What Are Close Reads

James Wesley has hated me for a decade after his childhood sweetheart passed away. He requests to be transferred to the frontier the day after we get married. I write him countless letters in those ten years to win back his favor, but his response is always the same. "If you truly regret it, why don't you hurry up and die?" However, after I am abducted, James storms the bandit's hideout by himself and saves me. He suffers multiple bullet wounds, but before he succumbs to his injuries, he uses the last of his strength to slap my hands away. "The thing I regret the most… in this life… is marrying you. If we get a second chance at life… please… don't bother me anymore." His mother, Felicia Axford, sounds regretful during the funeral. "It's all my fault, James. I shouldn't have forced you to marry her…" His father, Jeremiah Wesley, stares at me, his eyes burning with contempt. "You forced Emily to take her own life, and now you also caused my son's death. You're nothing but trouble, so you should just die!" Even Xavier Bowen, our troop commander, who was responsible for facilitating our marriage in the first place, shakes his head and sighs. "I shouldn't have played matchmaker. I let you down, Mr. Wesley." Everyone feels sympathetic toward James, including me. On the night I am discharged from the troop, I swallow some pesticide and die in the middle of an abandoned field. When I open my eyes again, I realize I have returned to the day before my marriage. This time, I am determined to fulfill everyone's wishes.

He was everything they warned her to stay away from. He was the kind of man she would never have wanted to associate with. But how and why did she fall for him, even when he degraded her? He made it known to her that she was a nobody to him, yet she couldn't leave him. Astrid Peyton becomes the fiancée of a young billionaire, Darius Titan, who is rumoured to be a heartless dominant. She is determined to prove the world, especially her mother, that they are wrong about him. Nikoleta Titan, Darius's mother, is diagnosed with cancer. She is excited to find out that her son is engaged to someone, as she feels like he only uses people to get what he wants. This brings her and Astrid very close. But what happens when Astrid finds out that Darius is everything they say he is? What if he's worse? Did she really not grow on him, like she usually did other people? Will she stay with him, even after everything he has put her through?

A young widow is given one more chance at life when her life is reversed back in time using a time travel machine that had been her late husband's father's life's work, way before she was forced into an arranged marriage. But what does the new trip in time hold for her, especially when she meets her then husband in a new setting, and sees him in a different light, bearing in mind that he is already dead? And how fast is a whirlwind romance when she has to go back to her place in time to an empty bed? "You don't...look like someone who has a long time to live." I said to him, watching as his gaze became a little sad. "I guess when you live right, you don't need to."

Eva Vergara is an orphan, craving love and family. She vowed to have a complete and happy family of her own and to never let anything tear her family apart. Then she met Jack Dizon, a charismatic young man with a promise of love and a happy family. But what if her prince charming was an evil incarnate? How can she survive for the sake of her only daughter? Will she have the guts to leave? Marcus Sullivan, Jack's childhood friend. A first-hand witness of Jacks evil. Marcus's sister died because of physical abuse from her husband. Marcus blamed himself. So he saves Eva and promised to love her. Can he keep his promise? Or is it just another nonsense? Norman Rosebush, a Filipino doctor from the states. He decided to come home after his wife cheated on him with his closest friend. What if Norman and Eva's path crossed? Can he save Eva from drowning in pain? Will he successfully show her that life is still worth living?

Behind every locked door lies a secret… For Elena, it’s the hunger she hides from her cold and distant husband. For Adrian, it’s the forbidden desire he feels for the one woman he should never touch—his stepmother. What begins as stolen glances and teasing remarks quickly spirals into something dangerous. Behind closed doors, guilt turns into obsession, lust turns into fire, and the line between right and wrong disappears. But how long can they keep their dirty secret before it explodes, tearing the family apart? A forbidden romance dripping with passion, danger, and irresistible temptation.

Could anything be more worse than a betrayal from the ones you loved and trust the most? "You better not be an ingrate or you sure will regret it for the rest of your life, that you know pretty well.. Understood?" "Yes sir!" I managed to answer back as rivers of tears were already rushing down from my eyes. I rubbed the tears off my face with the back of my palm as I walked to the exit of the office. Join Diana Roberts on a heart-wrenching odyssey through betrayal, survival, and the quest for identity. When her mother's tragic death thrusts her into a vicious family power struggle, Diana is cast into the unforgiving streets. Yet, in the shadows of despair, she encounters unlikely allies, including the compassionate Jake Stewart. As she battles demons from her past, a sinister conspiracy unfolds, revealing a tangled web of deception, crime, and a shocking family secret. Can Diana break free from the chains of her lineage, or will she succumb to the darkness that threatens to consume her newfound life? Uncover the gripping saga of one girl's resilience against a world determined to break her.

Sasha Miranda almost had it all—the family that loves her more than anything in this world, loyal friends that always got her back, the fame and the riches that every woman envied, desired and would only dreamed of, except for one thing—William Saavedra’s affection. *** Sasha thought that finally, her dreams is finally coming true to life when the love of her life, William proposed a marriage to her but little did she know, it was only for business—a marriage of convenience. She did every good wife would do—she cooks for him, she irons his clothes, she cleans the house, she does the household chores, and be the understanding, patient and kind wife he will ever want but none of those worked as her husband kept on cheating with her with Olivia Vanderhurst, his ex-girlfriend. Witness a woman, a daughter and a wife fight for her right and for the love she ever wanted, but until when the love would be enough? Until when would she be a martyr wife? When the respect is lost? When the love is gone? Or when a life is forever lost?

On New Year's Eve, my husband, Max Davis, took me to a private dinner hosted by a big industry player. We had barely made our way around the room when a strange woman suddenly shoved me into the pool. When I insisted on checking the surveillance footage and calling the police, Max firmly held me back. He warned me to "remember my place" and not embarrass him in front of everyone. In the brief time I changed into another gown, I returned to find that same woman perched on my husband's lap, her red lipstick leaving traces on his collar. "Max, you're right! That nasty scar on her stomach really does look like a centipede. It's so hideous!" She giggled with mock innocence, adding, "It's been so fun messing with your wife. Next time, can I slap her when no one's looking?" Meanwhile, Max gazed at her like she was the only woman in the world, gently tracing his finger over her nose. "Of course, you can," he replied, eyes still locked on hers. "I'll even tie her hands behind her back for you."

I never expected my life to change the day my mother remarried. Suddenly, the boy I once knew the boy I swore to marry when we were children became my stepbrother. But Roman isn’t the boy I remember. He’s colder now, distant, with eyes that hold secrets I can’t begin to unravel. Our worlds collide under the same roof, separated by just a thin wall and the tension neither of us wants to admit. Forbidden desire simmers beneath every glance, every touch. He keeps me at arm’s length, yet I can’t stop craving the dangerous pull between us. As the lines blur between hate and passion, I’m forced to confront the past I don’t remember and the truth Roman is desperate to hide. How far will we go before we step too close?

My husband doesn't touch me on our wedding night. He claims he's too tired and asks me to wait. Then, he sneaks into the basement in the wee hours of each night. Whenever he returns, he needs to shower to wash away an indescribable smell. I ask him what he does down there, and he tells me he works out. Why would anyone work out in the middle of the night? I can't take it anymore. One night, I decide to sneak into the basement to see what's going on down there. He chases after me and grabs my pajamas, roaring, "Come back up here! I'll divorce you if you step foot down there!"