Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

In the Cedillo family's kitchen, it was just Mia and her little sidekick stirring up trouble.

Eventually, Mia got the hang of the range hood, but no matter how hard it worked, it was no match for the smoke she managed to create.

Henry, clutching a green onion nearly as tall as he was, coughed as he tiptoed

over, determined to bring his mom some veggies.

"Out, kiddo. It's smoky in here," Mia warned, trying to shoo him away.

Henry, of course, had to see for himself.

Turning the heat down, Mia grabbed her son's tiny hand and pulled him out the door. "Go find your grandpa."

They wandered into the living room-empty. Mia looked around, puzzled. "Weird, where did everyone go?"

She held onto Henry's little paw, the green onion still in his grip. “Dad? Naomi? Can anyone watch Henry for a sec?"

A housekeeper popped in. "Ms. Mia, Mr. Cedillo and Ms. Naomi just stepped out."

"In this heat? Seriously? They'll cook out there." Mia glanced at the blazing June sun, then handed Henry off to the butler. "Can you keep an eye on him for me? I've got food on the stove."

But she'd barely stepped back into the kitchen when-yep-little Henry came toddling right back in, latching onto her leg through the haze of smoke.

Mia nearly needed a gas mask just to finish cooking.

"Alright, scrambled eggs and tomatoes-done. Save that for later,” she muttered, sliding a suspiciously dark dish onto the counter.

She kept going. "Add water, toss in the eggs and tomatoes, cook the noodles... what's next? Let me check the video."

Henry took a bite of his giant green onion, teared up from the sting, and chugged from his bottle to recover.

"Mommy's making Daddy a special noodle dish tonight-something that'll blow his socks off. Don't distract me, go play outside, okay?" Mia said, multitasking with the energy only a Cedillo wife could muster. She squinted at the video. "Eggs first, then noodles. Can I put the noodles in warm water?" noveldrama

With Henry's crisis averted, he started poking around again.

"Whatever, it'll boil soon. In go the noodles." A moment later: "Oops, too many noodles-add more water."

Three minutes passed. "Now there's too much water, gotta ladle some out."

A bit later: "Not enough water now, put some back in."

And then: "Why won't these noodles move?"

Henry watched, eyes wide, waiting for his mom's 'masterpiece.'

Meanwhile, Andre was at the office, completely oblivious to his wife's latest kitchen adventure.

He glanced outside at the scorching heat, then thought of his little Mia-cat back home.

Noah, his assistant, noticed the boss's sour mood. "Mr. Cedillo, is this about the White Pass deal?"

Andre, usually easygoing with his team, sighed. "White Pass is part of it."

What really bugged him was that Mia knew she'd messed up and tried to make it up the night before-she'd set up everything perfectly, but. Andre clueless, missed the chance for what could have been a pretty amazing night. Instead, he gave her the cold shoulder, which only pushed her buttons.

He remembered her saying once, "Babe, I know when I've screwed up, no need to point it out. You can scold me, lecture me, even yell at me, but don't just ice me out That's the worst."

He'd given her the silent treatment, Mia had given him time, even tried to make up first-and now, thanks to his own stubbornness, he'd lost out on a good thing.