*!Sakura was a small town girl, raised to appreciate everything she' ever had. Syaoran was a rich boy from Hong Kong, setting business roots in Tokyo. Let the two worlds collide, and trouble in bound to stir!*

Chapter 10- Lay to Bed the Hate and Lies

It had been a week since Sakura and Syaoran had last spoken and Syaoran was starting to get anxious. Tomoyo had warned Syaoran about Sakura's anger and he had somewhat heard it when he had fled her apartment; the longer it took for her to say or do anything the more on edge and worried he became. In meetings, whenever their eyes met she would quickly look away at someone else in the meeting or down at her papers in front of her even if they had nothing to do with the discussion. Most people would assume that she was nervous or scared around him but the bubbling anger in her eyes when he caught her looking at him told Syaoran otherwise.

Tomoyo hadn't been much help either. She hadn't given any advice on how to fix the damage he'd done or even told him about anything Sakura had said about him. Whenever Syaoran called her, she would always turn the conversation around to how Syaoran was coping with the situation or what he's doing for the next week rather than talking about Sakura. She was a master manipulator.

Syaoran had finally gotten his own real apartment in Tokyo rather than living in the hotel with Meiling and Eriol. It was far bigger than he needed but Meiling had said it was something about appearances. He could honestly care less about what other people thought; all he wanted now was to go pretend that it was all a bad dream and go back to China.

Sitting on his couch, he stared at his phone sitting on the coffee table in front of him. He wanted more than anything to call her and apologize and to just start over again; the likelihood of that happening however, was slim to none.

Syaoran jumped when his phone began to buzz, catching him off guard. He picked it up and looked at the contact. Sakura Kinomoto read in big block text. He knew that it was about time that they talked, so taking the bull by the horns, he answered the phone. "Li Syaoran speaking," He answered in his usual professional tone.

"So you pin me against the counter in my own apartment and then you treat me like a client? You're such a classy guy, Li Syaoran." Sakura bit out sarcastically. Syaoran instantly regretted his actions. It wasn't that he had meant to make it seem as though he didn't care, but more that he wasn't expecting her to call… He felt like he could never win against her.

"Sakura listen –"

"Sorry Li," She spat out his last name with venom in her voice, "but I don't have time to listen. Kero has ordered a press conference to publicly discuss the Li Corporations' Japan branch's merger with Clow Corporations. The press conference is in two days at the Clow building. As preparation for it, Kero and Tomoyo have insisted on having a dinner at my apartment tonight. Please dress nice, come on time and don't be an ass. Goodbye, Dear."

Before Syaoran could say anything the line went dead.

She had called him Li. For a reason he didn't really understand, it hurt him a lot more than he had expected it to.

Syaoran sighed as he dropped his phone on the couch beside him and eased himself into the back of the couch, wanting nothing more than for the couch to just swallow him up and disappear. Dealing with Sakura and all the drama since he'd come to Japan was taking its' toll on him.

He instantly perked up as he continued to go over every word she had said. Kero and Tomoyo have insisted on having dinner at my apartment. In the back of Syaoran's mind, he secretly hoped that he could make amends with Sakura and they could start over. Maybe Tomoyo was trying to help him. He reached for his phone and dialed up the only person he figured could help him in this situation.

"Hey, Meiling… I kind of need your help."

A short fuse was a common description of Sakura over the past week.

Many people in the office had made the smart choice to steer clear of her as much as possible while still trying to get work done. For the most part it worked out great, but there were a few unfortunate people who had to come into contact with her and felt the wrath of Sakura's anger.

"I thought I said that the deadline was today! How can we be running an efficient multi-billion yen corporation if we can't even meet deadlines!? We need a solid contract that allows equal rights for both parties and the ability to break the contract if needed down the road!" Sakura glared daggers at the head of the legal department and the poor old man looked like he was ready to wet himself. Sakura knew that she shouldn't be this angry but she couldn't control herself and the things she was saying. Before she did any further damage to the poor man she dismissed him. He ran out of her office as fast as he could, accidentally slamming the door on the way out.

Sakura leaned back into her leather computer chair and pinched the bridge of her nose. I really shouldn't bring my personal frustration into work. These people have nothing to do with that asshole, she sighed. Although she thought that, it wasn't easy when all anyone could talk about was the merger and her impending marriage with the "amazingly handsome and incredibly polite" Li Syaoran.

"Polite my ass," she muttered under her breath.

Sakura rose from her desk and walked over to her window and looked across the horizon. She had a beautiful view over several other buildings and she could see the glimmer of Tokyo Bay. Although it wasn't a spectacular view of the water, it was a comforting sight in comparison to her computer screen and view of cubicles outside her office. Normally looking out her door at the bustling crowd would have brought a smile to her face if it wasn't a constant reminder that she would soon no longer be Miss Kinomoto.

The more she thought about the merger, the more her thoughts conflicted. She hadn't been sure about how she felt about Syaoran when they had lunch together. He really did seem like a genuine guy, letting her see a little bit more of him. However, it was becoming a trend that she was on the short end of the stick to all of his impulsive actions.

