“Come on, Mom. Let’s go inside,” Marco’s nanny said calmly.
“Oh, I’m not allowed in there, Sir. I’m just wearing slippers. Then my boss will get angry—he’s waiting for me outside.”
Marco’s face suddenly hardened.
“Who made you wait in the heat?”
“Ma’am Stella… is inside.”
Marco grabbed Nanay Loring’s arm.
“Come on, Mom. In my restaurant, you’re the Queen.”
They went inside. Everyone looked up—waiters, staff, and customers—when they saw their boss himself assisting an elderly maid.
Marco took Nanay Loring to the VIP Room, a glass room in the middle of the restaurant that was clearly visible to everyone.
He made her sit on the softest chair.
“Waiter!” Marco shouted. “Special steak, lobster, and iced tea for Mom. On the house. I’ll cook it myself.”
From her table, Ma’am Stella turned pale.
Her assistant… in the VIP Room?!
She stood up and rushed in.
“Excuse me! What’s going on here? Nanny! Why did you come in? I told you to stay outside!”
Marco turned to Stella, his gaze cold and sharp.
“Ma’am, do you know her?”
“Yes! That’s my assistant! She’s embarrassing to the customers!”
“Ma’am,” Marco’s voice was loud and clear, “that woman is the reason I’m alive today. When I was hungry and had nothing, she fed me.”
The entire restaurant fell silent.
“Here at Casa D’Oro,” Marco added, “there is no room for the poor. The VIP Room is for people with hearts of gold. Nanay Loring, she deserves it.”
He looked Stella from head to toe.
“Even if you have a lot of money, you are not qualified for this table.”
He turned to Nanay Loring.
“Mom, just eat. Then, I will take you to the province. I will give you capital so that you will no longer be slaves to people who do not know how to respect.”
Nanay Loring burst into tears as she slowly sliced the steak.
Ma’am Stella, on the other hand, was red with shame. She did not finish her meal. She hurriedly paid and left—and in that moment, she was the one left outside, while her once despised servant was treated like family inside.
5 days later
Mother Loring returned to the province—no longer as a maid, but as the owner of a small cafeteria called “Kay Nanay.”
Every day, there was free food for hungry children.
On the wall, there was a picture of a dirty child and a smiling old woman.
And whenever someone asked why she helped even though life was difficult, Mother Loring had only one answer:
“Because once, I fed a child… and he changed my fate.”