30: Chapter 30 – The fake relationships

Chapter 30 – The fake relationships

Cobby went into deep thought. Devin did not believe him but since it had been a long time and Martin had proved to be a faithful friend, he could only conclude that Sabrina was the one Martin had eyes on. 2

He also recalled that Lizzy went on a date with Martin once and said they were incompatible. No matter how he saw it, Martin wanted one of his daughters.

"I tried before but Devin insisted that Martin was an only child and I was perhaps mistaking him for somebody else. Since then, I never mentioned the topic again."

Sabrina did not doubt her father but neither was she eager to conclude. The possibility of mistaken identity or a misunderstanding was a potential explanation for the situation. 

"But if she is handicapped, how does it make Martin bad?" She asked seriously. Her father nodded his head, knowing it was not going to be easy to convince Sabrina but at least she was patient to listen to the explanations he gave.

"Martin is not bad per se but he feels responsible for the accident which led to his sister's paralysis. Due to that, he does everything she wants to please her. 

Sabrina, his sister is Mara Sula, and Martin's original surname is Sula. He changed his name after becoming rich overnight, equating it to the mysterious person who helped him before."

"Mara Sula," Sabrina repeated the name slowly while shaking her head. It was a long time and she tried to remember who this girl was.

"Dad, I don't remember her."

"Remember the day you were locked in detention after a fight with a girl? You both got detention but she escaped and there was suddenly a fire outbreak. That little girl caused the fire."

Sabrina began to shiver at the recollection. This memory has only been suppressed but not forgotten. It was a month after their mother died and she had not gotten over the trauma before something like that happened.

She got into a fight with a girl who wanted the doll Devin gave her. Sabrina had been so in love with the doll, she refused to give it away.

When they fought, the girl stood at a disadvantage but they both got detention. Sabrina thought she would die but Devin who was ten by then, insisted that his sister was in there, almost going into the fire before the firefighters agreed to go in and check. 

During those times, he was always waiting to walk together with Sabrina into the car assigned to pick them up and drop them off from school. Due to the detention, he was waiting but did not see Sabrina, for which reason he was so sure.

Sabrina was unconscious from the smoke but she was lucky to not have sustained any injuries. The firefighters said a little girl had escaped and told them there was nobody there. 

Since that day, Mara Sula never returned to school and no one heard about her again. The ghastly memory made Sabrina edgy. "Devin would have believed it if you had told all this to him."

Her father shook his head again before explaining further, "Their friendship had gone too far before I realized it. Martin joined the same school a month after Mara's disappearance and instantly got close to your brother. I'm surprised you never knew him." 

Cobby sighed deeply, as Sabrina stared blankly at him. 

He continued to say, "then again, Devin would have voiced my suspicions to Martin because they were young and your brother loved Martin like a brother for reasons I don't know. I only equated it to the fact that he wanted a brother which I could not give since I never intended to remarry."

"If he has not caused trouble all this while, why would he do so now?" Sabrina leveraged the confusion in her mind. She was never sure about Martin but something still did not add up.

"You know how instincts are. If something seems wrong, then it's indeed wrong. I believe he is up to something so he should think that we don't know," Cobby concluded, leaving the decision to her.

"I get it. Thanks, Dad." Sabrina was at the door when her father said again,

"I told you because I feel you are the target. Please be careful."

Sabrina smiled. It was only because her father was worried about her so she thought to encourage him. "Don't worry, Dad, if he has evil intentions, then his end would not be good."

"Alright, don't keep him waiting," her father urged her on.

Sabrina got to her office and indeed, Martin was sitting on the visitor's chair in front of her desk. At the sight of her, worry clouded his demeanor.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"Yes, please give me a minute, will you? And sorry for keeping you waiting." 

Martin nodded and after grabbing her makeup bag, Sabrina went to freshen up in the washroom, surprised by how terrible she looked. She did not realize that she had cried for so long. When she stepped out, Martin acknowledged,

"Much better."

"Thank you so what brings you here?" Sabrina asked in a professional tone. Martin met her in an equally professional way.

"The party will be hosted next week Saturday so I figured we should begin working towards it. Do you have any special needs? There will be a lot of businessmen there and a good time to improve yourself," Martin explained.

He knew that Sabrina had never attended any of these business parties before. Sabrina was moved by his thoughtfulness. She also recalled his help with Matilda since Robin had informed her.

"First of all, I want to thank you for helping with Tilda."

Martin waved it off with an air of elegance, "It's nothing, Sabrina."

Sabrina smiled before bringing forward her business plans. "Alright, I'm thinking about improving our sales. It's been low for some time so even with a lot of minerals, production is very low."

Martin rubbed his chin thoughtfully with a frown and said, "I will think up something and let you know but since we are going to pretend to be partners, what would happen to your brother?" 

Sabrina realized he was referring to the fake relationship they made Robin believe about Devin and that got her thinking.

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