Summer Solstice By Nick Joaquin Summary

Zachary Smithson was my uncle in name. When I was seventeen, I confessed to him, but he rejected me fiercely. He tore up my love letter and told me to give up on such thoughts. When I was twenty-two, I graduated and attempted to move out. To my surprise, I found a dress I had lost. He had hidden it under his pillow.

Berawal dari one night stand dengan Nick Carter yang mengaku sebagai adik angkatnya, Cleopatra Simpson semakin terpesona dan terjebak dalam pesona laki-laki tampan dan mempesona itu. Dia terjebak dalam cintanya sendiri dengan Nick, hingga tidak bisa menolak apa pun yang Nick mau. Dia, Cleopatra Simpson gadis yang di tinggal bunuh diri oleh ayahnya karena kebangkrutan perusahaannya. Hingga Nick Carter datang dan mengatakan kalau dia adalah anak angkat dari Tuan Simpson. Cleo di ajak tinggal bersama Nick di rumahnya, juga di beri pekerjaan yang sesuai dengan jabatannya dulu. Hingga benih cinta tumbuh dalam hati Cleo, tapi dia tidak bisa mengungkapkan secara langsung karena Nick sendiri sudah memiliki seorang kekasih. Dia terjebak jerat pesona Nick, hingga akhirnya kekasih Nick mengetahui kalau Cleo dan Nick memiliki hubungan lebih dari seorang saudara angkat. Suatu malam kekasih Nick memergoki keduanya tidur bersama. Cleo pun di ancam untuk meninggalkan Nick dan berhenti dari pekerjaannya. "Kamu harus mengasingkan diri dan pergi jauh jika ingin Nick masih memegang kekuasaan sebagai CEO perusahaan papaku. Kuberikan uang sebagai persetujuanmu untuk meninggalkan kekasihku, Cleo."

Ren thinks summer season kept changing his life in more ways than one. Little did he know, there's still more in store for him.

Hendell always look for ways and means to create things that makes her happy through writing. She loves poetry and literature. She found freedom and strength when she is constructing words to create a beautiful creation. But in real life, she is aloof. Her doctor diagnosed her with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). That is why she is afraid of people and their judgements and criticisms. She find it hard to trust people so she close her doors and build a wall to protect herself from her own fears. But a guy named Harken suddenly came in the picture. In his presence and kindness, she found herself trusting so much. She learned to open up and discover the world outside her own imagination. However, all good things didn't last. Harken left her like everyone does that made her world turned dark again. And it get worse. She felt betrayed. Her heart filled with pain and bitterness. She became the opposite of her past self. When Harken came back, she knows what to do. Now, it’s her turn to hurt him.

D'Andre, heir to the Summerfield CEO, embarks on a soul-searching journey and escapes to the serene shores of El Nido for a summer retreat. There, he encounters Maiari, a captivating local, and their instant connection ignites a passionate summer romance. However, D'Andre's past resurfaces when he receives a message from Taylor, an ex-lover, forcing him to confront his emotions. As D'Andre navigates the complexities of his feelings, he also navigates his blossoming relationship with Catalina, a city girl, daughter of the Summerfield's President, his current girlfriend. The secret D'Andre conceals from Maiari and his misstep with Catalina, coupled with Taylor's hopeful desire for a second chance, are a truly dilemma. Amidst breathtaking landscapes and stolen moments, D'Andre's heart is torn between the memories of a passionate summer and the choices that await him back in the city.

Sa batang puso ni Nikka ay minahal na niya ang kanyang senyorito ngunit ang kanilang katayuan sa buhay ay hadlang sa sumisibol niyang damdamin. Sa patagong paraan ay inalagaan niya ang pagtangi sa amo niyang hindi niya malaman kung pinaglalaruan ba siya o may pagtingin din sa kanya. Ang lahat ng pangarap at pagasa ni Nikka ay naglaho dahil sa isang kasinungalingan at isang katotohanang kailangan niyang harapin. Sa kanyang pagbabalik ng Hacienda makalipas ang ilang taon, muling sumariwa ang pait at sugat ng una niyang pagibig at pagkabigo. Ngunit muli rin naman nabuhay ang apoy ng pagmamahal niya ng muling makita ang amo at kababatang hindi niya malaman kung bakit namumuhi na sa kanya ngayon.

