| “ | Pinili niya 'ko to be COO, yes... after I had to beg for it! Halos lumuhod ako para ibigay niya sa'kin 'yon! All my life, wala na ako ibang ginawa... kung 'di maki-agaw sa attention niya! Dahil wala akong halaga. And you know what? Papa doesn't even remember, that I was with him the night that your mother died! | „ |
| ~ Bettina Tiu expressing her jealousy and motivation to Caroline Tiu who reveals that she is the mastermind who killed Caroline's mother, Divine. |
| “ | I'm not strong. But I tried to be, because I had to! I have no one else. | „ |
| ~ Bettina Tiu breaks down in front of her family as she holds her grudge against them, while she hostages Caroline. |
Bettina Young Tiu is the main antagonist of the 2023 Filipino romantic drama series Can't Buy Me Love.
She is the middle child and eldest daughter of Wilson and Cindy, and Caroline's wicked half-sister. She is serious, proud, yet bitter, insecure, stubborn, power-hungry, cunning, vindictive, selfish, greedy, manipulative, and oppressive woman, with a strongly dislike, envy and jealousy towards Caroline. In the last episode, it was revealed that Bettina is the mastermind and serial killer of Caroline's mother, Divine, since she was young. She is also Gilbert's accomplice, who is the lover of her mother, Cindy, in her wicked plans to make Caroline and Bingo's life a living hell.
She was portrayed by Kaila Estrada, and also portrayed by young version Jana Agoncillo.
Biography[]
Past[]
Bettina was only 12 years old when she intervened, witnessing Caroline fighting with Irene over her iPod since they were young. Irene then maliciously throws her iPad into the pool. Bettina mocks Caroline, leading to an argument who thinks about her mother's committed suicide because of another man. In a shocking turn of events, Irene pushes Caroline into the pool, allowing her to drown while Irene and Bettina watch with sinister satisfaction. The next day, with the assistance of her older brother Charleston, Caroline seeks revenge by sabotaging Bettina and Irene's stuffs, leading Irene to frame Caroline for the mischief.
Main Story[]
In the first beginning, As grown up, Bettina is now independent woman who celebrates her engagement with a party attended by her family and friends. She is engaged to marry Edward Liao. However, the festivities take a sour turn when Caroline arrives wearing a black dress, causing Bettina to feel embarrassed. Unaware about that her fiancé Edward was cheating on her by having affair with her own best-friend, Liv, she confronts Caroline, who thinks her sister is trying to steal her fiancée. Until Caroline stands her ground despite Bettina's anger as she humiliates her in front of their guests. Caroline reveals what she witnessed, causing a heated exchange. Enraged, Bettina attacks Caroline, accusing her of lying.
In the aftermath of the engagement party incident, Caroline is confronted by Bettina, Irene, and Cindy, who demand a public apology to the Liaos. Refusing to apologize, she stands her ground to retract her revelations about catching Edward and Liv's scandalous affair, leading to a heated exchange. Bettina slaps Caroline twice in anger, blaming her for the humiliation she endured. Wilson intervenes, urging Caroline to apologize to end the conflict. Despite the pressure, Caroline remains steadfast in her decision.
The next day, Bettina went to the Edward's office as she informed to tell him as they discuss their strained relationship. Edward's dismissive behavior and preoccupation with work frustrate Bettina, leading to abuses her. Caroline's unexpected arrival and witnesses Bettina is mistreated by Edward's rage, prompting her to defend her sister. Caroline's accusations against Edward further escalate the situation, revealing a darker side to his character. As Bettina and Caroline leaving Edward's office, leaving him distressed and exposed. Bettina is still upset with Caroline for meddling her life at the conference room. Caroline tells her about Edward of being a liar and suggests he may have been involved in her kidnapping. Bettina reacts defensively, rejecting her claims and labeling her a liar. Caroline tries to offer a sincere apology and wishes for her own good, but Bettina responds with anger, asks her to leave and never return.
On a breakfast family meeting, Bettina reacts Caroline accuses Irene of kidnapping her, leading to Bettina's outburst anger towards her sister's repeatedly accusations, believing them to be a form of punishment for the death anniversary of Caroline's mother, Divine. Despite of her anger because she didn't want to be happened to their family's miserable.
