Author's Note: Hello, again! For those who are following my other fanfics, I must apologize for the slow update. With my current workload, I am unable to update regularly and I am truly sorry for that! But do enjoy this new story because I am really excited to see how this plot will develop. I am looking forward to everyone's support! Thanks in advance!

Chapter 1: A Signed Agreement


Sakura's POV

"Money can't buy happiness."

That was the saying I hear all the time. I would agree in a heartbeat if it were a few years back when I was still young and naïve, and dared to dream big without a fear of failing. As a child, I believed things would go the way I wanted if I always held my dreams and ambitions firmly in my heart.

But of course, once you stepped out from your dreamy childhood, reality would slap you across the face.

I was a 21 years old pathetic young lady who was a medical student in the morning and a part-time waitress in a local restaurant at night. I came from a middle-class family who had financial difficulties in paying for my extremely high medical school fees. I did exceptionally well back in high school and managed to get into Japan's best medical school. But the high-quality education came with an almost unaffordable school fee. Hence, despite having to work every single night to make sure my family and I could still afford to pay my school fees, I insisted on continuing medical school because it was my dream.

The world might not be an easy place to live in but if I were to give up on my dreams to be a doctor, I would lose my direction in life. For as long as I lived, I would never allow that to happen, that was for sure.

I would still sigh whenever I thought of how I still had three more years before graduating from medical school though.

I only had enough time to take a quick shower and dinner at home after my lectures when I had to go to my part-time job. The local Japanese restaurant I was working in was fifteen minutes' walk from home. The place was decent but it has a grumpy and unreasonable boss. If it weren't for the fact that it paid quite well and I needed the money, I would have quitted already.

But I survived half a year already and I was proud of myself for that.

Work was normal for the first two hours of my shift. That was until I heard a commotion and what sounded like shattering glass from one of the tables near the door. I rushed to where it was and saw a huge man with tattoos all over his arms threatening to hit the waitress who was on the same shift as I was.

I ran up to them and demanded an explanation for the customer's behaviour.

"What's going on here?!" I stood in front of the shaking waitress who was clenching onto a tray in a defensive manner. The broken glass on the floor and the water stain on the customer's trousers explained most of the situation though.

The customer was glaring at me as he took a step forward, "This little girl has caused a mess and I demand a compensation!"

"I-I'm s-sorry!" The timid waitress' voice was shaking so bad as she tried to form coherent words.

I found it ridiculous for that customer to cause a big fuss over spilled plain water but I still tried to remain calm and polite. I once raised my voice at an unreasonable customer once and my boss threatened to fire me there and then.

"It was an accident and she has already apologized. We will clean this mess right away." I managed to form a small smile and I could imagine how painfully fake it must have seemed.

"You think a simple apology is enough?!" The customer's glare was flaring with anger and I could hear my colleague squealing in fear behind me.

A nerve or two inside me snapped and once again, I raised my voice at a customer.

"Look, sir, it is just plain water. Do you need to cause such a huge fuss over it?" I completely removed my disgusting fake smile and glared back at the man in front of me who was far from amused over what I had just said.

He was obviously leveraging this chance to gain some sort of monetary compensation for the 'damage' caused.

"You little b-" The man raised his arm and was going to land a punch at me but I got hold onto his wrist and twisted it to his back. I pushed him down onto the floor and held both his hands together to prevent him from escaping. I had always been glad that I took up martial arts classes since I was three years old at times like these.

"You should stop bullying others who are smaller than you and be a real man." I had a strong urge to punch the daylight out of the man I had held captive but something told me I was in more than enough trouble already.

"Sakura Haruno!" I flinched a little when I heard the scream of my boss. I let go of the man and looked towards my furious boss. The skinny middle-aged man had his fists clenched tightly and was glaring daggers at me.

I quickly tried to explain the situation to my boss despite having almost no confidence that he would listen to my reasoning.

"He was being unreasonable and was going to hit me! I had to do what I did to defend myself."

My boss angrily walked towards me and yelled at my face, "That does not give you the rights to lay your hands on the customer! I have warned you previously, Haruno. You are fired!"

And that was how I lost my chance to continue medical school.


Sasuke's POV

"That's the girl you told me about?" I was sitting at the corner of a local Japanese restaurant with Shikamaru, watching the whole commotion between the pink haired girl and a thug while having some warm tea.

Shikamaru nodded as he rested his arms behind his head, "Now that she got fired from her one and only job, it's the perfect chance for you to execute your plan."

