Okay, so as a follow up to the previous chapter, we're going to jump back to Diego now at age 17 and let's sweeten the deal with Heather's POV. So, let's go into the Burromuerto household shall we? Hope you all enjoy! :D

(Heather's POV)

I heard my alarm going off next to me as I promptly shut it off and was about to assume my usual routine and get out of bed when I felt a familiar arm go around my waist and lips practically brushing against my ear as I heard an equally familiar and teasing, "Not that I wish to discourage your 'productivity', but… perhaps we could stay here a bit longer? I feel like we hardly get enough alone time anymore since my new appointment."

I smirked and turned around only to see Alejandro hovering above me with that smile that 'I' know all too well.

I turned back a little as I reached up and put my hand on his cheek before replying in a similar tone with a smirk, "Well, considering I have had the same schedule for the better part of two decades… I'd say this is more of your doing. Besides, who was it that wanted to shoot for Prime Minister again?"

He smirked and replied, "A little early to play with me like this wouldn't you say, mi amor?"

I just smirked back even more as I retorted, "You started it."

He grinned and chuckled as he leaned in and kissed me. And while I was tempted… I pulled back and pat him on the cheek with my hand as I started, "C'mon, we don't have time to stall. And I am not about to be the one to show up late, considering we're going to your side today."

I slid out from under him and got out of bed and grabbed my robe to start getting ready.

Even though I couldn't resist completely as I looked behind me and saw him still zeroed in on me with that look in his eye and grin on his face. I just smirked back simply and walked away while I still could… otherwise I know exactly what would have happened if I stayed there one second longer.

But, I was determined to enjoy my first real day off in a VERY long time and I am not about to slip on making sure everything went exactly how I wanted it to go… despite the temptation.

After shaking my head I walked outside our room and made my way out to get from my makeup bag I left there before I had to do a magazine shoot the other night.

There are some things I trust my makeup team for… but not everything.

Right as I reached out, I saw the door was closed and immediately opened and made my stomach clench on reflex for a moment when he almost ran into me.

Diego.

He looked like he just got out of the shower since his hair was still wet but he was already dressed as he just focused on me. Almost like he was my reflection, both of us practically straightened up simultaneously as he continued to keep his full attention on me like he always does.

Then making me even more conflicted and unsure, he smiled at me slightly and said, reminding me nothing short of Alejandro, "Buenos días madre."

Dammit… I tried to maintain my composure as I responded simply, "Good morning."

Then… ugh, I don't even know what the hell I was doing as I hesitantly pat him on the shoulder in the most painfully awkward way possible before side stepping him to sneak into the bathroom to escape whatever that was.

And also trying to figure out why the hell I never know what to do with my son and him probably thinking I'm a weirdass trainwreck for never knowing what I'm doing with him as a… as a mother.

Look, I'll be honest… I really didn't want any kids.

I never wanted any kids.

Ugh, I didn't even think I ever wanted to be married honestly at a certain point!

But then Alejandro being the total sneak that he is just showed up in my life and made me question who the hell I even am, but in the end… I fell in love with him.

We got married, moved to Spain, and I finally got my pitch approved when I was 27 for my show.

And then… he just had to get the idea in his big fat stupid head that he 'wanted children'.

As much as I dug my heels in and refused to even entertain the idea, he just kept asking… and persuading… and ASKING until I finally couldn't take it anymore after YEARS of him being persistently annoying with it and giving in to him for the second time.

But, it didn't really set in once we actively started 'trying'.

A few months went by and I was hoping it was never going to happen, until it did. I still remember that day I found out I was pregnant.

All I kept doing was looking at myself in the bathroom mirror and almost feeling like I was on the verge of an existential crisis as I contemplated every choice I ever made in my entire life and how I somehow ended up 31 years old, married, and pregnant.

Immediately, I dreaded and hated my pregnancy.

As much as I tried to 'flaunt it' and 'work with it' when I was on camera for the show and in interviews for magazines… I despised being pregnant, especially in my first trimester.

