SOMETIME IN APRIL

Chapter 1

How it began and how it ended

Sakura's knees trembled. Her eyes were shiny with tears. She held unto it tightly keep her gaze fixed on it. "Please…no. Please be negative." She muttered nervously. Her hands began to shudder. Her heart was in her throat. Beads of sweet tumbled down her face. As she sat there on the toilet bowl. She thought of the events that lead to this moment.

"How could I let it get so out of control?"

In a few seconds, there was a possibility that her life would change forever.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sakura opened the front door. She placed her coat on the coat hanger and started her way to the kitchen.
She walked past the dining room when she heard.

"Sakura, you're home." Her father's voice came from the dining room.

Sakura paused in her tracks "Sorry, I'm late. Did I miss dinner?"

"No, you're right on time. In fact do you mind coming here? I want you to meet someone."

Sakura walked into the dining room. Sitting behind the dining table was her father and on the opposite side a young man.

"Sakura, this is one of my clients. Mr. Li"

The first thing that met were their eyes. She had bright beautiful emerald that immediately lured him. He had amber eyes that immediately told her that he was a passionate man. The minute the locked eyes something happened. She flushed coyly and he looked down feeling embarrassed.

"Hi. Nice to meet you." She said politely.

He finally looked up at her "It's nice to meet you two." Her beauty was beyond believe. He gazed fascinated by her. For a minute he felt his heart stop beating. Her lips were crimson and silky. Her cheeks were flushed, she immediately reminded him of a porcelain doll.

"It's nice to meet you too." He said slightly hesitant.

"Sakura is my only daughter." He father said proudly. He looked at her "Why don't you join us."

Sakura beamed. She pulled a chair out and sat next between her father and him.

"Sakura just graduated from college. She's working on opening her own restaurant."

Sakura simply beamed again. His eyes narrowed to her. He smiled then immediately turned his gaze away.

"That's impressive." Was all he could really say.

As the meal went on, he gazed at her when he thought she wasn't looking and she at him when she thought he wasn't looking.

After dinner, Sakura volunteered to wash the dishes. She rinsed the plates.

"Uh Sakura."

Sakura turned around. He had a nervous look on his face. He casually tucked his hands into his pocket and chuckled.

"Where is the bathroom."

Sakura took one quick look at him before immediately turning away. "It's upstairs to your left. You can't miss it."

Sakura managed to keep a straight face as he slightly nodded and left. When he was out of sight she hid her face in her palms and blushed massively. She accidentally let out a squeaky laugh then carried on washing the dishes.

The next day he came for dinner again. Once again all three of them sat at the dinner table. He snuck a quick gaze at her. And she looked at him quickly from the corner of her eye. There was a moment where they caught each other but as soon as that happened, they turned away. Sakura's father kept on talking. None of them paid attention to half of the things he said.

"Syaoran is my youngest client." He said looking at Sakura who simply nodded.

"Sakura was the smartest in her class and she did a lot of volunteer work back in high school." He went on. Syaoran smirked and nodded.

After dinner, Sakura's father left to take a phone call. They sat quietly for awhile.

Sakura stood up "I'll clear the table."

"I'll help you." He quickly stood up.

Sakura stretched her hand to grab the salt so did he. Their hands touched and both quickly pulled their hands away as though they touched fire.

"I'm sorry." He said politely.

"It's nothing." She said throwing a polite smile.

……………………………………………………………….

He came to Sakura's house for dinner everyday that week. On Friday night he knocked cautiously on the front door. He fixed his tie and took a deep breath.

The door slowly opened. She stood before him with a smile on her face. Her eyes danced joyfully.

"Hi, your father invited me for dinner."

She chuckled "He's not home. He never mentioned anything about you coming here today."

He gulped "He must have forgotten."

"That's not likely Mr. Li. Come in."

He smirked and made his way in. "Sakura, you don't have to call me Mr. Li. It's awkward and besides we are nearly the same age."

Sakura walked ahead of him and he followed her "What should I call you then."

"Syaoran is fine."

"Syao…Syaoran. It suits you."

Sakura led him to the kitchen where she was baking cakes. He sat on a stool near the counter and watched her every move.

"My father must really like you." She cracked an egg into a large yellow bowl.

"What would make you say that?"

