Hi guys Myrna here! Sorry I left you guys hanging and didn't upload the next parts for a long time 🙏🏻 I promise I'll finish uploading them all this week. Life has been keeping me busy and I kinds forgoten this. Enough for my ramblings. I hope you enjoys Aesha's works like I did!
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Rule Number Fourteen:
When God presents one problem,
There's always a second one waiting.
oOo
"W-what!?" the older woman finally found her voice after ten or fifteen minutes. "He's your what!?"
"My boyfriend," Sakura answered.
"Your WHAT!?"
Meiling covered her ears. "Her boyfriend. Dang it, woman, clean your ears!"
Syaoran quickly slapped her arm. "S-sorry," he smiled nervously. "She's always like that."
Sakura sighed and quietly said, "We've been dating for about two weeks already."
"You can't be serious!"
"I am."
Before anyone could say another word, Nakuru tugged Sakura's wrist and pulled her away from Syaoran. "I'm sorry—" she forced up a smile, "—but can I borrow my sister for a minute?"
And she dragged Sakura back to their apartment.
She slammed the door behind her before pushing Sakura into an empty seat. She folded her arms together, and strictly gave the other girl a look that had 'You have some explaining to do' in her eyes.
"I met him when I moved here," Sakura started saying slowly. "Syaoran was looking for a secretary, and Eriol introduced us. I started working for him, and then... this."
Nakuru rubbed her temples. "Tell me, Sakura, when did the fact that you are betrothed slip out of your mind?"
"It never did," was probably the wrong answer to give at that moment.
"It never did?" The older woman repeated, slowly, pacing about in front of the door. "Sakura, are you aware of what you are doing? Otou-san will be very—I'm not even sure if 'surprise' is going to be the reaction. If Touya finds out, he will personally kill your boyfriend."
"I know..."
"Are you serious about the relationship? I mean..." she paused before continuing. "...if you just want to have fun—like a fling—before settling down, then I don't have to repeat this to Otou-san or your brother. That is... if you are thinking of ending this affair with no strings attached."
Nakuru stopped talking to observe the expression on Sakura's face; bewilderment hit her in the face.
"You don't want to end the affair?" It came out as a statement rather than a question.
Sakura sighed shortly. "I don't know anything about my so-called fiancé—I don't want an empty marriage. I had thought that I could go along with the engagement to make Otou-san happy, but I started to think of myself. I know my selfishness will disappoint our family, but I only have one life to live, and possibly one chance to get married. I want to marry someone because I have feelings for him, not because we are arranged for each other."
"And this guy—your boyfriend..."
"I don't know where we will be in the future, but I don't want to let go of what we have right now. We might be broken up by next month, but it doesn't really matter. For once in my life, I'm actually having a relationship, and it feels nice."
"Are you happy?"
"Yes! Didn't you tell me that you wanted time apart from Touya because you feel like you've missed out on a lot of things by rushing into the marriage?" Sakura said. "I don't want to feel regretful in the future."
"And you know what you are doing?"
She nodded. "I will talk to Otou-san soon, and I will introduce Syaoran to him."
"Are you positive about this, Sakura?" The older woman looked at her solemnly. "You will be happy with your decision?"
"If it's the wrong one, I promise I won't whine about it."
Nakuru pulled her into a warm embrace. "You're getting older, Sakura. I believe you can make your own decisions in life."
"Thanks, 'nee-chan..."
"Now, does your boyfriend know about your fiancé?"
Sakura smiled nervously. "What's the definition of 'know' really...?"
"You're kidding me, right—you haven't told him?"
"N-not yet to be technically correct."
"Sakura, how do you sleep at night!?"
"Close my eyes and count sheep." Nakuru gave her a disapproving look. Dang. Sakura hated that look. "I will tell him soon."
"How soon?"
"It's not easy, you know!" Sakura cried. "I can't just walk up to him and say 'Hey, Syaoran. By the way, I forgot to mention to you that I am betrothed to another man'. Does that sound okay to you? No, it doesn't."
