Disclaimer: Pot doesn't belong to me. Too sad, isn't it?

Rating: T

Summary: Sakuno should have been the happiest woman on Earth but her heart and her soul were bleeding. Because of one thing, one feeling: love

A/N: English is not my first language; feel free to point out the mistakes I made.

Please read & review.

Sakuno's broken dream

Sakuno should have been the happiest woman on Earth but her heart and her soul were bleeding. She had all a woman could ever want: a lovely house, a job she liked and a boyfriend. She was even lucky that her boyfriend was her first crush Echizen Ryoma, one of the best tennis players of the world.

She had been really surprised the day he asked her out. He was coming back from Paris and he stopped in her coffee shop. There he waited for her to close her shop and then followed her home. Once he was sure she was alone he rang. And what had to happen happened. Well it wasn't a relation like any other relation. Echizen always refused to be seen with her. He only came to see her once or twice a month and they always slept together during these dates.

As far as Sakuno was concerned she didn't find it odd. True she wanted to go to the restaurant with him and not only to some little sushi shops. She wanted to see him more. But she never complained. She thought that he could spend more time with her because of tennis. After all he was the Prince of tennis. The man who won all the matches he played. The only player who managed to defeat Rafael Nadal without losing a single point.

She enjoyed every single minutes they spent together. She loved him. She had always loved him but with time she stopped loving him. She didn't want to wait for him forever. But then he came back. A knight in his shiny armor. Her feelings came back. That time she was sure it would be forever.

There were times of happiness and times of sorrow. He was distant and cold. He could leave her without giving her news during a whole week and then come back with some sloppy excuses. And she believed him. She trusted him so much. Of course she had doubts but she always said it was because of his job. She thought he didn't want to be seen with her only to protect her from the media. So they never went out during daytime and even during nighttime he was extra careful not to bring her to crowded area. They never went to his place. For the same reasons… That should have gotten her thinking.

Of course she found it a bit strange but she never complained. She thought that he was still living with his parents as he wasn't that often in Japan. It didn't matter. On the one hand she had always been afraid of Samurai Nanjiroh and on the other hand it would have been rude to make love with him in his parents' house.

Everything changed one fateful day. She was cleaning her coffee shop with one of waitresses. They had organized a birthday party for a child and well the main room was in a mess. Papers on the floor, some crumbs of cakes… Sakuno went back to the store-room. She needed some soap the wash the floor. She had asked her waitress to put all the chairs on the table…

When she came back, the young girl was reading a gossip magazine instead of doing what she was supposed to do. Sakuno frowned and sighed. This waitress was only working there part time and she had agreed to stay a little bit longer. She couldn't blame her. A magazine was far more interesting than cleaning the shop…

Well in the end she took the magazine home. She began to read it. Rubbish… Stupid actors having affairs, sportsmen injuring themselves. It was really stupid so she decided to throw it away but she saw a picture when she was about to close it. Echizen with a little girl and a beautiful blonde haired woman. That made her read the article.

When she put the magazine back on the table she was crying. Echizen was married and father of a little girl. He never thought it was important to mention it. She refused to meet him, to talk to him but in the end she decided to give him a second chance. To listen to his explanations.

He told her he was married but that he no longer loved his wife. That he was staying with her because of his daughter. That he wouldn't divorce her until he put an end to his career. He didn't want to be separated from his daughter more than he already was.

And Sakuno believed him. He could have told her anything she would have believed. She was so in love with him. So their story went on and on. With the same rules. Well there had been some changes. He decided to meet her more often. He told her he missed her, he needed her, he wanted her. He sent her flowers, chocolate and cards. He invited her to one of his tournaments. He was being the perfect boyfriend. But one thing didn't change. They never spent a whole night or day together. Well except when she was with him in Los Angeles.

Unfortunately things went back little by little to way they were before she discovered he was married. Sakuno hadn't paid attention to that. Maybe his wife had doubts, maybe he told her he was cheating on her, maybe he was planning to put an end to his career, maybe he was getting ready to divorce her. She kept hoping but deep inside her heart, for the first time, doubts began to bloom, slowly creeping into her soul.

She began to pay attention to each and every thing he said or did. She began to ask for his presence but he ignored her. Well that wasn't new. Men used to ignore her. She thought Echizen would be different. Oh perhaps he was having some problems. So she forgave him.

Poor little Sakuno should have realized that it was only the beginning of the end. She chose hope. She kept sending him messages, listening to him when he decided to talk to her about his problems. And he decided to meet her once again because he had something important to tell her.

For the first time he invited her in a big restaurant. It surprised her because he was still married. She couldn't help thinking that she had won. His behavior even gave her that impression. Everything went well. The food was awesome, the wine too.

Unfortunately everything collapsed when they reached her house. She invited him to drink a cup of coffee but he refused. He even refused to enter the house. He was facing her. No smile on his face. Sakuno began to feel uneasy. A shadow was slowly creeping into her heart. Suddenly everything went blank.

When she woke up she was alone on her sofa. His last words kept echoing into her mind. Wife… Pregnant… Won't leave her… Stop our relation… Tears began to roll on her cheeks. Deep in her heart she knew it would happen. She had known it since the day she learnt he was married. She had chosen to hope and believe. Now her heart was shattered and she knew it would take her a lot of time to recover and to trust a man again…

A/N: This story is really important for me. It's not something happy but I needed to write it. Choosing Echizen was obvious because I don't really like him…