"I'm still not sure about this." Shikamaru had the brains and even though I hated to admit it, he was much better than me in coming up with plans. But that didn't prevent me from having second thoughts about his 'masterplan' to get me out of the situation I was in.

"Can you stop being so troublesome and just do it already?" Shikamaru was grumbling under his breath about all the troubles I was giving him and how he wished he was sleeping at home at that time. "You can continue hesitating if you want to marry that crazy woman, Karin."

I shuddered at the thought of marrying that insane and mentally problematic woman and refreshed my thoughts on how I ended up sitting on a local restaurant practically stalking a stranger.

Flashback

"Your engagement to Karin Uzumaki will ensure great success to our company."

That was what my father said out of nowhere during dinner a week ago in the presence of my mother and Itachi as well. I was completely stunned and speechless, not knowing how to react or what to say.

All I could think of was how I would never allow myself to marry a woman who acts like she had a loose wire in her head.

"No way." My answer was to be expected and my father sighed before speaking again.

"It's your responsibility as the heir of the company to ensure a stable partnership with a family like the Uzumaki." My father made marriage sound like a game and it was beyond disturbing.

Now I understood why Itachi decided to build his own career instead of taking over the family company.

"That's ridiculous. Marriage is not the only way to ensure stable partnerships. I didn't go through four years of business school to achieve success in my career through an empty marriage." I was on the verge of raising my voice but I knew better than to be rude towards my father.

"Can you stop being so naïve, Sasuke?" My father was starting to feel frustrated and I could see my mother starting to get worried over the situation at hand.

"I'm not being naïve. I am confident of my own abilities to bring the company forward without this marriage."

I could see my father was not convinced and I had a feeling I might regret what I was going to say next.

"Moreover, I'm already in a serious relationship."

Flashback

"If you don't show your father this 'girlfriend' of yours, he will definitely lose trust in you. Why in the world did you tell such a troublesome lie?" Shikamaru sighed for the thousandth time as he watched the girl named Sakura yelling at her boss.

"Why do you think that girl is the best person to be my 'girlfriend'?" I found it amusing how that girl easily subdued the thug and the way she stood up for herself was interesting too.

"With her looks, brains and personality, it'll at least be believable to say that you're in a relationship with her. The best part is, she needs money to go through medical school and her current financial state is not supportive. If you bind her through monetary means, it is easy to gain her cooperation for the trouble you caused. And plus, it has to be someone that your circle of friends and family do not know or else the lie would be too obvious."

"How in the world did you know all these?" I knew Shikamaru didn't know her personally so it was in a way creepy how he knew her that well.

"She's Ino's best friend and I heard these from her."

"I see. So, you got these information from your girl."

"Uchiha, I am helping you with your shit so you better shut your trap."

I smirked at how Shikamaru reacted when my words reminded me of his not-so-clear relationship with that loud blonde. But then again, Shikamaru was being a better friend than I expected by helping me out on such short notice.

"Anyways, like I said, now that Sakura had lost her only job, I am even more confident that she would agree to help you out."

Shikamaru and I watched Sakura walking out of the restaurant after she retrieved her bag from the locker room. She had completely given up on trying to reason out with her boss. Well, ex-boss as of then.

"It's now or never."

With that said, I placed some money on the table and left the restaurant to talk to my soon-to-be 'girlfriend'.


Sakura's POV

"Unbelievable! How can such an unreasonable person exist?!"

I yelled at the top of my lungs as I walked through the streets, ignoring the weird looks of some customers who had just left the restaurant which had officially became my ex-workplace.

All I wanted was to get home as quickly as I could and take a long warm bath. And then I would worry about my school fees afterwards.

I was just contemplating about my regrets on not punching the soul out of my ex-boss when an unfamiliar voice called out to me from behind.

"Sakura Haruno."

I stopped right on my tracks before turning around to see who it was. Once I made eye contact with the person calling out to me, I swore my heart skipped a beat or two.

His raven hair was almost glowing under the moonlight and his dark eyes were deep and mysterious. He had a strong built and appeared strong without a doubt. His suit hugged his muscled chest well and it made his shoulders appear broad too. And the way he was staring right into my eyes didn't make me any less drawn.

"You're Sakura Haruno, right?"

The way he said my name was nice in a way I couldn't describe. His deep voice easily led me to a daze but I quickly composed myself to avoid becoming an utter embarrassment.