Sa labis na kagustuhan ni Gabrielle na mabawasan ang guilt sa pagkawala ng kanyang kapatid ay sinikap niyang gawin ang lahat para sa ikabubuti ng kanyang mga estudyante lalo na at buhay na ng mga ito ang nakataya. Para sa kanya, wala nang mas lulungkot pa sa naging buhay niya. Walang pamilya. Mag-isa. Miserable. Hanggang sa dumating sa buhay niya ang isang lalaki sa katauhan ni Zierelle Montefalcon. Hindi niya alam kung biyaya ba ang pagdating nito sa buhay niya o isang pagkakamali. Pagkakamali, kung hahayaan niya ang kanyang sariling tanggapin ito sa buhay niya at umasa siyang mayroon ulit siyang taong maaasahan sa tabi niya. Sa ilang taong namuhay siya nang mag-isa, natuto na siyang walang ibang inaasahan pa kundi ang sarili lamang niya. She became an independent woman as she wanted to be. But fate interfere. Some things won't go as planned. Namalayan na lamang niya ang kanyang sarili na unti-unti nang nanghihina ngunit sa isiping nasa tabi niya lang ang lalaki ay nanatili siyang malakas at natuto siyang magtiwala na tutulungan siya nitong hanapin ang kapatid niya. How about the boy with yellow umbrella? Patuloy niya itong inaalala dahil naroon ito sa tabi niya noong mga panahong nawala ang kapatid niya. Pagkakatiwalaan niya kaya ang isang aroganteng police officer para mahanap ang dalawang taong matagal na niyang hinahanap? How will she find them when her only clue is.... That summer...the rain pours.

Can Ilongga beauty tame the dragon? Paano nga ba kung nakahanap ng katapat ang certified black sheep ng pamilya sa katauhan ng isang estranghera? Dahil sa isang malaking pustahan ng magbabarkada. Ycon, the deadliest CEO and the black sheep of the family ay aksidenteng nainlove sa isang titibo-tibong Ilongga. He was a certified womanizer in town. Katwiran ay pagdating ng panahon ipapakasal naman siya ng kanyang lolo sa babaeng hindi niya naman gusto pero nagmula sa maharlikang pamilya. Why not sulitin niya muna ang pagiging buhay binata, sayang ang genes kapag hindi natikman ng ibang chicks hindi ba? Hannah Maricor Evina Zaavedra, na taglay ang totoong tagline na basta "Ilongga Gwapa" The adopted daughter of The Zaavedra family in Iloilo. The cow girl, happy go lucky, always positive in life, maawain at mapagmahal kanino man. Paano kung magkrus ang landas ng dalawa at ang mga pinaniniwalaan ng bawat isa ay hindi magkatugma? Away-bati, aso't pusa, kulog at kidlat, araw at ulan, init at lamig ganito parati ang dalawa hanggang ang isa sa kanila ay nahulog na nga. Ngunit ang unti-unting nararamdamang ay mukhang magiging forever secret nalang sapagkat nagkaroon ng lamat ang angkan ng mga Lee at Zaavedra, dahil sa kinasangkutang eskandalo na ang pasimuno ay ang mismong ate ni Ycon at ang pinsan ni Hannah. At tila yata at inaayunan ng tadhana dahil makalipas ang walong taon ay mauungkat muli ang nakaraan sa aksidenteng pagtatagpo ng landas ng dalawa sa isang sikat na isla ng Boracay sa Aklan, at sa wakas nagkaroon nga ng pagkakataon na maisakatuparan ang dati nang plano na paghigantihan ang dalaga. "What happens in Boracay stays in Boracay." But that planned night na sa huli ay kanyang pagsisisihan dahil sa mga sikretong malalaman. Magkaka-forever pa kaya ang dalawa? Hay ang gulo-gulo na talaga!

We all have our wildest dreams, don't we? We all have our regrets and pains in our life that made it so hard that it might have suffocated us at some point. Life is short. Take the risk or never. And when love arrives love and if it leaves, leave. Don't stay as I did.

Canary Lienne is playful, skips classes and never serious in her studies. 'You only live once' is the title of the song she thought of as her motto to believe. Then with just one reservation at a café, she met Samuel. He is mature, silent and an adult. Samuel is her first crush. Isn't it great that they both like each other? As she grows up and faces independence, learns of things she never knew, will the bad little girl Cana remain? Or does Samuel's love and care make her the good girl she has always wanted to look up to? A warm cup of coffee in the summer and a slice of romance, a story of growing up, family, friendship, betrayal, bullying, coming out and the first struggles of teenagers. This is solely based on the experience of the author's teenage years with peers. Disclaimer: The names, characters, setting and scenes are fictional.