"The sooner the better. Don't wait too long because you're afraid to tell him," said Nakuru. "We should head back over there so I can apologize for my behavior."
Sakura giggled. "I can't believe you fell out of your chair!"
"Oh, shut up. It was your fault, you know."
"Right... blame it on me, why don't you?" Sakura opened the door to walk out. Once she opened the door, two certain people tumbled into the apartment, head first to the floor. "What are you two doing?"
Syaoran jumped to his feet and rub the back of his head sheepishly. "I hate to say 'I told you so,' but I told you so!" He wagged his index finger dramatically at his cousin. "I tried telling you not to eavesdrop on other people, but did you listen to me? NO! I hope you learned your lesson after I demonstrated how wrong and dangerous snooping is."
"Mmhmm," Nakuru rolled her eyes slowly. "You were just demonstrating."
Sakura mentally slapped herself in the face.
Oh, Kami-sama...
"I'll go wash the dishes." Meiling quickly said and left.
Nakuru patted Sakura on the shoulder before pushing the girl into the hall. "Kid," she looked at Syaoran, "don't try to demonstrate anything. Remember—I'm always watching you."
And she closed the door.
"I think your sister likes me," Syaoran remarked, letting out the breath he was holding. "A lot."
"Who told you to snoop?"
"I wasn't snooping. I was teaching Meiling the consequences of snooping."
Sakura didn't look convinced. "And I thought I come up with the lamest excuses."
Syaoran sighed lightly, slipped his hands into his pockets, and leaned himself against the wall before turning to look at her strangely. Sakura couldn't quite read his expression.
"Sakura, there's something I haven't been telling you..." He started saying, slowly, looking down at the floor. "Remember when you called me up to fix your leak?"
"Y-yeah. What about it?"
"Remember how I hung up on you?"
She nodded. "I assumed that you fell asleep on me or something like that."
"I didn't." He answered. "There's a reason why your name took me by surprise and I just hung up immediately."
"My name?"
Sakura was truly confused. Where was their conversation heading?
"I haven't told a lot of people about this either," he continued. "And I was waiting for the right time to tell you."
"Syaoran, what are you talking about?" she asked. "You're starting to confuse me a little here."
"Your mother died when you were three, correct?" Sakura nodded, asking herself if she had told him that piece of information. He'd probably heard it from Eriol or something; but then again, she didn't think Eriol knew anything about her mother either. "You probably don't remember this, but we've met before on the day that your mother died."
The look on Sakura's face said it all—speechlessness and shock.
He was dead serious, wasn't he?
It was ages ago when her mother died, and she was only three at that time. You can't expect a three year old to have a good memory. Besides, Sakura hardly remembered anything from her childhood before the age of six.
"How come I don't remember you?" she asked.
"It was eighteen years ago," he answered. "You were three and I was seven. The meeting was kind of brief, but you left an unforgettable impression."
"I'm still confused."
He chuckled. "It's not that important. I just thought I should tell you."
"Why was Meiling surprised that time you introduced us?"
A slow blush suddenly crept up his cheeks. "That's a whole different story that is too embarrassing to tell."
Sakura pouted and clung onto his arm, swinging it from side to side. "I want to hear!"
"I'll tell you some other time," he said, still bearing the blush on his face.
She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "Then I won't tell you my secret."
He arched one eyebrow. "Do that again." He said with a mischievous grin.
"Do what?"
"The tongue thing."
"This?" Sakura stuck her tongue out again. She cursed herself for being so easily manipulated by him when he suddenly closed the distance between them and slid his tongue against hers. "S-Syaoran, let's not..." she managed to pull away and said, her voice low and dry.
He captured her chin with two fingers, lifting her gaze to meet his for several long moments that held Sakura's breath. He lowered his gaze to her damp lips as he lightly traced his fingers from her chin down her throat to cover her wildly beating pulse. Syaoran lowered his mouth and suckled her bottom lip, nipping it before moving to her throat.
