Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance novel Chapter 1574

She closed her eyes, and longing swept over her.

When Maja came back to the Martin house, no one was happier than Mr. and Mrs. Martin—both their daughters finally home under one roof.

She moved into her old childhood bedroom. Stepping inside, it felt as if a whole world had passed by, as though she was a thirty-year-old trying to fit into clothes she’d worn at thirteen.

Maja sat at her old vanity, peeling off her gloves and revealing the twisted scar along her arm. She turned and let her eyes wander to the bright moon hanging outside her window.

“At last, I can spend the holidays peacefully at home.”

She visited Newtown, stopping by to check on Emmery’s former crew. Most of them had settled down, their wild days behind them, now running small shops and businesses under Conner’s watchful eye, without a hint of their old ambitions.

Maja watched from across the street, not wanting to disturb them. Maybe it was better this way—quiet, ordinary lives.

Later, she wandered into the old rough part of town and sat alone deep into the night.

Annie eventually found her, waddling over with a blanket and settling it on Maja’s shoulders. “It’s chilly. You’ll catch cold if you sit here too long.” Heavily pregnant, Annie eased herself down beside her sister. “The place feels different now, huh?”

“It’s late—why aren’t you in bed?”

“I woke up craving wontons and couldn’t sleep. Conner brought me over.” When she saw Maja, Conner stayed in the car and let Annie go on alone.

Maja glanced at the car, then tried to hand the blanket back, but Annie refused. “No idea why, but since I got pregnant, I’m always hot.”

She squeezed her sister’s hand. “Hey, there’s this little food stand nearby. Their wontons are amazing—especially with hot sauce. Come on, let’s go get some.”

She’d bring his favorite whiskey and sit with him for hours.

Conner’s guys had taken to driving her around. One of them, always eager to show off, liked to say, “Sis-in-law, don’t blame us for not visiting Emmery. Even his own crew doesn’t show up anymore. If anything happened to our boss though, you bet we’d be there every day—one of us, every single day, keeping him company.”

Maja couldn’t stand being called “Sis-in-law,” but the guys insisted on it. They seemed to get a kick out of teasing her, and eventually, she just gave up fighting them on it.

Now, Conner’s men had started bragging in new ways.

“Does Conner know you say stuff like that?” Maja asked.

“Of course not! We’d never let the boss hear,” the guy replied with a grin. “He’d be so touched, he might actually give us the day off.” Then, true to form, he waved her away with a playful, “Alright, get going.”