Mark was a man blinded by the allure of money. Three years ago, he kicked his wife, Rhea, out of the house.

At that time, Rhea was a simple housewife: thin, always in a dressing gown, without any money of her own.

When Mark rose to manager at a company and met Angelica (the daughter of a wealthy socialite), he felt that Rhea was no longer up to his standards.

“Rhea, go,” Mark said, throwing Rhea’s clothes out the door. “We’re not compatible anymore. Look at you: you smell like food. It’s embarrassing to take you to parties. Angelica is the right woman for me.”

Rhea left crying. Penniless. With nowhere to go. And what Mark didn’t know… Rhea was pregnant that very night.

Three years passed. Mark was about to marry Angelica. It was going to be the wedding of the year.

Because Mark wanted to rub it in Rhea’s face how lucky he was and how miserable the life she had left behind must be, he sent her an invitation.

He wrote on the back of the card:

Come so you can at least eat decently. Don’t worry, there will be enough even for the poor. Come and meet the woman who replaced you.

Rhea accepted the invitation. She wasn’t angry. She simply smiled.

The wedding day arrived. It was held at the Grand Palace Hotel, the most expensive place in the city.

Everything was gleaming. The guests wore gowns and tuxedos. Mark stood at the altar, feeling like a king. Angelica was in the preparation room, getting ready.

“Do you think your ex-wife will come?” Mark’s godfather asked.

“Probably,” Mark laughed. “Anyway, she’s hungry. She’s probably coming to get some food to take home. She’ll probably arrive in flip-flops. I’ll sit her in the back, near the kitchen.”

They all laughed. They were expecting the arrival of a pathetic woman they could mock.

The VIP guests began to arrive. BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes, and Land Cruisers filled the entrance.

But suddenly, chaos erupted outside the hotel lobby.

Oh my God! Whose car is that?

“I’ve never seen one like that in real life!”

Mark and the guests stared at the enormous glass windows.

Stepping out of the driveway, a midnight blue Rolls-Royce Phantom appeared: a car fit for billionaires and queens. It was worth more than Mark’s entire wedding.

The uniformed driver got out and opened the door.

First, a foot wearing Christian Louboutin heels appeared.

Then a woman appeared.

She was wearing a red velvet dress designed by a famous Parisian designer.

A diamond necklace sparkled around her neck, visible even from afar. Her hair was elegant, her skin flawless and smooth, and her aura radiated power.

It was Bad.

She was no longer the woman who “smelled like a kitchen.” Now she looked like the CEO of an empire.

Mark froze. “R-Rhea?”

But the surprise wasn’t over.

Rhea turned towards the car and helped two children out.

Two young children. Twins.

They wore matching tailored tuxedos. They were adorable, like little princes.

Holding their hands, Rhea entered the hotel lobby as if it were a red carpet.

As they walked down the aisle, the guests held their breath.

Not because of Rea’s beauty.

But judging by the twins’ faces.

Their eyes… their noses… the shape of their faces…

They were identical to Mark.

They were like photocopies of Mark as a child. No doubt about it. No DNA test was needed. Those kids were the same blood as the boyfriend.

Rhea stopped in front of Mark.

The church fell silent, like a cemetery. Even the priest was frozen in place.

“Hello, Mark,” Rhea greeted him in a soft but cold voice. “Congratulations! Thank you for the invitation. You said to come for a nice meal. So I brought my children.”

Mark paled. His hand trembled as he pointed at the children.

“W-who are they?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

Rhea looked at the twins. “Kids, say hello to Uncle Mark.”

“Hello,” the twins said in unison. Their voices sounded exactly like Mark’s.

“Rhea…” Mark whispered. “Are they my children?”

Rhea smiled bitterly.

—Yes, Mark. The night you threw me out in the rain… when you threw my things away and called me trash… I was pregnant. Two months along.

The guests were speechless.

“Was she pregnant when he kicked her out of the house?”

“I had nowhere to go,” Rhea continued calmly. “I slept on the sidewalks. I worked as a laundress while my belly grew. I almost lost my babies to starvation.”

“B-but…” Mark stammered. “How did you get rich? How did you raise them?”

“With anger,” Rhea replied. “Anger became my driving force. I worked hard. I sold homemade food. It became popular.”

I opened a small restaurant. It grew into a restaurant. And now… I own Rhea’s Cuisine, a restaurant chain with 50 locations nationwide.”

Mark was stunned.

The restaurant where Angelica always boasted about eating… belonged to Rhea. “So thank you, Mark,” Rhea added. “If you hadn’t fired me, I might still be your maid. Thanks to what you did, I was convinced…”

“I’m a multimillionaire.”

Suddenly, Angelica appeared, already in her wedding dress, coming out of the elevator.

“What’s going on here?!” he shouted. “Rhea?! Why are you here?! And who are those children?!”

Angelica looked at the twins… then at Mark.

She paled.

“M-Mark…” she said, trembling. “You have children?!”

Mark couldn’t answer. He was paralyzed, staring at the twins—seeing himself reflected in them—and at Rhea, now beautiful, rich, and powerful.

Regret crushed him.

Angelica’s family? They’re heavily in debt. He married her for status.

But Rhea… Rhea was already a self-made billionaire. And they had two children.

“Rhea…” Mark stepped forward. “They’re my children! I have rights!” “Let’s get back together! We can be a family! Let’s call off this wedding!”

The guests erupted.

“Is he dumping his girlfriend?”

Mark took Rhea’s hand.

She immediately stepped back.

“Rights?” Rhea laughed. “You lost those rights the moment you chose that woman instead of the wife who truly loved you.”

She turned to the twins.

“Luke, Liam, have you seen it?”

“Yes, Mom,” the twins replied.

He’s your father. Look at him closely. Because this is the first and last time you’ll see him.

“Rhea! No!” Mark shouted.

“Let’s go,” Rhea said.

She turned, her dress billowing gracefully, and walked back to the door with the twins.

“Rhea! They’re my boys! Luke! Liam!” Mark shouted as he ran after them.

But Rea’s bodyguards, strong as walls, blocked him.

Mark fell to his knees.

Angelica shouted from the altar, “You bastard, Mark! You’re leaving me for your ex? It’s over!”

She slapped him in front of everyone and stormed out.

Mark stood in the middle of the church: no wife, no rich girlfriend, watching his children and the woman he had abandoned drive away in a Rolls-Royce he could never catch.

That day, Mark learned the most painful lesson of all:

The trash you threw away before… was the gold you’re now desperately searching for.

THE END