Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance
Chapter 505

Leo's grin spread across his face as the group's chatter filled the air. It was only when Anya's voice cut through the noise that the conversations halted.

Leo stood up and walked over to Anya, gently grabbing her wrist. "Don't rub it; you'll just make it worse."

Even before she could speak, he knew why she had called him. Standing close enough to touch, Leo gazed into Anya's eyes, his focus on her long lashes. With a tender sweep of his thumb, he brushed away whatever was bothering her. Their eyes locked, and for a moment, Leo was captivated by the clear, innocent depths of Anya's gaze. Noticing her eye had reddened, he playfully pursed his lips and blew gently on it when she wasn't looking.

"Hey, what are you doing blowing on my eye?" Anya immediately shut her eyes.

Then, she felt a light tap on her forehead.

"Silly girl, you almost rubbed your lashes off," Leo teased, noting the long lash on his fingertip. His tenderness lasted but a moment before his straightforward nature took over. "There goes the longest one; now you've made yourself less pretty." Anya just pouted silently.

Realizing it was getting late and recalling Anya's yawn from earlier, Leo said, "We should get going; you've got class tomorrow."

He led her out into the night, the sky now a dark canvas.

At this hour, the Cedillo family and the residents of Maplewood Estates had finished their dinners, leaving no chance for a free meal.

Driving back into town, Leo took Anya to his favorite diner.

"Chad, are you a hacker?" Anya asked innocently across the table.

Leo paused mid-wipe, looking at her for a long moment before replying, "No."

Anya, tapping her upper palate with her tongue, remembered Chad's earlier advice not to share any personal electronic or identity information with others. "Those guys you were talking with today, are any of them hackers?" "Some are," he admitted.

Anya couldn't fully grasp the gravity of it all. Her aunt had once told her that a girl should always keep 30% of herself a mystery.

But with Leo, Anya found it impossible to keep any secrets. Guessing at the truth, she laid it all out. "Chad, did you want to study computer science, but your uncle didn't want you to, and now you have to sneak around behind his back?" Leo stared into her clear eyes, annoyed. "Don't make assumptions about me."

"Sorry," she mumbled, sensing she had crossed a line. "I apologize, Chad."

After finishing wiping the table and pouring her a glass of water, Leo's face softened. "You're nothing like your aunt or your mom. You're the most innocent person I know."

If either of those women knew his secret, Mia would have him hack into Cedillo Inc.'s financial department to transfer all the company's money into her account. Jade would have him break into the school's records to make her valedictorian. "Chad, since you're so good with computers, can you help me fix mine? It won't start, and I haven't used it in ages," Anya asked.

"Did you charge it?" he inquired.

Anya was silent, prompting Leo to rest his forehead in his hand, exasperated. "I heard you're planning to take a computer science exam?"

She nodded.

"Save your money. Pick a different subject," he advised, leaving her feeling like she'd been stabbed in the heart.

While they ate, Anya thought of her nursing aunt back home and sent Mia a photo. "Do you want anything, Aunt Mia? Chad and I can bring it to you later."

"Oh, child!" Mia gazed at the spread of delicious food-jumbo shrimp, spicy chicken feet, fiery Szechuan stews... Her mouth watered with longing. "I can't have any of that; I'm breastfeeding Henry. Those spices would make him sick." Anya read Mia's reply and sighed. "Poor Aunt Mia. I'll ask my mom if she wants anything."

Soon after, wrapped in a thick coat with pajamas underneath, Jade appeared at the diner...

Meanwhile, Vivian Magez was currying favor with Grandma Aubree and Grandpa Elmer, hoping to leave a lasting impression.

She stayed in the guesthouse, visiting the grandparents every day since the Byrne family was away. Learning they enjoyed opera, she took up the art and even accompanied them to park performances in the evening. However, Chad had made it clear: no overnight stays at the Byrne home. Vivian was smart enough to retreat without pushing the issue, focusing instead on ingratiating herself with the family.

After several attempts and dismissals from the hospital by Molly, even Coleen gently reprimanded her daughter, ensuring her public face was preserved.

Yet Molly's dominance was unshaken.

Whenever she saw a chance to stand close to Chad, she wedged herself between him and any other girl, possessively claiming her exclusive right to his arm-a right Chad indulged without reason.

At the hospital, a nurse who seemed to have taken a liking to Chad would often find excuses to visit Coleen's room. On catching Chad there, she'd linger for small talk.

Coleen, understanding the nurse's interest in her son, suggested after she left, "A cop and a nurse make a good match."

"Not a match," Chad disagreed.

"Then who would be your match?"

Images of Molly flashed through Chad's mind, and he replied with a smirk, "A mess."

Coleen, perplexed, pointed at her son, "A mess could spend your entire fortune."

Soon, the 'little mess' that occupied Chad's thoughts arrived with dinner in tow.

"What were you two talking about?" Molly asked, walking in with the evening's meal.

Big Fox Officer Chad said with a sly grin, "Mom's trying to play matchmaker again, thinks I should get together with a nurse."

Ding...

Jade put down her fork, her dinner half-finished, and looked over at her mother resting against the headboard. "Mom, feeling better? Does your incision not hurt anymore? Or are you just bored out of your mind again?" Coleen looked at her daughter, puzzled. "How am I bored now?"

Jade gestured to her mother's hospital gown. "What did the doctor tell you, huh? 'No overexerting yourself!' But here you are, worrying less about the company and more about playing Cupid for my brother. Do you think you've magically recovered just because you're out of the OR?" Coleen... was silent.

She had been schooled by her daughter.

Then, Jade turned to the man slouched at the end of the couch, "My brother's a cop, always out on the beat, hardly ever home. And you want to set him up with a nurse? They're always on their feet, busy as bees. They'd be lucky to see each other once a week. How's that supposed to last? And when kids come into the picture, who's going to stay home, who's going to raise them? Mom, you're just trying to write a love story that's going nowhere!"

"And what? You want me to find him some deadbeat to marry?"

The heiress rolled her eyes, a realization dawning on her. If she wasn't mistaken, she was probably the 'deadbeat' in question.