The next morning, Darren stood by the front door, car keys spinning around his finger.
"Aria! You've got ten seconds before I leave without you!"
From upstairs came hurried footsteps, and then Aria appeared in a flurry of excitement and pink lip gloss.
"You said we were just browsing!" she huffed, grabbing her purse.
"I lied," Darren said with a smirk. "We're not browsing. We're buying."
Their ride — a sleek, black-on-black BMW he'd recently picked up through a "test drive deal" that conveniently earned him a rebate 800x its value — purred down the expressway toward the heart of the city.
Aria stared at him suspiciously.
"You're being weird. You hate malls."
"I hate cheap malls," Darren corrected. "We're going to the ones that smell like imported wood and generational wealth."
Two Hours Later: Zenith Plaza
Designer boutiques lined the glowing halls of Zenith Plaza. Diamond-studded displays, hand-stitched runway dresses, and velvet curtains made it feel more like a royal palace than a shopping mall.
Aria's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Darren, this is—"
"Pick," he interrupted, flashing a sleek black card. "Anything. Everything. Just don't insult me with a budget."
For the next three hours, they went all out.
Aria tried on designer heels, dresses, makeup — the works.
Darren had stylists suit him up in three custom-tailored outfits, each worth more than what he used to dream of making in a year.
They reserved a private fitting lounge, complete with complimentary desserts and champagne (grape juice for Aria, of course).
He even booked a one-hour professional photoshoot — "for the memories," he told her.
As they stepped out of their final store with a swarm of shopping bags in tow, the system chimed.
[Cumulative Spend: £412,000]
[Return Multiplier: x750 triggered]
[Rebate Deposited: £3,090,000]
[Bank Balance: £7,470,000]
Darren's grin widened.
"Best. Investment. Ever."
Back in the car, Aria slumped into the seat, glowing and exhausted.
"I feel like a princess," she whispered. "No, a queen."
"You are," Darren said. "And next week, we crown the real one."
Aria looked at him, confused.
"You mean… Mom?"
He didn't respond. Just smiled and drove, already calculating the next wave of spending.
Later that night, after Aria went to bed, Darren stood outside their new home under the porch light, scrolling through luxury car options, high-end jewelers, and reservation-only private chefs.
His mother's birthday was only days away. And it was going to be perfect.