Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Once again, Henry found himself staring at a wall.

Andre could sense it too-the kids had basically formed a secret alliance on the way back. Ask Dad anything, the older two would shoot back with a snarky reply. Question the older kids, and Dad would suddenly turn into a rapid-fire critic, giving them a piece of his mind.

The two youngest? Born spectators, each more invested in the family drama than the last.

Bruce came home from work to find two big kids and two little ones lined up against the wall. "What is it this time?"

Naomi pulled him aside in a hurry. "Molly and Mia took the kids out all night, and no one could find them. And then Dad stayed out singing karaoke until two in the morning..."

"Hold on-Dad was at karaoke until two?" Bruce, who'd just found out, looked genuinely shocked.

Naomi suddenly remembered and slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh gosh, I completely forgot-Dad blocked you from his stories too."

Bruce: "..."

For some reason, seeing their older brother completely in the dark made Andre and Officer Chad feel oddly comforted.

Bruce walked over. "Dad, can we talk in the study?"

Hansen looked over at his eldest, clearly not in the mood for a reckoning, and shifted in his seat. “Not happening. I'm staying right here.”

Naomi glanced around the living room, wondering how on earth this family standoff would end, and who would actually win.

"You're old enough to do your own thing, but out partying until two in the morning?" Bruce sat down, ready to interrogate his father.

Molly, unfazed by her big brother, just watched. But Jade, always the cautious one, piped up, "So what if he was out till two? Big bro, remember when you used to stay out all night with your friends? Did Dad ever stop you?"

Hansen jumped in, “Yeah, did I ever stop you?"

"You didn't stop me, but you definitely smacked me a few times," Bruce replied.

Hansen: "... That never happened. No way."

Molly suddenly went quiet. If Dad really had done that, she definitely wasn't about to say so.

Mia shot a sideways glance at her husband-only to find him staring a hole through the top of her head. When their eyes finally met, Mia angled away, choosing to fix her gaze on their son.

Meanwhile, Henry had somehow folded his hands behind his back and was now craning his neck to catch whatever fresh gossip was brewing.

Mia reached out, gently nudging her son's head to face forward.

Henry, annoyed, grabbed his mom's hand and looked up, wide-eyed, as if to ask, "What's the big deal?"

"I only ever hit you because your

mother saw you walking out with a

girl, thought you were up to

something, and when you didn't

come home that night, she insisted set you straight. That's the only

reason," Hansen explained

Hansen had always listened to his wife. If she said to rein in their oldest, he'd do it -no questions asked.noveldrama

Bruce: "My mom..."

"Bruce! Who was this girl you went out with?" After quietly enjoying the show, Naomi suddenly found the spotlight shining on her own family.

Instantly, the four in the corner turned their heads in unison, absolutely glued to the new scene unfolding in the living room.

Bruce blurted, "I-I wasn't!"

Naomi walked right up to him. "If you weren't, why are you stuttering? How come I've never heard about your first crush?"

Bruce never imagined that, after all these years, one offhand comment from his dad would throw his own marriage into chaos. "Naomi, you caught me off guard, that's all. I'm not stuttering because I'm hiding anything."

"What do you need to be prepared for, Bruce? Unless you're planning to lie to me? Our son's about to get married and I'm only now finding out you had a high school sweetheart?” Naomi turned to Hansen, "Dad, how old was Bruce when he started dating?"

Hansen looked at his eldest, who was clearly desperate to escape, then at Naomi, who was usually so gentle she rarely raised her voice "Well, your mom told me to straighten him out when he was in eighth grade. Who knows how old he really was when he

started-could've been even earlier, for all I know."