CHAPTER 13

She gazed at Miguel, admiring his good looks. He was her stepson, but that child was displaying how he would be in the future. She was going to get in trouble chasing those girls and bosses away from her baby.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Aurelia asked abruptly.

"Yes, you can," he said shakily, and she smiled inwardly. She was about to do something she wasn't supposed to do, but now was the time.

"What will you do if you discover that someone you care deeply about has been harmed by those closest to you?"

"Hurt in what way?"

"In any way, accident, murder, or anything else that causes them harm," she added.

"Whoever it is, I will shred them to pieces. I've lost so many people by my side that I won't let anyone do that to me again," Miguel replied, and she could feel the weight of his words on her.

He was going to be a fantastic leader one day, and she was going to help him get there.

"I'll never forget that answer. Remember to shred them to pieces slowly, no matter who it is. Take everything they love away from them piece by piece, watch them crumble, and leave them when they can't take it any longer. Watch them grow up again if they can, and squash them again and again," she said.

She could feel her blood boiling with rage.

She had a lot of people she wanted to shred to pieces, and each puzzle piece was falling into place. Some things were meant to be done by her, but it's always nice when you can involve others. Miguel was not a chess piece to her; he would not regard him as such.

He was her precious baby, and she will kill anyone who harms him, even if it is Mark. Miguel was her only remaining child, and she was going to protect him with everything she had.

"I'm starting to think my mom isn't an angel anymore," Miguel said with a smile.

"I never said I was an angel, sweetheart," she chuckled.

"Thank you for the advice; I will definitely remember it and imprint it on my mind every day."

"He's my boy."

The two finally arrived at their first date spot. The chauffeur opened the door for them, and Miguel was the first to come out and assist her. There were onlookers everywhere they went; they always drew them in. She was so used to it, and she wasn't about to let a stranger ruin her date.

"What should we start with?"

"I'm going shopping and then getting some pizza," Miguel explained.

"That's fine, let's go waste your father's money," she said with a chuckle.

Miguel couldn't help but admire his stepmother's wonderful characteristics. He knew Aurelia wasn't in it for the money, and the entire family knew she was forced into this marriage. It was a miracle that she eventually fell for Mark.

The two of them went to the first boutique, where Miguel went crazy shopping, and Aurelia smiled as she watched the whole thing. Who was he trying to impress now that her boy had grown up?

This shopping lasted about an hour. Not only did he buy his own clothes, but he also chose some for Mark and the most outlandish one for her. It was their day, and she wanted to see how insane he could be.

She couldn't help but smile as Miguel assisted her in putting on the black stilettos from the newly arrived section. She walked around in them for a while and they were comfortable.

"You have such a great eye, boy!" she said with a smile.

"I will be ashamed if I fail to satisfy you,' he said, drawing the attention of the assistants who were serving them.

"If you do, I will ground you."

They continued their shopping spree after that, stopping at a number of jewelry stores. She was the one who went crazy in there; she chose a lot of jewelry after all, her husband loved it when they made love wearing nothing but jewelry and high stilettos.

He had a wacky mind, which she loved.

"We should go get that pizza right now, I'm starving!"

Aurelia exclaimed after a long day of shopping.

"Let's do it," Miguel said, smiling.

As they walked towards the food court, the two laughed. Because they couldn't avoid the stares, they simply ignored them and walked happily and heavily guarded to the pizza parlor. Aurelia refused to have the guards buy for them, so the two drew a large crowd by standing in line.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" As they got closer to the front, Miguel asked her a question.

"Have you forgotten that this is a regular date?"

"No, it's just that people are staring, and I don't want you to be bothered. You know how the media is," he said and she patting his head.

She could tell he was worried about her because she had a bad relationship with the media. But it was precisely at this point that she required free publicity. Every penny was valuable to her, and there was no way she was going to waste it on publicity nonsense.

She was going to build one hell of a public profile, one that would simply appeal to them, and she was going to do it in a natural way. After all, she wasn't born into wealth. It is important not to lose sight of one's roots.

They placed their order and took a few pictures at the request of those who surrounded them. They even got an extra pizza, which was nice. Just because someone is out of reach doesn't mean they don't appreciate it when someone buys them something, no matter how small.

After purchasing their pizza, the two proceeded to the limo, where they devoured the pizza as if they were hungry wolves, unobserved by anyone. Their next destination was the amusement park. They haven't been to one in over a year. She never got to go to the amusement park.

They simply couldn't afford it; she had too many siblings and a gambling-addicted father, so it never worked. She never had time for any activities that required her to lose any money when she worked her ass off with so many part-time jobs.

They had a great time at the amusement park; they rode on a variety of rides, both scary and exciting. They screamed at the top of their lungs in the haunted house. That was the excellent place for developing one's strength.

She planned to take Miguel to a haunted castle one of these days. She had always wanted to go there, despite hearing how terrifying it was. That would be another step if her baby desired to be strong.

After two hours, they left the amusement park and went straight to lunch. They let the chef serve them their specialties; sometimes, in order to curry favor, you must let the other person run wild first.

People who knew her and probably wanted to meet her husband greeted her warmly. How dare they attempt to use her as a stepping stone? She simply smiled at them and spoke politely to them without revealing herself.

She was salivating by the time the chef personally delivered their lunch. They thanked the man and began eating. She gave the man her compliments, which was exactly what he wanted before he left.

"You should learn how to appeal to anyone who comes into contact with you. Learn what makes them tick and how to make them happy. You can only grab their hearts if they are happy," Aurelia said as she placed a prawn on top of Miguel's fried rice.

"When I'm around you, I get to learn new things," he said with a smile.

"Can you tell me about your favorite person?"

"It's you, no one else can take your place," he replied, and she smiled.

"That's my kid. Let us take a seat; we have a lot to do after all."

"We certainly do."

After an hour of eating delicious food, the two paid their bill and left the restaurant. They went to a sports court and played some one-on-one basketball, which Aurelia lost in all rounds. After all, she only learned basketball from Miguel. How can she triumph over her teacher? After losing in basketball, the two refreshed themselves by playing tennis for about an hour.

Miguel was being a nuisance, so they went to the arcade and had a great time. This time she won a few rounds; after all, she had played some of these games when she was younger, despite the fact that she did not come from a wealthy family.

Because they were having a good time, the two made a wager that whoever won the most rounds would get to choose which movie they would watch after the date was over. Miguel, of course, won, which resulted in the purchase of a horror film. How can anyone watch something so heinous?

The film only taught her how to cut a human body and kill in various ways. She didn't even grasp the gist of the story. Her husband was unaware that she had previously killed.

Who would go around flaunting the fact that they had killed someone? After all, everyone was reacting to it, so she had no choice but to act scared when she saw it.