Tame That Beast

On my birthday, the dining table was loaded with all my favorites. My mom had been cooking and baking the entire afternoon, insisting everything be perfect for when Mike got home from work so we could celebrate together. But then, he called and said his first love had been drugged at a bar, and he had to go help her. I stopped him and begged him not to go. Mike snapped at me. "Jesus, Em, don’t pull this jealous wife crap. She’s alone, defenseless, and unconscious—I can't let some random dude take advantage of her!" My mother heard those words and was so enraged that she had a heart attack. She died on the spot. Just like that, my mom died on my birthday. I called Mike, asking him to attend my mom's funeral. But before he could reply, I saw Cathy Miller's latest Instagram post, captioned: [Mikey… after all these years, it was always you.] Mike had liked it. My thumb moved before my brain caught up, typing out the only words that mattered: [A homewrecker and a lying bastard. Hope you rot together.]

Who knew a single lie could ruin a life this much? Natalie Rossi, a scholarship student from a poor background pretends to be rich to survive among Italy's elites. But when she names Leonardo Moretti as her boyfriend during a party game, the lie escalates into something more dangerous. Because Leonardo is real, and isn't a man whose name can be used easily without consequences. Overnight, Natalie becomes a target meant to be cleared off. Hunted, shamed and stripped of everything she has worked for, Natalie watches her world crumble until an unseen hand begins to shield her from chaos. Will Natalie pay the full price of her lies, or accept the hand reaching for her… and everything that comes with it?

During the mandatory freshman orientation camp, my skin had flared up with a severe allergic reaction, so I didn't use the plastic washbasin the school handed out. Instead, I opened my suitcase and took out the custom silver basin I had brought from home. My roommate, Louisa Carter, immediately made a snide remark, drawling, "You're really something, huh? Kids from broke families like us are lucky to have any basin at all." I didn't bother responding. I simply pulled out my facial essence to do a cold compress, but she immediately rushed over, slapped the bottle out of my hand, and jabbed a finger at my face. "Bet you get tens of thousands a month for living expenses. You have a sugar daddy, don't you? Don't you feel guilty making your folks work their fingers to the bone back on the farm? People like you don't deserve to be at our school. I'm reporting you to the student counselor." I laughed in disbelief and slapped her. … The next morning, the family photo I'd left on my desk had been slashed to ribbons. Across the back, carved in ink, were the words: 'Daughter of a homewrecker. Go to hell.' I went straight to the police. While officers pulled the dorm security footage, our student counselor and the university president rushed in. The moment the president saw the man whose face had been cut apart in my photo, his legs nearly buckled. He almost dropped to his knees.

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!

Woo Hana Lim and Park Kaden Lee. She loved him since kindergarten. He never noticed her. When he started dating a girl called Scarlet in high school, Hana realized that it was a one-sided love, and she became cold and stopped going after him, swallowing her feelings. After a big betrayal and a fight, Hana was the one who took care of Kaden, and that was the night when they slept together. But unfortunately for Hana, when he sleep-spoke his ex-name and when he woke up, didn't recognize her either and that was the stopin. A week after that fateful night, Hana got accepted to Harvard and started studying abroad. Sometime after that, she discovered she was pregnant, with him, and kept that a secret from her family, which knew his, but she decided to have the baby. Now, eight years after that, she's famous abroad, her son, Taeyang is seven and a genius. After an accident, she had to come back to South Korea with her son, having to face everything she left behind. What is Kaden gonna do when he discovers that he has a son? What is her family gonna do when they found out that Tae-Tae's father was closer than they ever thought?

At my engagement dinner with Greg Willis, the Rossi mafia family’s underboss, his assistant, Sydney Carlson, casually tossed a half-eaten cookie on his plate in front of everyone. Greg didn’t react. In full view of the guests, he calmly picked it up and ate it. That night, after we returned, I told him I wanted to call off the engagement. He rubbed his brow with his fingertips, his voice steady in that familiar, composed way of his, yet there was distance beneath it. “All this,” he said, “over a cookie?” “She already took a bite,” I corrected him. He fell silent for a moment before replying in a low voice, “Zoe, you’ve always been sensible. Why get hung up on something so small?” “I’m not hung up,” I said evenly. “I just don’t want to settle.” When he saw that I wouldn’t back down, something complicated flickered in his eyes. Then, his tone hardened, almost like a warning. “Think it through carefully. Don’t you regret it.” He was certain I couldn’t leave him. After all, he was a mafia underboss. There were countless people eager to take the position of Mrs. Willis, and I was nothing more than a minor employee at his company. What he didn’t know was that I had never coveted the title of his wife. All I ever had for him was love. But now, that love was gone, and once I turned away, I would never look back again.

I thought I was signing a job contract. I didn’t know I was signing away my freedom. When desperation forces me into the office of billionaire CEO Adrian Blackwood, I accept a six-month personal assistant role that feels too perfect to be safe. The money is good. The rules are strict. And the man watching me across the table feels like he already knows how this ends. Adrian Blackwood is cold, powerful, and terrifyingly composed — a man who doesn’t make mistakes. And he didn’t hire me by accident. As lines blur between professionalism and possession, I begin to realize the contract isn’t the real danger. It’s him. And the truth I was never meant to find — not yet.

My daughter Stella was dying—kidneys shot, barely hanging on. She needed a transplant. Fast. But my wife, Kylie—the hospital director—stole the donor kidney meant for Stella and handed it off to her old flame's kid instead. That boy lived. They celebrated. Played happy family while my daughter was bleeding out hope. That same day, I called Kylie. Told her Stella didn't have much time. All she said was, "That ungrateful brat's faking it again? Lying? If she wants to die, let her." Stella didn't make it. Her body gave out in the worst way. And when Kylie finally saw her—really saw her—she broke.

Master Ethan Thompson, the rich 25 year old lad returned to his father's hometown after 10 long years of living in Britain. Brought up in a broken family and seeing his parents divorcing, he owned one harsh personality to easily trust in relationships. Reason of his sudden return was one. The heavy inheritance of his father demanded his attention, being the only heir of the business. Certainly many things have been changed since he left. Sick father's health was giving up rapidly and it was time for him to take over all the duties as the only successor of Thompson's dynasty. Things were expected well until one mysterious woman entered in the picture. Gorgeous, attractive and a woman with positive morals. 23 year old Sylendra Louis was taken in by Master Ethan's father when she was just only 10. Brought up by the elder man, the woman was said to be raised like his own daughter. And that very fact wasn't so easy to digest by Sebastian who just returned to his father's home, what irritated him the most was the woman's involvement in his business too. Mysterious woman's closeness with his father and too way personal engagement on his family matters made Master Ethan insecure as he started showing his hate over everything related to Sylendra, obviously unknown to the knowledge of his life slowly being fated with her. "Magic was she, black magic!"

Kade Von Aragon, CEO of Aragon Airline, hates to be on limelight. Aside from the fact that he doesn't want any public attention, he hates the media because for him, they don't know how to respect other people. They're always invading one's privacy. On the other hand, Rizel Rodriguez works as a journalist and the one who's in charge in covering the life of the mysterious Kade Von Aragon. A lot of media companies want to have an article regarding the said bachelor but no one has ever done it because of how elusive the man is. But what will happen when he finds out that a certain journalist is following him and to make it worst, she's the daughter of his dad's mistress?