The Off Limits Rule

"I didn’t know I was marrying two people. He wore the suit, but she pulled the strings. The day I walked down the aisle, eyes locked with the man I loved, I thought I had found peace. I thought I was finally leaving behind the noise of my childhood, the ache of loneliness, and the years I spent praying for a love that would choose me, only me. But no one told me that some men never truly leave their mothers. They marry, yes,but their hearts remain tangled in an invisible umbilical cord, one that stretches past vows, past bedrooms, past boundaries. I moved into our new home, only to find that the walls had ears, hers. We lived in separate flats, but it never truly felt like my space. My marriage was a room she walked into, uninvited but ever present. Her opinions dripped into our arguments, her eyes followed me from behind lace curtains, and her voice echoed in decisions that should have belonged to me and my husband. At first, I kept quiet. I told myself it was cultural. Respect. Family. Then I told myself it was temporary. Then I stopped telling myself anything at all, because nothing I said made a difference. This is not a story of hate. It’s a story of love, tested by bloodlines, boundaries, and a battle I never asked to fight. This is my truth. The marriage I thought was mine. The home that never really felt like home. And the rules I never agreed to, but had to live by, simply because… I was under her roof".

Mira Dela Cruz, isang determined pero struggling IT graduate mula sa probinsya, ay halos mawalan na ng pag-asa matapos ang sunod-sunod na job rejection—hanggang sa isang araw sa park, isang lalaking presentable at gwapo ang nagkamali ng akala sa kanya. Akala’y isa siyang bayarang babae. “Hi miss, if you’re available tonight... I’ll pay—just once.” Ito ang unang katagang binitawan ni Ethan Alexander Reyes—ang CEO ng isa sa kilalang successful IT company sa bansa. Isang lalaking seryoso, focused sa trabaho, at ni minsan ay hindi pa nagmahal. Hindi niya inakalang ang babaeng inalok niya ng isang gabi sa hotel ang magiging simula ng kanyang unang pag-ibig. Isang malakas na pagtangi ang tinanggap ni Ethan mula kay Mira nang hindi siya maniwala na isa siyang matinong babae. “Layuan mo ako! Kadiri ka. Baboy mo!” Ang hindi alam ni Mira ang lalaking iyon din pala ang magiging bago niyang boss, at siyang magbibigay sa kanya ng panibagong pag-asa. “I’ll match whatever the other companies offer, even higher—just say yes. I need someone like you here, Miss Mira Dela Cruz.” Ayaw man ni Mira na makatrabaho si Ethan, wala na siyang nagawa. Malaki ang oportunidad na dumating, at hindi niya ito kayang palampasin. Naniniwala si Ethan na ito’y tadhana—lalo’t pareho sila ng mundo. Simula pa lang, may naramdaman na siya. Love at first sight? Maybe. "Do you believe in destiny? Because I do. I just hope this time, I get it right."

Zenaida Cabrera, isang multimedia journalist mula isang kilalang news website sa bansa. Sa edad na dalawang pu't walo, hindi pa niya nararanasan magkaroon ng kasintahan dahil nakatuon lang ang kaniyang atensyon sa trabaho at pamilya. Sa takot na mapag-iwanan, sumubok siyang makipag-date ngunit palagi itong nauuwi sa wala dahil sa demanding na boss na walang ibang ginawa kung hindi ang subukin at pahirapan siya. Buong akala ni Zenaida ay hindi na niya mararanasan ang pagkakaroon ng sariling pamilya dahil sa mga responsibilidad na hawak niya, subalit isang araw, nalaman na lamang niya na siya'y nagdadalang tao na at kasamaang palad, hindi niya maalala at makilala kung sino ang ama ng bata sa sinapupunan niya.

Giselle Shaw, the intern, has sent a five-dollar bonus to the company's group chat that has 500 members in it. I get crowned as the luckiest person for being able to claim 20 cents from the bonus. So, Giselle tags me in the group chat immediately. "Hey Rebecca! Since you're the luckiest person in the group chat, why don't you send a bonus here? There are 500 people in this group chat altogether, so you can just send 5,000 dollars here. "5,000 dollars isn't much for you, right? It so happens to be the bonus you've received from Mr. Gallagher because of the project you've secured. You can send us the bonus so that we can get some good luck from you!" The moment I refuse, Giselle begins playing the pity card in the group chat by claiming that she can't reap good luck for everyone in the company. My boyfriend, Vincent Gallagher, rushes into my office and starts berating me angrily. "Rebecca Campbell, just how stingy are you to not want to send a five-thousand-dollar bonus to the group chat despite being a higher-up in this company? You even made a young woman cry! Is this how you do things? "You'd better send a 50-thousand-dollar bonus to the group chat right now and write a five-thousand-word apology letter by hand! I want you to sincerely apologize to Giselle as well! Otherwise, I'll break up with you! You can forget about retaining your position in this company, too!"