"Yes. Who are you and how do you know my name?" Even though the mysterious man was by far the most gorgeous man I had ever laid eyes on, I knew better than to let my guard down in case he was a dangerous person.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha and I am here with a business offer for you."

I stared at the man with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. Even though everything sounded suspicious, something about that man told me that I should be interested in what he had to say.

He took a few more steps towards me and looked around to see if there were anyone around. When he made sure it was just him and I in the dark streets in 11PM at the middle of the night, he finally indulged me in more details.

"I am willing to pay your medical school fees if you agree to be my pretend girlfriend."

What?

I had to refrain myself from screaming in shock over what I had heard. Someone offered to settle one of the biggest problems of my life and it happened out of nowhere. It was too good to be true and everything became even more suspicious.

How in the world did this man even knew about my school fee problem?

"Who exactly are you and how did you know about me?" I stayed alert just in case it happened to be a kidnapping attempt. This Sasuke person seemed tough but I wasn't too bad myself.

"I am the heir to the Uchiha Corporation and my father have been pestering me about an arranged marriage I wanted nothing to do with. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I had accidentally told my father that I am currently in a relationship, which is untrue."

"And now you're looking for someone to pretend to be this 'girlfriend' of yours." I finished off Sasuke's explanation matter-of-factly and somewhat believed that he wasn't attempting to kidnap me. I heard of the Uchiha Corporation, of course. It was one of the largest corporate in Japan and they had countless businesses all over the country and even overseas.

And looking at Sasuke, he looked like a prince who was going to inherit an empire like the Uchiha Corporation.

"Then why did you approach me? We don't even know each other." For someone with a social status as high as Sasuke could easily get some supermodel or idol to be his pretend girlfriend.

I was just an average pink-haired fierce weirdo who couldn't even pay her school fees.

"Us not knowing each other is one of the reasons why I chose you. I heard about you from a close friend of mine who apparently knows your best friend, Ino, well. He told me that you need money and seeing what just happened back in your workplace, you need it even more now."

"Ino?" At the mention of Ino, I assumed Shikamaru was the close friend Sasuke was referring to. Shikamaru came from a wealthy family as well and I assumed he must be from a similar circle of friends with Sasuke. But then, there was something else Sasuke had said that surprised me.

"Hang on, were you stalking me back in the restaurant?" I narrowed my eyes at Sasuke who had not changed his expression since the first time he came up to me.

"I wouldn't call it stalking. I prefer to call it observing."

I was at a loss for words and simply shrugged it off. I still wasn't sure if I should agree to the offer because it was just way too sudden.

"I won't be surprised if you still find this suspicious. Hence, I have prepared a contract for this business transaction." Sasuke took a transparent file from his briefcase and handed it to me. "The document inside two copies of the same contract which I had already signed on. I encourage you to look through it in detail to avoid potential conflicts if you were to agree to assist me."

I scan through the five pages of documents and realized that the business offer was legit. It didn't look like some sort of scam.

"I would like to give you more time to consider this offer but time is not in my hands right now. So, I would need your response as soon as possible."

I put the document back into the file before looking straight into Sasuke's eyes one more time. It was as if I was looking for final confirmation of what I was going to say next.

"It's a deal."

I took a pen out from my bag and signed on the both copies of the contract before returning one of them to Sasuke. I kept the other one in my bag, reminding myself to read through the seemingly detailed contract.

"Perfect. Your first task starts tomorrow morning." I nodded and mentally confirmed that I didn't have anything planned on Saturday morning.

"What are we doing tomorrow?"

Sasuke properly placed his copy of the contract into his briefcase before giving more details about the next day, "We'll use the entire morning and afternoon to get to know each other, sort out our 'story' and all those things. Then we'll be having dinner with my family in the evening."

I unconsciously gulped in nervousness and was regretting my decision for a second. But thinking of how much I needed the money, I took a deep breath and stop thinking too much.

Once those were said, Sasuke took out his car keys and walked towards the direction of where I assumed he parked his car. Before he walked away, he turned to me and said the unexpected.

"Goodnight, babe."

I blushed furiously and I could feel my ears burning. The smirk on his face obviously told me that he was teasing me. I could feel my heart stupidly thumping hard on my chest and I was mentally scolding myself for being weak.

Then I was reminded of a line on the contract that was bolded for emphasis.

"Do not fall in love with me."

I wouldn't, right?


Author's Note: Thank you for reading and look forward to chapter 2! Remember to review, follow and click on the favourite button if you love this story. Your opinions and thoughts mean a whole lot to me! See you in the next chapter!