Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance
Chapter 528

Jack watched Anya devour her food in the car, her cheeks puffed out with a half-eaten burger. She shot him a nervous glance and apologized, "Chad, I'm so sorry, it wasn't on purpose." Jack chuckled, "Take it easy, don't choke."

Mia just sighed, lost in her thoughts. It hit her why everyone was so surprised when her husband indulged her, and why she had unknowingly stepped on some of Andre's soft spots. Turns out, everyone has that one special person in their life who lets them get away with just about anything. Mia patted Anya's shoulder. "Kid, Aunt Mia's got your wedding gift all ready."

Anya looked puzzled, "..."

Jack gently swatted Mia's hand away. "Go back to your mommy blog empire. We're heading out."

Jack slipped on the Ray-Bans Mia had given him and drove off.

On the road, Anya unwrapped another burger for Jack, ready to feed him. But Jack took it with one hand while steering with the other, taking a big bite.

"Chad, have you ever eaten in your car before?"

"Yeah."

Anya relaxed a bit. After a moment, Jack added, "You're the second person."

Anya's eyes widened, "..."

Half an hour before the exam, Molly sat on a bench outside, munching on a burger, waiting for Jack to drop off Anya at the test center.

Soon, Jack arrived. He sat next to Molly, handing her a wad of paper.

"What's this?" Molly unfolded it to find a bunch of notes.

Jack explained, "You haven't studied much in the last six months, and I'm really worried you won't pass. It's better to have something than nothing. If the proctor isn't watching, start with the essay questions. I'll sneak you the answers for the rest." Molly smirked, "I knew it, no decent man exists in this world except for my nephews!"

Jack twitched an eyebrow, "Even your Chad isn't decent?"

"Don't even mention him." Molly grumbled, taking another bite of her burger.

At the Byrne residence.

After dropping Molly off, Chad went back to talk with his parents.

Vivian had been taken in for questioning by the police, Grandma Aubree and Grandpa Elmer were out at their fitness class, and Kendrick was at work, leaving just mother and son in the living room.

Chad told his mother, "Molly cares most about your opinion. If you're on board, she won't feel pressured."

Coleen looked at her son, "Exactly because she cares so much about what I think, my approval would just stress her out more. Chad, if you want to marry Molly, let her come to me and say she wants to marry you. Otherwise, it's just coercion."

Chad fell silent, then admitted, "You're right, I've been pressuring her these past days. Mom, leaving me out of it, would you be at ease if Molly married someone else? If she ended up with a nitpicking mother-in-law and a chaotic home life, could you bear it? You know the dramas our Byrne family has had, did your in-laws ever make life easy for you when you married Dad?"

Coleen's eyes flickered, but she remained firm, "Those aren't good enough reasons. Despite the challenges with your father's relatives, he has been good to me, and your grandparents have always treated me like a daughter. Because of your father and this family, I consider myself very fortunate."

Chad knew debating this with his mother would be exhausting. Coleen wasn't some naive, sweet girl; she was a renowned businesswoman. And since she knew his weaknesses, Chad couldn't persuade her this time.

After Molly's exam, Chad glanced at his watch, said goodbye to his mother, and went to the school to find Molly.

Emerging from the exam, the three of them stood in the sunshine, forming a triangle. Molly pulled out a cheat sheet from her sleeve and compared answers with Jack. "I got this one right, didn't I? I remember reviewing it last night, but I didn't dare pull it out since the proctor was strict." Jack tallied up the scores, "Don't worry, you'll pass."

Jade was a bit more ambitious, "Next year, I want to apply for... never mind, it's probably out of reach."

When Anya's cheat sheet accidentally fell from her sleeve, Jack was surprised to see she had one too. Before Anya could pick it up, Jack scooped it up first. "Anya, hands up."

Anya bit her lip, her hands behind her back, "Chad, I didn't cheat, I just bought it for peace of mind." Jack grabbed Anya's arm from behind her back and reached into the sleeve of her puffy jacket. Anya's sleeve was loose enough to fit Jack's hand.

"Chad, you're pushing up my sweater." Anya felt her sweater riding up her arm along with Jack's hand fumbling around, and she whispered a reminder.

Soon, Jack emerged with a handful of cheat sheets.

"I've been tutoring you for so long, do you really have that little confidence?"

Anya didn't reply, but Molly couldn't help but defend her, "Why are you being so harsh? Weren't you scared of failing and having to retake courses in your first year? Anya's a freshman, and you know how the advisors intimidate new students. It's normal to buy cheat sheets when that's the environment, and it's not like she actually cheated. Anya's a good kid, she said she didn't cheat, and she definitely didn't. She doesn't lie, especially not to you." Jack looked innocent, "I wasn't being harsh to her, am I not nice enough to her?"

Molly turned to Anya, "Do you think he was harsh?"

Anya glanced at Jack, feeling a bit intimidated, "Um... Auntie, your brother's here to pick you up." She cleverly sidestepped the issue.

Sure enough, Chad approached, "What's up?"

Jack reached out, and Anya willingly offered her wrist for him to hold. Jack pulled Anya behind him, "Chad, Anya and I are taking off. The next exam is tomorrow afternoon at two, make sure my aunt doesn't miss it."

Chad nodded, looking at Molly who was ignoring him, "Get in, I'll take you back to the hotel to study. I need to swing by the station. Vivian was taken in this morning, I'll see what's going on."

Back at the hotel, Chad sat on the couch, clearly preoccupied with a troublesome matter.

Molly noticed, stealing glances at him but kept silent, continuing to study.

Later that afternoon, Chad headed to the station.

Captain Easton was in the middle of a tirade, "What's going on?" Chad approached to inquire.

Easton gestured towards the window as if Vivian was right there, "She's as stubborn as a mule, won't admit a thing. Ask her where she got the lithium batteries, and she plays dumb, says she doesn't know what a lithium battery even is. Isn't that ironic? Her old man got caught lifting car batteries years ago, caused a fire in their apartment, and got hauled away by the cops. There's no way Vivian doesn't know what a lithium battery is."

Chad picked up a pack of cigarettes from Easton's desk, slid one out with a flick of his fingers, and lit up, his mood clearly soured, "Facing time behind bars if she confesses, can't blame her for clamming up. It's probably more that you guys don't have enough to pin her down without her spilling the beans."

Easton slumped in his chair, fixing a stare at his suddenly present colleague. "Man, I thought you wanted to stay clear of the case details. What's got you dropping by out of the blue?"

Chad tossed the lighter carelessly back on the desk, taking a drag, "Got too cocky yesterday, that's all."