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Juan Elias Mondego
He didn’t just heal hearts—he built a family from one egg, one kiss, and one undying love.
Dr. Elias Mondego
A single Dad's dilemma
I remember the first time I saw her in the hospital. My daughter was fighting for her life—this was a matter of life and death. We were running out of time, scrambling for a rare blood type: RH null.
Then she walked in. Ella. Dressed simply, like she accidentally wandered off a movie set and straight into my existential crisis. There she was—confident, calm, and totally unaware that she was about to become the plot twist of my lifetime. The plot twist I didn’t even know my PhD could handle.
They said she was a donor match. Same blood. RH null. Which was already rare beyond belief—but that wasn’t the shocking part.
Then came the mic-drop moment: her DNA matched Aliyah’s. Not a whisper. Not a rumor. A direct hit. Mother. And. Daughter.
The Binondo Girl who looked like my daughter
I froze. Stared at Ella. Then back at Aliyah. Then back at Ella. My brain practically rebooted mid-stare. Same tilt of the head. Same 'don’t mess with me unless you want a side-eye so sharp it could slice ham' expression. Same way of blinking like the world was a little too noisy.
And my science-trained, logic-worshipping, DNA-decoding brain? It couldn’t compute. Error 404: Rational Explanation Not Found.
I spiraled. Was this woman hustling us? Kung siya talaga ang nagbenta ng egg, bakit ganito ang itsura niya? She didn’t look like she just cashed out from a fertility jackpot. Kung may egg money siya, dapat naka-Vespa siya sa Italy, hindi nagpapawis sa Ongpin. She looked like someone who sold five types of longganisa and six types of attitude before lunch.
Aliyah and Ella
Elias & Ella
Bb. Binondo meets the dashing Doctor
But she was clueless. Genuinely. And Aliyah? Aliyah gravitated to her like plants lean toward sunlight. There was no faking that. Even my inner skeptic took a deep sigh and muttered, "Dude. This is real."
And I couldn’t stop staring.
But before that...
She was the pride of Binondo—Queen by pageant, tindera by hustle. She ran a small but fierce Chinese herb shop and managed pre-orders for their family’s now-famous ham. Her mouth was faster than any QR scanner in Luzon. And that attitude? Lord, help me. Sharp as her winged eyeliner and sassier than a tita on a sale rack.
She wasn’t just beautiful—she was untouchable. Walang pasakalye. Kung ayaw mo, edi huwag. Pero kung gusto mo... brace yourself.
But beneath the sass and that mataray Mutya ng Binondo crown was a young woman, longing—silently, achingly—for the love of her mother. And I saw it. In between her sarcastic smirks and those perfectly timed eye rolls, may lungkot sa mga mata niya na hindi marunong magsinungaling.
She didn’t lose her slipper. She lost her DNA.
I didn’t know then how much she would change me.
I thought I was the one holding it together, but every time she smiled, every time she showed up without knowing how much she was already ours—ako pala yung binubuo niya.
It started with confusion. Then curiosity. Then I spiraled into mild obsession, light stalking, and a totally rational decision to run a full DNA panel like a lovesick Sherlock Holmes.
And then...
Well.
Well.
The rest? That’s our story.
Elias and his family
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Among all the stories I’ve written, this is my personal favorite.
Bakit? Dahil dito ko naipinta ang isang happily ever after na pinagtagpo ng siyensiya at tadhana.
Dr. Elias—oh, Elias. Sa lahat ng mga lalaki ng Las Águilas, siya ang may pusong hopeless romantic. A man who hums "Someday My Princess Will Come" habang nilalabanan ang trauma ng isang masakit na pangyayari.
He was a heartbroken single father, betrayed by the one he trusted most. Ang anak niyang si Aliyah ay bunga ng isang panlilinlang—isang egg na hindi pala mula sa fiancée niya, kundi binili mula sa isang egg bank, all without his knowledge.
And yet, sa kabila ng sakit, itinuloy niya ang pagiging ama. He loved Aliyah with a kind of love that only the truly heartbroken understand.
And then came Ella—ang mutya at tindera ng Binondo. Sa isang medical emergency ni Aliyah, destiny knocked. She helped. A DNA test confirmed the impossible: sila ni Aliyah, mag-ina.
But how?
Ella never donated eggs. Wala siyang maalalang lumabas ng Binondo, much less nagpa-harvest. She never asked to be a mother. But fate had other plans. And that’s when the magic began.
This is a story about a prince wounded by betrayal and a woman who never left her corner sari-sari but changed someone’s entire world. It’s about a daughter born of science but destined to bring two souls together. It’s about how innocence can heal, how truth finds its way home, and how love—in its purest, quietest form—never truly forgets who it's for.
And just like the song says:
"The sky has lost its color, The sun has turned to grey,
At least that's how it feels to me, Whenever you're away."
Those lines from “The Distance” by Evan and Jaron (Serendipity OST) perfectly capture the longing and ache Dr. Elias carried all those years. But it also reminds us that distance isn’t always measured by miles—it can be healed by presence, by truth, by love finally arriving.
Dr. Elias, Ella, and little Aliyah's journey will break your heart, make you laugh, and remind you that sometimes, the best love stories are those you never saw coming.
This book is for every hopeless romantic who still believes in serendipity—and second chances.
From science to soulmates, from deception to destiny… this is their story.