After being tangled up with Conner for so long, Annie's doubts about him were slowly fading away. It made sense, really—if he had the skills to make her sister vanish without a trace, he could've done it anywhere, without dragging the Nettleton family into it. That would just be too obvious.
Besides, her sister wasn't a threat to Conner. He had everything under control and didn't need more drama pushing Annie away. Sometimes, Annie even wondered if her sister was still alive or if this was all a setup to frame Conner. But she couldn't bring herself to think so ill of her own sister.
So, she confronted Conner, "Find my sister. Dead or alive, as long as you're not involved, I'll marry you."
...
In a baby store at the mall, Conner was meticulously picking out clothes, "Xiaxia, do you think our godson's put on more weight? Maybe we should just buy him toys instead."
"We already bought toys last time. Instead of clothes, how about some snacks?" Annie suggested.
"He's already chubby," Conner commented.
Annie shot him a look, "Say he's chubby one more time."
"Alright, alright, he's not chubby, he's adorable. Happy now?"
After buying a bag of snacks, Annie told him to give them to Henry. "This is the last time. If you ask me out again, I'm not coming."
"We'll deal with next time when it comes," Conner said, carrying the shopping bags, and attempted to buy Annie some snacks.
"I don't want any!"
Conner picked up a bucket of lollipops, "Want some?"
Annie couldn't resist and sighed.
Later, around 9 PM at Maplewood Estates, Andre got home from work.
As soon as he walked in, a tiny figure clung to his leg, barefoot, "Daddy~"
Mia, fresh from her shower, asked, "Honey, why so late today?"
Andre changed his shoes and picked up Henry, "Ask your son."
Henry, excitedly, tried to chew on his dad's face.
Andre dodged, but Henry was persistent, and when denied, he started to cry.
Andre had no choice but to let his son slobber all over his face.
He moved over to Mia, wrapped an arm around her, and gave her a soft kiss on her lips.
Henry noticed the unfairness!
He kissed daddy, but daddy didn't kiss back. Yet, daddy kissed mommy willingly!
With cheeks turning crimson, Henry, fists clenched, burst into tears.
Mia, knowing her son well, said, "You better kiss him, or he's going to cry for ten minutes."
Andre, with no patience for a tantrum, kissed his son's cheek, soothing the little jealousy monster in his arms until he calmed down.
"So, how did your chat with the teacher go today? Did you get everything?" he asked.
"Not really," Mia said casually. She opened a pack of snacks, sat cross-legged in front of the TV, and turned on a cartoon, "Henry, wanna watch? The bears are on."
Henry, perched on his dad's shoulder, was glued to the TV, "Ooh, ooh."
Andre put his son down and joined them.
"Why didn't you ask the teacher if you didn't understand?"
"Molly didn’t get it either," Mia replied.
Andre asked, "Is this a time to be in solidarity?"
Mia took a bite of her son's snack, "We share our troubles. That’s what sisters are for." She fed Henry a little snack too.
Mother and son focused on the cartoon.
At the Byrne household, Jade’s shopping spree was evident with four empty bags in the living room and four maternity dresses hanging on the balcony. Jade was still glued to her phone.
Seeing the clothes, her mom asked, "Molly, you have a dress for each day. Can you really wear them all?"
Molly replied, "Who said I'd wear one a day? One for the morning, another for the afternoon. If I can't wear them all, I’ll wear them next year."
Coleen gave a look to her silent son, "Chad, say something, will you?"
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