On the other hand, Bettina is shocked when Edward arrives home with bruises on his face. Concerned, she rushes to him, asking what happened. Edward reassures her that he's okay, but the family remains visibly concerned. Her father Wilson stands up to get a closer look at Edward, while Albert feels worried, indicating the seriousness of the situation.
Meanwhile, Bettina meets with Liv at a cafe restaurant. Bettina expresses her frustration about Edward's situation, revealing that he was beaten up by her brother. Liv reacts nervously but denies any involvement with him. Despite the tension, Bettina reconciles with Liv and reaffirms her as the maid of honor for her wedding, indicating she still doesn't want to divorce him. The scene ends with Bettina and Liv ordering coffee, suggesting a renewed sense of camaraderie between them.
As Charleston prepares to leave for his flight, Bettina expresses concern about his absence from the family meeting. Despite Bettina's inquiries, Charleston expresses skepticism about Edward, advises her to against marrying him solely for business reasons if he might be hunting him Meanwhile, Gina arrives and makes tactless remarks on her. Charleston's departure and Gina's arrival heighten the family's tension, leaving unresolved questions about Edward's involvement and the future of Bettina's engagement.
At the midnight family dinner, When Bettina reacts her mother Cindy's frustration about changes in the family constitution leads to Charleston siding with Caroline's accusations against Edward. Feeling sidelined, she confronts him for seemingly favoring her. Their heated exchange deepens the family's divide as he remains firm in his belief in Caroline's honesty.
One night, Edward visits Bettina at home, bringing flowers as he apologizes for hurting her. He pleads for forgiveness and suggests getting married immediately to make amends. However, Bettina firmly rejects his proposal, insisting that he will never harm her again. She also demands that he cut ties with her friend Liv, to which he agrees. Then she agrees to proceed with the wedding. Meanwhile, her mother Cindy, observes the emotional exchange from downstairs. This scene marks a pivotal moment in Bettina and Edward's relationship, where she asserts her boundaries and demands respect.
At the home, her mother, Cindy engages in a conversation with Bettina about her impending marriage to Edward. She expresses concern about Bettina's decision and questions whether she truly wants to spend her life with Edward. She has been a while considering her options, reflects on her mother's acceptance of her father despite his past affairs, attributing it to love. Despite her reservations, she acknowledges the practical benefits of marrying Edward, particularly his business matters for this proficiency. She expresses a desire to be more than just a victim of betrayal and aims to become a successful and influential figure in her own right. Cindy comforting and is offering to support her.
In his condo, Bettina tends to Edward's injuries, showing a tender side to their relationship. They discuss the ongoing investigation into the GL Bank, revealing Bettina's desire to prove her worth and contribute to her family's efforts. Bettina suggests using Edward's connections to delve into the dark web to uncover the truth behind the attack, signaling her determination to assert herself within her family dynamics. Despite the challenges and competition among siblings for inheritance, Bettina expresses her commitment to working alongside Edward to earn her father's approval. So, Bettina feels reassured as Edward comforts her, solidifying their partnership in the pursuit of their goals. Edward shows her with evidence suggesting that her brother Charleston may have illegal connections. He shows the pictures of Charleston with a known smuggler, implying that her brother could be involved in criminal activities. However, Bettina remains skeptical, dismissing Edward's claims as conspiracy theories. Edward insists that Bettina needs to be vigilant and suspicious of everyone, especially her brother, if she wants to inherit the family business. Despite Edward's warnings, she maintains her trust in her brother.
Meanwhile, Wilson's family prepares for dinner with the Liaos. When her brother, Charleston, arrives, Edward feels threatened. Bettina reassures him, and they head to the dinner together. At a family dinner, Bettina becomes irritated as her father shows gratitude towards Bingo for saving Caroline's life. She feels envious and vents her frustration in front of her mother, Cindy, by picking at the appetizers. She tries to calm her down, but she remains upset, expressing her displeasure at her father's actions. She hopes for equal respect for her fiancé, Edward, from her family. Despite Cindy's attempts to diffuse the tension, until she remains agitated.
