On a cramped, noisy street in Tondo, Manila, Mateo lives. At the age of sixteen, he conquered the world. He was a working student—in the morning he entered a prestigious university as a scholar, and in the evening he worked as a waiter and sometimes as a loader in the market. Mateo is an orphan of his father, and his mother is bedridden due to serious kidney complications and diabetes. Every penny he earns goes to medicine and food, so his stomach often spends the day with water and bread.
In spite of his difficulties, Matthew was wise. He was a top student in his Business Management course. But in the eyes of the wealthy student at his school, he is just a “scumbag” trying to insert himself into the world of the elite. The shoes were old, the uniform was yellow, and the trunk was always carried with a dry cloth.
One rainy night, while Mateo was waiting for a jeep on his way home from work, he noticed an elderly woman on the side of the road. He was dressed in expensive clothes, but it was already wet from the rain and shivering from the cold. He seemed confused and confused. No one notices this; People were in a hurry to go home.
Matthew approached the older man. “Grandma, are you alright? Where’s your head?” he asked. The old man looked at him, his eyes filled with fear. “I don’t know… My driver is missing… My bag was stolen.” It was a shaky response.
Even though he was tired and hungry, Matt didn’t think twice. He nodded to the older man. He took her to the nearest 24-hour convenience store to warm up. He bought her a hot coffee and a whooping with the last of his money that should have been his fare and dinner. “Eat your heart out, Grandma. “I’m going to call your family to get a phone call.”
That old lady was Doña Corazon de Villa, the matriarch of one of the wealthiest families in the country. Later that night, he was picked up by his bodyguards and the driver who had been looking for him earlier. Before leaving, Doña Corazon grabbed Mateo’s hand. “I will never forget your kindness, my dear. What’s your name?”
“Mateo po,” sagot ng binata.
A few weeks passed. Matthew thought that was where the story ended. But one day, a black limousine pulled up across the street from their barong-barong. Doña Corazon summoned him to his mansion.
When he arrived at the mansion, Matthew was amazed at its size and beauty. But he also felt a sense of sadness inside. Doña Corazon greeted him who was sitting in a wheelchair. It was then that Matthew learned the truth. Doña Corazon had a life of her own. He had a serious heart disease. But it wasn’t the pain that killed him, but the loneliness and fear.
Her two children, Rico and Stella, were waiting for nothing more than her death. Doña learned that they were planning to declare her “mentally incapacitated” in order to immediately take control of the company and place her in a nursing home where she would be alone and helpless.
“Well,” said Mrs. Corazon gravely, “I have something to ask of you. I know it’s going to be tough, and I know the world is going to judge you. You’re the only one I’ve ever seen with a broken heart.”
Kinabahan si Mateo. “Ano po ‘yun, Lola?”
The old man grabbed the young man’s hand. Her eyes were filled with tears and despair. “Marry me, Matthew. Only on paper. We need to get married soon.”
Matthew almost fell out of his seat. “Hell?! Grandma, I can’t! What would people say? “I respect you as my grandmother.”
Doña Corazon explained the reason. “When I get married, you will be my legal guardian. You will have the right to make decisions for me, not my savage children. You will protect me until my last breath. “I don’t want to die alone in a nursing home, Matthew. I want to die in my own home, cared for by someone who genuinely cares.”
“In return,” she added, “I will pay off all your debts. I’m going to get your mom treated at the best hospital. And I will answer your question to the end. I will give you a good life.”
Because of the dire need for the treatment of his mother, who was in critical condition at the time, and also because of compassion for Grandma Corazon as if he could see his own mother, Mateo agreed. He knew he was risking his reputation, but his mother’s life and the safety of the old man were more balanced.
The marriage took place before the judge. Simply put, there is no pride. But, as expected, the news broke out. They have become the subject of tabloids and social media.
“Billionaire Grandma, Grandpa Got Married!” “Gold Digger Student, 73-Year-Old Certified Lover Boy!”
Matthews was stunned. At university, he was laughed at. “Hey, that’s not the gigolo!” his classmates shouted. “How much do you have to pay to change your husband’s diaper?” someone scoffed. Even Doña Corazon’s relatives rushed to the mansion.
“Don’t you dare touch me!” shouted Rick as he slammed Matthew into the living room. “What did you eat for your mom?!” You won’t be able to take advantage of our resources! We’re going to sue!”
Doña Corazon blocked them. “She’s my wife! And he will be the one to follow it! If you don’t like him, get out of my house!”
Over the past five years, Matthew’s life has been very different from what some people think. He did not live a king. He remained humble. She became Doña Corazon’s personal nurse. He bathed her, tried it, read a book, and took her for a walk in the garden. She slept on the couch in Grandma’s room to keep an eye on her every night. There is no malice, no exploitation. It is a relationship of care and respect that is like a grandmother’s.
During that time, Mateo learned the ins and outs of business because he was taught by Doña. He became sharp. Her mother was also healed with her husband’s help. Above all, Doña Corazon felt the love that her own children had withheld from her.
