Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance
Chapter 722

"Do I still have any concerns?" Andre asked directly. "Let's hash them out tonight."

Mia shook her head. "I'm scared to say more."

"Then let's not talk about it."

Andre stood up, ready to put their son to bed. As soon as he laid Henry down, the little boy rolled around on the bed, propping himself up with his hands, looking at the big bed where he was all alone, wondering why his parents weren't joining him. Andre was about to leave when Mia quickly got up. "Honey, where are you going?"

"The study."

"Our son hasn't had his bath yet. Can you stay and help me bathe him?"

"How about we skip the bath tonight?"

Andre left the room without another word. Mia watched him go, blinking in surprise. "Did I really say all that, and he didn't react at all?"

She looked at the little bundle of joy on the bed, sighed, and called Molly. "Hey, Molly, are you asleep?"

"No, Chad is explaining some science stuff to me."

"Can you come over and help me bathe Henry? I think Andre's mad at me again; he went to the study and left us."

"I'll be there in three minutes."

Molly hung up, got out of bed, and turned to Chad. "You go ahead and sleep; I've got to help Mia with Henry's bath."

Already in her pajamas, Molly headed to Mia's bedroom, where Henry was stripped down and waving his limbs at the sight of his aunt. "What did you say to Andre?"

"I said everything, both what I should and shouldn't have." They chatted a bit more. "Did you call Leo?"

Molly nodded. "Couldn't get through."

"Then I definitely can't either. Could you check on Anya later? She might have a hard time sleeping tonight too."

With her husband absent and Molly being new to this, bathing Henry was a bit of a challenge. He was chubby and slippery, so Mia quickly washed his bottom, armpits, neck, thighs, and other areas prone to bacteria. She then lifted him out of the basin. "I'll figure out a way to bring Andre back home. You just keep the atmosphere light here for now."

"No problem."

After changing Henry into his diaper, Mia gave him a few kisses before Molly left.

That night, the Cedillo family was restless. Naomi and her husband were on their phones, trying to understand their son's interests, regretting their lack of involvement in his upbringing, which left them clueless about his thoughts.

Even though it was late, the lights in the Cedillo household were still on. Hansen, who usually liked to calculate things, put aside his usual concerns to search for information for his grandson.

Molly went to check on Anya, who had swollen eyes. "Aunt Molly, Chad isn't answering my calls," she said, tears streaming down her face.

Molly comforted her. "Don't worry. Let's give Leo some space to think things through. Tonight, you helped him voice his thoughts. Now he can seriously consider the future without any concerns or secrets."

...

Deep into the night, Mia finally managed to get Henry to sleep. She blocked off the side of the bed and quietly got up to head to her husband's study. As soon as she opened the door, she was hit by a pungent smell; the room was full of smoke. "Honey-"

Seeing her, Andre immediately put out his cigarette, got up, and opened the window. "Don't come in."

As Mia was about to enter, Andre closed whatever was on his computer, stood up, and walked out, taking her hand. "Is the baby asleep?"

Seeing the red veins in his eyes, Mia nodded. "Yes, but before he fell asleep, he kept turning his face towards where you usually sleep, crying for you. Now he's sleeping facing your side."

Andre's heart softened. "I smell like smoke; it's not good for you and the baby. I'll sleep in the study tonight."

"Come back, take a shower, and we won't smell it. Besides, you can explain to me what cyber security really is."

Andre was still waiting for some data. "You should go back to sleep; you have school tomorrow."

"No way. Wherever you sleep tonight, I'll sleep there too. If you smoke, I'll inhale the second-hand smoke, even if it shortens my life."

Seeing his wife holding onto his arm and not letting go, Andre relented. "I'm waiting for some data; I'll be back in the bedroom soon."

Mia waited outside with him for a few minutes. When the message finally came through, Andre took her hand and returned to the bedroom, checking his phone on the way.

Seeing Henry's chubby little body positioned towards where his dad usually slept, his little face all puffy, Mia said, "When you weren't here earlier, he kept grabbing at your pillow and 'ah ah' looking for you."

Andre glanced at his son from afar and took his clothes to the bathroom. Because his wife and child clung to him so much, with Henry seeking him even in sleep, Andre ended up returning to the bedroom in the middle of the night.

Seeing his son's bath towel hanging to dry, and noticing it had been neatly folded earlier, he asked, "Did he have his bath tonight?"

"Molly helped me. It's getting hotter, and our son is so chubby; I'm afraid he'll get a rash if he doesn't bathe every day, so I just washed him quickly."

After lying down, Andre, exhausted, closed his eyes. "Mia, do you know how many companies related to cyber security, network studios, and various enterprises associated with cyber security there are?"

Mia looked at her husband with his eyes closed and shook her head. "I don't know."

Andre held up a finger.

Mia saw the "1" and guessed, "Ten thousand?"

"One million, and that's last year's latest survey data. This year's hasn't been tallied yet. Do you know what this means for Leo?"

Mia shook her head again. She got up, crossed over their son, turned over, climbed onto her husband, and slipped into the blanket on his side.

Originally, Henry was lying in the middle, but now Andre was. Concerned that his wife might fall off the bed, Andre wrapped an arm tightly around her. "It means he will be competing with over a million companies. The latest quarterly wealth report shows that companies with assets over three hundred million can make it to the list. Among those million companies, some have been established for over twenty years. With your current net worth, you could easily top the list, you know." Mia frowned, understanding the challenge Leo faced just from the figures alone.

"It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and he's essentially walking a tightrope. You four are still young, unaware of how much indifference and coldness the world can harbor. I don't want you to experience that. My strength is meant to carve out a sanctuary for you, not to have you start from scratch, weathering the highs and lows, fighting with everyone else for a spot on that tightrope."