Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance
Chapter 577

The sisters' hands were a kaleidoscope of sparklers, as they danced through the night air with their incandescent wands. "Lighting up the night for ya," they chimed together. Leo rolled his eyes. "How utterly pointless."

The Cedillo family's living room buzzed with the chatter of a sitcom, the interior as cozy as a warm hearth.

Outside, the biting wind whistled, but the clear glow of the porch light shone brightly, casting long shadows of everyone in the yard, intertwining then parting.

Andre, eager to show his wife the snowman he'd built, had thrown himself into the task with gusto.

Despite the winter chill, he'd shed his coat and was bustling about in the yard, devoid of his usual CEO demeanor.

At that moment, he was simply Andre-Hansen's son, Mia's husband, Henry's dad. No matter how imposing he might appear, he couldn't escape the simple human joys-the smoke from a chimney, the laughter of his family. Oh, and little Henry was snuggled up in the arms of their trusted nanny.

Because his mom was about to set off fireworks!

One arm cradling a child does make it a bit harder to celebrate.

When the sparkling display was done, the sisters whipped out the secret stash of skyrocketing rockets, fizzling and popping all around the yard. Mia ran to ask her husband for a lighter, "Honey, I wanna set these off, gimme your lighter, will ya?" Before marriage, Mia would have asked her father for a lighter; now, it was her husband's turn.

Andre patted his pockets, found none, and handed her the car keys instead. "Check the car."

Finding the lighter, Mia and Molly set to work, igniting each firework.

Little Henry watched, wide-eyed and pajama-clad in his mom's fluffy coat and the extra blanket his aunt insisted he wear, his tiny tiger hat and a scarf wrapped around his face, leaving only his sparkling eyes visible, full of curiosity. Chad had tried calling Molly several times to no avail.

Eventually, he let it go and continued his night shift.

Last year, she'd brought him dumplings; this year, she seemed to have forgotten him.

Chad chuckled to himself. "Oh well."

The Byrne family home was quiet, with not a child in sight.

Grandma Aubree and Grandpa Elmer missed their granddaughter, "Molly doesn't even come to visit us anymore."

Coleen, always blunt, remarked, "Mom, you might as well enjoy the peace this year. Once Molly and Chad get hitched, you'll be wishing you could send her away."

Grandma Aubree and Grandpa Elmer immediately began to dread the end of their tranquil days.

Back at the Cedillo's, Andre abandoned the snowman to comfort his crying son.

Mommy's fireworks had given baby Henry quite the scare.

Henry cried in his father's arms. Why set off fireworks if it just scared the kids?

After Mia had her fill of fireworks, she finally remembered her son.

She dashed over to scoop up her child.

By eleven, the snowman was finished, and the fireworks were done.

Molly grabbed her lipstick to paint the snowman's lips, while Mia prepared to tackle its eyes with her eyeliner pencil.

"Mia, why isn't this going on?" Molly puzzled over her lipstick and the snowman's mouth.

Mia replied, "The lipstick's dry; it won't work."

Suddenly, she remembered the red ink in her husband's study. "Molly, wait here. I'll get some ink. It'll work better than lipstick."

Without waiting for a rebuke, Mia scampered off and soon reappeared, triumphantly brandishing the ink.

Andre sighed as he watched from a distance.

Leo eyed his uncle, "Uncle, she's using your ink! Aren't you gonna stop her?"

Andre didn't say a word.

Mia and Molly had already begun painting the snowman's lips. "It's just using my hubby's ink. Why would he be mad?" Mia was baffled.

Leo pointed at the bottle in Mia's hand, "You're clueless. That ink took Uncle six years to acquire. It's ageless, even emperors used it. Think about it, what could make a man like Uncle wait so long?" Mia was stunned, looking at the ceramic bottle with wide eyes.

"Shocked, huh? That ink's more expensive than gold."

Mia's hand felt a thousand times heavier.

Molly glanced at her red-stained hand, "Leo, does this mean I can never wash this hand again?" Mia blinked in disbelief, then turned to her husband with puppy-dog eyes, "Honey, I messed up." Andre didn't scold her on the holiday. He just smiled, "It's okay, have fun. That's what matters." Mia was near tears, "Honey, can you please not let me see your valuable stuff anymore?" Everyone in the yard chuckled at the scene.

Andre hugged his wife, "As long as you're happy, I won't scold you."

Later, they returned the ink.

Mia looked at their snowman, now seemingly more regal with its ink-stained lips.

Holding her sleepy son, she waved excitedly at her husband, "Honey, come over here. Let's take a family photo. It's my first time making a successful snowman."

Leo's hands were red with cold as he grumbled about who really made the snowman.

Andre, his pride swelling, just wanted to capture images of his wife and son, too embarrassed to join them.

"Honey, come on. It's a family photo."

Naomi urged from the sidelines, "Go on, Andre. Mia wants a picture. Join her and the kid."

Molly chimed in, "Andre, hurry up. Mia wants to take a picture with you most of all."

Andre walked over, his happiness evident. He stood behind his wife, his arms around her shoulders, looking at her content face. He smiled silently as she held their child, and the three of them took a heartwarming family photo, with trusty Molly behind the camera. Seeing Hansen also wanting to join, Mia suggested, "Let's all take a picture together."

The idea was welcomed with enthusiasm.

For the sake of the snowman, the family stayed outside for half an hour taking pictures.

Back inside, the women were selecting the best shots.

Molly noticed that Chad had tried to reach her. Silently, she slipped away to return his call.

Leo's phone lit up with a notification, a photo from Anya displaying their family's festive dinner spread. The table was laden with a roast turkey, a steaming dish of green bean casserole, and a glistening cranberry sauce that shimmered under the dining room lights. Below the picture, a proud text from Anya read, "Chad, I cooked all of this myself."

As Naomi glanced over, her eyes caught the family portrait they had taken moments before, posing with a snowman they had all helped build. The snowman, adorned with a scarf and a playful dash of Molly's lipstick, stood proudly beside them. The image sparked a thought in Naomi, and with a hint of excitement in her voice, she suggested, "If Andre and Mia were to have another girl, they'd have the perfect family-a son and a daughter. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Mia, who had seemingly forgotten the trials of childbirth, was immediately on board. Crawling over to join the conversation, she chimed in with a blend of jest and earnest desire, "You know, Naomi, now that you mention it, I kinda like the idea of having one more." Andre, with a knowing smile and the wisdom to keep silent, simply chuckled at the lively banter unfolding before him.