I was constantly feeling like I was going to puke, I was starting to gain actual weight for the first real time since I was 13, and my hormones were so screwed up that I started breaking out again.

Sure none of it was as bad as when I was in junior high, but I kept having recurring nightmares from it where I turned back into 'who I was' when I was younger.

So yeah… I was the most 'well put together trainwreck' at that point in my life.

While the weight gain didn't stop like I expected and only kept getting worse the further I got in my pregnancy and even though Alejandro and everyone kept telling me 'how great I looked'... I didn't believe them.

All I did was continue to resent it as the baby kept doing things to me and my body when I hardly even wanted them in the first place.

It wasn't until I had an ultrasound at 5 months where I was told I was having a boy that I felt like it just made me resent the whole thing even more.

Of course… just another man to totally complicate my life! WHY THE FUCK NOT?!

That was what I thought every day… until I had him.

My water broke right as my show was about to start in my dressing room and my staff kept on telling me to go to the hospital… and I told them no way in hell. I even almost fired my assistant when she tried to call Alejandro. But I didn't care.

This baby had already done enough to me and I was not going to let it ruin something I clawed and scraped my way to get for YEARS!

Even though all I felt like I wanted to do was die of discomfort since my contractions just had to start right as I was doing my monologue.

But, somehow I managed to get through my show, go to the hospital I was set to deliver, and then gave my gynocologist an absolute death glare when he asked why I didn't come sooner after he saw how dilated I was when I got there…

Everything happened very quickly despite 9 hours of labor.

After spending every second of that insane experience ignoring my husband, contemplating my life choices again, and also wondering why the hell my mom did 'this' to herself 5 times… I saw him.

At first I felt like I was hallucinating from frustrated exhaustion until a nurse handed Diego to me after they 'cleaned him up a little' and wrapped him in a blanket.

While there weren't 'many things' I felt the need to prioritize in the 'situation' I was somehow talked into doing, I did make my condition to Alejandro that if we had a child then I get the final say in what we name them.

Of course Alejandro had a whole list prepared of possible names from male relatives after we heard we were having a boy and I didn't really like any of them until he mentioned 'Diego'.

I guess it was the name of Alejandro's 6th great-grandfather or something since Alejandro's family is even older than my dad's side by a million years it seems since his dad's side had distant roots in Spanish nobility.

They didn't have a high ranking title or anything, but his ancestors had roots in a lower Spanish lordship title.

He said his 5th great-grandfather was called Don Diego Burromuerto y Colón.

And… I don't know?

I kind of liked the sound of it since it was about the only thing I liked about the entire damn pregnancy situation I somehow got myself into. At first it was just 'a name' to me and not really anything more.

But it wasn't until they handed him to me that I finally had a 'face' to put to the name. And after 9 miserable months in my life, there he was.

Diego Burromuerto Wilson, my son.

All of it in that entire moment just immediately came crashing down on me and there was no way for me to deny it.

Especially when Diego somehow managed to grab my thumb as I held him in the awkward and exhausted position I was in and I felt everything hit me like a train as I looked at him.

Even at birth he already had practically a full head of hair (my hair), that slight cleft already in his chin, and eventually he opened his eyes and made me feel like I was going into shock to see gray eyes hiding behind his half opened eyelids (my eyes).

That was it. I was a mother now… and I had a son.

But even now… I still feel like that hasn't completely set in.

All I've been doing is trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing and it's been 17 years now since I gave birth to him.

I'm just as confused as I was since I stared at myself in the mirror after my pregnancy test came up positive for the 4th time in my perpetual state of denial in that moment.

And I still feel like I have no fucking idea what I'm doing?

I have no idea how to be 'a mom' since my own mom was hardly 'a mom' to me and my siblings until we were older since I'm pretty sure she lived the same weirdass vicious cycle with her own mother and was mostly looked after by a nanny until we were 'old enough to participate' properly.

