CHAPTER 4

He was looking through some documents he had brought over from work, as he always was. He could tell she was inside because he turned around with a smile on his face. She sat down on his lap and kissed him passionately. For a while, the two fought and tangled in that kiss until they were both out of breath.

Mark drew back slowly before planting a kiss on her brow and saying, "I miss you."

"I miss you as well. I'm here to accompany you downstairs. Our baby made dinner tonight, and we shouldn't keep him waiting," she said as she brushed his beard.

"We shouldn't do that even if all I want to do is lock this door and make love to you all night," he hissed, biting her earlobe. He knew exactly where to place his hand on her. She trembled as her husband played with her.

"As much as I am tempted by that, we need to go or you won't be having this tonight," she said as she caressed herself with her hand, making her husband groan with desire.

When she realized what she had just done to him, she quickly escaped his embrace and began to walk seductively towards the door. It didn't take long for him to be behind her, and before she knew it, she was pinned against the wall, her lips engulfed in another frenzy kiss.

Five minutes later, they entered the dining room hand in hand. Miguel was anxiously waiting for them as the table was served. The maids served the food on their plates after the three of them took their seats. Miguel had been waiting for her to take her first bite, which she did.

She chewed slowly, wanting to enjoy the food her baby had prepared. She was astounded; for someone who had struggled to learn how to cook, he was fantastic. He lit up when she gave him a thumbs up.

"When you grow up, you should think about becoming a chef," she said cheerfully, complimenting his hard work.

"Are you trying to prevent him from working at the company?" her husband joked as he sipped his white wine.

"Please give my baby a break. You already have three children working at the company; let this one do whatever he wants," she said, looking at her husband with puppy eyes, and both Mark and Miguel laughed.

"You know, I can give you whatever you want, but we should ask the boy what he wants to do in the future, after all, he is now in high school," Mark said, and their focus returned to Miguel.

Miguel looked at them for a moment, and she could tell he was planning something. Her husband was a terrifying man who didn't allow for any kind of bargaining.

She was aware that he had never posed such a question to his older children. So she looked at Miguel and gave him a nod and the green light to speak up.

"I want to be a doctor," he said, and both husband and wife exchanged glances. Aurelia was the most surprised; she assumed he wanted to be a chef because he was so adamant about learning how to cook.

He was now detonating a different bomb. They had not anticipated it. Aurelia took a sip from her wine glass before she choked.

Miguel looked at his parents, who were silent. He was aware of the type of bomb he had just detonated, but there was nothing he could do about it.

They were the ones who asked about his plans, and he was grateful that they did. He didn't know if they would agree or not, but he knew he had a good chance as long as Mama A was around.

When she was around, his father was a changed man. When he married his third wife, the woman sitting next to him, he saw a different man. His father was insanely in love, and he aspired to be like him in the future.

"Are you certain about that? I mean, I thought you wanted to be a chef or something?" Aurelia asked as she placed her fork on the plate.

"I wanted to be as good a cook as you. I don't want my future partner to go hungry, but most importantly, I want to be able to cook for you. You've given me so many warm meals, and I wanted to reciprocate," he confessed, blushing.

Aurelia couldn't believe her ears when she heard what she was hearing. That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. Tears streamed down her cheeks without her realizing it. Mark wiped them away as she gazed lovingly at him.

"Our baby has grown up," she sniffed, trying to hold back her tears.

"He is, in fact. The profession is good, and since your mother supported you from the start, I will let you pursue your dream with one condition," Mark said solemnly.

Miguel was taken aback by his father's words, but he quickly asked about his father's condition before changing his mind, "I will do anything, what is it?"

"You are fourteen years old and in your first year of high school.

If you can finish high school in the top three, you can pursue your dream. If you fail, however, whatever I say is final. Are you in agreement?" Mark's expectations were high, but he was prepared for it. He'd seen what his brothers and sisters were like when it came to schoolwork.

"I will not disappoint you," he vowed quickly. Miguel was well aware of his father's disdain for people who lacked decisiveness.

Aurelia smiled at them both and looked at Miguel lovingly, saying, "You know I believe in you, right?"

"I know, and I will make you proud," he smiled.

"I know my boy. Now let us eat because it is late and we have things to do in the morning," she said, urging everyone to eat their food.

Aurelia kissed Miguel goodnight and bid him goodnight after dinner. The lovebirds were all over each other as soon as they got to the fourth floor. Aurelia needed this; she'd been having a mixed bag of good and bad days.

But all she wanted right now was to be loved, and only this man knew how to love her and give her everything she desired. She planned to lock everything up tonight and just be his woman, letting him love her.

They were anxious and restless. It wasn't a secret that it was the first time all of them were in such a high-class place like this. Even the high-end brand clothes they were putting were a luxury and yet some people just wear these kinds of clothes everyday as if it was nothing. They all understood the perks of being rich and poor.

They were not an exception; they weren't born or raised in rich families. They were just teenagers born from low earning families, some of them were orphans and runaways but they somehow ended up being stuck together to survive.

In order to survive the harsh conditions of the world they had to make a group. Being a lone gets one killed and they were still too young to die especially in the streets. Being used to conning others and stealing, they were just surviving.

They didn't know that their lives will take a complete U-turn after they met her. Everyone knew her; she had graced the media for so many years. She was disgraced, called names but she never faltered and lived her life. She was a very lucky person in their own eyes.

At such a young age she was married into a family that was the richest. She didn't lack anything at all unlike all of them. They needed a golden thigh to hold onto and she was the right thigh for them.

Quinton looked at the youngest of them all in their group Veronica. She was a runaway, escaped her foster family because of being abused and began to live in the streets. He couldn't stand what he saw, so he took her under his wing.

Even though he didn't have money, an extra mouth wasn't hard to feed. She seemed to be sweating, she was clutching her tiny hands together and he could tell that she was scared.

"Are you okay?" he asked her and she looked at him.

"I am just nervous. Do you think that she will take us?" she asked anxiously.

They all knew the risks with what they were going to propose that afternoon.

"I have the same feeling too. Do you think that she will just agree and take us in? I mean we are just kids and have no value for her," Lily said.

"Ever since we met, we took her money all the time and never gave her anything," Luke said in agreement with what Lily had said.

"Guys relax. We may be kids but we aren't innocent either. Have you ever thought about all the things we did in the streets? She is no saint either. We can be of great use to her. You just have to sit here and let me deal with her. We will persuade her and do whatever we can to earn her trust," Quinton assured them.

He knew the kind of feelings everyone had at the moment. He was their leader and he had dug a little on his prospective boss and she was no saint. She was like a sheep in a wolf's clothing and he liked that about her. She was ambitious and she will definitely agree to their deal.

"Let's hope all will go well then," Casey said with a sigh.

There was a moment of silent in the huge private room. No one spoke and anxiously gazed at the clock. They had made an appointment for one and the clock was ticking.