Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Easton scratched his head, looking puzzled. "What's up?"

Chad flicked the ash off his cigarette. "I'm in a bit of a pickle. How do I convince her folks to let me marry their daughter?"

Easton was momentarily speechless.

The next afternoon, Chad dropped Molly off at the exam center and picked her up afterward, then headed off for his night shift at the station.

He didn't bring up the marriage topic again, which only made Molly more curious. "Chad, did my parents give you a hard time again? Are you getting cold feet about marrying me?" Chad looked at Molly and shook his head. "No, you just focus on your exams. I'll handle the family stuff."

Chad wasn't at the hotel that night; he went out and came back with a bag full of snacks and drinks for Molly to enjoy while he was gone.

After he left, Molly pulled out her phone and called her mother.

No matter how much she tried, her family wouldn't believe that she and Chad were just friends. So she made the call to her mother as his girlfriend.

"Hey Mom, are you still up?"

"Yeah, I am. Are you still staying at the hotel with him?"

Molly said, "No, he's at work. I wanted to ask you something. Did my brother come back to see you and Dad?"

"He did, but I didn't agree to anything."

Molly fiddled with the hem of her shirt, hesitating before she finally asked, "Mom, am I the daughter you're proud of, but not the daughter-in-law you wanted?"

There was a long silence on the other end where Coleen and her husband could hear Molly's question on speakerphone.

"Molly, what you and Chad did really shocked your father and me. It took us days to come to terms with it," Coleen finally said.

"I get it, Mom. It's a lot for anyone to

in our hearts, you'll always be perfect, no matter what role you're in. I'm worried Chad is pressuring you into marriage. I told him that nothing he says will matter unless

Molly leaned back on her bed, looking at the bags of fruit and snacks Chad had bought

the years, Chad had learned even which brand of chips she preferred,

how she had a sweet tooth in high school but couldn't

would bleed when she tried to bite into the tough skin, and Chad, seeing

they visited relatives during the holidays, Chad would politely decline any sugarcane offered to him, saying, "One's enough for Molly and me. She can't finish it by herself, and it's too tough for

the ingredient labels on her snacks, refusing to buy her anything that wasn't right for her, even if she cried for

couldn't open. He became an inseparable part of

lay on the bed, reminiscing

sleep overcame her, and she dreamt of running across a green field in a white princess dress, a colorful pinwheel in her hand, with her mother's gentle warning of "Molly, slow down, watch

and soft in his youth, not

instead of a lush field, she stood above an abyss, reflected in a mirror-like surface. She stirred uneasily in her sleep, crying out

someone called

familiar voice, she cried, "Chad, I'm

her, "Molly,

It's so dark, I can't see you. Chad, where

was left alone in the

her most helpless, Molly woke with a

tears, her hair damp again despite having showered earlier, she realized it was just a dream. The hotel lights were still on, snacks

dawn neared, she finally drifted off

Chad hurried back to

taken his keycard, so he had to

response. Not even his calls could wake her. Worried, Chad asked a

steam eye mask on, and he breathed