Sakura felt her back hitting against the cold metallic door. Before she could respond, he captured her mouth again, this time kissing her with more passion and hunger than before.
"You were saying something—" he said between the kiss, "—about a secret?"
"Mmhmm." Sakura could barely breathe, let alone talk properly. "I—ahh... Oh God, Syaoran..."
"God isn't going to appreciate you using his name like this." He said huskily into her ears and trailed wet kisses down her neck.
Before the two of them could make another move, God decided to punish them for using his name in vain by making Sakura's back support disappear, so that they were falling onto the floor.
"Didn't I tell you not to demonstrate anything?" came Nakuru's voice.
The woman stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a dangerous glare at Syaoran. "H-hi, there..." He smiled nervously, sweat drops forming on his forehead. "She had something in her mouth."
Nakuru raised a slender eyebrow in the air. "You mean your tongue?"
"Nee-chan!" Sakura slapped the woman on the leg. "God, you're worse than Touya!"
"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain," said the other woman. "Remember, kids, the Lord sees everything."
Syaoran gave Sakura a peck on the lips before removing himself off her and running back to his apartment. Nakuru stared at Sakura as she closed the door behind them. Before the younger girl could say a single word, Nakuru had already slapped her on the back of the head.
"Hoeee!"
"Next time, either find a discreet place—his apartment, hotel room, elevator, laundry room, whatever—or don't do it at all. My dinner was about to be digested the wrong way."
Sakura sighed.
So much for trying to tell him.
Next time, she thought.
And she'd make sure there won't be any distractions.
zZz
How should I tell him?
Sakura asked herself over breakfast.
She knew that she had to tell him, but she didn't know how to tell him. She wondered about his reaction. Would he be angry, surprised, or what? And when should she tell him? Before the party that night or after the party? Perhaps, she could wait and tell him the next day. One day wouldn't really make a difference... right?
Ohh. I hate this!
"Are you going to talk to him today?" her sister asked.
She nodded. "I figure if I'm going to have to tell him, then might as tell him before our one month anniversary comes. That way neither of us will look into it too much if the whole relationship goes wrong."
"You really like him, don't you?"
Sakura shrugged. "He's... special."
"I'm meeting with Touya today," said the older woman, quietly. "We're finalizing our divorce."
"You're really going through with this, Nee-chan?" The woman nodded. "Do you want me to go with you?"
"No, it's okay."
"What are your plans after the divorce?"
"Ah, I don't know. Find a job and live with you, I guess."
Sakura sighed.
Wonderful, she thought sarcastically in her mind.
The woman suddenly kicked her in the leg. "Hoee! Nee-chan, what was that for?"
"For sighing."
"Can't I sigh?"
"Not with that tone, missy."
Sakura grumbled to herself and excused herself from the table. "I'm going to talk to Syaoran," she merely said as she walked out the door.
"Good luck!" the other woman called out.
Once in the hall, Sakura paced back and forth in front of Syaoran's apartment while trying to come up with a last minute revelation. What if he's in a bad mood this morning? she thought.
Okay, why in the world didn't anyone bother to write a book on how to have an affair? She had seen books and magazine articles such as 'Ten Easy Steps To Hook A Man', 'A Guide To Breaking Up', 'FOOD:The Best Way To Anyone's Heart', and 'Is Someone Checking Out Your Ass Or Did You Forget To Wear Pants?'
If there were articles like those, then why weren't there any articles like 'How To Tell Your Boyfriend You're Engaged' or 'Affairs for Beginners'? No wonder all affairs were either caught or exposed. People didn't know how to have a safe affair because there weren't any written guidebook or instructions on how to have one.
"Tch. I'm getting no where." She brought her hand up to the doorbell, but quickly retrieved it. "I'm such a coward."
She needed advice from someone older—someone who wouldn't give a rat's ass about her problem. Someone like...
