"Yo, why?" Nathan blurted out, totally floored.


    "I know you video call Noah and Mia every day," Micah said, testing the waters. "You share all your daily stuff, right? You probably told them my health''s been kinda crappytely, huh?" "I, uh..." Nathan stuttered, feeling a bit guilty.


    "To keep them from freaking out, can you keep it on the down-low for now, okay?" Micah ruffled his hair gently. "That way, I can focus on getting better. Once I''m good, we can go to Country E together to pick them up." "Okay." Nathan nodded seriously. "Dad, don''t worry, I won''t spill the beans. But you gotta promise me you''ll take care of yourself."


    His voice cracked a bit. "I''ll wait for you!"


    "I know." Micah hugged him tight. "Be good. We''ll get through this together. See you in two months!"


    "Deal!" Nathan clung to Micah''s neck, full of hope.


    That afternoon, Ss took Nathan away. Nathan kept looking back at Micah, waving reluctantly.


    Micah smiled as he watched him leave. Once the convoy was out of sight, he clutched his chest and copsed.


    "Mr. Clemens!" Andrew and Rn rushed over to support him. "You need to start treatment now. No more dys."


    "I''ll set it up right away," Dahlia said quickly.


    But Micah stopped her, "Wait, I have one more thing to do."


    "Mr. Clemens, just tell me what to do," Rn said, worried.


    "Help me back to my room," Micah insisted.


    Andrew and Rn had no choice but to help him back to his room. Leaning on the sofa, hemanded, "Give me my phone." Andrew handed it over. With shaky hands, he dialed Sadie''s number.


    Sadie had blocked him before, but after they saved the kid together, she unblocked him.


    The phone rang, but she didn''t pick up for a long time.


    Micah listened to the "beep beep" sound, his heart pounding.


    He thought, ''Is she ignoring me? Or is she busy? Maybe she''s with Joe?''


    Micah''s heart ached.


    Suddenly, the call connected, but no one spoke.


    Micah tried, "Hello?" A familiar, cold voice responded, "What''s up?"


    It was Sadie. Even though she sounded icy, Micah was still happy to hear her.


    He quickly sat up straight and instinctively fixed his clothes and hair, even though it was just a call. He felt like Sadie could see him.


    "If you don''t talk, I''m hanging up," Sadie said coldly, ready to end the call.


    "Wait." Micah hurriedly stopped her but then didn''t know what to say next.


    "What''s wrong?" Sadie asked again.


    "Noah and Mia, are they okay?" Micah finally spoke, but it was ame question.


    "You have their numbers; you can call them anytime," Sadie replied.


    "Oh, right." Micah realized he was stating the obvious. "How are you?"


    "I''m fine," Sadie said coldly. "Anything else?"


    "I saw the news," Micah finally mustered the courage to say. "Are you really gonna marry Joe?"


    "Do you think that''s something to joke about?" Sadie asked sarcastically.


    "Do you love him?" Micah yelled out but felt it was a pointless question.


    "Love or not, it doesn''t matter. Feelings can grow over time," Sadie said calmly. "Did you call just to say this? Don''t you find it boring?"