FROM THEN ON

Chapter twenty

''Uncle Rob!'' Devan, my five year old godson jumped out of the car parked in my underground car park and run to hug me. ''Hi buddy,'' I said picking him up and placing him on my shoulders. ''dundle bob!'' Stacey, Devan's two and a half year old sister screeched, trying to call out my name with all her might. She run towards me too and hugged my knees. ''There's my princess,'' I gladly said. ''Hi kids,'' Bree said cheerfully as she waved and walked towards us. ''Kids, this is Aunty Brina,'' I introduced. ''Hi Aunty Brina. You're very pretty,'' Devan replied waving at Bree as he was sitting comfortably on my shoulders. ''Thank you,'' she smiled. ''Aunty Brina!'' Stacey screamed and let go of my knees to hug Sabrina's. ''Unbelievable. She got your name right but can't say Uncle Rob,'' I said feigning jealousy. ''What can I say? Kids love me,'' she laughed. ''But I love you more,'' I said giving her a peck on her cheek and heading towards the elevator door while holding on to Devan's legs hanging around my neck. She smiled and picked Stacey up before following us. ''So kids......what do you want to eat?'' I asked when we arrived in the living room. ''I want pasta!!!!!'' Devan shouted cheerfully. ''di don't pasda too'' Stacey said. ''Okay. I better get to work then,'' Bree said dropping Stacey gently on the couch and heading for the kitchen. ''Can we help you Aunty Bree?'' Devan pleaded. ''Awwn that's so sweet Devan but I can't risk you guys getting hurt,'' she explained as she crouched down to gently rub Stacey's cheeks. ''Pleaaaaaaase?'' he begged. she looked at me with her eyebrows raised. I nodded his head in approval. ''Okay fine,'' she surrendered. ''Yayyy!'' Devan shouted excitedly as I lowered him unto the ground and he immediately run to the kitchen. Stacey run after him and I walked behind them. ''Looks like Stacey wants to help too,'' I laughed. ''And so do I,'' I smiled. She smiled back and said, ''okay. If we are going to do this without anybody getting hurt, you all have to do exactly as I say. Got it?'' ''Got it,'' I and the kids all said in unison. It was fun cooking together and seeing Bree in the kitchen laughing with the kids and I made me realize something. I hadn't only fallen completely and deeply in love with Sabrina, but I wanted to marry her too. Yesss. At that exact moment, I realized that I had found the love of my life and I never wanted to be without her. I imagined us having kids and growing up together and then I knew that I had to propose to her. When we were done cooking, we all sat around the dining table to eat. The kids were about to dig in when Bree said, ''Wait. We need to pray first.'' Both Devan and Stacey looked confused and then Devan asked, ''What's that?'' Bree then began to talk to them about God being the creator of the universe and always watching and providing for us. ''Is he related to Santa?'' Devan asked excited but before Bree could answer, I interrupted, ''Bree. I don't think this is a good idea.'' ''Why not?'' she asked confused. ''Because I think Ryan and Serena had their reasons why they didn't become Christians or didn't convert their children to become Christians and I think that we should respect that,'' I replied. ''But there's nothing wrong with...'' she defended. ''No Bree,'' I said getting frustrated. ''Well don't you think the kids should decide for themselves whether they want to be Christians or not?'' she asked raising her voice. ''They are just kids!'' I shouted losing it. ''You know, it's always like this with you. You always want to change the people around you,'' I shouted angrily. ''Well is that a bad thing?!'' she shouted back. ''Well for some of us, it is. Because we were absolutely fine being who we were until we met you!'' I shouted. Bree just looked at me in silence realizing what I had just said was about me. ''Are you guys fighting?'' Devan asked about to burst into tears. ''No no buddy we are not,'' Rob said quickly. Devan immediately calmed down and happily began to eat his pasta. Everyone had began to eat except Bree. She just sat there staring at the food. ''Aren't you going to eat?'' I asked concerned. ''No,'' she replied calmly. ''I don't feel hungry anymore but I do feel tired so I'll just go to bed now,'' she added getting up and kissing the kids goodnight to her room. I saw the expression on her face as she walked away. She was sad and heartbroken and I knew that she wasn't going to sleep. I wanted to call her, to run to her and hug her and apologize to her but I didn't. I just sat there, also beginning to lose my appetite. When the kids were done eating and bathing, I put them to bed. ''Goodnight buddy,'' I said as I turned off the lights in Devan's room. ''Uncle Rob?'' he called in a soft