Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura does not belong to me. The day Sakura and Syaoron belongs to me, I will be insanely rich, I will support Ranma and Shampoo pairing (which is never in a million years!), my brother would stop annoying me (which is also undoubtly never) and I will be married to Gerrard Butler (sigh….)

Sakura was fuming. All that tears were for nothing. It was hard work too, all that crying. She was forced into a royal green dress. Forced meaning when she was in the shower, the maids had hidden all her clothes including her pajamas, a direct order from Isabelle no doubt. The only acceptable cloth that is left is of course the green dress. Although she had been through countless of social events which required her to attend as the daughter of one of the social elites, she had never acquired the taste for all the phony smiles and compliments.

The dress is one of her favorites though as it complimented her complexion nicely but looking gorgeous is really not an option if she wanted to persuade her husband-to-be to not to marry her. She was practically locked inside the house. A fact that she knew the hard way when she tried to make a mad dash out the door when her mother announced that her husband –to- be was going to come over for dinner. Touya was enjoying her distress immensely, of course and offered no help whatsoever. In fact, he was the one who managed to grab her when she was running towards the door. Chortling madly all the while.

She sighed when she heard the door bell. It was too late to run now. She refused to embarrass her family name by behaving inappropriately towards her guests. Before she was Sakura, she was the heir of the Kinomoto family.

Perhaps, her husband-to-be has already got a girl in mind that he wanted to make his bride and thus is also reluctant to marry her. Maybe she could make him into an ally and devise a plan with him to avoid the marriage. Yes. There is still hope. Just calm down Sakura. Just keep breathing and you'll be fine.

There is a knock on her door and when she had given the knocker permission, the butler, Henry entered. He was a middle aged man with kind eyes and he had been serving the Kinomoto's as long as she remembers. She gave him a small smile. He is like family to her and she'll be damned if she treated him badly just because she is in a black mood.

"Miss Sakura. Your guests have arrived and Madam Isabelle has instructed me to escort you downstairs."

Sakura smiled. "What's with the Miss and Madam, Henry?"

Henry grinned "I have to at least act professional when there are guests around. Be nice, okay?"

Sakura immediately understand what he was asking .There is no secrets in the household. The staff always seems to dig them out one way or another. 'Sakura's Getting Married But She Doesn't Want To' must be the main topic for gossip tonight. The fact that Henry likes to listen through the key hole didn't exactly help either. It was maddening but endearing at the same time.

"I won't promise anything but I'll try." Sakura sighed.

The relationship between the employers and employees in the Kinomoto has always been sort of laid back. They had even given the permission for their workers to call them informally. Isabelle had once said that their workers are like family and Sakura agrees completely. They practically helped to raise her.

Not wanting her guests to wait long, she exited her bedroom and approached the stairs. Sakura slowly walked down the flight of stairs. Carefully keeping her eyes on each step. She was not known as the most graceful person, she had to admit. It is not like she was clumsy, it's just that things seems to appear out of nowhere in front of her. Definitely not her fault. She only raised her eyes when she reached the final step and it immediately fell on Syaoron. It's hard to miss him. His eyes were directly on her. She winced inwardly. Her husband to be is as handsome as sin and he was smiling the most masculine smile she had ever seen. Oh, boy. Tonight's going to be a long night.


Syaoron had arrived at the Kinomoto mansion about fifteen minutes before Sakura made her appearance. He was introduced to Isabelle, Sakura's mother and had been making small talk before Sakura came down. Then his words died in mid sentence as Sakura came into view.

She was keeping her eyes on the stairs and at first completely oblivious to the stares that she was given. He smiled when he saw how careful she was being and when she finally looked at him, his breath hitched in his throat and he had to remind himself to keep breathing.

Syaoron was taken aback by her. He had dated lots of models but it was her natural beauty that captivated him. Her skin was like marble. Her shoulder length hair was curled at the end and damn it she was beautiful. He had to admit she had a nice figure. The dress clung to her curves just right. It was the simple things that make her beautiful like the way her hair sways with every step she takes and the way she was being so conscious of her steps.

Sara suddenly hugs Sakura and started to chatter with her enthusiastically. Sakura couldn't help but blushed from the affection shown and immediately decided to like Sara. She was acting like an aunt she never met and is as chatty as her mother. No wonder they are best friends, she thought.

"Syaoron, please escort Sakura to the dining room. We will catch up with you later. Isabelle and I have lots of things we need to catch up on." Sara said, clutching her friend's hand affectionately.

"Of course, please do."Syaoron replied. His eyes never leaving Sakura for a second.

This is exactly the moment she was waiting for. Once they were alone she would try to form a bargain with him. Maybe he could see the mistake that their parents had made. Syaoron approached Sakura slowly. Sakura had to suppress a shudder. The look in his eyes and even his stride reminded her of a panther stalking his prey.

"Would you like to have a look at our garden?" Sakura offered hesitantly. It doesn't hurt to be polite.

Syaoron opened his mouth I'd rather look at you but immediately closed them. He smiled at her once again and replied.

"I would like that very much."

Sakura led him to their garden. The garden was Isabelle's pride and joy and indeed it was a sight to behold that night. Nearly every flower was in its full bloom and the way the moonlight reflects on the petal of the flowers was simply breath taking. Sakura turned to face Syaoron and held out her hand to be shaken.

"I believe we have not been introduced formally. I am Sakura Kinomoto. Call me Sakura please."