Bettina and Edward are discussing wedding gifts when Bettina receives a shocking message revealing Charleston's involvement in hacking the GL Bank. He reacts with concern, confirming her suspicions about Charleston's betrayal. Despite her disbelief, Edward assures her they'll overcome any obstacles together and pledges to make up for any shortcomings. As they embrace, Edward's hidden agenda to frame Charleston is hinted at by his evil grin.
In the hotel bedroom, Bettina is trying on a stunning bridal gown in preparation for her wedding with Edward. Her mother, Cindy, lovingly comforts her, admiring her beauty and radiance on this special day. Together, they share a tender moment filled with anticipation and joy for the upcoming ceremony.
In the kitchen, Bettina and her mother Cindy prepare Siomai while discussing Bettina's suspicions regarding the hacking incident at the GLC. Bettina believes it was an inside job and wants to prove Edward wrong about accusing her brother Charleston. Cindy expresses frustration with Edward's accusations and staunchly defends her son's innocence. Despite her doubts, Bettina remains determined to uncover the truth and clear her brother's name, even as tensions rise between her and Edward.
At the parking lot, Bettina exits her car and checks a message from Edward. Edward's message expresses his love and intention to call her later. Meanwhile, Edward heads towards the building's main entrance and departs in a van. Shocked, Bettina decides to follow him, returning to her car. Nearby, Snoop, Bingo's best friend, observes Bettina's actions and sends a message to Bingo about her following Edward. Bingo, alarmed, instructs Snoop to distract her. Confused, Snoop wonders how to accomplish this task. As Bettina arrives at Jaime's mansion, Bingo warns Snoop that she might interfere with Edward and Jaime's meeting, emphasizing the importance of understanding their motives. Snoop, feeling the pressure, decides to follow Bettina to Jaime's mansion. He attempts to distract her by pretending to be a cat, but Bettina remains focused on her mission to find Edward. Meanwhile, Edward and Jaime converge on the rooftop, unaware of Bettina's presence. searches for Edward as Snoop continues his clumsy attempts to interrupt her but fails. Bettina receives a distress call from her sister, Irene, who's in trouble at a bar. She agrees to help Irene and rushes to her aid. Later, Bettina arrives at the bar to find Irene distressed over unpaid drinks. Irene confesses her financial situation got broke down, prompting Bettina to question her sister's life choices. Amid their conversation, Bettina admits to following Edward, expressing paranoia about his relationship with Liv. But unaware about that if he'd meet someone. At the interaction feels raw and honestly, Irene offers support, urging Bettina to reconsider her marriage to Edward for the sake of the family business. They rekindle moments and leave the bar together.
Bettina is pleasantly surprised when Edward orchestrates an unexpected celebration in her honor at the office, complete with a Chinese dragon dance and bouquet of flowers. Despite initial confusion, Bettina is touched by Edward's thoughtful gesture, aimed at warding off any negative vibes on their wedding day. As Bettina embraces the moment, she feels a mixture of delight and gratitude, cherishing Edward's efforts to make her feel special. In her office, Edward tries to win back her trust. Bettina reveals that she followed him the previous day because she doesn't want their relationship to be full of his lies. Edward explains that he was visiting his grandparents' property and talking to them about their future plans, asking for their blessing from the afterlife. This explanation reassures Bettina, and she apologizes for doubting him. They embrace, and he successfully regains her trust. However, Edward secretly feels pleased, knowing he still intends to cause trouble for her family.
In a late-night, Bettina returns home visibly distressed, and her sister Irene notices something is wrong. Despite Irene's attempts to help and her shock at Bettina's missing fingernail, she doesn't respond and heads upstairs. In her bedroom, her mother, Cindy, breaks the devastating news that Edward has died. Overwhelmed with grief and disbelief, Bettina screams and cries, mourning his tragic demise as Cindy tries to comfort her. In this morning day, Bettina is deeply distressed over Edward's death, lying on her bed. Her sister Irene comes to comfort her, gently cleaning and filing Bettina's nails while trying to offer emotional support. Irene acknowledges the pain on her feelings, especially with the online speculation about Edward's death, but reassures her that she is not alone. Irene's act of caring for Bettina's nails symbolizes her efforts to help her feel better, reminding her sister that she will always be there for her.
