Chapter 4

Jack and the rest of Robin's old friends all knew about what had happened between him and Angeline. They knew exactly how good Robin had always been to Angeline, so they'd all been furious when the truth came out.

Previously, Robin and Angeline were still married, so they couldn't really say anything. Now that Robin had chosen to file for divorce, they finally felt free to curse her out.

"Just wait. Angeline's gonna regret this one day!"

"Exactly. Now, she sends her parents out to beg Robin not to get a divorce? If she didn't want a divorce, why pull that crap in the first place?"

"Does she honestly think her law firm would've turned out so successful without Robin's help?"

The venting went on. Right in the middle of it, Robin walked in.

Back in the day, at their little indie game studio, Robin was the absolute core of everything. The code, the story, the character concepts… most of it was his work. The soundtrack was done by Sasha, Jack handled legal, Joe Stark specialized in character art, and Dave Sanders helped share the load on the coding side.

With the five of them each playing to their strengths, the studio ran like a well-oiled machine.

"Rob."

As soon as the other four saw Robin walk in, they stood up. They'd already heard from Jack that Robin wanted to get back into making games, and that alone made them genuinely happy.

In their minds, a guy like Robin belonged in the game industry. After all, he was lauded as the only person in the world who could turn games into art. If someone like that stopped making games, it would be a huge loss for the entire industry.

"You're all here." Robin greeted each of them.

"I heard from Jacko that you're gonna start designing games again?"

Robin sat on the couch and nodded. Right now, he needed something to keep himself busy and pull his focus away from messy family drama. At this point, Angeline and Sam weren't worth another second of his time.

"Yeah. This time, I'm thinking of doing a mecha shooter with a strong story campaign. I've already got a rough framework in mind. So, what do you guys think? Wanna make a comeback together? Let's remind the gaming world what it's like to fall under our spell again."

As he finished talking, he stretched out his hand. Seeing that, Joe and Dave immediately stacked their hands on top of his.

Sasha walked over to them. "Count me in."

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Jack hurried over as well.

In that moment, it felt just like when they'd first started the studio. It was still the five of them. Nothing seemed to have changed, aside from their ages. They looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

Once Jack got off work, they all went out to a restaurant. They joked and talked over dinner, and for a moment, it felt like they were back in their college days. Back then, they were broke and nowhere near as well-off as they were now, but they'd been genuinely happy.

Luckily, even though time had flown by and the years had sped past, they were still together. As long as the five of them were still together, they could rebuild their gaming empire from scratch.

Sasha looked at Robin and knew deep down that she'd missed her chance once before. Now that the opportunity had come around again, she couldn't afford to let it slip away. She asked, "Rob, are you gonna be staying at Snowbud Heights now?"

Robin owned three properties in Molto, all bought and paid in full before he got married. Two of them were currently rented out, and the only one still empty was the unit at Snowbud Heights.

The reason it had never been rented was simple—it was way too big. It spanned two floors, was 9,000 square feet in size, and was situated right in the city center. The rent alone was about 200,000 dollars a month. Who could possibly afford that?

"Yeah. But I left home in a rush this time and didn't bring anything with me." Robin sighed.

"I'm living there, too. If you need anything, just come grab it from my place," Sasha said.

The other three exchanged glances when they heard that. They weren't idiots. Jack had noticed Sasha's crush on Robin back in the day, and so had Joe and Dave. Naturally, they would be all for it if Robin and Sasha really ended up together.

"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?" Robin asked.

"How so? We've known each other for years."

Yeah, they really had.

It wasn't like no one had tried to set Sasha up over the years. But as she and Jack had said, meeting someone too dazzling when one was young ruined everyone else by comparison. So she turned down every blind date.

"If I remember right, your apartments are one above the other, right?"

Robin and Sasha had bought those units together back then. Because they'd bought a little later than others, there weren't many units left to pick. Those with the best layouts had been a pair on top of each other. In the end, Robin had taken one, and Sasha had taken the other.

"Yeah." Sasha nodded. "The layouts are basically the same, too. I have to say, the unit is really well designed. It's a shame there weren't more available in that complex back then, or the five of us could've all bought in together."

"Let's not go that far. You two shelled out, what, almost 150 million dollars for that? We don't have that kind of cash lying around."

Out of the group, Robin was the richest, and Sasha came next. The others also had shares in the game studio and got dividends every year, making them comfortably wealthy in Molto. But dropping more than a hundred million dollars on an apartment was still a bit hard to swallow.

Since Robin still had to head back to his apartment to clean it up a bit, they just had a simple meal. After dinner, everyone headed off in their own direction.

"Did you drive?" Sasha asked Robin.

"Nope."

"Oh. You can ride with me, then. We're headed the same way anyway."

Robin nodded. As Sasha stepped away, Robin scooped Natalie up. The first time he'd met her, she was still a toddler who wobbled around unsteadily. Now, she was already six years old. He couldn't help but lament how quickly time passed.

"Mr. Weisz, buy me a candied apple, and I'll tell you a secret about Aunt Sasha." Natalie was practically drooling as she stared at a candied apple stand not far away.

She loved candied apples, but because they were way too sugary, Sasha rarely let her have any. Every time the old gang met up in private, Natalie would latch onto one of them and drag them out to buy one for her.

When an adorable little girl looked up at them with wide eyes and sweetly asked them to buy candied apples for her… Honestly, who could say no?

"What's the secret?" Robin looked at Natalie, his voice unconsciously going soft and cutesy, too. There was just something about talking to kids that made adults automatically use baby talk.

"I can't tell you. You haven't bought me the candied apple yet," she said.

Damn, what a smart kid.

"But what if your Aunt Sasha gets mad and hits me?" Robin asked.