Syaoron immediately held her hand in his.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sakura. I am Li Syaoron. Call me Syaoron, please." And then he kissed her hand. It was nothing new to Sakura of course but this is her betrothed and when his lips lingered longer than necessary on her hand, it took all considerable amount of effort not to snatch her hand away.

"I would like to discuss with you about something."Sakura started. Things are starting to get awkward and the silence was strangling her. She couldn't help but envy Syaoron though. He looked relaxed, peaceful even. The moonlight was caressing his strong jawline and..Sakura! Focus!

"Of course. The wedding cake? The wedding dress?" Syaoron interrupted, fully aware where this conversation was going.

Sakura's eyes immediately went wide with surprise. Is this man insane?

"Are you saying that you wanted to marry a woman you barely know?"

"We have an entire life time to know each other better. I don't see why not. This is what our parents wanted anyway." Syaoron shrugged nonchalantly. Honestly, he didn't mind. And it is time for him to settle down anyways. He turned from Sakura then, admiring the small pink roses at his side.

Sakura's reaction on the other hand was quite comical though. Her mouth was opened in obvious surprise and she had to gather her scattered thoughts for a few seconds before she managed to speak again.

"But you must have a girlfriend or someone who you wanted to marry. Admit it, you're handsome and rich. Women would throw themselves at someone like you. Surely you already have someone you're interested in." Sakura tried to keep her voice calm. She could sense that her plan wasn't going her way. And she didn't like it a bit. Syaoron wasn't even looking at her but she saw his body tensed. He turned to her slowly.

Syaoron strides towards Sakura and before Sakura knew what hit her; Syaoron was clutching her arms tightly. Their bodies were so close that Sakura could feel the heat permeating from his body. Syaoron's breath was caressing her cheeks lightly. It was no easy feat to keep her eyes on Syaoron's face. He was practically a head taller than she was and she swore she would get a crick on her neck if she continued. Only pure indignity of being handled so roughly by a man she barely knew prompts her to fight the amber fire in his eyes with her own green fire.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

"Do you?" he asked.

"Do I what?"

"Have a boyfriend or a man you wanted to marry? You're beautiful and rich. Men would kill to have someone like you. Do you have someone you are interested in?" he questioned slowly. His voice had lowered into a growl.

"I don't see how this is your concern." She replied defiantly.

"Answer me." He tightened her hold on her arms. Making her body pressed against his even more.

He was acting extremely possessive towards her and the thought of another guy touching her, kissing her and getting all her attention doesn't sit well with him at all. She was asking if he has another woman in mind to marry. Doesn't that mean that she already has someone she wanted to marry in mind? If it's true, he's going to make the bastard go far far away. He could do it so why wouldn't he?

Sakura was trying to stare him down. He maintained his stance until she sighed in defeat.

"No. I don't." she said grudgingly.

He believed her. Honestly, he did not know why he cared but he did. Fiercely. He watched Sakura's face, reading her expressions. As a businessman, he had learned to read his opponents with extreme accuracy. And Sakura didn't even attempt to hide her expressions from him. She was confused, no doubt by his behavior. Hell, even he himself didn't understand what he was doing, so why would she?

"To your question earlier, I don't have another woman I wanted to marry." Syaoron grinned. His mood immediately lightened with Sakura's words.

He suddenly realized that Sakura was trying to push him away, not very successfully he might add, since he didn't even budge. Just to goad her temper and because he wanted to, he dropped his hands around her waist and started pulling her even more tightly against him. Sakura gasped against the contact and started to struggle more violently. Syaoron smiled. All his women are willing, this one is certainly not. He knew he should let her go but it was so much fun holding the hellion in his arms.

Sakura tried to pinch Syaoron, to catch him off guard perhaps. Then, maybe he would let go of her. But she couldn't seem to find any fat on his body. The man was lean and undeniably strong. He didn't even budge when she started to struggle. She noticed that he was smiling and immediately bit her lower lip to avoid from screaming in frustration. He was actually enjoying this, she realized. She can't let him win. This is a battle of wit and she would rather eat glass than to let him win without a fight. Realizing that she can't win by strength, she tried to embarrass Syaoron. She stiffened her body. A clear signal that she doesn't want his touch and to get his hands off of her.

Syaoron had to suppress a groan of pleasure. When Sakura had finally stopped struggling, her body had immediately become soft and pliant against his even when she was trying to 'persuade' him to let her go. He knew what she was doing and decided to ignore it. Her curves had complemented his body perfectly and she felt reassuringly warm against the cold outdoors. She smelled like jasmine, and he restrained the urge to bury his face in her hair. She smelled amazing, though. He realized he needed to slow down. Sakura isn't like all the bimbos and hussies that threw themselves at him. She's more..for lack of better words, sheltered and he's going to take it slow even if it killed him.

In his mind, he had no doubt that he was lusting after her. Probably that's the reason he was acting so unreasonable. Having figured it all out, Syaoron smiled before abruptly letting her go. Sakura nearly loses her balance but Syaoron quickly grabbed her by the waist to support her. She immediately pushed his hands away.

"I'm fine." she said curtly. Syaoron smiled. The woman has spunk.

"It's getting cold, don't you think? We better go in fast before we catch a cold." Syaoron said, turning around and head back towards the door. Sakura was actually surprised. The man was impossible to understand. He was pleasant and suddenly he was filled with anger and then turned pleasant again. If she didn't know any better, she would think that the man was suffering from personality disorder. Good thing she knew better. The glint in his eyes that she caught before he turned away proved that he was teasing her and enjoying every second of it too. Sakura tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Can this day get any worse?