At Edward's wake, the Tiu family arrives to pay their respects. Bettina, despite her grief, insists on seeing Edward. Caroline reads a message from Charleston, hinting at his anger and suspicion regarding Edward's death. At the wake, Bettina approaches Edward's grieving mother, Marietta, but is met with hostility, consumed with grief and suspicion, declares that no one will come near her until she knows the truth about her son's death. The scene intensifies when the police arrive and ask Bettina to come with them for questioning, revealing that she is a person of interest in the investigation. Marietta's anger and accusations create an intense problem, leaving the Tiu family shocked and unsettled, until Marietta asks them to leave.
In the aftermath of Edward's death, Bettina confronts him about his betrayal and involvement in the hacking of their family's business. She walks away from their relationship, feeling betrayed and angry. Later, Bettina confesses to her mother, Cindy, about her confrontation with Edward before his death, insisting she didn't kill him. Despite her fear and confusion, her parents stand by her, believing in her innocence. As the investigation unfolds, until the proved to be her innocent, with the accusations and seeks to clear her name. At midnight, Bettina remembers the aftermath of her last argument with Edward. Overwhelmed by grief and anger, she drives away from the church, tears clouding her vision. Pulling over, she releases her frustration, removes her engagement ring, and seeks solace in whiskey at a bar. Back home, Bettina tries to calm herself, but memories of the confrontation haunt her. When her sister Irene notices her distress, she was emotional turmoil deepens, leaving her struggling to find peace amid the chaos.
At the police station, Officer Blaza presents evidence of scratches and wounds on Edward's body to Bettina, also mentioning the discovery of a nail at the crime scene. Fearing the implications, she hides her nails. He emphasizes the importance of her cooperation, warning of potential consequences if her DNA matches the evidence. Asserting her rights, Bettina requests legal representation, signaling her intent to navigate the investigation with caution.
Her parents, Cindy and Wilson, are distressed by her situation and learn her DNA matches evidence at the crime scene. Despite their lawyers' advice and heated arguments about the best course of action, Bettina decides to surrender to the police. This shocks her parents, who are deeply worried about the potential fallout for their family and business.
Bettina's situation escalates as her parents and lawyers try to navigate the legal statements and protect her from arrest. Despite their efforts, the police arrive with a warrant, spurred by Marietta's wrong accusations of murder. Amidst the chaos, Bettina is arrested, leading to a heated confrontation where Caroline reveals Edward's involvement in criminal activities, leaving everyone stunned. So, after that Bingo helps Caroline to clear her name, Betinna feels gratitude to her so she can make amends to her. At the final moment of the time, Bettina decides to last conversation with Irene to saying goodbye and leaves her family for another country of the States.
Revelation[]
In the aftermath of the episode 147, it reveals that Cindy admits to everyone that she shared Bingo and Caroline's location with Bettina, leading her to realize that her daughter is Gilbert's accomplice. Meanwhile, in the police car, Gilbert pretends to need a restroom break and then kills the cop escorting him. At the tensions rise as Wilson orders Cindy's arrest, revealing that he provided false information to discover Gilbert's accomplice, leading to the shocking revelation that Cindy confided in her daughter had wicked plans to against them.
Amidst chaos and danger, Bettina's true colors are revealed as she had accomplice with Gilbert to target Bingo and Caroline. Irene frantically searches for her older sister's whereabouts, while Bettina orchestrates a series of events to thwart Bingo and Caroline's reach to the precinct. As tensions escalate and danger looms, Wilson and Cindy prepares a search effort, unaware of the betrayal lurking within their own family. Meanwhile, Bingo and Caroline find themselves in a desperate race for survival, facing betrayal from someone they once trusted.