Sure Alejandro and I hired a nanny too since we were both busy with our respective careers and had the money to make sure Diego had everything he needed and I thought I could be like my mom and grandma Lim and just 'leave him to nanny', except… I couldn't.

And I didn't understand it?

Why?

Every night for a year after I had him, I'd almost stealthily escape our bedroom in the middle of the night and I'd just go to the nursery and just… look at him.

Up until I had Diego, I had no interest in babies or kids… honestly I always kind of found most of the kids and babies I ever met in my life pretty annoying or gross and was never interested in any part of them.

But, Diego? I had no idea? He was just a baby and all he did was eat, poop, cry, and sleep and yet… I… I couldn't stay away from him.

It's like it really set into me that Diego wasn't just some 'gross and annoying baby' and that he was actually 'my son'.

He was half of 'me'... and Alejandro.

As Diego got older and even though he really did end up being the 50/50 split of Alejandro and I both mentally and physically… Diego is just like Alejandro.

He can be a cocky, charismatic show off a lot of the time… but he's also somehow 'me' at the same time.

Diego's stubborn, nose to the grindstone driven, and doesn't know the meaning of the word 'quit' (even if that last part can kick him in the ass just it does to me sometimes).

And it's because of all those reasons why I am 'the way I am' with him, but… I don't know?

Even after all these years and even though I always try to have a plan for everything, I still literally have no idea if I'm even doing the correct thing here with him and I still have doubts about what the hell I'm doing?!

Ugh… I just don't know?

Eventually I shook everything out of my mind and decided to just take a shower while I was here to clear my head and get ready for the day.

2 hours later

(Diego's POV)

"Diego?"

I should be looking forward to this, so… why don't I care about it?

"Mijo?"

It's all souls day! I should be happy to go and see my grandparents and most of my family, but… I just don't care?

"Diego? Estás bien?"

I snapped my head over, realizing father was trying to get my attention. Immediately I 'recomposed' before I covered myself with a smile, "Sí, padre! Estoy bien."

Almost on reflex he smirked and remarked, quirking up an eyebrow at me, "Are you sure about that, mijo? You've been looking out the window pretty intently… anything interesting?"

But, not wanting to 'get into anything', I just grinned and replied smoothly, "Well, you know me, padre… I always enjoy good scenery."

Eventually he just smirked at me as mother gave me a quick glance before looking back down at what she was reading.

We were making our way over to our old family estate out in the countryside to visit my grandparents and go to the family cemetery for the holiday since abuelo and abuela like to upkeep tradition and pay respects… as do I in a way.

And since father is now Prime Minister, we're being driven there by father's designated chauffeur. Which is a bit irregular for me still since father usually preferred to drive himself and us to places before he was in his new position in one of his cars.

But, even with that, it was pretty 'standard' so far.

My parents were both sitting next to each other reading over something for their respective work with padre putting his hand in madre's lap and her holding onto his hand with her free one as she kept reading off her phone.

Well, some things never change, I guess?

But, I'm determined not to let it ruin this! I hardly ever get to see my family except for holidays so it will at least be nice to see Saul and Omar.

Eventually my entire thought process was cut off when we pulled into the drive and saw my grandparents there waiting for us.

Well… vamos.

({No POV})

As everyone filed out of the limousine, Gerardo and Elena immediately smiled as they watched Alejandro, Heather, and Diego approached them.

Gerardo grinned as he stepped forward, his now gray hair looking even more present in the late morning sun as he greeted, "Buenos días! Nice to see no last minute duties kept you."

Alejandro simply grinned in response as he shook his father's hand and two rested their free hands on each other's shoulders as he responded, "Why? You know I always honor my commitments? Besides, my staff will let me know if anything requires my attention."

Gerardo started grinning as he replied, "Only teasing. It's wonderful to have you all over finally since your appointment… and I can see the feeling is the same with your mother, if not more so."