Sakura shrugged "Lets see; he has invited you here for dinner five times now. But who's counting."

"Your father never invites anyone for dinner."

Sakura pretended to think "Never; the last person I would have expected was someone from work."

"I had lunch with him twice and paid for it. I guess he felt like he owed me."

"Are you always this shy and quiet?" She said now mixing sugar into the ingredients.

"No. I'm actually very confident."

Sakura nearly laughed "You could have fooled me."

After Sakura left the cake in the oven, they sat on rocking chairs on the front porch.

"So…uh…" he rocked back "Do you have a boyfriend?" he did not want to sound too interested in her just incase she would reject him.

She released a saucy chuckle "No."

He smiled inwardly. "Can I make a confession Sakura?"

"Go right ahead Mr. Li."

He stopped rocking "Your father never invited me for dinner today."

Sakura rocked back and forth "I figured that out."

"In fact, he only invited me for dinner once."

Sakura stopped rocking "What are you trying to say."

"I sort of invited myself. I made your father invite me because…" he paused.

Sakura held onto his every word. He gaze lingered eloquently on him.

"After the first time we met; I kept thinking about you. I a had to see you again and again." His tone was serious as he stopped rocking.

Sakura sat back "You work with my Father. It's not right."

"I know. I've been telling myself that the moment I saw you, but I can't stop the way I feel."

Sakura was quiet. She stood up "The cake is ready."

He looked at her thwarted before following her to the kitchen. Sakura pulled out the cake from the oven.
She placed it on the counter then moved two steps closer to him.

"If you meant everything you said and if I believed you. What would be the first thing you would do?"

He smirked "I'd wrap my hands around your waist and hold you in my arms. I'd kiss you so passionately you won't want me to stop. I would never let you go."

Sakura flushed as she imagined how it would be like.

"Well I..." she paused when she heard the front door open.

Seconds after that, her father walked into the kitchen.

"Mr. Li, you're here." He said shocked.

"I'm leaving town tomorrow. I just thought I'd visit for the last time."

Sakura looked at him shocked. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. An unbearable sadness came over her. The last thing she wanted was for him to leave.

"Oh; I'm glad you came, you can…"

"When are you coming back?" Sakura interrupted abruptly.

He looked at her. His eyes were soft and full of pain. She couldn't bare it. She wished she could walk over to him and tell him "Will you stop looking at me! You're making me nervous!"

"It could be months, years or never." He muttered.

Sakura gave him a meaningful stare then suddenly walked out of the kitchen.

Mr. Kinomoto shook his head "I don't know what's wrong with her. You know how kids are like. She must have a thing for you or something."

Syaoran made a face. Mr. Kinomoto was not making sense. For starters he knew nothing about kids and he was only three years her senior.

………………………………..

Sakura stayed in her room for an hour. She couldn't believe how melodramatic she was being. Now it felt too late to go downstairs and apologize. He's probably think she naïve and immature.

Her father gently knocked on the door. "Sakura, Mr. Li is leaving. Don't you want to say goodbye."

Sakura jumped off the bed "Uh…sure."

She walked out of the room and thought of how painful it was going to be to say goodbye to this man. The man, she was convinced, she was in love with. Was that even possible? Loving someone you barely know?

As she walked down the steps and saw him, she was convinced. It was possible; she was in love with him. She felt more for him than she felt for guys she had dated for months.

He stood near the door and watched her come down the steps. When they met, they were a few centimeters apart.

"I'm sorry." He said softy.

"Why didn't you tell me? I should have…" she paused then suddenly hugged him. He wrapped him hands around her waist.

"Oh Sakura, I wish we had more time." He whispered in her ear.

He released her "My Taxi is here."

Sakura sighed "I don't want to say goodbye. I have a feeling I'll see you again Mr. Li."

He tilted his head and pressed his lips against hers. He broke the kiss and took a step back.

"I will never forget you."

After saying that he opened the door, shot her a quick look and walked out.

Sakura's father caught her standing by the door.

"What a nice young man. Well mannered, kind, comes from a good family not to mention filthy rich. That kind of combination is hard to find."

Sakura nodded.

"He would be a good suit for you sweetheart."

Sakura gave her father a quizzical look "Would be?"

"Yes, if he wasn't engaged."

