To anyone who's reading this for the first time… This is an AU, I've tried to keep them IC but I still have inserted OC okay.. Please don't be too harsh and leave a review… My first story… (^_^)

Kotonami Kanae is usually a woman who possess a great control over herself; normally she doesn't resort to drinking when she has a problem but she made an exception on her wedding day. To be exact, it was the day her wedding was supposed to have been. Opening her third bottle of champagne.

"To my groom!" she said, drinking the champagne that had been an advanced gift for her wedding. With mix frustration, hatred, and sadness, she threw the bottle against the wall and smugly smiled as she heard the crash and tinkle of glass shattering.

May he rot in hell together with the woman he chose over me...

He left me in the altar for sanity's sake, not to mention the damn letter he sent in replacement of him.

Dear Kanae-chan

If you're reading this, I may be already on the plane. I'm leaving for good, I know I'm being cruel to do this especially on the day of your wedding but I've put much thought about this. Were not meant for each other, I'm sorry, she needs me more than you do, having said that, she's still my son's mother.. You're a strong woman, you can overcome this. You can find someone better than me.

Please, try to find it in your heart to forgive me…

Sho

Just as if the huge embarrassment on her wedding day wasn't enough he'd had to send a letter to console her too. 'So you flew to the other side of the world huh, you're really proving yourself a coward. It's a good thing, I don't have parents, and otherwise, I might reconsider chasing you to the ends of the earth to kill you.'It was also thanks to her two closest friends, Kyoko and Chiori who had helped her out of this whole ordeal, any other normal girl who had been left alone in the altar humiliated in front of a hundred or so guests who consisted mostly of her co-workers in the industry, from p.a.'s to cameramen, to directors and producers, must have felt devastated enough to commit suicide, but not this girl, not this woman, not her. Definitely not.

Though today, she just might need more champagne to keep her disappointments away and maybe tomorrow she might return to her calm, composed and cool self and surely after two days she can return to work again. With those thoughts in mind, she walked the four steps towards her refrigerator to reach for another bottle, and to settle for the comfort of her couch that is until she got a glimpse of the picture on top of her flat screen television. It was of her, Sho and Tomo-kun(1), on family day. She inwardly smirked, 'Yeah, right, that damn, useless, spineless, cowardly fool, he knows that I have no family, so he's been using Tomo-kun all along'.

Inwardly, she cursed herself, She was trying to forget all the things that links her to Sho and that picture just have to show itself, mocking her, surprisingly due to all the drama that had happened today, Kanae seemed to have grasped the events that happened on that day she met him, to her it seemed like it's all a series of connected events, and now she was wondering if the time she met Tomo-kun was just coincidence too, it was still fresh in her memory as if it was only yesterday.

Flashback

It was a bright Tuesday morning and she, being the organize morning person she is, just came back from her usual jogging routine around the exclusive neighborhood, where she currently resides. She was already preparing to take a bath and go straight to her monthly salon visit when a tone from her cell phone alerted her to the message,

"I miss you, babe. Let's meet at Herald's place (2) for breakfast. My treat"

Kanae and Sho were already a couple back then, but to her it was simply a fling, a temporary shelter. She needed a boyfriend to shoo away the growing number of unnecessary suitors. Fortunately, one of the select suitors who passed her standards was Fuwa Sho, an upcoming musician who recently got famous, all thanks to his latest songs hitting the top of the charts. Besides being famous, handsome and hot, Kanae chose him because they shared something in common- they're both ambitious so that means they put career on the top of their priority list even before love. She needed someone exactly like that, someone with the same mindset as hers. That way, she doesn't need to consider her relationship with him as something that needs maintaining. To cut the long story short, it will help her without getting in the way of her dreams.

Bearing that in mind, she leisurely took her time bathing and making herself beautiful. After taking the time of her life picking the most suitable wardrobe for today, she reached for her car keys beneath her life-size mirror and within a couple of minutes was driving her way towards the meeting area.

It didn't took our raven haired lass to much time to pick out her date while she was making her way towards the park, even with the disguise—he was wearing a black wig, ray-ban shades and casual jeans paired with printed shirt. The way he stood and his cool demeanor already granted him quite a few glances from the women and even men loitering there.

"Hey, have you been waiting long?"She asked, finally facing him, giving him the sweetest smile she could muster.

"Do you know what time it is already?"he said through gritted teeth.

"8:20?" She stated matter-of-factly, showing him her wristwatch.

"Very funny, it took you one and a half-hour to get here with your car"he replied, sarcastically not giving the issue up.

"Ok, I know, sorry! I have a reputation to uphold, you know?"swirling in front of him, letting her perfect black hair flow freely.

"Whatever, Let's go" he grabbed her hands and the two walked straight to Kanae's car, though this time, Sho would be driving.

That was the time she met Tomo.

Unstrapping the seatbelt, Kanae took a glance at the surroundings, 'Why are we in a primary school?' before she could have the time to voice her thoughts however, her boyfriend had already stepped out of the car and is a good five meters ahead of her. It was as if he is excited to meet someone, judging by the light in his eyes at the moment. Her fast mind started running again, 'Oh, so he has another girl here huh? He even had an eye for those freckled, outdated, straight-laced maidens called teachers? God, What a playboy!' It's a smart thing she didn't take this relationship seriously, or else she wouldn't want his guy toying around with other girls.

When she reached the wide lawn of the school, she instantly knew that they were having a program or something of the sort. Booths were set around the whole lawn, there were balloons and a group of primary brats running around wherever you look.

