising crocodiles. My girlfriend bolted to the zoo and came back with a lion. Me? I had three strays. Bubba—blind. Missy—lame. Snowy—barely a month old. The second the system locked pet slots, I knew I was screwed. I barricaded myself inside with my three "broken" cats and kept my head down. Day one—fear. Day two—helpless. Day three—the cats strolled back in, tails up, dragging something I didn't recognize. Bubba looked at me. "Dad, I bit off every zombie head on the block. I'm solid, right?" I just stared.

On the night of our fifth wedding anniversary, I set the table, lit the candles, and waited on the couch for my husband to come home. As I scrolled through my feed to pass the time, a message notification popped up–from his old classmate, Susie Cartman. "Angela, thanks to Calvin's seed, I can finally have my own baby." The message came with a selfie–her grinning at the camera, holding up a medical slip in one hand, flashing a peace sign with the other. I touched my stomach, where our child was quietly growing. Calvin… Did you really think everything in life would always go your way?

When war broke out in Irestan, my fiancé, Everett Jones, caused a scene at the airport and refused to let the evacuation flight take off. He was determined to wait for his precious first love, Annie Scott, who had taken advantage of the chaos to loot a cosmetics counter for luxury goods. By then, the insurgent forces were already closing in. The shriek of explosions grew louder, drawing nearer by the second. With an entire plane full of people in mortal danger, I had no choice. I knocked Everett unconscious and dragged him aboard. After we returned home, far from the battlefield, we lived a period of quiet, comfortable happiness. I truly believed he had finally put that woman behind him. I was wrong. On our wedding day, he tied me up, drove me away, and deliberately crashed the car, killing me. As my life slipped away, I heard his twisted laughter. "Daniela, you're the one who killed my Annie. Because of you, she was killed by an insurgent missile. "She was just a young girl who liked to look pretty. What was so wrong with that? "This is what you owe her. I'm going to make you suffer far more than she ever did." When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the boarding gate, at the exact moment he blocked the plane. This time, I chose to grant his wish and let him stay behind with his beloved first love, together, forever.

During the holiday season, a flood hits. The company's warehouse is submerged up to the third floor. Due to the emergency, I have my assistant tell everyone to come back a day early to help. I promise that the company will provide stipends and extra time off to make up for this. But on that day, a Gen Z employee goes live across the internet to report me. "Oh, my God. It's 2025, yet there are still companies forcing employees to adjust their time off and work overtime! Is this heartless boss so broke that she needs to exploit us like this? Will she die if she doesn't squeeze us out of every drop of usefulness? Company notices override the law. Impressive stuff, this is!" Soon, the company ends up on the trending list due to criticism from the online community. Even the regulators come knocking to hold us accountable. In the end, the company is forced to cancel the notice. A lot of equipment isn't salvaged in time, resulting in significant losses. The employee even posts a victory lap. "Give the boss a tiny lesson—see if she dares to force overtime again!" I'm so angry that I laugh out loud. I tell my assistant to cancel the annual benefit we give all employees—an entire month of paid time off for Christmas and the New Year holidays. If we have to stick strictly to the law, then fine. Have it your way!

On the day my sight returned, our family doctor, Anna Leone, stood right in front of me and mouthed to my husband, Don Marco Vitale, "Double the lubricant tonight. I promise it'll send you straight to heaven, my Don." Marco pressed a gentle kiss to my eyes. Then he turned away and replied with the same silent lip movements, "You little tease. That mouth of yours—and the one below—I'm crazy about them both." The two of them exchanged a knowing smile, convinced their secret was flawless. What they didn't know was that not only had my vision fully recovered—I was also fluent in lip-reading. My gaze drifted to the bottle of lubricant sitting brazenly in the wall cabinet. I said nothing. Instead, I quietly sent a single text message: [Papa, I've decided to come home.] In three days, I would vanish completely. All I would leave behind for them would be the hollowed-out fortune of billions—and that bottle of "lubricant" I had replaced with high-strength industrial superglue.

When the results were released, my stepbrother, Dylan Anderson, conspired with our class teacher and accused me of cheating. When they presented the two examination papers with the exact steps written out, I was rendered speechless. My biological parents forced me to admit that I cheated to protect Dylan’s reputation. Then, they forcefully sent me to a mental asylum. To cover up the scandal, the Anderson family told everyone that I had gone insane. They left me to suffer alone. I finally escaped, but died tragically in a car accident facilitated by Dylan. When I died, I finally learned that the phrase “blood was thicker than water” held no truth. It was no match to Dylan’s lies. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the past. I was in the examination hall again. I handed in four blank examination papers. I wanted to see how they could accuse me of cheating if I scored zero on all papers.

Love they say is blind and makes one do stupid things. That seems to be the case for Kira as the story unfolds how she gives her time, skills and even goes as far as endangering her life for the world nastiest millionaire Damian Willows, who unable to handle the fact that a lowly woman like Kira had swept him off his feet at their first encounter, treats her fecklessly. Just when Kira was about to give up on love, a deal is struck by her dear Damian, in a bid to protect his image and reputation, and she finds herself in the conclaves of a deadly drug baron, worth billions of dollars. In the unlikeliest of ways, he teaches her the true meaning of love. Just when she begins to accept Don's love, her first love soon wants her back.

Evina Chen is a young career woman who is not afraid to defy her superiors. She would even risk her personal life to defend her colleagues from tyrannical bosses. Meanwhile, Gabriel Yang is a ruthless, dominant CEO who would sacrifice anything for the sake of the growth of their company. He would crush anyone who would dare stand in his way. She hates authorities. He hates rebels. But both would learn the true meaning of love in each other's arms. The question is, will their love for one another be enough to overcome the power struggles along the way? ****** NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: > Forgive me in advance for the mistakes. I don't have an editor yet. :') > Feel free to get in touch with me at @7arabella7 > Thank you for giving this story a chance. I hope you like it! :*

Twenty-year-old Francheska Dela Cruz, an aspiring writer was hired in one of the biggest publishing companies in Metro Manila and her first assignment was to interview a philanderer who had a scandalous reputation in his time. Driven by the determination to keep her job and to be noticed by her boss, Dale Trinidad made her decide to push through with the assignment. She found herself in the old capital city of Pasig City, near the Municipal Hall at the heart of Sandoval Avenue in Acacia Alley. A crowded and ragged place with people from all walks of life, Conversations with Micheal Benedicto brought her to the world of passion and lust. His overwhelming vast adventure with all kinds of love and each of his women portrayed a big role in his life. From his first encounter of a carnal affair with his supervisor in his first job to numerous women that came his way. His insatiable desire towards lonely single mothers and older women tainted his reputation and the radical conclusion of his story. All thirty-six women portrayed a big role in his life and shaped him for who he is. Francheska was not just an attendee to Michael's story. She was also about to find out her true identity and the confrontation of reality. It spanned two generations separated by fate, each had its struggle, its pain, lies, betrayal, and joy. Through this encounter, they will finally realize their connection and the real meaning of love, self-sacrifice, acceptance, and forgiveness. That in the end, love is all that matters.