Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Coleen spun around, her eyes drilling into Vivian with an intensity that could cut through steel. It was like staring down a lie detector on full blast. Vivian knew one slip-up would be her undoing.

"I swear, Aunt Maggie, I'm telling the truth. She told me herself that she's got her sights set on Chade Inc. She even said that if you don't hand it over, she'll use the Cedillos' influence to take it and sell it off." Coleen's face remained stony, the undisputed matriarch of the Byrne family. Her word was final when it came to family matters.

Turning to her son, she asked, "Have you finished looking at the photos?"

What unsettled Coleen the most was her lingering doubts about Molly's feelings for Chad. She had always thought her daughter was too innocent, too oblivious to matters of the heart. But tonight's photos told a different story, especially that kiss-it was undeniable. Kendrick had been at a dinner party when his wife's urgent call pulled him away. Seeing the photos, he too began to question their authenticity.

Grandma Aubree and Grandpa Elmer were the first to see the photos, and their silence spoke volumes.

Chad, after seeing the photos, began to see Molly in a new light. How could she turn a tired study session in a hotel room into a soap opera?

He handed his phone to Vivian, his demeanor devoid of the "nervousness" or "anxiety" the family expected. "Can you send me those photos? I want to keep them," he said coolly.

The room was stunned!

Vivian was floored; Chad hadn't denied anything.

"Chad, are you two... an item now?" she asked.

Chad ignored her question and turned to his parents, "Is there anything else, or are we done here?"

Coleen stared at her son, her face white with shock.

"Chad! How far have things gone with you and Molly?" Kendrick's voice thundered with rage.

Chad stood silently in the living room, his thoughts a mystery to everyone.

family, the

mind raced, searching for a way to win Molly over. It felt like walking a dangerous tightrope, but maybe, just maybe, it was an opportunity. After a tense five minutes

Vivian, stared in

and slapped him hard across the face. "You... you... are

Now, as Molly's father,

sting of his father's fury; the slap turned his face aside, and a metallic taste filled

his deep eyes

slapping their knees. "Damn it, Chad, you've always been such a good boy. How could you be

Vivian, in disbelief, kept shouting,

the accidental encounter with Molly tonight. There was also the birthmark only she and her mother knew about. "Molly's birthmark is under her right breast,

looked to his wife,

had bathed her daughter since she was a child and sometimes even scrubbed her back as she grew

knew about

'brother' for sixteen years."

the room believed Chad's

stood up, looked at his mother,

and a nightgown from the

descended the stairs, "Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, I'm

left, Coleen clutched her chest,

with rage at her side. How could

was only a matter

had to be a

to me, she and Chad were still..."

eyes fixed on Vivian. She pointed to Vivian's face and warned, "If I hear one