When Time Stopped

At the company holiday party raffle, I'd barely stepped on stage when my superior, Victor Grant, shoved a crumpled slip into my hand. "Special prize for our top sales guy. Go on, open it. Let's show everyone." All eyes were on me as I unfolded it. Scrawled across the paper: [VIP janitor status unlocked—every toilet in the company, three days.] The room lost it—laughter everywhere. Victor crossed his arms, grinning. "Fair, right? Everyone knows you climbed the ranks hooking up with rich cougars. Gotta avoid hard feelings for the others, yeah? While the rest of us take a break, you can get busy. You're not gonna back out, are you?" The crowd cracked up. My girlfriend—and CEO—Rachel Sullivan stood off to the side, watching. Didn't say a word. Everyone waited for me to explode. Instead, I just nodded. Next day, over 300 refund requests hit. Cash flow flatlined. Victor and Rachel begged me to talk the buyers down. I shrugged. "Nah. Don't wanna save the company and make my performance too good. That'd just cause more ' hard feelings,' right?"

Sa araw mismo ng Christmas Day, isang “surprise” ang natanggap ni Shiena—pero hindi ito ang pagbubuntis na inaasahan niyang ikatutuwa ng asawa niya. Instead, she discovers the cruel truth inside the hospital lounge: she was never the wife he truly wanted. Isa lang siyang kapalit. A shadow of the woman her husband, the brilliant and untouchable doctor William, could never forget. Shattered by betrayal, humiliation, and the child growing inside her womb, Shiena chooses to walk away from the marriage she fought so hard to protect. But leaving the man she loved turns out to be the biggest mistake. Because the moment she disappears, the cold doctor who never explained, never cared, and never looked back begins to realize the one truth he was too blind to see: the woman he pushed away was the only one who ever truly loved him. Now that she’s rebuilding her life, chasing the dreams she once sacrificed for him, William is determined to get her back. But what if the woman he broke no longer wants to be healed by him? And what if the child he never knew existed becomes the proof of the doctor’s greatest mistake? … Napaatras si Shiena nang mariin nitong isinara ang pinto ng office. His hand slammed against the wall beside her head, trapping her between his body and the cold surface. His usually calm eyes were now filled with desperation. “You left without a word… and you think I’ll let you disappear again?” “Too late, Doc. You already chose her.” Then he lowered his gaze to the little boy hiding behind her legs. For the first time, the great Dr. William De la cruz looked cruletely shattered. “He’s… mine?” “That was the child you threw away before you even knew he existed.”

Nang sandaling malaman ni Hiraya ang pagtataksil at pagsisinungaling ng kan’yang nobyo na si Jack sa kababata nitong si Rosamie, labis na nasaktan si Hiraya ng sobra tila ba nadurog ng pino ang kan’yang puso nang piliin pa ng kasintahan ang kababata nito kaysa sa kan’ya. Dahil sa epekto ng alak ay naglakas-loob siyang puntahan ang kwarto ng kaibigan ng kan’yang nobyo na si Reyko Takahashi, isang sikat at magaling na doktor sa buong Asya. Matapos ang mainit na gabing pagtatalik, alam ni Hiraya na sa mga mata ng lalaki ay isa siyang maruming babae at hitad na kumakapit sa iba’t-ibang lalaki. Pinulot ng lalaki ang mga damit niya at inihagis iyon sa kan’ya. “Umalis ka na sa kwarto ko.” Nagulat si Hiraya ng ihagis nito ang panty niya’t sapol na sapol iyon sa kan’yang mukha. “Naiwan mo. Too cheap, it's not worth it to keep it.” Halata sa boses ng binata ang pagka sarkastiko at panunuya.

Jason Schwartz had been a close friend of my father's, despite the age gap. The year I met him, I was fearless, the kind of girl who thought nothing could touch her. I bit down hard on the hand he offered me. Jason just laughed. "You're adorable," he said. "Like a little wolf." On my 18th birthday, he shoved me onto the bed, his eyes red, as if he had been holding back for years. "Diana, I've finally waited long enough for you to grow up." He was the one who pulled me into that first flutter of desire, the one who led me across every line I wasn't supposed to cross. I grew into exactly the kind of girl he wanted. The day my father was hacked to death by his enemies, Jason took my hand and stepped into his place without hesitation. When I was pregnant, he brought home a girl covered in blood. "Diana, she's not like you. She's like wild grass, tough and stubborn." He said he admired wild grass. But he forgot something. He was the one who raised me into a rose that only knew the shelter of a greenhouse. Good thing I didn't need him anymore.

