Sadie felt a little weird hearing Amanda's reminder, but she got it. Amanda was just worried 'cause she was heading to the hotel alone to meet Micah. Shoving down her unease, she put down her fork and said, "I'm gonna hang with the kids. Enjoy your meal." "Okay," Amanda said, still munching away.

"Sadie, I'll come with you," Joe said, dropping his fork and getting up.

"No need, you stay with your folks," Sadie replied coolly. "I need some alone time."

With that, Sadie took off. Joe watched her go, feeling bummed out. No matter how hard he tried to get close, she kept him at arm's length. Even though they were engaged, she was like a fortress. Nothing he did could break through; she was like a rock that wouldn't warm up.

Sadie headed to the playroom to hang with the kids.

But the kids were kinda off today. They were messing with Legos but not really into it. They weren't their usual chatty selves; instead, they were super quiet. "What's up, guys?" Sadie asked softly, "Why aren't you playing?"

"It's boring without Mia," Mary pouted, looking sad. "Noah's gone too. Even though he didn't play with us, he was always around, like he was watching over us."

"Auntie, where did they go?" Emma tugged on Sadie's sleeve, asking, "And what about Nathan, who looks just like Noah? He can do flips and knows how to box. He's so cool. Where did he go?"

"Did bad people take them away?" Donna asked, her big eyes wide with curiosity. "I saw a tall guy in black yesterday. He looked scary, like a bad guy. Did he take Noah, Nathan, and Mia away?" "That guy is their dad," Sadie explained with a smile, "He's not a bad guy!"

"Really?" The kids' curiosity was piqued, and they all crowded around, bombarding her with questions.

"So, that bad guy is Noah, Nathan, and Mia's dad. Does that mean he's Auntie's husband?" Emma asked.

"Oh, not necessarily a husband. Mommy didn't marry Daddy, but Daddy is still our dad," Donna shot back.

"Right. Auntie is gonna marry Joe, so Joe is her husband," Mary added.

"Then who are we related to?" Emma asked, looking confused.

"Silly, of course, it's Joe," Donna said.

"Then what should we call that bad guy?" Mary asked.

"Just call him a bad guy!" Donna pouted.

The kids started seriously discussing it, even giving Micah a nickname on their own.

Sadie couldn't help but smile at the kids' cuteness, but it was a bit of a sad smile. She was worried about Noah, Nathan, and Mia.

She had no clue what Micah would tell them. If they found out about the adult drama, would they start to hate her?

Unable to chill, Sadie quickly found Annika. "Get ready. We're heading to Sunvale in half an hour," she ordered.

"Huh? Didn't we say we were going with Joe's family tomorrow morning?" Annika asked softly.

"I can't wait; we're going now," Sadie said firmly. "I'm gonna replace Hubert now. You get everything ready. We'll take Hubert and the kids back to Sunvale." "Got it," Annika said, immediately getting to work.

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