small voice. ''Yeah?'' I asked as I turned to face him. ''Is Aunty Bree going to be okay? She didn't look too good before she went to bed,'' he stated. My heart sank as I realized that I had been the reason why she was so sad, that my words really hurt her and  I needed to make things right. ''She'll be fine,'' I said trying to smile. ''Good,'' Devan said before shutting his eyes slowly. As soon as I shut the door to Devan's room, I walked towards Sabrina's door. I hesitated for a while before finally knocking on the door. There was no response. I knocked a few more times but there was still no response so I just went to my room and sent her a text but she didn't reply so I decided to wait and before I realized, I was fast asleep. The next morning, when I woke up, I heard giggling noises downstairs. I went down to see the kids sitting behind the counter eating breakfast and Bree busily doing something in the kitchenette. I smiled and said, ''Morning.'' ''Good morning Uncle Rob,'' Devon and Stacey said cheerfully but Bree just continued what she was doing as if nobody had walked down the stairs. I sighed and went to stand in front of her, blocking her from continuing what she was doing. ''Umm....you're in my way Robert,'' she said without looking up. ''We need to talk,'' I whispered lifting her head up for her eyes to meet mine. ''I think you said enough last night,'' she whispered back before turning her eyes away and walking around me to get back to what she was doing but before she turned her eyes away, I saw it. They were filled with pain. I immediately knelt down beside her. ''What are you doing? please get up,'' she said focusing her attention on me. ''Why are you on the floor uncle Rob?'' Devan asked curiously. ''Because, Aunty Bree doesn't want to talk to me,'' I replied. ''Why don't you want to talk to him Aunty Bree?'' he asked so innocently. ''I can't believe you're bringing the kids into this,'' she said putting her hand on her hip. ''Please don't be mad at him,'' Devan said pouting his lips. ''I'm not mad at him,'' Bree said. ''Don't lie to the kids Bree,'' I said shaking my head still on my knees. ''Please let's talk,'' I added. ''Talk to him Aunty Bree. Pleaseeeee?'' Devan asked giving me the puppy dog eyes. ''Okay fine. What?'' she asked me. I stood up, cleaned the dirt off my knees and asked, ''Can we go somewhere private?'' ''And who will watch the kids?'' she asked. Just then, Wilson walked out of the elevator. ''Wilson!'' Devan ran to hug him. ''Hello Devan,'' he said hugging back. ''What are you doing here Wilson?'' Sabrina asked confused. ''Mr. Stenson said I'll be driving you all out today,'' he replied. ''We are going out?'' Devan asked excited. ''We sure are buddy,'' I replied. ''Where are we going?'' he asked curiously. ''It's a surprise,'' I said and winked at him. He smiled and went to get ready. ''Wilson, can you watch the kids for a few minutes?'' I asked. ''Sure,'' he replied. ''Can we go to the garden?'' I asked Sabrina but she just walked past me towards the elevator with her arms folded. When we got to the garden, I began, ''About last night.....'' ''Why didn't you tell me that's how you felt?'' she asked sternly but before I could even answer, she continued, ''So all this time, you couldn't tell me that you weren't okay with not drinking, or with not kissing or any of the other things you used to do?'' ''I....'' I tried to explain but she signaled me to shush. ''If you were suffering inside, it means this whole time you have been pretending? Which means this whole relationship has been one big lie?'' she asked confused. ''Bree I....'' ''So were you lying about all the things you said too?'' she interrupted. ''Did you even mean it when you said you loved me, or was that just one of your player pick up lines?'' she asked. ''What? No,'' I asked confused. ''How can you even say that?'' I asked hurt. ''I told you I gave up that life when I met you and I mean it,'' I added. Sabrina said nothing. ''Wait. You think I'm lying don't you?'' I asked shocked. She said nothing. ''Unbelievable,'' I said disappointed. ''Well can you blame me? Robert that's how you've been all your life so what in the world would make me believe that you've changed all of a sudden after cheating on me the first time?!'' Bree burst out. Now I said nothing. ''Have you always felt this way?'' I asked softly. ''Don't try and turn this thing around. We're talking about you here,'' she said. ''Well I guess now we both know we've been hiding what bothers us the most from each other,'' I said. ''Which means you're right. Our relationship is based on nothing but lies,'' I said sadly. Before anyone could say anything more, Devan run into the garden and asked, ''Can we go now?'' as he pulled my hand and led me