I now pronounce you miserable
Chapter 10
Love confession
"Board meeting after board meeting." Syaoran yawned dramatically while looking at the documents he was requested to analyse and give a critical objective opinion. With the heat that was brewing outside, concentrating was proving to be a challenge.
Meiling entered the break room; she always seemed to be free and she always seemed to know where to find him. Sometimes he wondered what her job was exactly.
"Tired? It's only 8 in the morning Syaoran. You still have a whole day ahead of you."
He heaved a sigh "I know. My future isn't looking so great right now, if this is what I will be doing for the rest of it."
"What do you want to do...get married again?" she teased him.
He raised his shoulders.
Meiling looked outside the window "It looks likes it's going to rain. I can see dark clouds." she turned around and looked at him "Do you want to know what I think?"
Syaoran stretched his arms "Not really, but I have a feeling you are going to tell me anyway."
Meiling walked across the room pretending to be thinking hard "I think, you have the whole world laid out in front of you but you don't know what to do with it. That's why the moment you fell in love you instantly thought in would be a good idea to get married because you thought marriage is the best way to get your feeling across."
"Can we not talk about it?" he moaned.
The door swung open and in walked in one of their middle-aged colleagues. Syaoran took a sip of his coffee and raised his eyes to look at him.
"Good morning you two; I see you decided to get a head start with the flirting." he said with a saucy chuckle.
Syaoran nearly chocked on his coffee. He cleared his throat and said defensively "We don't flirt, we bicker."
The man sighed "All the same. That's how my wife and I met."
"This not the case."
Meiling smirked "We have great chemistry. I've always told Syaoran that him and I have great chemistry."
Syaoran got out of his chair "I am leaving this conversation" he pointed a finger at Meiling and said "and you're engaged, remember."
...
"Come on, you've got to let me through." Sakura pleaded with wide eyes as she stood in the reception area of Li corp.
The hair she took hours to brush was now in shambles and frizzy from the rain that caught up with her. The cute white button up dress she had specifically picked for this occasion was soak and wet and she was well aware that everyone could see her white lace bra right through it. She was standing bare foot carrying her high heels in her hands. She had walked for two hours and she could not stand the pain in her feet any longer.
The receptionist rolled her eyes "You have no appointment; no one is expecting you and you look like a crazy person. I'm not letting you in." The receptionist was a young lady, who appeared to be in her early twenties with long wavy brown hair.
Sakura heaved a frustrated sigh "It took me hours to get here and I left my umbrella behind."
The receptionist gave her a scornful smirk "So what would be the purpose of your visit?"
"I'm here to make a love confession to Mr. Syaoran Li." after she said that, she immediately regretted it.
The receptionist laughed. She was malicious and Sakura could tell that she was enjoying this. Sakura leaned into the table "Please."
"You could be a stalker. Syaoran is kind of a big deal, you do know that right? He is the heir of this company; if you think I'm going to let some insane stalker in this building you've got it all wrong missy."
"I'm not a stalker." Sakura said defensively "I'm...his wife. I came all the way from Japan; I arrived in Hong Kong yesterday evening, slept for three hours, woke up at six, got lost in this huge city and how I'm here."
The receptionist placed her hand on her stomach and cackled. She laughed for a longer time than was necessary. A tear came to the corner of her eye and after more than a minute, she had to catch her breath.
"You're not his wife!" she said still laughing.
Sakura pouted "I am. We got married July this year."
The receptionist composed herself "Sure, if you're his wife then I am his mistress and I say get lost."
"I've got the documents to prove it." Sakura said confidently.
"Let me see them."
"They are not exactly with me." Sakura looked down playing with her fingers.
The receptionist shook her head "I feel sorry for girls like you. Even if you were his supposed wife, I wouldn't let you in. Apparently you broke his heart."
Sakura gave her a look of resentment.
"You know; if you are that desperate, you can always wait for him here."
"When does he come out?"
The receptionist took out a nail file "Five o'clock." she began filing her nails and humming a song.
Sakura looked at her wrist watch "But that's 7 hours from now."
The receptionist raised her shoulder "Not my problem."
