"Sakura. Why did you dislike us so much to begin with?"
After patching up their relationship a bit. All three headed to the garden to sit and take a bit of fresh air. What came after was an unexpected question from Darius.
'Wow. A straight ball that was. He really does act before he thinks.'
Adonis looked at his younger brother as if he was looking at an imbecile. Darius didn't know how to be subtle, so he went and asked a straightforward question with no malice intended.
'I think this was one of the things Sakura liked about Darius. He never kept things from her. Even his love for her half-sister was something he told her straight in her face with a sense of guilt. He did so even without looking down at her; not like the others did.'
***
"Sakura. I won't lie to you."
He looked her in the eyes when answering her questions about what type of relationship he has with Rose.
Sakura noticed how people would speak behind her back. All full of malice and ridicule.
*
"Does she not know her fiancé is with her sister?"
"Why does she still keep the engagement when she knows she is in between such a lovely couple?"
"How evil of her to keep them away from each other.”
"A jealous half-sister. That is what she is."
*
All those whispers condemned her, saying she was going between a loving couple and bullying the half-sister. However those words against her weren’t the ones that effected her; the thing that was the most concerning to her was just the thought of her fiancé with her sister.
She never believed in any of their words. To her, Darius is not the type to have a relationship while engaged. He was just really kind to everyone and because of his kindness, it seemed as if he was in a questionable relationship with Rose.
'That's all. Right?'
However, there was that voice in her head, repeating again and again the same thing.
**
'Are you sure? There is never a rumor without a reason. He disregards you. Because who would love you? Heh... hahahaha!!'
**
"Tsk!"
"Sakura?
Before she new it, she ended up spacing out and frowned from the memory of that malicious thought.
Darius saw how her mind seemed to have wondered somewhere else and he called her name to bring her back from her thoughts. She blinked a few times after hearing her name and gave him a wary smile.
"I apologize. My mind seemed to have wondered in such an important topic we were to discuss about."
Sakura gave him the usual etiquette speech and looked back at him only to see his strange expression.
"Sir Darius?"
"Sigh~ Your too stiff."
"What..?"
"I never had an issue with our engagement. I even found it great because I was engaged with a friend I believe I can confide in from childhood to adulthood. But you changed over the years Sakura. The one who always smiled and was proud yet kind changed into someone rigid and cold."
He scratched the back of his neck in discomfort when he looked at her widen eyes.
"You don't show much expression. Even when I'm saying all this to you. I feel like you don't actually care. That's why I may have fallen for Rose."
"So.... the rumours..."
"Sigh~ I didn't expect others to notice. I was actually hoping to tell you face to face about my relationship with Rose."
He looked her in the eyes and saw her expression cloud over. He didn't know that what he said actually left a great impact inside of her.
She didn't want to listen to it anymore but for some reason the surrounding became especially silent and his voice became even clearer.
"I fell in love with Rose's bubbly personality. She shows her emotions and it is refreshing to see how human she is. She cares for those around her, even the sister who always looked down on her."
Darius said that while looking straight at Sakura and feeling that look of his, she hasn't noticed how she stopped breathing from that gaze.
"Sakura. We knew each other for years. Whenever I heard what was said about you. I believe that all of it was lies or exaggerations. But I noticed how your gaze becomes when you looked at Rose. It was a gaze filled with malice thoughts, something I have never seen from you but for the first time made me feel chills and I ended up feeling all rumors may have a source for them after all."
His gaze held a sense of disappoint when he spoke and she couldn't even speak her thoughts out when receiving that look.
'The only reason I seen Rose that way is because I keep hearing she was messing with my fiancé! Even when there were so many others interested in her, she had to go for the man who was my future husband!? How can I not be angry! Especially since she already took the love of my father and my grandparents. She had a mother but I only had a comatose mother who I never once was able to speak to! She had everything yet she still wanted to take more!!'
However she could never speak those thoughts out because of all her royal training she received throughout her childhood embedded inside her by her tutors in the last few years.
*
"You are not allowed to raise your voice. It is not ladylike nor majestic for a royal family member to speak in such a tone."
"Do not let your emotions show, it will be used as a weakness if they find something to use against you."
"Do not whine! A royal child who is the heir should lift their chin and never complain!"
"Do not play around! You have to study and be the best compared to other children. You are the heir! Act like it!"