Pinagbintangan at nakulong ang Lola ni Locket, dahil kapus sa buhay napilitan siyang lumuwas sa Maynila para magtrabaho upang makaipon ng pang piyansa. Nag-apply si Locket bilang janitor sa Spyru Harbor Ship Salvor and Builder, isang nangungunang intergrated maritime service provider sa buong bansa. Ngunit, laking gulat ni Locket nang sabihin na pumasa siya sa interview para maging secretary ng Chief Executive Officer ng kompamya. Syempre, pinatos na niya ang offer na trabaho kahit pa hindi naman talaga siya qualified sa nasabing posisyon. Ang akala ni Locket tuloy-tuloy na ang pasok ng swerte sa buhay niya, hagang sa isang gabi, aksidente niyang nasaksihan ang isang krimen na hindi niya dapat nakita.

In a world full of craving wolves, she couldn't roam around like an innocent rabbit in the den's of her predator because she knows it too well, that a certain big bad wolf is preying on her. Waiting to devour every inch of her body. But instead of devouring her in a torturous way, her predator devours her in a more pleasurable and sensual manner. And she's the prey that is a willing victim. She's a prey bewitching her predator with her innocence, making her predator, the big bad wolf, breaking the rules.

My name becomes the sensational topic on the trending list thanks to my company's employees, who have cyberbullied me relentlessly. It all started when an intern named Cecily Plinkton posted a complaint on her social media feed, claiming that the seafood thermidor, a new food item that had just gotten released in the company's cafeteria, was sold for 14 dollars, which was four dollars more expensive than before. "What a scum company! Are the higher-ups that crazy over money? They're just leeching from us white-collar peeps repeatedly!" The entire Internet doesn't hesitate to curse me out. They claim that I'm a cold-blooded capitalist who's greedy enough to charge her own employees for lunch. No one cares about the fact that I've been shelling out my own money in order to upgrade the cafeteria's food choices just so I could make the employees happier. Every day, they get to eat over hundreds of dishes to their fill for free. Every week, the expensive dishes, such as lobsters and crabs, are charged at the net price. Thanks to these free benefits, the administrative department has been suffering from almost a one-million-dollar loss every year. So, I announce that the food prices in the cafeteria will be changed to reflect the current market's prices. At the same time, I've fired the head chef and the kitchen staff and left the meal preparation to another company that produces instant meals. As soon as the announcement is made, the entire company goes into a frenzy. The employees all crowd outside my office while begging me to bring back the benefits with tears streaking down their cheeks.

Meet Hera Julius, popularly known as the daughter of the NightWalker pack's traitor, but she's far from your typical damsel in distress. With her beauty and fierce spirit, she's a force to be reckoned with. But when she publicly rejects Alpha Lucien, she sets off a chain of events that will test her strength like never before. Just like other Alphas, Lucien's ego is crushed by Hera's rejection. He vows to make Hera pay, but how far will he go to make her suffer? Fate takes a sharp turn, sparing Hera from the pack's wrath after being accused of a murder she didn't commit. She's handed over to Lycan Damien as his breeder, with a precarious deal on the table threatening her life. Can she convince Damien to break the deal, despite his icy demeanor? What if there's more to the situation than meets the eye, particularly given her position as his breeder?

On my wedding day, my best friend, Beatrice Hopper, buys a lottery ticket from a convenience store and gives it to me as a wedding gift. I initially believe that she's joking, but when I see the unmistakable disdain in her eyes, I know something is off. "They say it's the thought that counts. This gift is precisely how I show that I care. Besides, I'm pregnant and need money for everything right now. I don't want you to feel bad about taking my money," she says. Honestly, I'm disappointed. But since it's my wedding, I can only stand there and watch as my best friend drags her entire family to the reception for free food and drinks. As expected, the wedding ends on a sour note. The two of us part ways unhappily. What I don't see coming, though, is winning 50 million dollars in the lottery that night. Elated, I tell my husband the news, and we head to the lottery office first thing in the morning to claim the prize. The news quickly spreads among our friends and family. But by the afternoon, Beatrice pounds on my door, demanding I return the lottery ticket. "I should've been the winner!" she screamed. "I was the one who bought it, so why should you take away my prize?" I keep backing away from her, panic flooding my entire body, so much so that I don't even notice she's holding a knife. The last thing I expect is for her to swing it at me in the middle of our struggle. By the time I realize what's happening, the blade is already buried in my husband's chest. I try to call the police, but Beatrice yanks me back. We grapple, stumble, and crash through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Eventually, we fall to our deaths in the courtyard below. The universe must've had mercy on me because when I open my eyes again, I'm back at the moment she hands me that lottery ticket. Here comes my second chance.

Walong taon na ang nakalipas nang biglang mawala si Ferly Heminez sa buhay ni Jyrone—walang paliwanag, walang paalam. Nagpatuloy siya, nagtagumpay, muling nagmahal, pero hindi kailanman nakalimot. Ngayon, isa na siyang makapangyarihang COO. Nasa kanya na ang lahat. Hanggang sa muling ibalik ng tadhana si Ferly sa kanyang buhay. Sa pagkakataong ito, tumanggi si Jyrone na pakawalan siya. Hanggang sa sumabog ang katotohanan. Ang stepfather ni Ferly ay ang tunay na ama ni Jyrone. Magkapatid sila sa batas. Ang minsang dalisay na pag-ibig ay naging bawal, iskandaloso, at imposibleng balewalain. Sa pagitan ng pamilya, moralidad, at pagnanasa, kailangan nilang pumili. Follow the rules—or risk everything for the love they never stopped wanting.