Sakura took a step back. She could feel a piercing sting in her heart; perhaps this was karma's way of saying 'what goes around comes around Bitch.'
"Seven hours." she muttered residing to the seat in the waiting area. "I can do seven hours. I have to stand my ground."
She sat there and watched the time wall clock move very slowly and after two hours, her patience started growing thin. She tried to think of a way to get into the building but only ended dozing off.
Suddenly her eyes were open; the sound of heels clicking on the marble floor woke her up. She looked around to find that there were people leaving the office building. She looked up at the wall clock "5 o'clock" on the dot.
Sakura popped off the chair and rushed to the receptionist. "Is he gone?"
The receptionist raised her shoulders and refused to even look at Sakura.
As soon as she was about to beat herself up for falling asleep, the elevator doors opened and she heard Syaorans' voice. A nervous smile came across her face and she could feel her hands starting to shake and butterflies in her stomach.
He wore a grey suite that fitted his frame well. His hair was neatly combed and his face looked rugged as though he had skipped a few days of shaving. The first thing she noticed was that he was laughing and secondly, there was a woman standing next to him whom she assumed was the one responsible for his laughter and the glimmer in his eyes. The woman was simply beautiful. She had long black hair and distinctive eyes. Her skin was flawless and she wore a tight pencil skirt, a fitted red jacket and eight-inch heels.
Sakura starred for a moment until a little voice in her head told her to not let him see her. She turned her back to them and stood still.
"I will literally collapse if I have to sit through another board meeting." he said to the woman.
"I've never been invited to a board meeting."
"But you're an intern Meiling." he told her.
"Exactly my point. I've got an MBA and post graduate as are you but the difference is one day this company is going to be yours." she slid her hand around his forearm "I must say though, you turned out well Syaoran Li, when I knew you back then, you were a rebel with a cause. No one could tell you what to do and you wanted nothing to do with Li. Corp."
With those words, they left the building. Sakura could not move. She tightened the grip she had around her hand bag. She looked up at them as they walked away. She noticed that her hand was around his arm.
"You just missed him." the receptionist commented.
Sakura said nothing; she turned towards the door and started walking out. "He has already moved on. This whole trip was pointless." she thought. She slowly walked to the parking lot and sat on the pavement. She hugged her legs and shivered as a cold breeze blew her direction.
"It was all for nothing." she muttered burying her face in her knees.
The cars disappeared from the parking lot and as time went by, she found it more difficult to move. The image of the happy look on his face and the gorgeous woman continuously replayed itself in her mind. At this moment, she did know how she got to Li corp or how she was going to get back to the hotel she was staying. Tears stung her eyelids as she tried to convince herself to be strong.
"Ma'am, are you okay?" a kind familiar voice spoke to her.
She kept her head buried for awhile longer. If this was really Syaoran, then this was going to be the ultimate humiliation. She looked like a homeless woman.
She raised her head up.
Her vision was blurry at first because of the tears.
She blinked the teardrops away.
"Sakura?" Syaoran said surprised "Sakura...what are you doing here?"
She stared into his face and gradually stood up. She looked at him in awe taking a step back when he moved closer to her. She could not tell from his tone if he was happy or sad to see her; the only emotion she was able to read was surprised.
She lifted her hand over her eyes and wiped away the tear stains with her finger tips.
"What are you doing at Li. Corp?" he asked her in a stern and almost intimidating tone.
"I..." the words got stuck in her throat. She was not sure anymore if a love confession was appropriate. "I brought the annulment papers." she said automatically.
His eyes were fixed on her, as if he could see right through her.
"You could have just posted them to my attorney. The address was on the letter."
Sakura tried to keep her face levelled with his. She looked down for a moment and noticed that he was neither wearing his tie nor his jacket anymore. He had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.
His intense chocolate eyes pierced through hers and he took a step towards her.
"You look lovely." he said sarcastically.
Sakura did not comment.
She had expected him to be a little more inquisitive about her presence than he was being.
Sakura thought of the woman he saw her with and she felt inadequate. She was having trouble understanding what Syaoran ever saw in her to begin with.
