“WHEN I KNEW MY EX-HUSBAND HAD A HARD MARRIAGE — I LAUGHED AT HIM.

“BUT WHEN I SAW WHO THE MAN WAS, I DIDN’T THINK I WOULD CRY THAT NIGHT.”

Adrian  and  Liza are long over  .
Three years have passed since they broke up — a relationship filled with shouting, jealousy, and luxury.
Adrian, a businessman accustomed to luxury; Liza, a simple teacher who has never been accustomed to the world of money.

After their breakup, Adrian quickly returned to his old ways: fancy cars, expensive bars, and a new girlfriend every month.
For him, Liza was just a part of the past.

Or so he thought.

One day, while having coffee at a café in Makati, someone he knew approached him.

“Father, did you hear? Liza got married again.”

Adrian laughed, with a hint of arrogance.

“Really? Who is that poor man?”

“He’s just a mechanic. He doesn’t have a house, he just lives with his cousin.”

Adrian grinned.

“Okay. That’s where it belongs.”

But inside him, something tingled — not envy, but a strange persecution he couldn’t explain.
And despite everything, he wanted to see what kind of life Liza had chosen.

A few days later, he drove to a small village in Bulacan, where Liza and her new husband supposedly lived.
He was wearing an expensive polo shirt, with a watch that cost as much as the car.

When he arrived, he immediately saw the house — just wood, small, and almost no fence.
In front of the house, there was a man hunched over, fixing an old motorcycle.
No shoes, muddy hands, but a smile on his face.

And then Liza came out — smiling, holding a glass of cold water.
She approached the man and handed it to him, rubbing the sweat off his forehead.

“Don’t work too hard, you might get tired.”

The man just smiled.

“As long as it’s for you, I won’t get tired.”

Adrian stopped in front of the house.
The couple ignored him.
It was as if they didn’t know him — or perhaps, as if he was worthless.

He just stood there, silent, watching how despite their simple life,
his ex-wife seemed  happy  — happier than when they were together.

When night came, he returned home.
It was quiet.
No music, no people, no laughter.
He turned on the light, looked at the pictures on the wall — he was all alone.

He sat on the sofa, holding a glass of wine, but instead of drinking, he just stared into space.

“He chose poverty… but that’s where he found peace.”

And there, tears fell from her eyes.
Not because of anger.
But because she only now understood how rich she had become in money —
but  poor in love.

Since that night, he never went to see Liza again.
He no longer joked or boasted when he heard her name.
Instead, every time he passed by the mechanic,
he always thought:  “Maybe, money is not the measure of success — but who can smile even when they have nothing.”

And in the silence of his house, Adrian smiled for the first time truly — even with tears in his eyes.