Chapter 333


    Andre looked at his wife, a grin showed on his face. He said, "Marrying me had a lot of perks, right?"


    "Absolutely! You think I married you just for the hell of it?" Mia asked.


    Andre chuckled, showing a mix of happiness and resignation. He said, "Keep crunching the numbers


    then; figure out what month is best for baby number two. I''ll stick around as much as I can on those


    nights."


    Mia was left speechless. Her husband was back to his old tricks.


    As soon as Molly got home, she was on the phone with Chad. Lounging on her bed, phone in hand,


    she said, "Chad, I don''t think I''ll get married before senior year. If I don''t find a boyfriend, will you write


    my graduation thesis?"


    Chad, tidying up his desk while on the call, retorted, "You''re only a sophomore and already nning for


    senior year, should I be praising or scolding you?"


    "Please, Chad? Mia''s got a husband and Leo''s got brains. I''m the pitiful one here, with nothing but my


    big brother." Molly said.


    Chad chuckled, stuffing things into a drawer, "No I can’t. Andre won''t spoil Mia by actually writing her


    thesis. You two can daydream all you want, but this is your responsibility. No skipping out."


    Eventually, Molly and Mia each got aputer, staring nkly at the empty documents on the screens.


    They were both at a loss for where to start. Beside the desk sat a chubby toddler, with bottle in hand,


    and was adorably gazing at Molly and Mia poring over their studies.


    Both wished the little chunk would spill water on theputers, giving them an excuse to run to his dad


    - Andre.


    After a moment, Chad had to hang up for a meeting.


    The lower-ranking officers at the police station watched their young superior emerge from his office.


    They all chuckled, saying ever since Molly got her days off, Officer Chad''s days off had be


    punctual.


    "Captain, were you on the phone with Molly again?" One of the officers asked.


    Chadughed, "Molly''s off in dreand. Don''t mention her."


    Thinking of the guy chasing after his sister, Chad asked, "How''s the Ashford Inc. investigation going?"


    "Nothing fishy about thepany, why do you ask?" He answered.


    Chad asked again, "And Jack?"


    "He''s just returned home, clean as a whistle." He said.


    Chad sat down and said, "Keep me posted on the overseas matters."


    "Will do once the meeting is over." The officer said.


    At the Cedillo house during dinner, everyone noticed Leo was missing. "Where''s Leo?" They asked the


    Mia and Molly.


    Mia and Molly shook their heads, innocently replying, "We don''t know."


    At the Ashford house, Jack returned home looking a bit downcast. He didn''t know how to win over


    Molly. He knew little about her. She never attended the high-society events and kept a low profile. His


    only option was to investigate through school.


    However, all he found out was that she was the campus belle and got along well with Andre’s wife and


    nephew. He had no clue about her hobbies or rtionship status. He couldn’t reach her two friends


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    either. Chasing her was like finding a needle in a haystack.


    Soon, Mr. Ashford returned home. Looking at his son in the living room, he suggested, "Didn''t you say


    you were going to invite Jade to a movie?"


    Jack hung his head, recounting the day''s events to his father. He had nned to invite her to a


    sophisticated y, discuss art with her afterwards, and impress her with his brilliance, hoping she''d


    develop feelings for him. But Molly t out refused him.


    He had gathered information about her from others, thinking Molly would respond immediately upon


    receiving and understand his intentions. However, she didn''t reply and seemed displeased with his


    actions.


    Was it because he sought her information without consent, or because he showed up at her school


    unannounced?


    And her two friends...


    Mr. Ashford was surprised, "Molly''s two close friends are from the Cedillo family?"


    Jack nodded and showed his father the WhatsApp conversation on his phone, saying, "It''s from Leo."


    Upon overhearing, Cecilia chimed in, "Judging from what Jack said, this Jade sure knows how to y


    the game, even bing friends with the Cedillos."


    Jack frowned, "Leo is very protective of Jade, he even refused to let me add her contact. I don''t know


    what their rtionship is."


    If Molly were just an ordinary assistant, he could understand Leo trying to please them. But why would


    the only grandson of the Cedillo family constantly protect them?


    Cecilia frowned, displeased, "Jack, you need to figure out her rtionship with Leo. We cannot ept


    women of dubious character."


    Mr. Ashford remembered the Byrnes, "That''s unlikely. Such a family wouldn''t raise a girl like that."


    "Parents don''t represent their children. Who knows what she''s really like at school. She might have


    stayed with one guy for a while, then moved on to the next." Cecilia''s words were filled with disgust. In


    Cecilia''s eyes, her son was the best. The fact that he was actively pursuing Molly was already a


    dissatisfaction. If Molly had a bad reputation at school, no matter who she was, she would never


    be her daughter-inw.


    Mr. Ashford disregarded his wife''s discontent. He was more interested in the resources behind Molly.


    He asked his son, "Have you considered why Jade rejected you?"


    Jack nodded, "Perhaps my actions were too sudden. She was unhappy that I looked up her information


    without asking her directly."


    Mr. Ashford pondered, "I heard from Jade''s mom that she''s very busy with schooltely. You can invite


    some friends over for a get-together this weekend, and apologize to her then. Jade''s been the apple of


    her parents'' eyes since she was a kid. The Byrne family has always sheltered her. She''s got a heart of


    gold. As long as your apology is legit, she won''t hold a grudge. If you''re gunning for her, just show her


    you mean it and she''s all yours.”


    “What? My son has to apologize to her?” Cecilia spat, “Jade''s too big for her boots.”


    “Enough, shut it.” Mr. Ashford snapped, “You need to rein in your temper. If the Byrne family sees you


    like this, I reckon they won''t let Jade marry into our family.”


    Furious, Cecilia yelled, “Look at that girl, do I want her as my daughter-inw? She''s not my cup of


    tea.”


    Mr. Ashford retorted, “You don''t get it. Molly''s family are all bigwigs. Even if we try to butter them up


    with gifts, we can''t build a good rtionship. Now we have this golden opportunity. If you mess this up,


    I won''t let you off the hook.”


    Still disgruntled, Cecilia argued back, “My son is a PhD, isn''t he good enough for her? Does their family


    think they’re all that?”


    Jack frowned, fed up with his mother''s crass attitude. He nced at his beleaguered father.


    Mr. Ashford was mostly absent, onlying back for a few days when his son was home. “I''ll leave this


    and the rest is up to you.” Mr. Ashford said.


    Jack nodded.


    On Friday, as soon as school was out, someone had alreadye to pick up Molly.


    Andre was also there to pick up his wife. Each time his sister was going to the Byrne family, he''d


    always remind her, “Don''t stir up trouble. Be good when you get home.”