Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Leo burst into laughter in his bedroom, relieved that stupidity wasn't fatal, or else he feared Anya wouldn't have much longer to live.

Exiting the game, Leo typed into the group chat, "Wasn't me playing today, folks. We had a rookie on board."

"Your... girlfriend?"

"Yeah, Anya."

A rival in the group piped up, "You ditched us, letting your girl mess around in the game."

Leo shot back, "I let her have her fun. I've got it covered."

Then, Leo privately messaged the teammates he and Anya had played with earlier, promising to make up for the lost levels by carrying them through a few tonight.

"Man, what happened today? Did someone hack your account?" someone asked.

Leo replied, "Nope, just a jealous girl having a go with my account. If you see my moves going sideways, you'll know it's her practicing."

The team was baffled, "Man, you're spoiling her rotten."

Leo just chuckled, "She might make you lose a few levels, but I'll carry you up twice as many tonight."

"Deal!"

Leo closed the chat, amused as he watched Anya's clumsy gameplay. He couldn't help but tease, "Dope, dork, silly goose."

He must've repeated those words a dozen times before finally turning off the light, ready for bed.

Anya, unaffected by the coffee she had during the day, snuggled under the covers and fell asleep instantly, oblivious to the fact she had dragged Chad's levels down significantly.

Later, her gameplay was so clueless, constantly getting lost on the map and nearly wandering into enemy territory, that it sparked a global alert in the game: "The Legend's Girlfriend is here again, gather around!" "Hey, Legend's Girlfriend, where you at?"

"Legend's Girlfriend, where's our hero?"

"Legend's Girlfriend, can you share some news about our hero? Pretty please?"

Anya scratched her head, then turned to Leo, "Chad, who's the Legend's Girlfriend they're all asking about?"

Leo gave her a look, "Anya, how about we don't play anymore, okay?"

Blinking, Anya incredulously asked, "Chad, they're not talking about me, are they?"

After a pause, she answered her own question, "Couldn't be. I'm not Chad's girlfriend. Plus, they don't even know I'm the one using Chad's account."

Leo watched as Anya drifted further from the truth.

He couldn't help but suggest, "Why don't you ask them who they're talking about?"

And so, naive Anya did just that in the chat, "Who's the 'Legend's Girlfriend"?"

The responses flooded in, "You" "You" "Yeah, you" "+1, you"...

Anya was stunned. Leo watched her quietly put down the phone, turn off the screen, and sheepishly said, "Chad, I'm done playing-"

Yet, unable to resist, she soon found herself quietly playing next to Leo for the entire afternoon.

Seeing the levels drop, Leo calculated he'd have to carry his teammates through ten levels tonight.

"Anya, why don't you play with Henry instead?"

"Sure."

Leo found himself back in Maplewood Estates.

Come midsummer, the scorching sun warmed the pool to a comfortable temperature.

By the afternoon, Mia was lounging by the poolside, watching her son float around with a rubber duckie swim ring, occasionally using a stick to guide him back to the edge. The little guy, mistaking it for a game, reached out to grab the stick. The maid couldn't help but ask, "Ma'am, why not join Henry in the pool?"

Mia scoffed, "And get a tan? No thanks."

"It's the men who should be out there, getting that rugged tan. My husband, a family man, doesn't need to worry about appearances."

The maid wondered, "But doesn't the same apply to you, Ma'am?"

Mia replied with a flourish, "Marriage needs maintenance. If I let myself go, my husband might look elsewhere, and my son might be ashamed. So, really, I'm doing this for them. Where else would you find such a devoted wife and mother?" Both her husband and Henry, overhearing this, shared a quiet moment of understanding - no words needed between them.

Meanwhile, at the Cedillo residence, Molly was cheekily suggesting to her father, "How about I give you a little warrior instead of a granddaughter?"

When Chad, now Officer Chad, was called to retrieve Molly, he hurried over, excusing himself from a work dinner with a laugh, "Gotta pick up Molly. She's been causing a stir at my in-laws"."

Back at the Cedillo's, Molly grabbed a handful of cherries, teasing, "I'm leaving, Dad. Don't miss me too much."

Her dad, pretending to be aloof, insisted she stay for dinner.

As she proudly looped her arm through her father's, Chad joined them for a meal, a perfect end to an eventful day.

Mia was in the thick of midterms, sweating bullets over questions she hadn't the slightest clue on. In a moment of desperation, she shot a quick message to Leo for some covert assistance.

Meanwhile, Leo, who was supposed to be knee-deep in spreadsheets at Cedillo Inc., was instead sneakily checking his phone under the desk. His little act of rebellion didn't go unnoticed. Noah, his supervisor, caught him red-handed and was all set to dock his pay for the infraction.

Caught in a bind, Leo played his ace: "I was actually helping your wife cheat on her exam. Maybe you should run this by Andre before docking my pay?"

Noah, taken aback and not sure how to proceed, decided to take the matter up the ladder. "Boss, Leo claims he was aiding your wife in cheating, which is why he was on his phone. Should we still cut his wages?"

The office was rife with anticipation as everyone waited to see how this unconventional dilemma would unfold.