NOVEL NEXT Chapter 116: Unexpected
"Within reason," Mom said automatically, trying to maintain control like they weren't already off the rails.
Sarah was already scrolling like her life depended on it. Emma started squealing at handbags. Madison nodded approvingly like a mentor watching her protégés embrace consumerism.
And Peter?
Peter leaned back and smiled.
Emma's hand was already twitching toward the tablet like it was a nuclear launch code. "What's within reason when the card has no limit and your son's basically Tony Stark with better hair?"
Peter smirked behind his mask. "She's not wrong."
Sarah raised an eyebrow, scrolling with deadly precision. "Okay, is it weird that I just found a gold-plated blender that costs more than my tuition?"
"It's only weird if you don't buy it," Madison said with a wink, tapping through options like a seasoned digital assassin. "If it doesn't whisper to you in French and blend your soul into smoothies, what's the point?"
Mom groaned, rubbing her temples like they were summoning migraines on purpose. "You people are unhinged."
"Correction," Charlotte chimed in, sipping from a diamond-encrusted La Cherie water bottle that looked suspiciously like it doubled as a scepter. "We're rich and unhinged. There's a difference."
"Luxury has no rules," Emma declared, selecting a dress so sparkly it looked like a galaxy had exploded and settled on satin. "Except maybe don't spend more than a small nation's GDP before lunch."
Peter laughed, finally sinking into one of the plush couches with a sigh that felt like it'd been held in since the whole mad day began. "You know, I expected today to be intense. Maybe a little emotional. But I didn't expect to end it by watching Mom scroll past luxury handbags like she's choosing a new kitchen sponge."
"Because your mom has taste," Madison said, not looking up from her tablet. "And now, budget. Which is a dangerous combination. You've created a monster."
Peter peeked at Mom, who—despite her earlier protests—was now eyeing a sleek, silver purse with the look of someone debating whether God would forgive a little splurge. Her finger hovered, then tapped.
"That's it," she whispered. "I've sold my soul to the shopping demons."
"And it only took half an hour," Sarah said proudly.
Somehow, this moment—his sisters bickering over silk heels, Madison helping his mom price-check sunglasses, and Charlotte lounging like a Bond villain in stilettos—felt more surreal than any of it.
Peter leaned back and whispered under his breath, "I think I broke the simulation."
Madison caught the comment and grinned. "Then don't fix it. Just buy it new throw pillows and make it pretty."
While his family dove into shopping with the enthusiasm of kids in a candy store, Peter pulled Madison aside.
"I need you to start looking into real estate options," he said quietly. "Somewhere better than Lincoln Heights, but not so fancy that Mom feels uncomfortable."
Madison's eyes brightened with understanding. "You want to move your family soon."
"They deserve better than a four-bedroom rundown house where me, Sarah and Emma have to share a bathroom, and Mom sleeps on the couch half the time because she's too tired to make it to her bed after double shifts."
"I know exactly what you need," Madison said, her business family background kicking in. "Something in the mid-range luxury market. Nice enough to show your success, practical enough to feel like home."
"You're the heiress to a real estate empire," Peter said with a grin. "If anyone knows properties, it's you."
"Leave it to me. I'll have options by tomorrow."
As Madison started making calls, Peter realized he needed to step away for some air.
"I'm going to step outside for a few minutes," he announced.
"Take your time, sweetheart," Mom called, not looking up from a tablet displaying jewelry that cost more than her annual salary. "I'm trying to decide between these earrings and... oh my God, are these shoes really eight hundred dollars?"
"That's actually reasonable for designer heels," Charlotte said casually.
"Reasonable," Mom repeated faintly. "Eight hundred dollars is reasonable."
Peter slipped out of the suite, leaving behind the sounds of his family discovering what unlimited shopping budgets actually meant.
Behind him, the conversation continued with the kind of energy that came from people realizing their lives had just changed forever.
"Sarah, look at this dress," Emma was saying. "It's perfect for your presentation next month."
"Em... that dress costs more than our whole wardrobes."
"Not anymore it doesn't," Charlotte pointed out. "Your brother just signed a contract that makes money irrelevant."
"I still can't believe this is real," Mom said, holding up a tablet displaying a handbag that probably had a waiting list. "This morning I was worried about Peter working too much. Now he's a millionaire engineer for Fortune 500 companies."
"Life changes fast when you're as brilliant as Peter," Madison said with obvious pride. "I've watched him solve problems that shouldn't be solvable. He's not just smart—he's operating on a completely different level."
"Speaking of which," Charlotte said, "I should probably warn you that Peter's new position is going to attract attention. People are going to want to know who 'Eros Velmior Desiderion' is."
"Will Peter be safe?" Mom asked, her protective instincts kicking in immediately.
"Safer than if he'd gone public with his real identity. The alias creates separation between his work and his personal life. Plus, with his abilities, I suspect Peter can handle more than most people assume. But we will need a safe place where he will operate from if you do not mind, Ms. Carter."
Sarah looked up from her tablet with a thoughtful expression. "Mom, do you think Peter's always been this smart, and we just never noticed?"
"No," Mom said quietly. "Something changed. I don't know what or how, but my son is different now. Better, but different."
"Maybe he was always a genius more than he let us know," Emma suggested, "and he just needed the right opportunity to show it."
Madison smiled. "Sometimes people surprise you. Peter definitely surprised me."
"He saved your life too?" Charlotte asked with teasing curiosity.
"He transformed it," Madison said simply. "Before Peter, I was just another rich girl playing games. He made me want to be better."
Outside the suite, Peter leaned against the marble wall and closed his eyes, maintaining his digital grip on the building's security systems while listening to his family's voices through the door.
From his vantage point near the exclusive VIP area, he could see the sprawling mall below through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Thousands of people moved through the marble corridors like a living river—families with children pointing excitedly at window displays, teenagers clustered around the latest tech stores, elderly couples walking hand in hand past fountains that sparkled under designer lighting.
Most wore expressions of contentment, the particular happiness that came from having money to spend and beautiful things to buy. Children laughed as they ran between their parents' legs, couples shared intimate conversations over coffee, friends posed for selfies against Instagram-worthy backdrops.
But Peter's enhanced perception caught the others too. The woman clutching her purse too tightly while staring at price tags she couldn't afford. The teenager pretending to browse while his friends bought things he couldn't.
The father checking his phone with stress lines around his eyes, probably calculating credit card balances. They moved through the same space as the happy shoppers, but they were ghosts in a world of abundance—present but not really belonging.
'Money doesn't solve everything,' Peter thought, watching the human drama unfold below. 'But it solves 99% of problems that the rest become manageable.'
His family's laughter drifted through the door behind him, and he smiled. At least his people would never have to pretend to belong anywhere again.
His personal phone buzzed against his chest—not the business phone Charlotte had been using, but his regular device. The message notification made his pulse quicken when he saw the sender.
Isabella Rodriguez: Missing you so much right now. Can we talk? Like, really talk? 😘*