"Yue!" She instantly thought of the man.
He would be able to help her.
He would listen, say something sarcastic, and then forget about it the next day. Yup. Yue was perfect.
Sakura took out her phone and dialed the man's number, waiting for him to pick up, one ring after the next until she heard the answering machine. She tried again. This time, an annoyed grunt greeted her on the other line after the third ring.
"What is it, Sakura?" He said with a touch of impatience.
"How do you it's me?"
He sighed heavily on the other line. "One, caller ID. Two, only you would call this early in the morning."
Sakura chuckled. "S-Sorry. Did I bother you?"
"You're not the only one," he said. "What are you complaining about this time?"
"You know—I don't always complain every time I see you."
"Whatever."
"Can I come talk to you?"
"If it's a complaint, then I'm kicking your ass out." And he hung up.
Note to self: Complain about the noisy people upstairs some other time.
zZz
"Yue?" She stepped into the apartment after finding that the door was unlocked.
She looked in the kitchen and living room, but she didn't see him anywhere. "Just how rude is this guy!" She tut-tutted with her tongue and resumed to searching through the apartment for the so-called landlord.
She stopped in the hallway when she heard water coming from inside the bathroom.
"Yue?" she knocked on the door. The water stopped. "You don't have to come out," she said. "I think it'll be easier if I just talk to you like this. Anyway, I wanted to come and ask your advice on something—it's about my relationship with Syaoran."
She leaned her ear against the door to see if there were any sort of reply coming from the other side, but there wasn't.
Don't tell me he tuned me out.
She was going to strangle the man if he tuned her out.
"I'm having this problem with our relationship actually," she continued after a long awkward pause. "You see... I forgot to mention one small detail about me to Syaoran when he asked me out. It's not that I 'forgot', but more like I let it slipped by on purpose... you know?"
Still no reply on the other side.
Sakura took in a deep breath and continued to talk. "The thing is... I'm betrothed."
A crash was heard on the other side.
"Yes, I know... You think that I am sort of bimbo for agreeing to be his girlfriend when I already have a fiancé." She paused to let out a small sigh. "I don't want to hurt Syaoran. I really like him, I do—I just don't know how to tell him. I mean, this isn't something I can just walk up to his face and say ever-so-lightly... you know? You're older than me, and you've known him for a long time. I was just wondering if you can give me a little advice."
"Who the hell are you talking to?" a voice said wearily out of nowhere.
Sakura was surprised to see the silver-haired man coming out of the room on her right.
He stretched his arms out and yawned. "Can't a man try to get fifteen hours of sleep nowadays?"
She blinked in confusion.
If he was sleeping in his room, then who...
She shifted her attention to the left side when she heard the bathroom door opened slowly. Amber eyes gazed at her heatedly, and Sakura just wanted to die.
"S-Syaoran..." her voice was barely audible.
He gripped onto the towel around his neck, his eyes still fixed on her shameful face. "I suppose it is a good thing that I ran out of hot water and had to take a shower here this morning," he growled. "Please let me pass."
He pushed her aside slightly and started to walk away.
Sakura subconsciously grabbed onto his arm to hold him back. "Syaoran, please! Can I just talk to you?"
"What's there to talk about, Sakura?"
She cringed at the way he had said her name. It was so bitter and... painful.
"Can you let me explain?"
"I think you've made yourself pretty clear," he said petulantly. "Li Syaoran doesn't take something that belongs to someone else."
He jerked his arm out of her grasp and walked away, letting the door slammed loudly on his way out. Sakura slumped against the wall and began to slid to the floor, still sorting out what had just happened through her head. Everything just happened so fast. She hadn't meant for him to find out that way.
Oh, Syaoran...
"Did I..." Yue had a genuinely surprised look on his face. "...miss something?"
zZz
Sakura had went into his apartment, but he wasn't there. She checked his grandmother's bakery, but he wasn't there either. She called his cell phone many times, but he didn't pick up. Meiling didn't know where he was either.
