Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance novel Chapter 529

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.

Molly nodded, understanding. "I get it, Mom. It's a lot for anyone to take in."

Coleen continued, "But 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 you tell me yourself that you want to be with him."

After a half-hour call, Molly leaned back on her bed, looking at the bags of fruit and snacks Chad had bought for her.

She crawled over, opened a bag, and started looking through the snacks. Over the years, Chad had learned even which brand of chips she preferred, carefully picking out the ones with less sugar for her.

Molly suddenly remembered how she had a sweet tooth in high school but couldn't handle anything too cold or hard because of her teeth.

She remembered the sugarcane they used to buy, just thick enough for her to grip with one hand, with sweet juice inside the purple-red skin. Her gums would bleed when she tried to bite into the tough skin, and Chad, seeing her struggle, would peel it off for her so she could enjoy the sweet core.

Whenever 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 her teeth."

At some point, Chad started checking the ingredient labels on her snacks, refusing to buy her anything that wasn't right for her, even if she cried for it.

He was always there, biting into the things she couldn't, peeling the ones she couldn't open. He became an inseparable part of her life. Could she really live without him?

Molly lay on the bed, reminiscing about her life...

Gradually, 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 out for falls" echoing behind her.

The quilt was littered with flashcards and notes from the night before, evidence of a late-night study session. Chad picked up a card, squinting at the tiny handwriting, and wondered what ungodly hour she had finally succumbed to sleep.

He perched on the edge of the bed, the soft morning light spilling across the room, and he couldn't bring himself to wake her.

Molly's eyes fluttered open to find it was already noon, and relief washed over her as she spotted Chad in the room. "When did you get back?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

"Got home around 9:30," Chad replied, eyeing the chaos of study materials. "How late were you up studying?"

Molly yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "I think it was past six in the morning."

Chad couldn't help but chide her gently, "Pulling all-nighters isn't good for your health, you know."

"I can't sleep when you're not here," she admitted, her voice small.

Chad was taken aback, searching her face for a moment before letting the subject drop. "…"

Molly slipped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom for a quick shower and to freshen up. When it was time to get dressed, she playfully shooed Chad out only to call him back once she was decent.

Chad, who had just finished a grueling night shift, was then ushered by Molly to lie down and catch up on sleep, while she sat at the foot of the bed, her nose buried in her textbooks once again.

After days of relentless studying, Molly finally faced her exams, one after another.

And then, just like that, the last test was done.

Standing once more at the doorstep of the Byrne family home, Molly gathered all her courage and stepped into the living room. "Mom, I've come to see you," she announced, her voice a blend of nerves and determination.