When We Were Bright And Beautiful

Sebastian ‘Baste’ Paner was a jock of hotel services and master of client pampering, especially for rich old women. When his best friend who was running a dating agency enlisted his help to fulfill a dying woman's wish, the greedy Baste accepted the offer right away. Who wouldn't be anyway if you're bound to inherit a massive land in the province after her death? However, it wasn't as easy as Baste had initially thought. “When I called and told your orphanage that I want a family, I didn't mean I need a husband. I need a child,” clarified 61-year-old Filomena Geronimo who mistakenly dialed the agency instead of the orphanage. By the way, it's not a love story. It's something more profound than that. It's... something only we know.

Zoe Jensen's parents kick her out because she doesn't want to share them with Alice Reed. She ends up homeless on the streets. She ultimately dies of starvation. When she's reborn, she finds herself standing before Alice. The latter is crying and begging her. Zoe is delighted by this. Alice can have her parents if she wants them—Zoe doesn't want to lose her life because of them again!

Jackie is a 38 year old divorcee who has two kids (13 year old Sam and 10 year old Dylan) and just happens to own and run 5’o Clock Ville, one of the hottest bars around, and is in desperate need of a bartender, amongst other things. Enter 26 year old heart throb, who just so happens to be a bad boy, Bobby, who is in need of a job. She hires him for his skills, but Bobby sure makes her see that everything didn’t die during her marriage. Can the bad boy be tamed? Can the divorcee learn to have fun again? What problems can arise from a little flirtation? He wasn’t looking for love and she wasn’t looking for marriage again; but just how deep were they willing to go to explore these new found feelings with each other?

When Valentina met Matteo in 2019, they both felt as if they’d known each other before. Everybody knows Matteo Giudice is the first son of a billionaire who is probably, but not surely, the head of the Sicilian mafia. Everything he does seems to be for his own pleasure even though there’s a certain darkness to him that seems to follow him everywhere he goes. Burnt-out from a young age due to his generational wealth, being bored is his biggest problem in life. Valentina is the daughter of a successful Russian businessman and has always flown under the radar at school but now seems to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. There’s something a bout her, as if she has something nobody else possesses, that stirs up Matteo’s interest in the first place. Somewhere along the way of trying to figure each other out they unintentionally fall in love. When buried secrets come out, their lives turn into a deadly game of power, in which love and war have no choice but to co-exist. A slow-burn coming of age mafia romance novel, in which the only thing the protagonists know for sure is that fate doesn't care if you're ready for the love of your life. Part 1 of the Games We Play works.

He was the neighbor she once called “uncle,” the man who reached out to help her when she was weak. She was the mischievous girl who had disappeared for so long. Now that they've reunited, he'll make sure she never leaves his side again. ****************************** "When Love Heals" is the English translation of the Thai novella "Duang Jai Khong Ma Prot", which explores the theme of an uncle and his illegitimate niece. In this story, Parker Callahan, the hero, has long harbored feelings for Lydia Harris, the girl next door. After a painful breakup caused by her boyfriend's betrayal, Lydia returns home feeling heartbroken. Seizing the opportunity, Parker steps in to offer her comfort and care. His gentle and affectionate nature makes Lydia's heart flutter, especially since his warmth and charm stand in stark contrast to her previous experiences. How could she not be moved and find solace in his embrace? Join us as their story unfolds. Priyada

Why is Love so cruel? Why does the same heart have to go through all the sufferings, pain and heartbreaks? Is there an end to this distance or were you never my destiny to begin with? The life of four people takes a drastic turn when all of them happen to intern in the same company. Series of unexplained events brings them all under one roof. Old flames will reunite and new flames will have to fight its way to happiness. Who knows what destiny upholds when it's hard to even figure out what your own beating heart represents. You might have a happy ending but 'LOVE does not always mean you have to end up being together, LOVE just means that you have to have immense care and endearment for that person so that if and when time comes, you can let go of him/her.' *** Who will confess their feeling first? Who might end up together? Will the sparkles that they feel in their heart brighten their life or will it be penned in, in the heart itself? Will their feelings be reciprocated or does destiny have something else written for them? A story with a perfect blend of romance, intensity, comedy and pain.

