MOTHER-IN-LAW TOOK GIFT FROM “POOR” SON-IN-LAW IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WEDDING — EVERYONE BLANCHED WHEN THEY KNEW IT WAS A TITLE TO A $10 MILLION MANSION INHERITED BY A BILLIONAIRE FATHER
THE WEDDING OF THE POOR
Eliza and Jerome’s wedding was dubbed the Wedding of the Century in their province. Jerome was the son of the wealthy Guevarra family, who owned shipping lines. Eliza was a simple teacher who grew up in an orphanage and had no known parents.

Jerome’s mother, Donya Corazon, was furious with Eliza.

“Why did you marry a woman with no last name, Jerome?!” Corazon would always shout. “She won’t contribute anything to our wealth! She’ll only ruin the family genealogy!”

But Jerome loved Eliza, so the wedding went ahead despite Donya’s objections.

At the reception, everything was sparkling. The guests were all VIPs. Their gifts were sports car keys, jewelry, and a six-digit check.

Eliza sat next to Jerome, hunched over. She could feel the sharp gazes of Jerome’s relatives. She didn’t bring any expensive gifts. All she had in her hand was an old brown envelope that a mysterious lawyer had given her when she was still in the orphanage. Her instructions were: “Just open this and give it to your husband on your wedding day. This is the inheritance from the father you never knew.”

Eliza didn’t know what it contained. She thought it was a simple letter or an old photo.

THE BREAKING OF THE ENTABLADE
The time for Gift Giving arrived.

The godparents went up one by one.

“Here, Jerome, the keys to the new Condo in BGC!”

“Here, Eliza, a diamond set to make you look beautiful.”

Everyone applauded. Donya Corazon was overjoyed at the wealth that was coming in.

When the guests finished, Eliza stood up.

“Ah… Jerome,” Eliza said tremblingly into the microphone. “I don’t have an expensive gift like them. But… this is all I have.”

Eliza took out an old, worn-out brown envelope.

Some of the guests laughed.

“What’s that? A list of debts?”

“Maybe a water bill!”

Donya Corazon approached the stage. She grabbed the microphone.

“Look!” Corazon shouted. “This is what happens when you marry a vagrant! An envelope? What will my son do with an old envelope?! You’re embarrassing, Eliza! You’re ruining our family’s standards!”

“Mom, that’s enough!” Jerome pleaded.

“No! This woman should know her place!”

Donya Corazon snatched the envelope from Eliza’s hand.

“Is this your gift? It’s trash!”

In front of five hundred guests… Donya Corazon tore the envelope in half.

Krrrk!

She wasn’t satisfied yet. She tore it into pieces until it turned into confetti. She threw the torn pieces of paper at Eliza’s face.

“There! That’s where your gift belongs! On the floor! A worthless person like you!”

Eliza cried. The only memory of her father… was gone.

“Eliza, I’m sorry…” Jerome whispered, hugging his wife.

Donya Corazon was stunned, feeling like the queen of victory.

But suddenly someone spoke from behind.

THE REVEALING OF THE SECRET
“JUST A MOMENT!”

A loud voice rang out. An old man wearing a formal Barong Tagalog and carrying a briefcase entered. With him were four security guards.

Attorney Mendez. The most famous and expensive lawyer in the country.

Donya Corazon was stunned. “Attorney Mendez? What are you doing here? We don’t have a case, huh?”

The lawyer ignored Corazon. He approached the stage and knelt down to pick up the torn papers.

Attorney Mendez shook his head. “My God… Donya Corazon… do you know what you tore?”

“That’s just a beggar’s paper!” Corazon replied.

Attorney Mendez stood up and faced everyone.

“This paper,” the lawyer began, holding a torn piece of paper with the Official Seal stamped on it. “It’s the Original Deed of Donation and Land Title.”

“Title?” Jerome asked. “Title of what?”

The Attorney looked at Eliza.