"So, explain to me again what you are doing at my office building."
"I came to see you." she was finally able to compose a proper sentence.
He smiled, almost arrogantly and nodded his head "That part is a little bit obvious." He did not take his eyes off of her for a moment.
She raised a shoulder "I wanted to see if you are doing fine and its' confirmed, you are okay." she said in a comedic tone. "You are working at this fancy place and that girlfriend of yours...wow."
He looked at her confused.
"Girlfriend?"
Sakura looked at the ground. "Yeah...or lover. I don't know. You two really get along."
He was quiet. He did not deny it. She wanted him to say it was not true, that she had miss-interpreted the nature of their relationship but still, nothing came out of his mouth.
He blinked for a moment and then he asked "Where is your boyfriend...the love of your life?" he sounded as though he was mocking her to some extent. "And how does he feel about this little visit you decided to pay me?"
She gave him a serious face. She wished he took her more seriously. Love confessions are not supposed to be this humiliating.
"We broke up." Sakura said coyly. "I'm going back home tomorrow anyway so...yeah...it was great seeing you again and all the best for the future." Sakura turned away and started to walk.
Before she could take a fourth step, he tightly grasped her wrist. "Don't go." his voice was hoarse and demanding.
She turned around; she did not want to face him. Nervous eyes stared back at him and she looked weak, vulnerable and delicate. She was like glass in his hands.
He forcefully pulled her into his arms. A gasp escaped her lips and her head found itself temporary attached to his chest and the sound of his heart beat.
He grabbed the back of her neck and wrapped his fingers in her tangled hair. He yanked her neck aside and buried his face in her neck. His body became her only source of heat and she felt her hand bag sliding out of her fingers and making a faint sound when it hit pavement.
"Do you want me?" he asked her breathlessly.
Sakura parted her lips. She withdrew from him , looked into his intense amber orbs and muttered a sincere "Yes "
"Then don't go." he begged her with desperate eyes.
"These past days have been..." he decided to hold back. It was her turn to speak up.
"I came all the way here to look into your eyes, even if it's for the last time. I just had to see you again." she held her hand to his face and touched it gently with her finger tips. "I want to tell you that I am sorry for being so blind." she took a deep breath "but I know how I feel about you now and I know you have a girlfriend but..."
He sniggered "Meiling is not my girlfriend. She is a childhood friend."
"Oh." she took a sigh of relief.
"Why did you break up with your boyfriend? You said he knew you more than anyone and you have history together."
"I realised that I don't love him in that way."
He pushed the bangs of her hair away from her face.
"I love you so much Syaoran...so much." she said in a half whisper.
"I love you too." he breathed down her neck.
Their heads drew closer and their eyes slowly closed. His lips gently pushed against hers. She immediately felt a surge of Goosebumps invade her entire body. Her knees felt weak and she lost herself entirely in his embrace. The kiss was gentle, loving, patient.
He let her go for a moment. Suddenly her stomach rumbled. Embarrassed, Sakura turned her head away from him.
He took her hand and said "Let's go."
Sakura smiled "Where?"
"Go get food and we will just have to see after that."
She bit her lower lip and flushed coyly and then picked up her bag from the ground.
"What are you doing here anyway, didn't you leave the office just an hour ago."
"I came back to get my phone, it turned out I forgot it on my desk." he told her "Why didn't you come visit me up stairs."
"The receptionist was really mean."
He laughed.
"She practically called me a stalker."
"You kind of are." he said light-heartedly. "How on earth did you find me?"
"Li Corp Hong Kong...it doesn't take a genius to figure it out and...The internet did help too."
"I appreciate the effort." he said tightening his grip around her soft hands.
"Wait." Sakura said stopping in her tracks.
He stopped walking.
She fumbled in her hand bag for a moment. She took out an envelope and held it up "I don't know how you still feel about our marriage but...I'm not signing these."
He took the envelope from her hand and tore it up "I still haven't signed mine. I didn't want to. Signing it meant letting you go and I don't ever want to do that."
She beamed and he hugged her carrying her in his arms "Looks like you're stuck with me Mrs. Li."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
...
The End