Do I need to cut off someone’s limbs, little flame?” he growled into my ear. I tilted my head instinctively “He’s nothing you need to worry about,” I whispered. “I’m not worried, baby. I’m annoyed.” His growled. But I barely processed his words. “You called me baby,” I said, stunned. “And?” “I didn’t think wolves used such... terms of endearment.” He chuckled darkly. “We use whatever we want, ‘baby.’ Those words aren’t reserved for other species.” He kissed the side of my neck, slow and possessive. My lips parted in shock and hunger. Hunger for him. For more of his words that seemed to touch not just my heart, but the deepest, most vulnerable parts of me. “You’re in an awfully good mood,” I whispered, biting my lip to stop a moan. “I deserve it. I’ve been in a terrible mood since I left you in that hallway three nights ago. I can’t wait to be done with this damn party so I can kiss you properly.” His voice was thick with want. I felt weightless and boneless. Every nerve in my body tuned to him. He was too much. “Are you finally free?” I asked, my voice shaky from how turned on I was. “I’m not, little flame,” he said, biting my ear and licking the same spot after. “But for tonight? You have me all to yourself.” “Sounds exciting,” I breathed. “It is. Are you wet yet?” he whispered, voice like molten sin. “I am. Very.” “Good,” he murmured. “Stay like that all night. It will get worse but you’ll think of me while we mingle. And then, when this party is over, when you can’t take the ache anymore, I’ll let you come.”

YVES' fiancee lost all of her memories due to tragic history about her past. Even her, was having a hard time to accept her situation. She never expected that she would also forget the man she loves the most. For the past five years, Yves had been secretly looking at her from a far until he finally decided to meet her in person, with a desire to capture her heart all over again. A longing smile was plastered on his face as soon as he saw her. He unconsciously uttered those four words, with sixteen letters. “Honey, we meet again.”

When I was nine, I was caught in the blast while trying to save Joel Yorks, and the loud wave took away my hearing. Since then, I have had to wear hearing aids. Joel felt guilty. He insisted on having my hand in marriage. With his eyes welling up in tears, he swore, “Helen, I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.” However, when I turned eighteen… Everything changed because he wanted to please the prettiest girl in the school. He ripped off my hearing aid in front of her and our classmates and said in disdain, “I’ve had enough of you being a burden. I really wish you hadn’t survived that day when you were nine. It would have been better if you were dead.” I clutched my audiology report and stayed silent. When I got home, I quietly revised my college applications and formally broke the engagement along with my parents. Joel and I would go our separate ways after that. We would not need to meet again.

After being pushed down the stairs by my husband's first love, I suffered a difficult labor with our second child and died in a corner of their family's private hospital. Before I died, my six-year-old son cried and begged for his father to save me. The first time, Shawn sneered. "Your mom's gotten smarter, using you to play the victim and trick people." After that, he flung my son's hand away and left heartlessly. The second time, my son told him I was bleeding uncontrollably. Shawn was clearly impatient. "She's being so dramatic, it's just a miscarriage, nothing serious. She's always made mountains out of molehills!" After chasing my son away, he even told the doctors not to care for me. "It's my fault for spoiling her. She'll know what she did wrong once I let her have a hard time for a few days." The last time, my son went to my husband's first love Jasmine, kneeling in front of her and knocking his head on the ground, begging her. Shawn flew into a rage and ordered bodyguards to throw my battered and bruised son out of the hospital room, allowing others to laugh at his misfortune. "If you come bother Jasmine while she's resting again, I'll kick your mom out of our family! She'll never see you again!" My son crawled to my side, leaving behind a long trail of blood. And so, I laid there helplessly as I felt the warmth escape both my son and I. 'Are you happy now, Shawn? You'll never see us again.'