She looked at him and smiled "Whatever Dad."

He turned around and looked at her seriously "I mean it Sakura."

……………………………………..

1 year later

He pulled over in front of an old building. He pushed the doorbell open. A tiny bell rang on top of the door.

"Excuse me?"

He said narrowed his eyes to the woman behind the counter.

"Yes! First customer!" She muttered.

He looked at her puzzled "I'm sorry, I just wanted to ask for directions."

She sighed "Figures."

"Where is Shimbuya road?"

She rose one of her eyebrows "Shimbu what?"

"Shimbuya, it say right here…" he took out a map.

The woman shook her head "Stay here. My friend, she's right at the back. I think she knows." The woman walked quickly through a brown door..

"Sakura!" she said looking around.

Sakura stacked a pile of box on top of a table "Yeah….these things are heavy."

"This really hot guy walked in. Brown eyes and brown hair. He has this sexy voice and…"

Sakura looked up at her best friend Tomoyo. "Get straight to the point."

"He wants directions"

Sakura rolled her eyes "Figures."

"Some place called shimbue, shimbua-something like that."

"Shimbuya. Take two turns to the left, then right, across the bridge on your right."

"Good." Tomoyo sighed "Then you should tell him."

"I'm kind of…"

Tomoyo looked at her desperately.

"Okay, fine."

Sakura walked into the room where he was waiting. Her eyes widened. Her heartbeat increased so sudden she couldn't breathe. He did not seem to notice her. She walked back to staffroom.

"Oh my go…Tomoyo that's…." she said out of breath.

"Who?"

"That guy, I meet him last year. Around this time."

"Oh." Tomoyo did not understand but she pretended to.

"What should I do?" She said biting her nails.

"Get out of here and talk to him."

Sakura strolled out of the staff room. He was still by the counter reading a book. Sakura stop behind the counter. She faked a cough that got his attention. The second he saw her, his eyebrows shot up and a tiny smirk touched his lips.

"It's you; Sakura Kinomoto." He said in awe.

Sakura smiled. She could not help it. It came automatically whenever she was around him "It's nice to see you again Syaoran."

He smiled. His eyes glowed as thought he did not believe what he was seeing.

"When did you come back?" she asked.

"Last night. I'm going to be here for a while." He still had a smile on his face.

"Okay." She could not stop looking into his eyes. She could barely speak.

"So, this is your book shop. I thought you were going to open a restaurant."

"Uh…that didn't work out too well. We needed a lot of employee for that and we barely had enough money."

He looked around the shop "Well, I like it."

"We just need to fix it up a little."

He handed her a thin book he took from the shelf "Here. I'll be your first customer."

"Wow. Thanks?" she took the book from his hands "You know, we also deliver our books personally."

"I'll keep that in mind."

She packed the book into a small plastic bag and gave it to him.

"Sakura, it was great seeing you. I would love to see you again. Are you busy tonight?"

Sakura flushed coyly "No, I'm free."

"Good. When so you knock off? I can pick you up, from here."

Sakura's eyebrows slightly rose "Eight."

He walked out of the shop looking back twice.

Tomoyo walked over to Sakura who had a dreamy look on her face.

"He forgot to ask you for the directions." Tomoyo giggled.

"You were listening? Isn't he amazing? The minute I saw him, everything I felt for him came back."

Tomoyo place her arms on her waist and gave Sakura a quizzical look "Isn't he that guy you said was engaged."

"Yes." Sakura said in a dreamy tone.

"And you're still going out with him."

Sakura sighed "Tomoyo, we're just going out. That's all." Sakura ended the sentence with a silly giggle.

Tomoyo just shook her head.

……………………………………………………

After their first meeting, they felt like they had to see each other again. So they went out again. The third time they met changed everything.

Sakura had her first earn. She had to deliver two books to this company. When she reached the reception the secretary made it clear that she was expected. She pointed her to an office.

Sakura softly knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Sakura invited herself in. She found Syaoran sitting behind the table leaning back on the chair.

"Hi Sakura."

Sakura leered "I should have guessed that it was you."

He got up from his chair, walked up to her and they shared a passionate kiss. Before he could deepen the kiss, Syaoran pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked surprised.

"Before we go on, I need to tell you something important and don't hate me for this."

