Too Good At Goodbye

As her ears started ringing, the lump in her throat growing, the words he spoke faded into the background. Her eyes welled up, and her breath hitched, she had heard him right? “Earth to Rebecca, hello?!” He replied to her in an annoyed tone. She took a deep breath, “After 20 yrs you really don’t want a life with me” she managed to speak slightly above a whisper. She had been his rock, put his needs first, never said no to his frivolous spending, and had loved him enough for the both of them; yet in the small bedroom in their city apartment he stood with divorce papers in hand. She hadn’t been naive about the rough patch that they were navigating, but they had always worked past because Rebecca had always put her husband 1st. “Rebecca I don’t love you and no level of your love is going to undo these divorce papers. I can’t even stand to be in this room with you, but I want to be on a united front when we tell the kids.”

My best friend Sophie and I went into labor the very same night. I watched her switch out the two infants with my own eyes, but I did not tell a single soul. For the next decade, I fed, clothed, and raised a daughter that was not mine. On the day the two girls turned eighteen, they received their college offer letters at the same time. One got into an ivy league school, and the other, a community college whose name I had not even heard of. I had never seen Sophie so happy in my entire life. Grinning from ear to ear, she whipped out the DNA report she had been saving for this very moment. "Thank you for raising my daughter to be the valedictorian that she is today. It's time she returns to her mama. As for this good-for-nothing scum… You can take her back!" I sneered. "Very well then." She had no idea what was coming.

I became an assassin to save my family. I never expected to save my target instead. Buried under my parents' debts and my grandmother's medical bills, I made a desperate choice. I sold my soul to a shadowy organization, my first mission: to eliminate a ruthless mafia. The job went sideways. In the chaos, I did the one thing an assassin should never do—I saved his life, Det. Now, I am forced to become is bodyguard. He became my sanctuary and my greatest threat. Every moment with him blurs the line between duty and desire. But the deeper I fall, the closer I get to a devastating truth: Det’s family is responsible for my parents' death and my grandmother's cruel fate. Now, I'm torn between my heart and a vow of vengeance. Do I follow my grandmother's last words to kill them all, or do I protect the man I was never supposed to love?

Noong tinanong ako ng aking ama kung sino ang gusto ko pakasalan para sa kapakanan ng alyansa ng aming pamilya, iba ang pinili ko sa buhay na ito. Hindi ko na pinili si Leonardo Vittorio. Sa halip, pinili ko ang nakatatanda niyang kapatid, si Ivan Vittorio. Mukhang naguluhan ang ama ko. Alam nga naman ng lahat sa Chicago na lumaki kami ng magkasama ni Leonardo. Sampung taon ko siyang hinahabol. Bilang nakatatandang anak na babae ng pamilya Lucien, matagal ng nakaukit ang pangalan ko sa tabi ng kanyang pangalan para sa listahan ng mga arranged marriage. Naniniwala na ang pagsasama namin ay nakatadhana. Habang inaalala ang nakaraan kong buhay, pinilit ko ngumiti ng mapait. Dati, pinakasalan ko si Leonardo tulad ng matagal ko ng hinihiling. Pero makalipas ang aming kasal, hindi niya ako ginalaw kahit isang beses. Ang akala ko may sakit siyang hindi niya masabi at nagpakahirap ako na pagtakpan siya. Sa ika-anim na anibersaryo ng aming kasal ko nalaman ng buksan ko ng hindi inaasahan ang kahadeyero niya. Sa loob, may maayos na litrato niya kasama ang ampon na babae na nagmakaawa ako sa ama ko na ampunin. Sa mga litratong iyon, may dalawang taong gulang na batang lalaki din–ang anak nila. Masaya silang pamilya ng tatlo. Doon ko napagtanto sa mga oras na iyon. Hindi sa may sakit siya. Hindi niya inisip na asawa niya ako. Para mapalayas ako, nagplano sila ng ampon kong kapatid para ako’y patayin. Ngayon at nabigyan ako ng ikalawang pagkakataon, pinili ko na ibigay sa kanila ang blessing ko. Pero noong naglakad ako sa simbahan suot ang aking wedding dress, habang nakapatong ang braso ko sa braso ni Ivan, pumasok si Leonardo bigla ng may dalang baril. Mukha siyang baliw at wala sa kontrol. “Madeline!” Paos ang boses niya at halos maputol. “Ang lakas ng loob mo?”

I call it twist of fate.. It might happen for the good of someone or unfortunate in some way. After all, their story is no different from each other. Keisha and Katherine, the two were intentionally switched at birth. Keisha, beautiful, simple and hard-working young lady, who grew up from a low class family near the fishport. She spent all her life fishing and taking care of her family. Katherine, beautiful, but arrogant and spoiled Lady with a lavishing lifestyle. She grew up in a big city with her wealthiest parents. They made sure she luck nothing. But Destiny played it's role. The Two ladies crossed paths. Unfortunately, they fell in love with the same man. Handsome and most influential young president of WS Co-operation. Read more as their identity is revealed and the unfortunate happen.

A woman is taught to be invisible, not to raise her head too high lest she hits her husband's jaw. Dusk descends and Kamsi's orientation is changed. The thought and hope of giving life to a new being could change anyone. Kamsi, a woman in love, realizes that even love is not enough; The institution of marriage needs a lot more. Her story is just one voice amongst other women who are married to loving, overprotective and dominating men. It had been easy to believe one could get a blanket when cold hit but what about a time when the heart turns cold? How warm could love be at dusk?

When her parents lost their jobs, Dawn Talia Celeste became the breadwinner of the family while studying. Then she met Theros Skye Fuentes, the cold-hearted, distant, and arrogant man who only thinks about himself. His life is full of darkness but when she came, everything went bright. They are totally opposite and that's what attracts them to each other. Theros will do everything for his company while Dawn is willing to give up everything for him. Until when will she be able to stay with a selfish man? Until when will she sacrifice just to change him? Will she succeed or she will get tired and leave?

I’ve always felt the child that I’ve cared for the past three years was not mine. My mother-in-law told me I was overthinking and was just tired. However, I remember it clearly. My child had a birthmark on their left arm.   Even my husband said it was nothing more than a dream I had after passing out during labor.   Still, I began to suspect that my in-laws swapped my child at birth.  

"I would rather cut my hand than hurting you. I can't even-- I - that thought can never cross my mind. Do you understand?" he said cupping her face in his large hand tilting it up so that he was looking directly in the beautiful brown eyes of hers which were filled with fear. Once peacefully life of Edna Williams turned upside down , when a mafia lord decided to give her his undivided attention, caging her in his world leaving her trapped. { Currently Under Editing }

Dra. Zee Katie Liu Zamora finally meets the man she's been waiting for but in critical condition. As she tries to save him, memories kept flashing back. Will she be able to find the right playlist to tune or will she repeat the same playlist again?