Disclaimer: CLAMP owns Cardcaptor Sakura… not me…

Eyes of a Broken Girl
Prologue

I stood there by the altar wearing the most beautiful gown I could ever imagine, standing next to the man I've always dreamt of marrying. Behind us, everybody watched. My parents. His parents. My brother. His sisters. Our relatives and friends. And anybody who's somebody was there. Around us, cameras flashed and videocams taped the affair. In front was the priest who was to marry us. This was it. I was finally going to be somebody's wife – his wife to be exact.

And then the priest started "Do you, Li Xiao Lang, take Kinomoto Sakura as your lawfully-wedded wife, to love and to cherish, to remain loyal to, to care for and be devoted to for the rest of your life, through sickness and health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, till death do you part?"

I watched him through my veil as a smug smile graced his handsome face, his eyes of amber glued onto the priest, not daring to look at me. "I do," he said almost immediately. My heart broke. He didn't even spare me a look. I bit my lip. Weren't grooms supposed to look at you with their eyes filled with unadulterated love and devotion? My eyes began to well with tears. Thank heavens for waterproof mascara. I felt my hand that was in his start to tremble. He didn't notice. I was already non-existent to him before we even got married.

The priest turns to me. "Do you, Kinomoto Sakura, take Li Xiao Lang as your lawfully-wedded husband, to love and to cherish, to remain loyal to, to care for and be devoted to for the rest of your life, through sickness and health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, till death do you part?"

I gulped. Then I finally became aware of the tears that were falling, sliding to my blush-tinted cheeks. I held back and began to think it all over again. Should I marry him? I turned to look at the man beside me. He looked annoyed. Curtly, he jerked his head as if saying 'Go ahead, say it. You know you wanted this.' I began thinking: do I really want to be married to him for the sake of it? Do I really want to marry the man I've been crushing on for years knowing his heart shall never be mine? Would I be able to take everything that might happen should I marry him? His indifference? His infidelities? His ignorance of me?

'No.'

Calmly, I withdrew my hand from his. "I can't."

Around me, gasps flew and whispers spread.

My mother stood up in rage, demanding an explanation. I turned to her, apologizing, tears streaming down my face. Then, I turned to his parents, who were just as shock. "I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Li… but I can't marry your son." And I ran off… out of the church.

I hailed a taxi and ordered the driver to take me home. Upon reaching the estate, I told the butler, Rui, who was more than surprised to see me back home, in my wedding gown, and crying, to pay the driver. Without hearing what he would've answered me, I removed the expensive Versace platform sandals, went up to my room, locked myself up, and cried.

As expected, my parents – plus my brother, him who I left in the altar, and his family – came and ordered me to come out. But there was no way I would face them. Not now. Not when I'm a broken person who can't think straight. When I'm emotionally chaotic.

That's why I decided to escape. Escape from a loveless marriage betrothal I know would end up in disaster and divorce. Escape from a family who didn't care how you feel. Escape from people who claim to be your friends and abandon you when you needed them most. And escape the man who would never love me the way I deserve to be loved.