"Hmm…" Natalie pressed a finger thoughtfully to her chin, seriously thinking it over. "Well… I'm sure you can take it."

Robin didn't know whether to feel amused or speechless. He said, "Then we'd better make sure we finish it before your Aunt Sasha gets back, okay?"

"Okay." She leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek.

He couldn't help smiling at how adorable she was. He carried her over to the candied apple stand. "Hi, one candied apple, please."

"Sure. Five dollars, please."

Robin opened his wallet and paid.

Natalie's face lit up the moment she got the candied apple. "Thanks, Mr. Weisz. Now, Aunt Sasha's secret…"

So there really was a secret. Robin had thought she'd just been making it up to get the candied apple.

"The secret is that she likes you!"

What? Those words hit Robin like a truck.

"That can't be right…" he forced out.

"It's true. Aunt Sasha's bedroom has pictures of you, and lots of them. A lot of the time, when I get up to go to the bathroom at night, I see her looking at them and crying. Do you like Aunt Sasha, Mr. Weisz? I think she's the best aunt in the whole world. Do you want to be with her?

"If you two do get together, then you can buy me candied apples every day. And then you and Aunt Sasha can give me a little brother or sister to play with. Many of my classmates have younger brothers or sisters. I'm the only one who doesn't. Please be with Aunt Sasha and give me a little brother or sister, Mr. Weisz!" Natalie cried.

For the first time, Robin realized that Sasha liked him. Kids didn't lie, after all.

He looked at Natalie and ruffled her hair. "That's not how it works, you know. Only married couples can have babies, and your Aunt Sasha and I aren't married."

"That's okay, future Uncle Robin. I support you and Aunt Sasha being together," she declared.

"All so you can have a candied apple every day, huh?" Robin couldn't help laughing.

"Nope. It's because I think Aunt Sasha deserves to have everything she wants."

"Do you still think she's the best when she gets mad and smacks you?" he teased.

"In that case, not really."

Robin laughed again at how quickly she changed her tune. She really was such a cute and carefree kid.

Just then, Sasha returned. "What are you two talking about? You sound like you're having a great time."

She looked at Robin and Natalie, curiosity written all over her face. Robin had a pretty playful personality and loved teasing Natalie, but she seemed to like him best out of all the adults in their circle.

"Natalie was saying that she wanted us to give her a little brother or sister to play with," Robin said.

Sasha's face turned bright red the second those words left his mouth. She yelped, "Natalie Camden!"

"Sorry, Aunt Sasha." Natalie immediately apologized and admitted she was wrong. But judging from the glint in her eyes, she wasn't done causing trouble.

Robin held her in his arms, and Sasha stood beside them. The three of them looked like a little family.

They headed toward the parking lot. Once they got in the car, Robin took the passenger seat while Sasha drove. The restaurant wasn't far from their apartment complex—maybe about five miles—so before long, they were pulling through the gates.

Before getting married, Robin had lived here for a long time. After getting married, he'd barely come back at all. He couldn't help feeling a little nostalgic as he stood there.

Sasha led him upstairs to her place. When she opened the door, a faint fragrance drifted out. It smelled just like the scent on her. A huge framed photo hung on the living room wall—a picture of Sasha and Natalie together.

"I'll grab you a clean set of sheets, a quilt cover, and a comforter," Sasha said. "Do you have toiletries over at your place? I've got a brand-new spare set here if you need it."

She bustled around pulling things out. Everything was still untouched and in its packaging. Meanwhile, Natalie was sprawled on the couch playing with her toys. Her eyes suddenly lit up as an idea popped into her head.

"Aunt Sasha, our apartment is so big. Can't we just let Mr. Weisz stay here with us?" she piped up. "No one has been living in that other apartment for so long. It's probably full of bugs."

Just mentioning the bugs made her shiver a little, like she'd spooked herself.

Sasha paused when she heard that. She had to admit that Natalie had a point.

"In that case, why don't you stay here tonight? Tomorrow, I'll hire a cleaning lady to go over and deep-clean your place. After that, I'll go with you to pick up whatever daily necessities you're missing." She looked over at Robin as she laid out her plan.

"Isn't that a bit too much trouble for you?" he asked.

"It's no trouble at all. Just stay here," Sasha said, making the decision for him. "I'll get a room ready for you."

And that was that.

Robin followed Sasha to the guest room. It was pretty spacious and even had its own little balcony. It was spotless.

"Well, I don't have any men's pajamas, so I'll give you a set of mine. This one's brand-new and never worn. Here." She handed him a set of pajamas.

He looked at the pink pajamas in his hands, then up at her, who was clearly trying not to laugh. He sighed. "Go ahead and laugh. Don't hold it in."

Sasha was about five feet eight inches, which was relatively tall for a woman. Robin was about six feet and one inch. There was a bit of a height difference between them, but pajamas were usually loose-fit anyway, so they would be fine on him. The only real issue was the color…

Well, beggars couldn't be choosers.

"I'm gonna take a shower," Robin said. Since they'd just come from the restaurant, his clothes still smelled like food. The lingering scent made him feel gross.

"Okay. I'll wait for you in the living room," Sasha replied.

"Got it." He nodded and headed into the bathroom with the pajamas.

Sasha had her phone at the ready. The second Robin came out, she was going to snap a picture. It wasn't every day she got to see him in women's pajamas, after all.

Guys usually showered pretty fast. Just over ten minutes later, Robin emerged from the bathroom. The pink women's pajamas didn't match his usual vibe at all, and more importantly, they were lace-trimmed. The contrast was… something.

The moment Sasha saw him, she lost it and burst out laughing. Even as she laughed, her hands never stopped moving. With a light tap, she quickly snapped a photo of him.