“THE BOSS WENT COLD AT WHAT HE SAW ON THEIR FIRST NIGHT WITH THE MAID HE MARRIED: ‘I THOUGHT YOU ALREADY HAD THREE CHILDREN…’”
In a vast mansion in Alabang, Maya worked as a housemaid. She was twenty-five years old—simple, hardworking, and quiet. She was the favorite maid of Sir Lance, a thirty-year-old bachelor and the CEO of a multinational company. Lance was kind, but strict at work. The only thing he knew about Maya came from the stories told by the other maids—that Maya was a “fallen woman” back in the province.
Every month, Maya almost emptied her salary to send money home. Whenever the staff asked her why, she would answer, “For Junjun, Popoy, and Kring-kring.” So everyone reached the same conclusion—Maya had three children from her youth.
Despite all the gossip, Lance fell in love with Maya.
There was something different about the way Maya took care of people. When Lance came down with dengue and was hospitalized for two weeks, Maya never left his side. She wiped him down, fed him, and stayed up all night. Lance saw the purity of her heart.
“I don’t care if she has children,” Lance told himself. “I’ll love them the same way I love her.”
Lance courted Maya. At first, she refused.
“Sir, you’re from the sky and I’m from the ground. Besides… I have many responsibilities,” she said, lowering her head.
But Lance was persistent. He made her feel that he was ready to accept everything. In the end, they became a couple.
It became a huge scandal.
Lance’s mother, Doña Consuelo, exploded in anger.
“Lance! Have you lost your mind?! She’s a maid—and she has three children by different men?! Are you turning our mansion into an orphanage?!” she shouted.
His friends mocked him.
“Bro, you’re an instant dad of three! Good luck with the expenses!”
But Lance stood by Maya. They got married in a simple ceremony. At the altar, Maya was crying.
“Sir… Lance… are you sure? You might regret this.”
“I will never regret it, Maya. I love you—and your children,” Lance replied.
Then came their wedding night. Their “honeymoon.”
They were inside the master bedroom. It was quiet. Maya was nervous. Lance slowly approached his wife. He was ready to accept everything about her—the scars of the past, the stretch marks of pregnancy, every sign of motherhood. To him, all of these were symbols of sacrifice.
“Maya, don’t be shy. I’m your husband now,” Lance said gently as he touched her shoulder.
Maya slowly removed her robe and lowered the strap of her nightdress.
When Lance saw his wife’s body, HE WENT COLD.
He froze.
Smooth skin. No blemishes. No stretch marks on her stomach. No sign that she had ever given birth—not even once, let alone three times. Maya’s body looked like that of a woman who had never been pregnant.
“M-Maya?” Lance asked in shock. “I thought… I thought you had three children?”
Maya lowered her head, trembling. She reached for her bag beside the bed and took out an old photo album and a death certificate.
“Lance… forgive me for not explaining sooner. I was afraid that if people knew the truth, they would court me—and then leave once they found out I had people to support.”
She opened the album. Inside were photos of a burned-down house and three small children crying in front of two coffins.
“Junjun, Popoy, and Kring-kring…” Maya said, pointing to the children as tears fell.
“They’re not my children, Lance. They’re my nieces and nephews. They’re my sister’s children.”
Lance was confused. “Where is your sister?”
“Five years ago,” Maya began, sobbing, “our house in the province caught fire. My sister and her husband were trapped in the flames. They died while trying to push the children out through the window. I was the only one left, Lance—their only aunt. I was only twenty then, full of dreams. But when I saw my nieces and nephews with nothing, I made a promise in front of my sister’s coffin.”
“I said, ‘Ate, I’ll take care of them. I will never abandon them. I will be their mother and father.’”
Maya looked at Lance.
“That’s why I became a maid. That’s why I endured being called a ‘disgraced woman’ by neighbors and even by other staff. I let them think the children were mine so men who only wanted to play with me would stay away. I didn’t want to marry back then, Lance. I didn’t want anyone competing with my nieces and nephews for my attention and money. I dedicated my whole life to them.”
“I have no children, Lance. I gave my youth and my maidenhood to children who didn’t come from my womb—but who came from my heart.”
The room fell silent. It felt as if Lance’s world had stopped.
The woman he thought had a “dark past” was actually an angel. The “woman with baggage” was the woman with the greatest heart he had ever known. Maya endured judgment—being called immoral or shameless—just to protect and feed her orphaned nieces and nephews.
Lance dropped to his knees in front of Maya. He wrapped his arms around her waist and cried. He cried in shame, because even he—deep down—had once thought Maya was “wasted.” He cried out of pity and overwhelming admiration.
“Forgive me, Maya,” Lance sobbed. “Forgive us for judging you. You are so good. Your heart is so beautiful. I don’t deserve you.”
Maya held his face.
“You were the only one who accepted me, Lance—even when you thought I had many children. You were the only one who truly loved me.”
“And I will love them too,” Lance promised firmly. “Tomorrow, we’ll bring them here. They won’t live in the province anymore. I’ll be their father. And you… you will be the happiest mother in the world.”
The next day, Doña Consuelo and Lance’s friends were shocked when the couple arrived with three children. They thought the children were illegitimate.
But when Lance spoke before the family, everyone lowered their heads.
“Let me introduce the nieces and nephews of my wife—the children who are the reason she is the bravest woman I’ve ever known. Maya has no biological children, Mother. But she is a mother in thought, in word, and in action. And it is my honor to be her husband.”
When Doña Consuelo learned the whole story, the proud woman broke down in tears and hugged Maya.
“I’m sorry, hija. I was completely wrong about you.”
From then on, the family was whole. Lance legally adopted the three children. Later, he and Maya had children of their own. But in the hearts of Maya and Lance, their firstborn would always be the three angels who tested—and strengthened—their love.
This story proves that:
Do not judge. What we think is someone’s dirt may actually be the gold of their soul.
Motherhood is not only in blood. It lives in sacrifice and care.
True love accepts. Lance accepted Maya when he believed she already had children—and that acceptance opened the door to even greater blessings.