“I MARRIED AN OLD ONE RICH FOR THE MONEY — BUT WHEN I KNEW WHO HE REALLY WAS, I CRIED. »
Ella, twenty-two years old, grew up in poverty.
His mother had a lung disease.
His brother couldn’t go to school because he didn’t have money.
And she — a simple young woman who dreamed of succeeding, even if it meant losing her own freedom.
One night the news came to them.
There was a rich old man, Don Armando, who was looking for a wife.
Big, almost the size of a refrigerator, almost twice its age.
But people said they were nice and very rich.
« Ma fille, » dit sa mère en reprenant son souffle, « c’est peut-être ta chance. Pour que nous n’ayons plus à souffrir. »
And out of desperation, Ella accepted.
MARRIAGE WITHOUT LAUGHING
The wedding took place in a large house in Tagaytay.
While wearing a sumptuous dress, she felt a weight on her chest.
Not joy, but fear.
At the altar stood the man she was going to marry: Don Armando.
Gros, transpirant et avec une voix grave.
He smiled at her, but she could not bring herself to smile in return.
“From now on,” said Don Armando, “I will take care of you. Don’t worry about money anymore. »
Ella contented herself with acquiesce, but inside her something was screaming:
“I did this so that Mom could live. For my brother. »
And that night, instead of a kiss of love, she wept with the rain outside.
LIFE INSIDE THE PALACE
A few days later, she gradually got to know her “husband.”
Don Armando was silent, always on the lookout, and seemed to weigh each of his movements.
He was nice, but there were times when his eyes seemed… different.
One evening, while they were dining, she noticed how Don Armando was holding his drink.
It was not the hand of an old man.
Clean, smooth and solid.
“Don Armando,” she asked, “how old are you already? »
He just smiled.
Enough to understand the true value of a person. »
She was surprised, but said nothing.
Until the day the steward said to him:
“Madam, don’t be surprised if our boss has strange behaviors. »
Everything he does has a reason.
THE SECRET FACE
One night, Ella couldn’t sleep.
She came out on the porch of the big house.
She then saw Don Armando, standing by the garden,
Taking something out of his neck.
She covered her mouth.
La peau du visage de Don Armando…
se détachait lentement.
Et sous cette peau, ce qu’elle vit n’était pas un vieil homme gros,
mais un jeune homme extrêmement beau, musclé et bien connu dans le monde des affaires.
“My God,” Ella murmured, “what is it? »
L’homme, surpris, s’approcha aussitôt.
« Ella, attends une minute. N’aie pas peur. »
« Qui êtes-vous ?! » cria-t-elle en tremblant.
Il retira lentement le masque entier.
And in front of him was Ethan Vergara, the real CEO of the company owned by Don Armando.
“I am Ethan.”
I used the form of Don Armando… because I wanted to know you — not like a rich man, but as a man.
She couldn’t come back.
“Why did you do that? »
“Because everyone I met was only interested in me for my money.
So I decided to pretend to be an obese old man… to see if someone would still love me even if I had nothing left, even if I had no appearance. »
Ella burst into tears.
“And I’m really the one you chose to try? »
“Yes,” replied Ethan, “because the first time I saw you, you didn’t reject a life that others didn’t want. »
I wanted to see how far you could go — and I saw it. You have a beautiful heart.
But she fled.
Not out of anger, but out of shame.
“The only reason I accepted was for the money. »
But now I feel like… being the poorest person in the world.
THE CHANGE
She left the mansion a few weeks later.
She was hiding in a small apartment, looking for a job.
But one day, a man came with an envelope.
Inside, there was a word:
“Ella,
I don’t need a perfect woman.
What I want is someone who knows how to love even if she makes mistakes.
If you’re ready, I’ll go back to the old church where we first married — not as Don Armando, but as me.
THE REAL MARRIAGE
On Sunday she went to the old church.
Inside, Ethan stood there, dressed in a simple barong, without masks, without wealth.
She approached crying.
“I’m sorry… I don’t know how I’ll pay for all the lies I’ve told myself. »
“You don’t have to pay,” Ethan replied, taking his hand.
“Because love drives us to act, it is not change that is necessary, but courage. »
And there, before God, they became hugged.
It was no longer a marriage of necessity.
It was a marriage of truth and heart.
EPILOGUE
A year later, they returned to the village of Ella.
A scholarship fund has been established for women like her —
Those who, once forced by life to make choices, have learned to choose the right one in the end.
And to every girl who approached him, Ella said:
May you like
“You don’t have to pretend to be loved. »
Because your true heart is your best form.