"What are we doing he—"

"Papa!" Kanae glanced at the direction of the voice, it was a third grader boy with aquamarine as his eye color and a round face framed with straight jet black hair. He was running towards her direction, her gaze followed the kid's form until it hugged the man beside her.

Her brown eyes widened in shock as she heard the kid called "Papa" again, only this time she is ninety-nine point nine percent sure the kid was calling Sho his dad. Before she could say something, he cut in.

"I'm sure you're shock, I can explain later just please don't make a scene"

"Me? Make a scene, you bet I will, How dare you lie to me like this,"she huffed indignantly, few pairs of eyes glancing their way then returned back to what they're doing.

"Calm down, people are looking…" he whispered

She was about to ignore him when a tiny voice interrupted her.

"Papa, who is she?" The kid asked, looking intently at Kanae.

"Tomo, mind your manners, she's my…. She's my… my uhh…"

'What the hell, Now he didn't even know how to introduce me to his son, I swear after this I'd really break with him, I don't need complications that's why I chose him to be my boyfriend, but now he's becoming more trouble than his worth.'

"Is she my mom?"now it's Sho's turn to be shock but gently corrected him saying…

"No, he's papa's friend,"glancing the lass sideways as if saying to ride along.

However, sadness and disappointment quickly made its way to the child's face…"Oh, so she's not my mom…" he grabbed the hem of his father's shirt and said, "Let's just go Dad, I want to go home"

"Wait, don't you have a program at school today?" "Why do you want to go home, we just got here…?"

The kid was hesitant at first but slowly responded with words that would melt even the hardest and coldest of hearts,

"If mom's not here were not a family, so what's the point of attending family day…"

The energy seemed to leave the child as soon as he said those words, judging by the sudden paleness that showed in his face.

By the time she realized what she was doing though; Kanae stopped the child from leaving.

"Hey, Kid"

The said child looked up; with a single stride she is now in front of him sitting so, he can meet Tomo eye to eye.

"Listen kid…"

"I have a name, its Tomo, Stop calling me kid" "

Slight shock registered in her face,"Ok, Listen, Tomo, cut the whining… I know you want to attend this thing, otherwise you wouldn't look like some pathetic kid who has been deprived of lollipop."

No reaction, a sigh escaped the woman's lips, "Ok, in simple terms so even a kid like-"

"Tomo!"was the persistent reply.

"I know, I know… so even you Tomo could understand, your father and I made it out of our way to visit you, now if you could just stop whining like a baby…"

"I'm not a baby!"

"Could you let me finish first?"Apause "I don't know much about life lessons but isn't a family composed of members caring for each other, like you and your dad, right?"

A nod from the child

"Then you could also be classified as family right"

Nod again

"So would you be a good kid and come back inside?"

"Ok, I will but…"

Another but, another problem, Kanae was starting to get irritated.

"But what?"

"Will you join us?" She was slightly taken aback; she stole a furtive glance at the man beside the kid as if saying 'You didn't teach this child didn't you?' Tugs at her dress however caused her to look back at Tomo again, his eyes expectant. 'Oh, how could she turn down such an innocent invitation coming from a cute kid?'

"Is that all, Fine by me."

Tomo's eyes lit up again and excitedly ran back to where his classmates are.

Two arms snaked its way around her as an embrace, "I didn't know a stubborn woman like you could do such a thing."

"What thing?"she replied innocently.

"Never mind,"a pause"Thank you."

"Don't be too happy, this is the last favor this stubborn woman will do for you." She squirmed out of the man's hug and hopefully out of the man's life but she had been wrong, all it takes is just one time to give in.

End of Flashback

It may be due to some sort of spell but after the family day, Kanae lost count of all the other 'days'which she had attended all because of Tomo's pleas, ranging from career day up to even his grandmother's birthday. She got completely hooked and had let her guard down, had taken a liking to the kid, had fallen in love with the father who took her heart out only to return it to her in pieces…

Now, Kanae knew better, men aren't meant to be trusted, especially men who comes with packages. They knew that women by instinct have soft spot for a kid that's why they use it to their advantage. Incidentally for her, kids like Tomo spell danger, she has no more family- all the more reason why she is very vulnerable and weak towards kids who are experiencing the same episode as hers.

'I've got It!' the lass thought triumphantly, having opened five bottles of champagne she kind of came to a resolve. "If I just stopped trusting all men completely and banished them out of my li- "

"Wait, banish guys for real? No way, why should I do that? I'm not Kyoko"

All of a sudden a hint of realization dawned upon our intoxicated princess, she didn't have to do the extreme of closing off men, she just have to be a little wiser. She promise from this day forward she'll never fall for the old tricks of guys like Sho again. Never and when had she thought of it, never will she help motherless children again, no matter how helpless they look or how similar they are to her. Simply put, she will avoid them at all costs; it's not going to be that hard, considering she's not working at a primary school or her place of work alone, there's a 98% chance that she'll meet someone who will rise above her standards. The more she thought of it, the better she felt. Now if only she could remember these things when she gets sober. Right then, a brilliant idea popped in her mind, something that will remind her of this newfound conclusion. As she staggered through the bedroom and dug through her drawer for a notepad she wrote:

Kotonami Kanae's hints of her Ideal Man

He will be:

1. More than just a pretty face

2. Single, not single parent

3. Reliable, does not need to be ordered around.

4. A career oriented person

5. Living in a pretty large house with pool or a condominium

Please with her efforts, Kanae read the list out loud, "Am I brilliant or what?" She skimmed the list again, "Just one last thing—"

6. Hot

"There," she said adding a final period with the tip of her pen, before returning back to the couch. 'I can't just pick anyone right?'