Novels by my.dianeabegal.montero

​The rain in Manila always felt like a punishment. It beat relentlessly against the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of Damien’s office on the topmost floor of the Monteverde Corporation building.​Outside, the city was a blur of gray and neon. Inside, the silence was deafening.​Damien Alaric Monteverde sat at his desk, his pristine black suit jacket thrown carelessly over a couch hours ago. His tie was undone, the collar of his white shirt thrown open. For a man who used to look completely untouchable, he looked entirely undone. His eyes, usually sharp and emotionless, were bloodshot. Dark circles shadowed his hollow cheeks.​“Sir?”​His assistant, Mark, stepped into the room with measured, cautious steps. He was holding a thick manila folder, but his face carried the same exhausted, defeated expression he had worn for the past two weeks.​Damien didn’t look up from his laptop. His fingers were flying across the keyboard, scrolling through endless maritime search reports, private inve

The rain finally stopped three days later. But for Damien Monteverde, the storm never ended. The search operation continued nonstop. Divers searched every section of the river. Rescue teams expanded the radius daily. Helicopters monitored nearby areas. But every report brought the same answer.Nothing.No body.No survivor.No Ariana.And somehow, that uncertainty made everything worse. Because part of him still hoped. Part of him still believed she would suddenly walk through the mansion doors and tell him everyone was wrong. That she was alive... that she hated him. That she never wanted to see him again. Anything. Anything except this unbearable silence.Damien stood alone inside his office. The divorce papers remained untouched on his desk. The signatures were incomplete. Meaningless now. He stared blankly at the documents. Then suddenly grabbed them. The papers flew across the room. His desk lamp shattered against the wall and glass exploded everywhere. His breathing became uneve

Rain hammered against the windows of the Monteverde mansion. Thunder roared across the dark sky. The storm seemed endless. Ariana stood silently inside the bedroom she would soon leave forever. One suitcase rested beside the door. Everything she owned fit inside it. A painful reminder that she had never truly belonged here. She slowly looked around the room one last time. The bed... the balcony. The couch where Damien used to sleep during the early days of their contract marriage. Memories flashed through her mind. The small conversations and the rare smiles. The moments when she foolishly believed things might get better. Tears burned her eyes again. But this time, she refused to cry. There was nothing left to cry for. Slowly, her hand moved to her stomach."I'm sorry, baby," she whispered softly.Not to Damien, not to herself... but to her baby. Because this child deserved better than a father who believed they were nothing more than manipulation. The pain in her chest returned imm

The Monteverde mansion had never felt colder. Not even during Ariana's first day there. Not even when Cassandra openly insulted her. Not even when Vanessa mocked her existence. But tonight was different.Tonight, Ariana felt like a ghost wandering inside a place she once tried desperately to call home. She sat quietly on the edge of the bed while staring at the city lights outside the window. Her eyes were swollen. Her heart was numb. And one hand remained protectively over her stomach. The only thing keeping her together. Her baby.The child growing inside her. The child whose father had publicly humiliated her only hours ago. A fresh tear slid down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away. She was tired of crying, tired of hurting... tired of hoping.The bedroom door suddenly opened. Damien entered. The moment Ariana saw him, her chest tightened painfully. For several seconds, neither of them spoke. The silence felt unbearable. Damien removed his suit jacket slowly before placing it ov

The air between Damien and Ariana felt suffocating. They stood facing each other in the hallway outside the charity luncheon while the photographs remained clenched tightly in Damien’s hand.Ariana’s chest rose unevenly. “Damien, please listen to me first.”His eyes looked terrifyingly emotionless.“Then explain.”“I already told you, those photos were planned.”Damien laughed bitterly. “Planned?”“Yes!”“Convenient answer.”Pain crashed heavily inside Ariana’s chest. She had never seen him look at her like this before. Not even during the beginning of their contract marriage. This time, the anger inside his eyes looked personal. Ariana took a shaky breath.“That man was my former coworker. He approached me because someone paid him to deliver those pictures to you.”“And you expect me to believe that?”“It’s true!”Damien stepped closer slowly.“Do you know what your problem is, Ariana?” Her throat tightened. “You look innocent even while lying.”The words stabbed her brutally. Tears

For the next several days, Ariana avoided Damien as much as possible. She left the room early. She ate meals quickly. And constantly made excuses whenever Damien tried speaking to her. The pregnancy terrified her. Every time she looked at Damien, guilt tightened painfully inside her chest. Because she still hadn’t told him the truth.Meanwhile, Damien slowly became more irritated by her strange behavior. Inside the Monteverde mansion’s dining room, he watched Ariana quietly sipping water while avoiding eye contact again.“You’ve barely eaten.”Ariana forced a smile. “I’m not hungry.”“You said that yesterday too.”“I’m fine.”Damien placed down his coffee cup slowly.“You keep saying that.”Vanessa rolled her eyes dramatically from across the table.“Maybe your wife finally realized how exhausting it is pretending to be classy.”Ariana ignored her. But Damien’s gaze remained fixed on Ariana. Something was definitely wrong. Even her face looked paler lately. Then suddenly— Ariana stood