to the elevator. ''Give me a second buddy. You go ahead and tell Wilson to get the car ready and I'll be there soon,'' I replied. ''Okay,'' he said happily as he released my hand and ran back inside. ''So what does this mean for us?'' I asked her. ''I don't know,'' she said before walking back into the elevator. On our way out, Sabrina and I didn't say a word to each other. We were both talking to the kids though but we didn't even look in each other's direction. So many thoughts were running through my mind. I knew I loved Sabrina but did she really love me? Does this mean we would have to break up? Was I going to lose the love of my life, the one girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with? When we arrived and got down, Devan's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, ''Willie's Wonderland! It's beautiful!'' Stacey jumped up and down excited and Sabrina looked up confused. Then she looked at me even more confused and asked, ''How is this possible?'' We all looked up to the sign that said, ''GRAND OPENING'' and I smiled at her. ''It's a long story,'' I replied and she smiled. That was the first time I had seen her smile since last night and it made my day. As the kids were riding the roller coaster of fright, Bree and I both sat in silence and watched them. Questions began to race through my head again before I blurted out, ''I don't want to lose you.'' Sabrina turned to look at me and asked confused, ''Why would you think that?'' ''Because our relationship is built on lies?'' I asked. ''Oh so you think the best thing to do is to break up?'' she asked. ''Isn't that what you want?''I asked her. ''What? Robert why would I want that?'' she asked confused. ''Because........you still see me as the heartless jerk I used to be. Which means you don't really love me Bree,'' I said sadly. Sabrina let out a loud sigh before saying, ''Maybe, I made you see this all wrong.'' ''Look Robert, maybe it's true that I didn't fully trust you because of your past and the past we've had but that doesn't mean I don't love you. I love you Robert, even if I don't completely trust you, I still love you. Because I know that deep down, you have a good heart and you are more than willing to never go back to how you used to be but right now, I don't fully believe that no matter what, you'll never go back to how you used to be,'' she confessed. ''But that doesn't mean I never will. I definitely will fully and completely trust you one day. But that's going to take time Rob, especially after hearing you say last night that you miss all the things you used to do,'' she concluded. ''That doesn't mean I'd go back and do something to jeopardize our relationship. I'll never do anything to hurt you Bree,'' I said honestly. ''No Robert, you'll never do anything to intentionally hurt me, that doesn't mean you'll never do anything to hurt me,'' Sabrina said. ''But that's alright, we'll eventually get there,'' she said looking straight ahead. ''Bree, I just want you to know that what I was trying to say last night is, it's been hard. I won't lie, it's been really hard trying not to go back, especially when everyone around me is still drinking and doing other things I used to do. But then you know what, anytime I'm tempted to do it, I think of you, and I realize that the pleasure in doing it doesn't even come close to the pain of losing you,'' I said. ''And I'm sorry for yesterday. I'm sorry for shouting at you, and for making you think that you forced me to do something I didn't want to do,'' I added. '''I'm sorry too,'' Bree apologized. ''For also shouting at you and for not telling you about my insecurities and being so insensitive about this whole thing. I just assumed you were okay with dropping your old lifestyle and picking up a new one. I'm sorry,'' she added and slid her fingers into my hand until our hands interlocked. We looked at each other and smiled and that's when I realized that; Bree and I were not ready for marriage but I was willing to make this work until we were. ''From now on, if we have a problem, let's talk to each other about it,'' I said. ''Agreed,'' she nodded. Just then, the kids came running to us that they wanted cotton candy so Bree and I, still holding hands, and each holding one of the kids in our other hand, walked towards the cotton candy stand. After that, the kids played around for a little while before we decided to leave. On our way back home, Devan said he didn't want to go home so we made a pit stop at the beach. When we got there, Bree and I played with the kids. I lifted Devon and pretended as if I was about to throw him into the sea. He screamed and then burst into a giggle when I brought him back to shore. ''my turn!'' Stacey shouted as she stretched her arms out for