Temporary Tagalog

Normal is overrated; that’s what my mom always said. My mom didn’t know the half of it. For 23 years, I thought my biggest problem was being an adopted child of a single mom in a tiny house, then I burst into flames. My first thought was mental breakdown, but that didn’t explain the fact that real flames were put out by real firefighters, so I fled to the city. The plan had been to check myself into a mental hospital, but I’d been too afraid, so I looked for a temporary job while I worked up the courage. My first interview is where things really went off the deep end. I found myself submerged in a world of monsters, and I was one of them. By my 24th birthday, I would supposedly be set into my immortality, with supernatural powers and all. With not one, but two handsome immortals watching out for me, hatred and hostility still lurked around every corner.

She’s the one woman who said no. Now he’ll do anything to make her his even if it means breaking every rule he built his empire on. Ava Sinclair doesn’t bow. Not to billionaires, not to power, and definitely not to Luca Hart the cold, calculating tech mogul who thinks everything has a price. When he tries to buy her company and erase her legacy, she slams the door in his face. She doesn’t expect him to come back. She definitely doesn’t expect him to come for her. Forced into a temporary partnership to contain a public scandal, Ava and Luca collide behind closed doors sharp tongues, sharp tempers, and sharper attraction. He’s grumpy, ruthless, and infuriatingly hot. She’s stubborn, brilliant, and determined to hate him. But every fight pulls them closer. Every look burns hotter. And when the anger cracks, the need between them is vicious,raw, consuming, inevitable. Then the threats start. The shadows close in. Someone wants Ava silenced. Someone who knows she’s not just a woman with a sharp mind and a guarded heart She’s the living vault for secrets that were never supposed to surface. As her hidden past unravels, Ava realizes the most dangerous thing isn’t losing her company. It’s losing herself. And Luca? He’s no longer fighting for a deal. He’s fighting for the only thing he’s never been able to buy, break, or control: Her. In a world built on lies, they’re each other’s only truth. And the deeper they fall, the more everything around them burns.

I stepped inside the office and sat before the doctor. But my thoughts suddenly drifted. "Mr. Blackwood?" The doctor’s voice pulled me back to the present. "How is she?" The doctor sighed, flipping through Natalie’s chart before meeting my gaze. "She suffered a severe head trauma. We managed to stabilize her, but…" He hesitated. My stomach twisted. "But what?" "She has retrograde amnesia. Right now, her memory is… fragmented. From what we’ve assessed, she doesn’t recall the last five years." Ethan froze. "How do you mean, five years?" "She believes it’s still 2018. In her mind, she’s still your wife." The words punched the air from my lungs. Still my wife. "This kind of memory loss can be temporary or permanent—we can’t say for sure. She may recover bits of it over time, or it may come back all at once." The doctor’s gaze softened. "It’s important, Mr. Blackwood, that no one tries to force her to remember anything. Pushing her could make things worse, even more dangerous." I swallowed hard, my pulse roaring in my ears. Five years of pain, five years of regrets—wiped away. "Can I see her?"I pleaded. The doctor hesitated before nodding. "Go easy on her....And Mr. Blackwood?" "Stay strong." ^^ Five years ago, Natalie Elise Blackwood walked away from her husband, Ethan Blackwood. After discovering his betrayal, she left without a trace. But when a tragic accident erases her memories, she wakes up believing she’s still Ethan’s devoted wife, unaware of the past that tore them apart. Seizing the opportunity to fix his mistakes, Ethan is determined to keep her by his side, even if it means hiding the painful truth. But when the memories return, will Natalie stay...or will history repeat itself?

Living with my aunt and her family was meant to be a temporary, quiet arrangement just helping out and keeping to myself. On the first day of the new year, while everyone else was out celebrating, I stayed home, enjoying the rare silence and catching up on sleep. But when we ran out of water, I reluctantly stepped outside to fetch some, and that’s when I saw him. He stood by the gate of the house next door, effortlessly commanding attention with just a glance. A smirk played on his lips, and a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes behind his blue-ray glasses. At that moment, he was impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, I felt disheveled and barely awake, my hair was a mess and still shaking off sleep. But he didn’t seem to mind. There was something about him an air of mystery that made me wonder who he was and why he was there. Before I could look away, he spoke, “Hi.” Caught off guard, I managed a quick, “Hi,” while trying to pull myself together. “Can I know your name?” he asked. I hesitated but replied, “I’m Clara,” and kept walking. “Can I have your number?” he called after me. “Just as friends.” I almost refused but reluctantly agreed, entering my number into his phone. “There,” I said, handing it back. “I’ll call you,” he promised with a smile, as I turned to leave. What began as a chance encounter soon became an inexplicable connection. He had secrets, but there was something about him that saw through me, understanding things no one else did. The man I met next door wasn’t just a fleeting stranger,he became the reason I started questioning everything I thought I wanted.