Chapter 1: "Love"
In the cold world of business, there was no such thing as love, Sakura had told herself. She had lived through too much relationship induced hell to care. Affection, love, what good came from those easily fading emotions? Nothing, that is, as far as her past experiences had told her. Her mother had left her brother and her with her absent father when she was a child, on account of the word 'love'. Why, she could still remember the very day her mother had left her.
It was on that cold winter morning, some 8 years back.
"Mother! Why are you leaving?" 10 year old Sakura whispered sadly, tugging on hems her mother's white flowing dress. She had intercepted her mother from what would have been stealthy exit from their home.
"Sakura, darling, Mother doesn't want to leave. She has no choice. Your father never loved me; I knew this well and true." She said with a sigh, gently tugged her dress free from the grasp of Sakura's small palms. "He stopped loving me before you were born. Now that you're suitably grown to a young little girl, I hope you will understand Mother's reasons."
"Sakura! I told you not to leave your ro- !" Touya started. "Mother, you haven't left?" He said, his facial expression a poker face worthy of a businessman.
"Oh Touya, do you want me to leave that badly?" her mother tried to tease, but the wariness showed on her face. "God, I wanted to avoid the goodbyes. God knows I never liked saying bye to anything." She said with a sigh.
She turned to Sakura once again and said "Now darling, I've left my mailing address with your brother. You can always write to me about anything and everything, and if there's anything I can do with my power, I will most definitely help you."
She heading to the door and put her hand on the doorknob, but paused, hesitant. Turning, she said "Oh my children, please do not forget me as a mother, although I can not proudly call myself one, after today. If you learned anything from me, dears, the world is cruel and unforgiving. You will endure a lot of pain, dears, but do remember who you are. Do not let anyone deny you your rightful place as your father's successors."
With that, she disappeared from her life, leaving Sakura with her, at the time, 15-year old brother, and an absent, so called father.
Times had changed since those 8 years, time has changed indeed. Sakura Kinomoto was the embodiment of a perfect daughter of a wealthy family. Equal in intellect and beauty she was the object of her father's praise and her brother's worry. She was also the newly appointed CEO of Kinomoto Corp. working alongside her older brother.
"Touya! We're going to be late to the party! Quit messing around in the bathroom like a girl! Even I was done an hour ago!" Sakura shouted from the bottom of the staircase. Oh brother was he ever a bother. Her brother the fickle one, never was too punctual.
"Shut up monster, you don't need time to get ready, because you always look atrocious. I, on the otherhand, need the time." Touya retorted, scoffing.
"Stop being immature brother! We have BUSINESS deals to handle today. I don't want my reputation to be tarnished because of your BATHROOM TIME!" Sakura shouted back. Her "perfect","poker face", "handsome"brother, oh how they have been wrong. If only they knew.
"Shut up you monster, I'll be out in a sec. Get the car started." Touya shouted back, occupied.
With a sigh, Sakura grabbed the keys from the coffee table and ran out to the garage. She quickly got into the nicely polished black sports car her brother had boasted about since he had gotten it last week, drove and parked it in front of the entrance, honking fiercely at the door.
"You don't have to have a cow!" Touya came out with his tie loose, and his hair easily mistaken as bedhair, holding a container of expensive hairgel.
"And you said I took long this morning?" "Let me help you with that," she said sighing, helping him with his tie as he did his hair, looking in the rear view mirror.
It was a fast drive to the party, and yet they still arrived fashionably late, thanks to Touya, no less. Muttering under their breaths to each other something along the lines of "I told you" and "hey, it takes time to look this good", they entered the building rather casual.
As they entered the entrance, they beamed in their outfits and put their business faces on. Touya quickly left to mingle among the known heads of the corporations they were worked in line with, but Sakura knew he was watching her. He always was. It's like he thinks she'll get eaten by a man or something. Brothers.
Sakura headed towards the punch bowl first, not a very ladylike step, but she was thirsty after all that chaos getting to the party, she needed some nourishment.
A man cut in front of her, and turned to shake her hand, a very attractive man, to say the least. He was dressed in a simple black blazer, black slacks, a crisp white shirt and shiny dress shoes. Topped with a blood red tie, the man was a force to be reckoned with. With rough brown hair that was a controlled type of unruly, and his eyes a deep chocolate brown, it was easy to say he was a woman killer. Indeed, even Sakura was a little taken back by the young man, but her trained glance did not faze.
She grasped the man's hand, and shook it firm. When he greeted her with a hello, she responded "Hey, its a pleasure to meet you." in her sweetest tone.
"Oh the pleasure is all mine, miss; Miss Kinomoto, if I'm not mistaken?" The man said with a grin.
"How did you know?" She said with a giggle. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with your name, mister..?" She knew why he knew. All the men were after her, her money that is. She knew what she was in the eyes of men like him, a beautiful trophy. A trophy wife, if you will.
"Mr. Li, Ms. Kinomoto. A talented beauty like you, you're awfully popular among the business industry, or haven't you realized?" The man said, his eyes gleaming with taunt.
"Oh you flatter me, Mr. Li." she said, trying not to roll her eyes.
"Please, do call me Syaoran, Mr. Li reminds me of my father!" He said with a wink. Okay, now he was very CLEARLY flirting with her. Men these days.
"Well then, Syaoran, do call me Sakura. Why does the name Syaoran Li sound so familiar?" Sakura started, waiting for him to reveal his indentity. It was all the same with these men.
"Yes, I'm the CEO of Li Corporations. Our fathers are working on the possibility of cooperating together." Syaoran stated.
"That sounds interesting. What does your corporation do, might I ask? I'm sorry I am not very familiar with this, as new as I am to the business world."
"Oh of course. Our company extends over to Europe and the Americas in the world of cosmetics." He explained, his professional facade covered his once playful glance.
"That sounds astounding! I have a lot to learn from someone as talented as you, I see."
"Oh, thats nothing really. Why don't I get you some punch instead of talk about business." He stated, heading to the punch followed him, awaiting another night of false smiles and cliche conversations. Oh how wrong she would be.