me to pick her up. I did the same for her leaving her in giggles. ''Now it's Aunty Brina's turn!'' Devan announced. ''What? No way,'' Bree said as she began slowly walking backwards. ''Come on.....I promise I won't drop you,'' I said slowly walking towards her. ''No,'' she said as she turned and began to run away. I run after her and caught her with my arms wrapped around her waist. I then lifted her up and carried her towards the sea amidst her screams. She was surprisingly lighter than I expected. ''Robert put me down!'' she screamed as I walked into the sea with her in my arms and pretended to throw her and then placed her back on the ground. As soon as she landed on the ground, she punched me in the arm. ''Ow,'' I feigned pain as I rubbed where she had hit. ''That's for carrying me even though I said no,'' she said as she walked away. ''Well I am not sorry because I know you had fun. Admit it,'' I said. ''Okay fine. It was a little fun,'' she admitted. ''Wanna go again?'' I asked. ''No!'' she shouted immediately and everyone burst into laughter. The rest of the weekend flew by quickly and by the time I realized, it was Sunday afternoon and Ryan had called saying that he and Serena had returned. ''Don't worry about picking the kids up, I'll let Wilson drop them off,'' I said to Ryan over the phone. ''Thanks a lot man. I hope they weren't too much trouble?'' Ryan asked. ''Not at all,'' I replied. Just then, I had an idea. ''Hey Ryan, remember the stairs that leads to the roof of your house?'' I asked. ''yeah....why?'' he asked curiously. ''Is it still there?'' I asked. ''Yeah but why do you ask?'' he asked confused. ''You'll know soon,'' I said coyly and hang up. Then, I went to the living room where Bree was watching cartoons with the kids and said, ''Well kids, we need to get you back home,'' I announced. ''Awwnnn so soon? I don't want to leave,'' Devan whined. ''What if I told you that we were flying home in a helicopter?'' I asked. ''Really?!'' Devan exclaimed as his eyes lit up. ''Yhup,'' I laughed. ''I'll go get my stuff,'' he said excitedly as he ran off into his room and Stacey did same. ''Are you really going to fly them home in your helicopter?'' Bree asked as she stood up from the couch and walked towards me. ''Why not?'' I asked. ''Where will you even land?'' she asked. ''Don't worry. I've got that covered,'' I said and winked at her. She just rolled her eyes and smiled. ''Ready!'' Devan announced as he stood in front of us with his little superman suitcase. ''Are you sure you didn't leave anything?'' Bree asked. ''Uhh......I think so,'' Devan said unsure. ''Come on, let's go make sure,'' Bree said as she held his hand and walked back to the room. A few minutes later, they returned with Stacey and we headed to the roof of my house where my helicopter driver, Mason, parked it after flying it from the helipad on the roof of my broadcasting company. ''Woah!'' Devan and Stacey exclaimed in awe. ''Honestly, after the private jet experience, this doesn't surprise me at all,'' Bree commented. We walked over to the vehicle and I took the keys from Mason and said, ''Thanks Mason, but I can take it from here.'' ''Wait you're going to fly it?'' Bree asked shocked. ''Yhup. Now are you surprised?'' I smirked. ''Yes, and a little scared too,'' she confessed. ''Don't be, I'm a pro at this,'' I said and opened the door of the helicopter. I carried the kids into their seats and made sure their seatbelts were securely fastened, then I helped Bree get into her seat right by me and helped her fasten her seatbelt before getting in and doing same. When I was done, I put on the headset and opened a compartment that contained nothing but sunglasses. I took one out and handed everyone one. ''Cool can I keep it?'' Devan asked as he put his on. ''Of course you can buddy,'' I replied with mine on. ''Thanks Uncle Rob,'' he appreciated. Bree put hers on too and said, ''This is awesome.'' ''I know,'' I smiled and then turned on the engine. ''Here we go!'' I announced as the helicopter blades began to spin with increasing intensity and then we started moving up. Flying in the air was fun and nobody wanted it to end but in 15minutes, we arrived on top of Ryan and Serena's house and I slowly landed on the roof. By the time I was done parking, Ryan and Serena had heard the noise coming from their roof and had come outside to see what was going on. They raised their heads towards the roof and we waved at them. They waved back in shock and climbed up the stairs leading to the roof. ''Mum! Dad!'' Devan shouted excitedly as they arrived on the roof. I turned off the engine and helped the kids out of their seatbelts. As soon as they got down, they ran to hug their parents. Ryan carried Stacey in his arms and Serena held Devan's