She was desperate for any news of him.
She even called Eriol to ask. Eriol—of all the people in the world!
She really screwed it up big time.
Big. Time.
And there she was, standing outside one of Tomoeda's grandest hotels where Eriol's party was hosted; hoping that Syaoran was going to be there. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say to him, but she thought that it was going to be somewhere along the line of 'I really, really like you and I'm so, so sorry'.
"Sakura!" a voice called out to her as soon as she stepped through the doors.
"Tomoyo!" she couldn't have been more excited to see the other girl's face. "Is Syaoran here?"
The other girl nodded slowly and pulled onto Sakura's arm before she could get away. "What happened between you two? How come you didn't come together, and why does Syaoran seem a little ticked off? Did you two have a fight?"
"He found out."
"Found out? You mean—"
Sakura nodded. "It wasn't how I plan to tell him either."
"Eriol was introducing Touya to Syaoran!" Her friend cried. "We can't let—"
"Kaijuu!"
Tomoyo let out a sigh. "Too late," she mumbled under her breath.
Sakura smiled nervously as her brother and Eriol walked up to them. Walking alongside them was Syaoran, looking as though he didn't care at all. It kind of hurt to see him look at her blankly—no expression, no nothing. Just looking at her, gazing into her eyes with pure emptiness.
However, it wasn't Syaoran's face that caught her attention. It was the black head walking beside Syaoran.
"Miss Sakura!"
"K-Koji?" Sakura uttered quietly.
"Do you two...know each other?" Eriol looked at them back and forth.
Koji looked at them back and forth. "Eriol and Syaoran, I didn't know you are acquainted with Miss Kinomoto already! You've never mentioned her before—to think that you're friends!"
Syaoran looked away immediately, and Eriol gave a little cough.
"We're not exactly just friends," said the black head. "How do you two know each other?"
"That's...um..." Sakura stammered.
"Sakura is Shun's fiancé," her brother said coolly.
Shun.
That was her fiancé?
Eriol started to choke on his own spit, and Syaoran let out a low snort, his gaze on Sakura darkening. Koji looked at the group with a puzzled look as Touya glared daggers at Syaoran for staring at Sakura the whole time. Tomoyo was standing on the side, wiping sweats off her face. Was it her, or was it steaming hot in the room at that moment?
"I t-think I need a drink," said the girl before rushing off.
"Koji and Touya, why don't we join her?" Eriol suggested and dragged the two men off with him; he couldn't believe that he was doing this for her. He just shuddered at the thought of doing her a nice favor. Oh, he was definitely going to have nightmares that night—no doubt about that.
Sakura observed Syaoran slowly.
Before it seemed as though he didn't have any expression or whatsoever, but now he did. Only one thing showed on his face—and that was bitter anger.
She stepped forward and tried to reach for his hand, thinking that she still had the rights to. She was, after all, still his girlfriend.
"Syaoran..."
He jerked his hand away and growled. "Don't touch me."
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I meant to tell you."
"Would've helped if you told me before anything started."
"I know, and I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking clearly. I was stupid, just so stupid. I had thought that we probably won't last long, and we'll both just go our separate ways after breaking up... that we'll both be able to move on," she continued. "I didn't count on..." She paused and looked at him in the eyes. "I'm sorry..."
He snorted. "Just so fucking wonderful."
"Syaoran, the engagement doesn't mean anything to me!"
"It means something to me, Sakura. It means a lot to me, because I've done something unforgivable." He quietly turned his back to her. "Let's just end it—go our separate ways and move on like you said. It's not too late for us to pretend that this little affair never happened."
"Y-you don't mean that..." Her voice broke slowly. "Do you?"
How can you say that?
To pretend that whatever they had was nothing. Just. Nothing.
Nothing to him at all.
She watched his back as he walked away, growing more distant from her. She bit back her tears and turned around, walking in the opposite direction.
I didn't count on falling for you.I am