“Matthew,” Grandma said one night while looking up at the stars. “Wealth is not brought to the pit. All we have left is the good we have done for our neighbors. “Matthew, you have a broken heart. I will never regret choosing you.”
There will be a day when everyone will be dreaded. Doña Corazon had a heart attack. In his final moments in the hospital, he held Matthew’s hand. Her children were there too, but just on the phone and asking the doctor how long it would take.
“Thank you… Thank you for being honest, Matthew.” Doña Corazon whispered before finally breathing.
Matthews cried. He lost a friend, a grandmother, and a companion.
But before the body had cooled down, the “vultures” had already started. Rico, Stella, and their lawyers immediately issued a statement. “Get rid of that man! He has no right to it anymore! “Her husband is dead!” cried Stella.
On the day of the funeral, almost no one was in attendance except Matthew, his recovered mother, and the employees Lola had helped. Relatives are preparing for the “Reading of the Will.”
After the funeral, everyone gathered in the mansion’s spacious living room. Matthew was there, hunched over in a corner, wearing a black shirt. There were Rico and Stella, smiling, bells and whistles that the marriage would be annulled and that the billions would go to them. Attorney Valdez, Lola’s trusted lawyer, arrived. He opened the sealed envelope.
“I, Corazon de Villa, in right mind, leave my last wish,” the Attorney began. All was silent.
“To my children, Rico and Stella…” The smiles between the two of them grew. “… I’m going to give you a million pesos and the old resthouse in the province.”
The two of them were surprised. Rico stood up. “What?! A million?! It’s just a coin! Where are the companies? The land in Makati? The stocks?”
“Stop me,” the lawyer said seriously.
“The remaining ninety-five percent of my wealth—including the De Villa Corporation, the mansion, and all the liquid assets worth 5 Billion Pesos—I bequeathed to my legal husband and the only person who ever made me feel true love… Mateo de Villa.”
It was as if a bomb had exploded in the room. Stella disappeared. “That can’t be! He cheated on Mommy! He’s just chasing money! He’s a gold digger! We’re going to sue you!” Rico was about to stab Matthew when the bodyguards blocked him.
“Wait a minute,” Attorney Valdez said. “There’s another document and video that Doña Corazon left behind. And that’s the most important thing of all. It’s for all of you to know the truth.”
The lawyer turned on the TV. A video of Doña Corazon appeared, taken a week before she died. She looked peaceful.
“To my children, Rico and Stella,” the video begins. “I know you’re angry. I know you think Matthew cheated on me. But you’re wrong. Matthew was the best thing that ever happened to me in my last years.”
“He didn’t marry me for money. He rejected my gifts several times. I was the one who insisted. I did it to protect the company and the employees from your greed. I saw how you wasted the money. I saw how you planned to throw me out of a nursing home.”
Rick and Stella turned pale. Their mother knew everything.
“But I have another reason,” the video continues. “Matthew, son, listen. This is not an accident. When I was a child, before I was married to your Grandfather, I loved a man. He was our gardener. Eduardo. I was pregnant with Eduardo when my parents married me to someone else. They made me believe that the baby died after birth. But I learned, before I died, that that baby had been given to an orphanage.”
“I’m looking for that son. My son is Eduardo. His name is Ricardo. Your father, Matthew.”
Mateo’s whole world was silent. His father… was the son of Doña Corazon?
“Yes, Matthew. You are my grandson. You are my grandson from my first love. So when I saw you on the street, I felt a rush of blood. You look like Eduardo. I investigated you and I confirmed everything. So I married you not as a wife, but as a legal way to pass on to you everything that should be yours, without your father’s siblings Rico and Stella getting in the way.”
“Our marriage is void ab initio in the eyes of God because we are of blood line, but in the eyes of human law, it is the weapon I used to protect you. Now that everyone knows, the DNA test that comes with this will will prove that you are my true grandson and heir. Matthew, I am returning to you the wealth that was withheld from your grandparents. Use it for good.”
Matthew was stunned. What he thought was a simple act of helping an elderly man turned out to be the door to his true identity. That’s why Grandma Corazon looked at her that way. That is why she was so reassuring to him. He’s not someone else. He is flesh and blood.
The children, Rico and Stella, were stunned with embarrassment and surprise. What they call a “shampas” turns out to be their nephew outside who is more deserving of wealth than they are. They didn’t do anything. The DNA test is a 99.9% match.
With the last commandment, Matthew got it all. Rico and Stella were kicked out of the mansion and were left with only one million each, which they also quickly depleted.
Matthew, on the other hand, didn’t waste the money. He completed his studies and became a great CEO. She used the wealth to heal her mother and built a foundation for abandoned elderly and working students like her.
Matthew proves that true wealth is not measured by money, but by a pure heart. A marriage that everyone thought was “lewdness” is yet another great sacrifice by a grandmother to right the wrongs of the past and secure the future of her true grandson.
This is a reminder that we should not be quick to judge. Behind every person and every situation there is a story that we don’t know. What we think is “garbage” might be the gold that will save us.
What would you do if you were in Matthew’s shoes? Will you accept the challenge of fate? Do you believe that there is always a reward for goodness? Scroll down below and share this story to inspire everyone!