hand. ''Way to spoil them Rob,'' Ryan complained. ''Oh come on, it was a fifteen minute ride,'' I defended. ''Did they sit in the private jet too?'' Ryan asked. ''No,'' I said. ''See, I didn't spoil them so much,'' I added. ''Sure you didn't. Hello Sabrina,'' Ryan said shifting his attention to my beautiful girlfriend. ''Hi Ryan,'' she said casually. ''Did you guys have fun?'' Serena asked the kids. ''Yes mum, this was the best weekend ever!'' Devan shouted and we all burst into laughter. ''I'm glad you had fun buddy,'' I said. ''Can we come again?'' he asked. ''Of course. You can come back whenever you want,'' I replied. ''As long as mum and dad approve,'' I added. He then turned to face his parents with his world's famous puppy dog eyes and pouting lips. ''Sure son. Whenever you want,'' Ryan gave in. ''Yayyyy!'' he jumped for joy and went to hug Ryan. After talking to them for awhile and saying goodbye to the kids, Bree and I took our leave. On our way back to my house, Sabrina said, ''You never explained the Willie's Wonderland story to me.'' ''Oh right. So what happened was, after seeing that picture you gave me for my birthday, I started thinking about all the amazing times we had spent together,'' I started. ''And then I remembered the time we went to Willie's Wonderland and how we had so much fun. I also remembered how much you loved that place so, I thought of how awesome it would be if there was a Willie's Wonderland in San Francisco. I knew that it wouldn't only make you happy, but it would bring joy to so many kids here. So, I wrote a petition to the mayor and he approved,'' I added. ''So after getting a builder's permit, the project was initiated and boom,'' I concluded. ''And how long have you been hiding this from me?'' she asked surprised. ''For about six months,'' I laughed. ''So wait. Now you own Willie's Wonderland?'' she asked. ''Yhup,'' I said. ''Wow. I don't know what to say. You're amazing you know that?'' she asked. ''Thank you,'' I smiled and she smiled back. When we got back to the house, I was helping Sabrina pack her stuff to go back home when we both received a text simultaneously. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw that the sender was named anonymous. I looked up at Bree confused and she had the same expression on her face. ''Did you....?'' I asked but before I could finish my sentence, she raised her phone towards me and I realized she had received a message from the same person. I cautiously opened it and it read,

''So you figured out it wasn't Ashley. Congratulations. But this game is just getting started.''

Followed by a picture of Rita and Linda tied up in front of my office with their mouths covered and tied with a piece of cloth. I could see fear in their eyes and just then, Bree gasped. Then there was a follow-up message which said,

''Guess whose next...................SABRINA''

At that point, so many thoughts were running through my mind. But before I could stop to focus on any of them, I had to take action. Fast. I quickly held Bree's hand as I called Wilson and walked out of her room. ''Wilson, I need two body guards at my house ASAP,'' I said before hanging up. ''What are you doing?'' Sabrina asked with a tinge of fright in her voice. ''You need protection,'' I stated without looking her in the eye. ''Don't you think we should call the police?'' she asked. ''I don't know....''I said with an absent mind. ''What did she mean by we figured out it wasn't Ashley?'' I asked aloud as I stared out the window of my fifty feet high pent house. ''I don't...'' Bree said and stopped halfway through the sentence. Because at that particular moment, as if a lightning bolt had struck our brains at the exact same time, it hit us. ''It's the person who sent that message a few years back,'' I said. ''Yeah. The message that you thought Ashley sent,'' Bree added. ''Who is she?'' Bree asked almost a whisper. ''I don't know. But until we find out who we are dealing with, we can't tell the police. ''What?'' Bree asked confused. ''Please just trust me. This person may be more dangerous than we think and it's obvious that this person after me. Let me find out what she wants,'' I stated. Just then, two of my body guards, Mike and Big Pete stepped out of the elevator. ''Your job is simple,'' I stated as I walked towards the elevator. ''You're supposed to watch Miss Welton over here 24/7. Do not let your eyes off her for even a second. Because if anything ever happens to her, you don't want to know what will happen,'' I added as I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button leading to the garage. ''Where are you going?'' Bree asked. ''To rescue Rita and Linda. You go home, I'll come over this evening,'' I said before the elevator doors shut completely.