"I know; you're engaged."

Sadness overtook his eyes.

She caressed his cheek "Syaoran, I'm in love with you. Do you love her?"

"How can I? I've never even met her. My parents arranged for us to be married. After I met you I tried to break it off but I was overruled."

Sakura looked in his eyes. She drank his every word then kissed him.

That marked the beginning of their affair. It never occurred to either one of them that it was an affair and it was wrong. Everything they did was in secrecy. Their dates were never in public places. He ordered book from her shop three times a week just to see her. They held hand and kissed when no one is looking. They managed to stay together and keep their affair a secret for three months.

Everything changed the morning after the night they first made love.

Syaoran slowly opened his eyes. He smiled thinking of the previous night. He thought of how he already missed her and how great it would be to see her lying on his bed next to him. His eyes opened and next to him was an empty space. He squinted his eyes and looked around the room.

He caught Sakura kneeling on the floor looking around as though she was lost. She wore her bra and the skinny jeans she came with last night.

"Morning." He said in a lazy hoarse tone.

Sakura glared at him then dismissed him. "Have you seen the top I was wearing."

He shook his head "Don't worry. We'll look for it."

"I don't have time to look for it. I want it now!" she demanded.

One of his eyebrows rose "Are you going somewhere. It's only six o'clock. Don't you think that's a little too early? Besides, it's Saturday."

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes as though she was angry and annoyed. "I'm leaving you."

Syaoran sat up "Leaving me. What the hell are you talking about."

Sakura stood up "Syaoran I can't do this anymore. This affair." She felt disgusted with herself.

"Affair? Since when did you call it that? Sakura this is so much more than that."

Sakura closed her eyes then opened them again "This relationship was a dead end to begin with."

"Where is this all coming from? Was my performance last night that bad?"

Sakura shook her head "No. It has nothing to do with that."

"Then tell me. Why are you leaving?"

"I can't be with you. I can't do it anymore. I'm sick of being the other woman. This is wrong. I need to get back to my life. What's the point of being with you?"

"We are happy together. We always have a great time." He replied.

"Not the answer I was looking for. We can't push this relationship any further because you are engaged."

"I thought that didn't bother you." He said still confused.

"I thought so too but it does. I can't keep pretending she doesn't exist and neither can you."

Syaoran ran his fingers through his hair frustrated "So this it. After the most amazing night ever you're leaving me."

Sakura walked over to him.

"Yes. Not because I want to but because it's the right thing to do."

He looked at her helplessly "So this it. Goodbye."

There was pain in her eyes. She looked aside "Yes. Letting this get where it is, was…irresponsible. I hope you two have a great life together. I need to go on with mine. It was a great game."

"A game. Now our affair was a game." He sounded angry and hurt he grabbed her hand "Sakura I…" He paused "Don't go."

"Let my hand go. You are sitting on my top."

Syaoran let her hand go. He shifted and gave her top.

She quickly put it on and walked to the door. Syaoran got up from the bed. He just wished there was a way he could change everything.

She opened the door and half-turned. "If you find my underwear, don't bother returning it." And with those words she was gone.

………………………………………………

At the bookshop the next day, in the staff room, Sakura sat on the table. She did not say much that day. It was easy to see that her mind was preoccupied.

"What's wrong?" Tomoyo asked standing a short distance from her.

Sakura looked up. "I finally found the guts to leave him." She faked a half smile.

"Why? I thought you said he was the one."

"He might have been but it doesn't matter. He belongs to someone else. He's never really been mine and he never will be."

"I'm sorry. You must be hurting." She sat next to her "What made you decide that it was time to leave."

Sakura looked down "I spent the night with him. When we made love, I realized how much I loved him. There more I spend time with him, the more I love him. If I love him more, I'll get hurt. Our relationship is pointless. We can't take it to the next level. We can't move in together or visit his parents or his home or his loved ones. I can't marry him. I'll just be the affair lady. I don't think he loved me as much as he said he did."

Tomoyo hugged Sakura "Don't worry, you'll get over him."

Sakura nodded "I know."

……………………………………………

Present day (two months later.)

Sakura could not believe it. She stood up shaking. She leaned her head on the toilet door and muttered still holding the pregnancy test. "I'm pregnant."

……………………………………………