I won't let him break me! I won't let those words and actions get to me! I refuse to be a weakling! He broke me once, but is never going to do that again! Those were the words of Alora, after ten solid years of sacrifice. ****** Alora sacrificed everything for the man she truly loved, her beloved husband Lucas. She believed love was enough to sustain the marriage, but then she was wrong. Ten years of sacrifice and love, years of putting in her every effort turned into a nightmare, a one she's never going to wake up and forget in a hurry. Lucas didn’t just betray her, he brought his mistress, who also happened to be her secretary, into their home along with their five-year-old son. Shattered but unyielding, she returns to reclaim her spot, but not before she strips him of every single thing she secretly invested into him over the past ten years.

My husband was praised by my friends as the perfect husband in the world. Everyone said he loved me to death and practically put me on a pedestal. Then came my prenatal checkup. My older cousin, Catherina Bow, called him with a farewell message before attempting suicide. Without hesitation, he abandoned me and rushed off in panic. I was six months pregnant at that time. My mother expected me to be the bigger person and “lend” my husband to Catherina, who was depressed. My brother snapped at me, "The only reason you’re still in this house is because Catherina spoke up for you. Whatever she wants, you should give it to her!" I found it absurd. I was supposed to be their family. She was nothing but a cuckoo in my nest. When I finally decided to walk away from all of them, they regretted their actions.

"There's something so fascinating about your innocence," he breathes, so close I can feel the warmth of his breath against my lips. "It's a shame my own darkness is going to destroy it. However, I think I might enjoy the act of doing so." Being reborn as an immortal isn't particularly easy. For Rosie, it's made harder as she is sentenced to live her life within Time's territory, a powerful Immortal known for his callous behaviour and unlawful followers. However, the way he appears to her is not all there is to him. In fear of a powerful danger, Time whisks her away throughout his own personal history. But going back in time has it's consequences; mainly which, involve all the dark secrets he's held within eternity. But Rosie won't lie. The way she feels toward him isn't just their mate bond. It's a dark, dangerous attraction that bypasses how she has felt for past relationships. This is raw, passionate and sexy. And she can't escape it.

Apat na taon matapos iwan ni Mara ang nasirang marriage nila, muli niyang haharapin si Rafael—ang lalaking minahal niya at piniling kalimutan. Ngayon, boss na niya ito—mas makapangyarihan, mas malamig… at mas delikado pa rin sa puso niya. Habang unti-unting bumabalik ang dating damdamin, pilit niyang tinatago ang pinakamalaki niyang sikreto— ang anak nila. Pero habang lumalapit si Rafael sa katotohanan, mas nagiging imposible ang pag-iwas. Sa pangalawang pagkakataon na magtagpo ang mga puso nila… pipiliin ba nila ang isa’t isa? O mauulit lang ang sakit ng nakaraan?

As human fertility rates kept falling, the government created a matching system between humans and beasts. That was how I became engaged to the Blackwood brothers—two wolf beasts who never wanted me. For a year, I made coffee for both of them every morning.The older brother, Adrian, kept his distance, but he always took the mug and thanked me quietly. The younger one, Kieran, was all temper and sharp teeth. He snapped at me, broke the mug, and acted like I was a nuisance. I told myself this was fair. If I treated them the same, maybe one day this arranged bond would feel like home. Then my best friend saw it and asked, “Have you ever thought that treating them equally might be unfair to the one who’s actually kind to you?” I thought about that all day. Then one morning, I walked out of the kitchen carrying only one cup.

My boyfriend found my menstruation disgusting and forced me to undergo subdermal implantation. From then on, I no longer had periods and couldn’t conceive. One day, I had a fever reaching 40°C and couldn’t contact him. I went to the hospital alone, only to stumble upon him attending a prenatal checkup with his secretary. He told her: “Baby, don’t worry about Claire. She only listens to me here, doesn’t she?” “We can postpone the wedding for another five years. She’s loyal to me like a dog anyway.” “In the meantime, keep fulfilling your end of the arrangement I’ve promised you.” “Of course, I’ll continue loving you... until I’m tired of you.” My heart shattered. I’d proposed to him 43 times in seven years, only to fail every single time. It turned out he just hadn’t gotten bored of me yet? This time, I decided not to wait any longer. I turned my back on him and agreed to the marriage my mother arranged in the countryside. On the day my ex was supposed to accompany me to try on wedding dresses, he found an empty room and a wedding invitation I left for him to celebrate my marriage to someone else. Panic consumed him as his world fell apart...