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.

the Cedillos, Molly's two

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 of silence, Chad spoke softly, "We...

including Vivian,

was livid. He stormed over to his son and slapped him hard across the

never laid a hand on his children before. Now, as Molly's father, he was

turned his face aside, and a metallic taste filled

deep eyes meeting his

while Grandma Aubree and Grandpa Elmer regretted their naivety, slapping their knees. "Damn it, Chad, you've always been such a good boy. How could you be so foolish? She's your sister!" The Byrne family struggled

kept shouting, "It's a lie, it can't

she and her mother knew about. "Molly's birthmark is under her right breast, hidden, about the size of a thumb." As a

to his

and sometimes even scrubbed her back as she grew older; she knew of the mark's

else knew about it, it

you 'brother' for sixteen years."

moment, the room believed Chad's

mother, and said, "Mom, take care

himself. He gathered a few of her clothes and a nightgown from the

"Mom, Dad, Grandma,

left, Coleen clutched

with rage at her side. How could this

a matter of

had to be

and Chad were still..." Vivian's words were cut short by a sharp

rose from the sofa, her venomous eyes fixed on Vivian. She pointed to Vivian's face and warned, "If I hear one more word from you, I'll make