Caroline and Bingo are shocked and terrified as they realize that Bettina and Gilbert are working together to harm their lives, reveals that she was mastermind with her deep-seated resentment towards her family, expressing how she feels unacknowledged and unloved by her father, Wilson. Meanwhile, her parents are listening in on the phone call, are devastated by her confession about being with her father on the night to where she killed Caroline's mother, Divine, without see this
In a returning of flashback scene, Bettina recalls the night of Divine's death when she was young. Her father, Wilson, takes her to a car park, telling her to wait while he talks to someone. At the office, he confronts Gilbert, accusing him of having an affair with Divine and revealing that his wife, Cindy, orchestrated the plan to ruin Divine's life. Enraged by the truth, Wilson calls Divine, expressing his anger and betrayal, while Bettina overhears and becomes distressed, he planned to leave her and her family.
At Divine's house, she prepares to leave with her daughter, Caroline. Her stepson, Charleston, arrives covered in blood, and Divine tries to calm him down. Wilson barges in, accusing her of infidelity and threatening her. She denies the accusations and shows him documents proving her innocence. Despite this, Wilson becomes violent, and a physical altercation ensues, with his vowing to take Caroline away.
Bettina, who has been hiding, witnesses the confrontation. Wilson is broken-hearted, eventually leaves, not realizing she is still in the house. Bettina confronts Divine in a fit of rage, blames her for the family’s broken apart. In a moment of Bettina intends to her uncontrollable anger, she said "I hate you", she grabs the knife and stabs Divine's stomach, accidentally killing her. Horrified by her actions and runs away and leaves her die alone. At the moment of tragic night, Bettina found by Gilbert, who decides to protect her from the consequences of her crimes. As they drive away, she confesses to Gilbert, who becomes enraged at the thought about that it was Annie might have witnessed the crime. Gilbert attempts to silence Annie by nearly running her over with his car, leaving her injured but alive.
Back in the present, Bettina reveals to Caroline that she was the one who killed Divine. This revelation shocks her and the rest of their family, who overhear the confession. The whole family are devastated by the truth as they arrive in a mountain forest in Antipolo, facing the grim reality of Bettina’s actions. Once it finds out that she and Gilbert confesses to her and Bingo about they orchestrated his mother, Annie's death. He ended up confronts Gilbert in a furious fight, while she struggles with Bettina. Amidst the chaos, the family arrives as the police comes to rescue them in an intense scene. Bettina, fueled by her grudges and feeling neglected by her family, holds Caroline hostage with a knife. Despite her family's pleas to stop her boil out of anger towards her, leading to a heartbreaking confrontation. Eventually, Bettina continues to unleash her anger by raising the knife and attempts to kill Caroline in front of her family, who look extremely shocked, but she gets shot in the knee by the police. Caroline finally hugs Bingo to save her life from the reign of Bettina's wickedness. After the end of the struggle, Gilbert is arrested by the police, and Bettina is taken away by the ambulance before they are sent to jail.
Finally, when Bettina is charged for her crimes, including her responsibility for Divine's death, she confesses to the allegations. Her family visits her in prison, expressing their love and support despite her actions. Touched by their gestures and overwhelmed with emotion as they hug her, she realizes they always care for her. However, when Caroline visits, she cannot bring herself to talk to Bettina and becomes emotional seeing her older sister in prison, struggling to find forgiveness before it's too late. Bettina is left alone in her cell with her guilt and faces the consequences of her actions, ultimately realizing that she must pay for all her sins.
Personality[]
Once described as the most independent of her siblings, Bettina is the only eldest daughter as a middle child to be painful because she feels unloved and neglected by her father, Wilson. Consumed by anger, hatred, insecurity and bitterness, she is cunning and vindictive towards him for always favoring Caroline since she was young, along with Irene are constantly bullies her.
Despite her struggles, Bettina's fierce independence and sharp wit have become her ruthless armor. She channels her resentment into determination, excelling in areas her father overlooks. Yet, underneath her hardened exterior, a longing for his approval persists, making her relationship with Caroline even more complex. Bettina's cunning strategies and vindictive nature often lead to dramatic confrontations, but they also highlight her deep-seated desire to be seen and valued by her shares in GLC, to get her plan succeeded.