Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Mia's grades came back better than expected, and Andre finally relaxed- suddenly, even his son seemed less of a handful.

When the national cutoff scores were posted, they were exactly the same as last year. Of course, Mia made it with room to spare.

Jamie did well, too—just nine points behind Mia-which was a huge jump for her. Honestly, she'd never imagined scoring this high before. Her whole family was over the moon. Even if she didn't get into Havenbrook University, there were still plenty of great schools she could aim for. But Jamie herself was still a bundle of nerves, hoping she could impress in the interviews and maybe, just maybe, make it to Havenbrook.

While Mia was at home prepping for her grad school interview, her little troublemaker, Henry, was up to something in her bedroom again.

There was a crash from upstairs-drawers opening and closing, things thumping on the floor. Mia paused, listening. "Henry?"

No answer.

She rushed upstairs and swung open her bedroom door, only to find her precious skincare collection-her fancy creams, serums, and lotions—all knocked over and rolling across the floor. Some bottles were cracked, others completely shattered.

And there was Henry, crouched on top of her vanity like a little gremlin, twisting around to give her that wide-eyed, innocent look, as if he had no idea what he'd done wrong.noveldrama

"Henry!"

She'd just splurged on those products-top-shelf stuff, some jars worth several hundred bucks each-rewarding herself after the stress of exams, planning to start the new semester looking her best. Now, thanks to her little tornado, it was all ruined.

Mia scooped Henry up and carried him out of the room, worried he'd step on the broken glass and hurt himself. Once they were out in the hallway, she didn't hesitate-she gave his backside a couple of firm swats.

Henry stuck out his lower lip, trying to work his cuteness magic. "Mommy, don't hit your baby..."

“Save it! That's not going to work this time. You make a mess, you get consequences. Just wait until your dad hears about this."

That afternoon, Andre came home.

He spotted his son, still acting like he'd done nothing wrong. Andre picked Henry

up by the sweater, one-handed, like he was hoisting a mischievous kitten, and marched him out to the backyard.

Mia hurried after them, worried.

Andre found a sturdy tree and, as if he were hanging up a bag, hooked Henry up in the crook of a branch, just high enough that he couldn't climb down or up. fo

"Mom! Help! Save me!" Henry wailed.

Mia ran over. "Honey, I already punished him-don't-"

Andre gently blocked her. "Go back inside and get ready for your interview. I'm his dad; I know what I'm doing."

Mia's heart softened as she watched her son dangle from the tree. "Babe, he's our only boy..."

Andre just shrugged. "Don't worry. Leo turned out fine, didn't he?"

Henry whimpered, hanging there with his chubby legs swinging.

After a minute, Andre stood by the tree, arms ready in case the branch gave way -strict, but always ready to catch him.

"Have you learned your lesson?" he asked.

Henry watched his mom disappear inside, his cries echoing through the yard.

He tried a new tactic, sniffling, "Daddy, I'm sorry! I won't be naughty anymore!"

After a couple more minutes, Andre took pity on him and brought the little rascal back inside.

The second his feet hit the living room carpet, Henry bolted into Mia's arms, sobbing and ready to tattle.

"Come on now-out of your mom's lap. She needs to study," Andre said.

But Henry just clung to Mia's neck, refusing to let go.

Mia sighed. "He probably just got scared. Let me hold him for a bit,

okay? Next time, I'll think twicet

before telling you..." she muttered, feeling a little guilty.

Andre shook his head, pointing at Henry. "He's needed this for ages. This isn't his first disaster, you know. We've got a whole crew of nannies, and not one of them can keep up with just one Henry. He runs this whole house ragged."