Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Henry missed his mom so much yesterday because he hadn't been cuddled by her even once. So, he quickly ditched the tempting snacks and dove straight into the soft, welcoming arms of his sweet-smelling mom. "Oooh!"

Mia gave her son a playful kiss on the nose and ruffled his little tiger-like hair. Then she turned to her husband and asked, "What brought you to bring him over?"

"I went home for my lunch box at noon, and he just wouldn't let me leave without him. So, I figured why not bring him along?" Andre replied.

Andre opened the lunch box and set the food up on the car's dashboard. "How about joining me for lunch at the office? We could take a little break there."

"I'll head back to class after lunch. Dad's coming home tonight, and I want to squeeze in some study time before heading home early," Mia said, effortlessly balancing her son on one arm and eating rice with a fork in the other. Every time Mia moved her fork, Henry would open his mouth, mimicking her as if he were eating too.

"Honey, I'm running out of pants. They're too easy to get wet, and skirts are just inconvenient. When you've got some time, could you come with me to the mall to grab a few more clothes? Autumn's creeping in, and your son could use some new outfits too. His little tank tops won't cut it much longer with the temperature dropping."

"I'm free anytime," Andre assured her.

Later, Andre took their son to give Mia some space to eat.

One of them admired how adorably puffy his wife's cheeks looked while eating, and the other was just drooling with envy.

"Ah ah!" Henry protested.

Mia, mid-bite, handed over a piece of omelet to her eager little eater.

Sure enough, Henry leaned forward, risking a tumble, just to get a bite.

Mia also fed her husband a few bites, "Come home for dinner after work. I bet you haven't eaten yet."

"I'll eat with Henry when we get home."

As Mia ate, she shared a joke from class, "Our teacher told us today about a couple who were constantly fighting and on the brink of divorce. They didn't know how to split their assets fairly. If it weren't for our teacher mediating, they might have had a brawl right there. After three months, they had everything lined up for the divorce, including a buyer for their house. But on their way to the courthouse, they heard Cedillo Inc. was planning to set up a branch near their house. This meant they could be relocated and possibly receive a new house based on family size. They tore up their divorce papers on the spot and decided to stick together. They even refused to pay my teacher for his consultation and for drafting their agreement, arguing that since the divorce didn't happen, the deal was off." Mia burst into laughter in the car.

Henry was bewildered, not knowing why his mom was laughing.

When he glanced back at his dad, he saw him also chuckling at his mom, each with their own reason.

Mia laughed at the absurdity of the story, "A loveless marriage saved by the promise of a house demolition. They're greedier than me for your wealth, haha."

Hearing Cedillo Inc.'s name brought Mia a peculiar sense of pride. "By the way, honey, which plot did you end up acquiring? How many houses did people get?"

Andre chuckled along with his wife. "These past couple of years, our company has been focusing on international expansion. The home market was already saturated seven years ago."

"So, their dreams of becoming relocation beneficiaries were crushed, huh?" Mia laughed again.

Seeing both parents laughing, Henry didn't want to feel left out, so he giggled along in the car, "Mommy."

"Hey, son, have another bite. Taste the grown-up's delicacy," Mia fed her son another mouthful.

"Honey, our teacher said there's more to the story. He's keeping us in suspense until the next class to keep us looking forward to his lessons," Mia said while eating.

Andre handed her a glass of barley water, "Drink some barley water."

Mia took a sip and passed it to her husband.

Henry stuck out his tongue, eager for a taste. Andre held the glass and carefully fed their curious little one.

After finishing her meal, Mia bought several cups of coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up.

Watching the lively Mia dash off, Andre felt this was how his little Mia should always be.

In the afternoon, Mia didn't stick around to study. At five o'clock, she packed her bag and left.

In the car, Mia excitedly shared with her husband, "Honey, the sequel is here. My teacher said the same thing you did this afternoon, Cedillo Inc. had no plans to expand further domestically, especially not in the capital. The couple who heard the rumor decided not to sell their house after all and ended up fighting with the real estate agency because they backed out at the last minute. According to the contract, they had to pay a penalty, which caused quite

a stir.

But our teacher stayed out of it and didn't argue with them. Imagine, a lawyer getting duped for money by two scoundrels, it would be a joke in the industry. In the end, our teacher quietly followed legal procedures and sued them. They even had to pay him double the consultation fee, eight thousand dollars, because they had no choice but to settle.

Turns out the real estate agency, hearing about our teacher's case, came to him hoping he would win their case too." Mia's afternoon coffee kept her alert, and the story was intellectually stimulating, keeping her energized all day.

She found this profession more and more interesting.

"The funniest part is, with Cedillo Inc. not buying the land, their dream was shattered, and they started fighting and considering divorce again. And shamelessly, they went back to our teacher for help. Having already dealt with their nonsense two years ago, our teacher was sure not to help.

But the couple persisted, claiming

that since they had paid him double two years ago, he still owed them a resolution. Eventually, they camped out at our teacher's building and refused to leave. In the end! Our teacher went through legal proceedings again, and they were detained for a few days." Mia felt that using the law to handle such scoundrels was incredibly satisfying, a fun and meaningful pursuit.

Even though the statutes in the books were dry and difficult to understand, and real-life cases were complex and hard to judge, nothing could dampen her enthusiasm at the moment.

"Honey, I'm finding this graduate exam prep course incredibly fascinating now. It felt so alien initially, everything unfamiliar, and my understanding was barely scratching the surface. Day in, day out, I was in a daze, certain only of the path I'd chosen, yet it felt like something was missing.

But now, I've discovered my joy and passion, understanding what I want. to become. After attending classes for a while, the teachers always find ways to make the lessons lively and engaging Whenever there's a word we can't remember, they come up with creative tricks on the spot to help us memorize and understand. And the subject-specific classes, with their bizarre yet classic cases, they tell them like stories, analyzing them for us. I feel like, if I pass and become a lawyer, will I also be 'eating popcorn' watching the drama unfold every day?"

Mia exclaimed with passion from the car, "The road ahead is long but also bright."