The CEO's Mischievous Little Bride

Molly bounced out, clutching the shirt she snagged.

Abby was upstairs, eyes shooting daggers as she watched Molly leave through the window. A wicked grin spread across her face. "Molly, your happy days are numbered."

When Molly got home, she dove into the laundry herself.

That evening, Sebastian rolled in, and Ellie spilled the tea, "She trashed your room, spent forever washing your shirts, yapped on the phone with Vera, cursing Abby, chatted with a snoozing Teddy, then pigged out on a massive barbecue order. After all that, she crashed upstairs. Oh, and she almost blew up the kitchen at noon."

Sebastian fumed, "She didn't hit the books at all?"

Ellie shook her head, "Not even a peek."

Sebastian stormed upstairs, straight to Molly's room.

Soon, loud apologies echoed from Molly's room, "Sebastian, I'm sorry! I'll get up and study now! Please don't be mad."

Ellie just shook her head, thinking only Sebastian could handle Molly's wild side.

In her room, Molly, in her PJs with her hair in a messy bun, sat at her desk with a pen, randomly grabbing a book. "I'll pull an all-nighter, I promise."

Sebastian yanked a chair from her vanity and plopped down next to her. He drummed his fingers on her desk, fuming, "I'm watching you study tonight! You're an adult. Can't you tell what's important?"

Molly clutched the pen but didn't write a thing. She turned to Sebastian, "Sebastian..."

"Study!" he barked.

Molly bit her lip, pressing her hands against his, which looked ready to smack her any second. "I'll study." Seeing his hand raised, she shrank back, grabbed the pen, and pretended to review, clueless about the key points. Sebastian sat beside her, like back in elementary school when Molly ditched homework for cartoons. He pulled up a chair to keep an eye on her.

Soon, Sebastian's phone buzzed.

Before he could move, Molly's head whipped around to his pocket. "Sebastian, who's calling?"

Sebastian shot her a frustrated glare.

Molly bit her lip and turned back, "I'll study, I won't say a word."

Sebastian got up and went to the window to take the call. "Yeah, go ahead. I'm not busy, just babysitting Molly's study session. Finals are coming, and she's still acting like a kid. If I'm not here, she won't study." Molly covered her ears, thinking if she couldn't hear it, it wasn't about her.

Sebastian glanced at her fidgeting and told the caller, "I'll send you David's number, he can help."

After hanging up, Sebastian looked at Molly and walked back to his chair. "Hands down, study."

Even with her ears covered, Molly heard him loud and clear.

Winter nights came early, and by seven, it was pitch dark.

The Chase family was chowing down when two cops showed up out of nowhere.

Everyone was clueless, except Molly, who kept munching her dinner like nothing happened.

"Who you looking for?" Sebastian asked.

Facing Sebastian, the cops were all business. "Mr. Chase, we need Molly to come with us to the station."

Molly, mid-bite, looked up. "Me? Seriously?"

Halfway through her meal, Sebastian tagged along to the all-too-familiar station.

"You said Abby's place caught fire?" Molly perked up when they got there. "That's awesome."

Sebastian shot her a look, and she zipped it.

At the station, she followed the investigation while Sebastian dug for more info.

"Mr. Chase, it was arson. The fire hit an old neighborhood, the flames were crazy, and the roads were too tight for a quick rescue. Three people got hurt, two are in the hospital, and the other is Abby, the tenant. She's under investigation," the officer explained.

Sebastian asked, "Is she badly hurt?"

The officer replied, "She's out cold. When she woke up, she said the last person she saw was Molly. Plus, someone confirmed Molly visited her in the afternoon and claimed Molly threatened to burn her place down."

"What? I said I'd burn her place?" Molly, not scared at all with Sebastian around, addressed the officer, Ernest Sullivan, "Ernest."

Ernest coughed, reminding her they were on camera.

Molly quickly corrected herself, "Mr. Sullivan, I did see her in the afternoon, but only because Abby stole Sebastian's shirt and I went to get it back. I never said that. I was raised by cops, I wouldn't break the law. Let her come here and we'll talk face to face."

When Abby saw Sebastian, she cried and ran to him, "Sebastian, I'm so scared. I can't believe Molly set the fire."

Sebastian said, "I don't believe it either. If she really wanted to hurt someone, she wouldn't use such a dumb method."

Standing beside Sebastian with teary eyes, Abby apologized, "Sebastian, I'm sorry. The cops told me to tell the truth, so I did. I'm sorry, Molly."

Sebastian sat by the door, unable to see inside the interrogation room, but he wasn't worried about Molly since she knew everyone there.

Half an hour later, Molly came out.

As soon as she did, she saw Abby, covered in soot. Molly impulsively wanted to rush her, but Sebastian stepped in, and she bumped into his arms. "Sebastian." Sebastian looked at her, "What are you gonna do?"

"I need to hit the bathroom." She almost lost it and hit someone in the station.

Soon, a cop approached Abby, "Are you sure Molly said she'd burn you? False accusations are serious, you know!"

Abby swallowed, "I'm sure."

The cop asked again, "Did you steal Mr. Chase's shirt?"

Sebastian looked at Molly, who was holding his hand, and Molly finally spilled the whole story from the afternoon, "Abby stole the shirt I embroidered for you in high school, so I went to get it back." Abby denied it, "I didn't steal it, Molly's framing me."

Molly clenched her fists, ready to throw down.