Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Cooper scooped up his nephew and gave him a big, smacking kiss on his chubby cheek.

Now he finally got it-why his brother-in-law, busy as he was, still loved bringing the little munchkin to the office. Honestly, with this adorable ball of cuteness, Cooper was tempted to bring him to work every day too.

That night, the little guy slept in his uncle's bed, absolutely spoiled and doted on.

But by the next morning, the precious bundle had disappeared.

Mia searched the entire house, calling out, "Henry, you better crawl out here right now!"

Madison glanced out from the hallway. "No clue if he went with Andre to the office or if your dad took him."

Mia, sitting at the kitchen table with her breakfast, said with conviction, "Bet you anything he's with Cooper."

At The Cedillo Group, a crowd had gathered, all gushing over Henry.

"Oh my gosh, Henry is so soft and squishy-look at those cheeks! So this is Andre's son? He's too cute!"

Usually, when Henry came to The Cedillo Group, he'd just visit the first floor, take the elevator, and go straight to the CEO's office. Only the folks on those two floors had ever seen him before. But today, waking up at his uncle's place, he suddenly became the star of the show. Everyone was dying to sneak a peek.

Henry sat perched in Cooper's arms, totally unfazed by all the attention. Used to being the center of things, he wrapped his arms around Cooper's neck and even let out a big yawn. "Cooper, where'd you lose me this time?"

Meanwhile, after finals, Anya had rehearsed a whole speech and followed her boyfriend over to Chunky's apartment.

As soon as they stepped inside, she noticed the curtains were still pulled shut.

Anya hovered by the door, a little nervous, while Leo went in first, pulled the curtains open, cracked a window, and quickly tidied up before waving her in. "Chunky, you've met her before-this is my girlfriend, Anya."

"Hello, Ms. Anya," said Chunky, who looked like he'd put on a few more pounds since last time.

Leo grinned. "Ms. Anya is just my nickname for her. Just call her Anya."

Chunky shoved his glasses up his nose. "So tell me, Leo, do you need me, or do I need you?"

Leo gestured at the chaos. "Looks to me like you're the one needing help."

Chunky's apartment was a loft, but messes were everywhere-snack wrappers, empty bags, and junk piled up. He clearly hadn't bothered to clean in ages.

Leo had once been just as lazy back when he lived at home, spoiled by housekeepers. But ever since he'd moved out, his girlfriend kept him on a strict routine-stay clean, open the windows, change the sheets every month, and so on.

Now, thanks to Anya, he'd basically been trained into neat-freak mode. Just setting foot in Chunky's place gave him a headache.noveldrama

Chunky cleared a spot on the couch for them. "So, what's up? Why are you guys here?"

Anya piped up, "We're here to help you get motivated to lose weight!"

Chunky stared at Leo, totally floored. "Wait, you're actually serious?"

Leo just raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

Chunky shook his head. "No way. Not happening."

Anya was supposed to help Chad out and get Chunky on board, so she jumped in, "If you don't lose weight, whaDif the person you like doesn't like you back?"

Chunky crossed his arms. "I don't like anyone."

"But what if you meet someone special one day?" Anya pressed.

Chunky grinned, "Well, maybe she'll like me just the way I am."

Anya shot back, "But being overweight isn't healthy. What if you finally meet 'the one,' but you can't be there for her for long?"

As soon as she finished, both Leo and Chunky stared at her.

Realizing what she'd said, Anya slapped her hand over her mouth. "Chad, I swear, I'll stop talking!"

Chad had just wanted her to say something encouraging-not accidentally ruin the whole thing.

Chunky pointed at Anya and looked at Leo. "This girl's really yours?"