“Eliza, my dear,” the lawyer said. “You don’t know your father, right?”

“Yes…” Eliza sobbed.

“Your father,” the Attorney said, “is Don Alfonso Zobel. The Real Estate Tycoon who died five years ago. You are his illegitimate but only child.”

The entire church gasped. Zobel?! One of the richest surnames in the Philippines!

“Before he died, he left me this envelope,” the Attorney explained. “It contains the title to Villa Alfonso. A 2-hectare Mansion in Forbes Park with a private pool, helipad, and gold-plated interiors.”

The Attorney turned to Donya Corazon, who was already pale and her lips were trembling.

“The value of the property inside the envelope you tore?”

Everyone fell silent.

“Ten Million US Dollars. Or more than 500 Million Pesos.”

THE REGRET
Donya Corazon’s jaw dropped.

“L-Five… Five Hundred… Million?” she whispered.

She looked at the torn papers on the floor. The paper she called trash. The paper that was worth ten times their family’s wealth.

“D-Oh my God!” Corazon shouted. She suddenly knelt on the floor.

Corazon picked up the torn papers like crazy.

“Tape! Who has scotch tape there?! I’ll stick it on! Wait a minute! I didn’t mean to!” Corazon shouted, her hands shaking as she tried to form the title. “Eliza! My child! That was just a joke earlier! Mommy will stick it on! The mansion is ours, right? Right?!”

Eliza looked at her. There were no tears in the girl’s eyes.

Attorney Mendez approached.

“Don’t worry, Donya Corazon,” the lawyer said with a smile.

“Really Attorney? Is it still valid even if it’s torn?” Corazon asked hopefully.

“Oh, there’s no need for that paper,” Attorney replied. “Because I have the Electronic Copy and the Duplicate Original in the office.”

Corazon breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God! So the mansion is still ours! Eliza, my child, it’s our wealth!”

Corazon was about to hug Eliza.

“Wait,” Eliza stopped her.

Eliza stepped back. She grabbed Jerome’s hand.

“Attorney,” Eliza said. “Whose name is the title?”

“To you, Eliza Zobel. As Sole Owner,” the lawyer replied. “Because this is Paraphernal Property that you inherited, it is not included in your and your husband’s conjugal property, unless you sign.”

Eliza smiled at Donya Corazon.

“Did you hear that, Donya Corazon?”

“O-Yes, son… but of course, we are family! We will all live there, right?”

Eliza shook her head.

“When you tore up my gift, you also tore up our relationship. You called me trash. So why would I let someone like you live in my father’s mansion?”

Eliza turned to Jerome.

“Jerome, I love you. But I can’t live in the same house with your mother. If you come with me to my mansion, you have to leave her. If you choose her, I will give you the ring right now and I will leave.”

Jerome looked at his mother who looked like money, and his kind wife who was now a billionaire.

Jerome approached Corazon.

“Mom,” Jerome said. “I’ve put up with your bullying of Eliza for so long. Enough.”

Jerome kissed Eliza. “I’ll go with you, Eliza. Wherever you are.”

“Jerome! Son! That’s money! 500 Million!” Corazon shouted.

“Attorney,” Eliza ordered. “Please get this woman out of my wedding. I don’t want trash in my party.”

The security guards brought by the lawyer approached Donya Corazon.

“Ma’am, get out,” the guard said.

“No! That’s my mansion! That’s mine! Eliza! I’m your mother!”

Donya Corazon was dragged out of the reception hall while running away. The guests who had been admiring her wealth were now laughing at her and filming her.

Eliza and Jerome were left behind, along with Attorney Mendez.

“The car is ready, Ms. Zobel,” the lawyer said. “We are waiting for you at Villa Alfonso.”

Eliza left not as the poor teacher, but as the richest woman in the province,

while her judgmental mother-in-law is left outside—crying over torn papers that she will never be able to use again.

THE END