Almost immediately afterward Gerardo chuckled as they looked over and saw Elena kissing Diego on each of his cheeks before patting the sides of his face with both her hands as she practically gushed in her usual maternal way, "Oh Diego, look at how smart you look! The more I see you the more you remind me of your padre. Are you hungry?"

While most teenagers would be incredibly embarrassed by this whole 'affectionate display', Diego looked like he was practically eating up the genuine yet over the top maternal affection as he grinned at his abuela before responding, "Estoy bien. Gracias abuela."

Elena was just smiling ear to ear as she just hugged Diego and responded, "Oh it is just so wonderful to see you, mijo!"

Over Diego's shoulder Heather and Elena made eye contact and while not as tense and scornful as it once was MANY years ago, the look seemed almost 'respectful' now in a way as the two exchanged a respectful nod between them as their greeting.

Then Heather was pulled out of it as Gerardo approached her and grabbed her hand as he greeted, "Hola Heather, so lovely to see you, my dear. I watched your show the other night and you were splendid. How are you?"

Not that Gerardo wasn't always welcoming to her even before her and Alejandro were engaged, but… there was still a part of her that she never understood it.

She just wasn't used to having people genuinely treat her in a 'friendly' and almost 'paternal' way before. But, she just tried to maintain her usual composure as she responded, "Thanks… Gerardo."

Gerardo grinned and respectfully pressed his lips the the back of her hand as he started, offering his arm to Heather, "Well, let's make our way in, shall we? Carlos and everyone are already here."

As Diego (who had finally been 'released' by his grandmother) followed Heather and Gerardo in, leaving the only two remaining outside to be Alejandro and Elena.

But, Alejandro just grinned as he offered his arm to his mother (causing her to break out in a smile) before she leaned over and kissed his cheek before taking his arm and allowing him to lead her back into the house.

Despite not seeing each other as often as they used to, it was clear that the close relationship they had since he was young was still as strong as ever between them.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this look into Alejandro and Heather's life as adults closely nearing their 50's in their marriage and life as professionals and parents. Mainly, I especially wanted to focus on Heather and Diego in this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed the perspective you got from Heather! As I was 'orchestrating everything' with Heather and how she would be later in her life… I wanted to show a realism to her. After all, life simply does not stop evolving for anyone at any point in our lives. Life is a constant state of evolution where we are confronted with both resolutions and new challenges. And for Heather, 'motherhood' was definitely a HUGE one for her. The more I thought about and just what we all know about Heather, I always saw Heather as the kind of person who just was never interested in being a mom or children or anything that goes with that. As you saw, Heather was not loving ANYTHING about her pregnancy and was mostly doing it just for Alejandro's sake… and to stop him from asking and persuading her about having children. But, and as you saw, Heather was kind of 'challenged' on a lot of the things she thought once she had Diego. Mainly and as she herself realized, she does love Diego A LOT but… she just has no idea how to 'be a mother' since she never had a lot of good parental influences in her life to show her this side. After all, as confident as Heather is, I thought it would be interesting to show a side of her that was 'very' unsure how to act in a certain situation. And unfortunately has now created this tense and awkward vicious cycle between Heather and Diego. What will come of it? Just wait and see. ;) I also hope you enjoyed this brief introduction into Diego's perspective and I'll leave you all to let me know what you think about this 'complicated boy' so far. Haha. And then, we also have elder Elena and Gerardo! And while older and wiser are still a handsome older couple. And in my head, I envision these two aging very gracefully but rather than Elena embracing her gray hair like Gerardo (who is fully embracing his handsome 'silver fox' energy.), I see Elena dyeing her hair dark brown until the day she dies. Lol. XD But, she is still the most affectionate motherly energy woman in the history of time. :) Anyway, this was just part one of this new saga. What will ensue? Wait and see friends. ;) Thanks again so much for reading and constructive reviews are always appreciated.

Stay classy, healthy, and safe all!

Dexter1995