*
"Ha...."
A small scoff left her lips when she remembered all those things. And when she listened to Darius reason of loving her half-sister.
"Sakura. I'm sorry."
He can see her expression changed other than her just widening her eyes. Her gaze was sad and tired. But something else displayed through them that he couldn't explain.
'What is it....? That gaze.... why does it hurt when I see her gaze at me that way?'
"Sa-"
"I see...."
He flinched from the tone. It sounded exhausted and.... a sense of defeat.
"So I would take it that you wish for the cancellation of our engagement?"
"....I'm sorry. I can't marry someone who seems to only marry me because she was told to. I can't love a person who can't even display a sense of love."
"!!"
Sakura looked down and clenched her hands, they formed a fist and her nails cut through her palm. Yet she didn't feel an ounce of pain, rather. She felt nothing.
**
'Yes.. Yes!! Give up. You have no reason to fight! No one wants you. Not your father, your "friends." Not even the man who was supposed to be beside you for life! Give up. And succumb to nothing, because you are Nothing!'
**
For the first time Sakura felt like the voice in her head was right, she didn't fight against it or restrained the thought like she used to. She allowed it abusive words to spill through her mind and body. She was so tired, as if she was fighting a long battle she knew she wouldn't win, yet still stupidly went on. And she couldn't go any longer.
**
'Go and rest.... you aren't needed anymore. Actually, you were never needed.'
Those was the last straw. Her eyes grew dead and lifeless. Her hands clenched and remained lifeless beside her, her head bowed without looking up at Darius.
Darius then noticed something wrong.
"Sakura?"
He stepped close but stopped when she took a step back and saw her light shake of the head.
"It is fine. I accept your feelings and would not disturb you lovebirds. Keep kissing up to each other and make many cute babies."
She didn't look up when she spoke, but if she had, Darius would have quickly noticed her pitch black eyes and the black bloods that seem to slide down from them. Her lips smirked with a crazed joy and the corrupted being had to hold back from using it's own voice while it spoke using her own.
"Goodbye my dear ex-fiancé. The next time we meet. We should laugh about this."
She quickly turns around and the suppressed corrupted energy was fully let out. Darius quickly notice that energy and his eyes widen.
"Wait!"
But before he could grab her a corrupted teleportation portal appeared right in front of her and she took a step right in, only to turn and laugh at him.
"Bye bye Loverboy~"
"STOP!!!"
He sent a vine to grab her but it was cut by a dark spear. And with that, she disappeared from his sight only to meet once again in the battlefield. Where she stared down at him laughing while having him recall the event he regretted the most in his life.
***
"Sakura? Hello~"
A hand waves right in front of her eyes and made her snap out of those memories of a past Sakura.
"Ouch!"
She looks at Darius who was smacked in the back of the head by a glaring Adonis.
"Don't be so impolite."
"But she spaced out when I asked her why she disliked us to begin with."
"You!"
Adonis was ready to give Darius another snake in the head but was stopped with a laughing Sakura.
"Sorry. Actually I can't remember why."
"You can't remember?"
Darius quickly forgot his brothers anger and looked at Sakura in perplexity. She just smiled at him and shrugs her shoulder.
"Yeah. I was small and forgot why I didn't like you guys. But since I already forgot. Let's leave the past behind us and start over with a brighter side."
"So we're in a better relationship?"
She smiled and nodded while keeping her thoughts to herself.
'Yup! I will forget all the grudges all the other Sakura's have with you guys. And just use you as much as I can till the point you guys become infatuated with Rose. After that, I'll just hide away and let you guys battle the corruption. I should have done this from the very beginning.'
"Then we're friends now!?"
".... yeah, we are friends now."
Her smile didn't change and Darius didn't notice her light pause. However Adonis has. But he won't say anything about it and let his carefree brother be happy for the moment. He'll just watch where this will go.
'For now, it's good to take this chance and bit by bit, her false words can become true.'
Those are Adonis thoughts that Sakura didn't know. And they began to converse with a relaxed air. The usual awkwardness that used to surround them changed to a harmonious tone. No one knowing the others thoughts and just taking this unspoken truce.
'Yeah... let the past remain in the past. Right now I have to look into the future where anything should be used for my survival....I just have to keep repeating that to myself. And then it'll be less painful for the future.'