An abrupt knock at her door brought her out of her stressful thoughts and back to her nightmare of a reality. "Come in," Sakura said while rubbing her temples. She hadn't been expecting any visitors, but with all of the recent commotion, it could be anyone.

To Sakura's surprise, it was Eriol's head that poked into her office with a shy smile. It had been a long while since the two had seen each other. Sakura wasn't sure if she should be pleased or slightly concerned at seeing Li Syaoran's best friend and partner at Li Corporations. Sakura decided to hope for the best and gave Eriol a genuine welcoming smile.

"Long time no see, Eriol! How are you?" Sakura said calmly walking over to greet him.

Eriol stepped into the room and softly shut the door behind him. He seemed a little nervous but still gave Sakura a warm smile. "It certainly has been a while. I've been busy with… well you know." Eriol trailed off, but Sakura knew exactly what he was talking about; the merger. Sakura sighed. There really was no escaping it. "Sorry Eriol, but I've had enough talk of the merger today…I just need a break right now."

Sakura thought back to her night at Yukito's. How she needed another escape with some peace at his apartment where no one could find her. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.

"But that's not really why I'm here today." Eriol said, noticing the tension that filled the small framed girl at the mention of the merger. Sakura looked back at the midnight-haired man with a questioning glance. She didn't have to wait long; Eriol stepped forward and soon was directly in front of Sakura, with only a small space in between them. Heat rose to Sakura's face as she looked up into his dark blue eyes. So much was there, a mix of emotions that Sakura couldn't understand. One emotion did stand out to her, though, calling to her. Eriol felt something more than friendship for her.

"Eriol…" Sakura's voice was weak. She tried to make her voice stronger, but nothing came out. He leaned forward, cupping the right side of her face, and whispered her name in a soft husky voice that made her skin tingle. Everything was happening so quickly that nothing made any sense. The shyness he had when he entered was still there, unsure about what he was doing but still stayed as close to her as he could by nervously wrapping his other arm around her waist.

Sakura briefly wondered what it would be like to kiss the real Eriol Hiiragizawa. The thought snapped Sakura to being in the same position just weeks before with a certain kiss-stealing jerk named Syaoran Li. It was the thought of his lips that brought her back to her senses. She was an engaged women, even if it was to a jerk, she wasn't a cheating woman.

Sakura placed her hands on Eriol's chest and pushed away. Her voice returned and so did her control of her body as she said, "Eriol, please stop." Her rejection seemed to have the same effect on him as a bucket of cold water. Eriol retracted his arms and stepped away from her within a blink of an eye. He had the look of utter humiliation on his face as he came back to his senses and realized what he had almost done. He almost kissed his best friend's fiancée.

"Sakura… I…" he couldn't form a sentence, he was so shaken up. In her calm state, Sakura walked over to Eriol and placed her hand on his own shaking hands. "I don't know what that was, Eriol… but we can pretend that it never happened if that would make you feel better. We can never speak of it again."

Relief washed over his stark white face and he nodded slowly. "I'm so sorry, Sakura." He said softly. He brushed is hand through his hair and collected himself a bit before standing up straight again. "The um, the real reason I came today was to ask you about the dinner party at your apartment tonight. Meiling asked me to come by and ask you about the dress code. I was on my way to a meeting so I told her I would swing by and ask you myself."

Sakura smiled. She knew that he was still shaken up but was trying to act normally. "There's no real dress code, knowing Tomoyo, she would say semi-formal because for her any event is an excuse to dress up." Sakura laughed, and Eriol seemed to have recovered enough to join her.

"I'm sure Meiling will be happy. Well, I should get going… See you tonight, Sakura." With a curt bow, Eriol excused himself with a soft click of the door behind him.

Sakura didn't last more than a few seconds before she dropped to the ground, her knees no longer holding the same strength as before. Her head was racing at a million miles an hour, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Nothing made sense anymore. She soon realized that nothing had made sense since Li Syaoran and his friends had entered her life. Syaoran was a tease and Sakura just wanted a straight answer from him, while Eriol was a complete surprise. Who knew what Meiling would bring if she was anything like the other two.

There was only one thing left to do: release her stress. She tried punching the plush pillows from the couch in her office, but their softness provided no satisfaction. She couldn't destroy her computer or rip apart her furniture; she knew she would regret it later. With no other option, Sakura let out a loud scream of frustration.

Eriol had walked into the meeting as usual, but there was something off about him. Syaoran couldn't quite tell what it was, but there was something different. Staring at each part of him, he still could not see any changes about Eriol that would cause him to seem so off.

Throughout the meeting, Syaoran couldn't help but stare at his best friend, trying to figure out what could have been on his mind. Many of those at the meeting didn't seem to notice his curt or distracted responses, figuring it was his usual laisse-faire attitude that Syaoran had with clients that bored him. He needed to know what was bothering his friend and he couldn't stand the wait until the meeting was over.

"I'll leave it to you then." Eriol said smiling, bowing to the client as they exited the room.

The moment Eriol and Syaoran were alone in the conference room, Syaoran didn't waste a second before hounding him. "What the hell was that about? I haven't seen you act like that since you thought Meiling and I were engaged!"

Eriol ignored his friend's exclamation and turned to begin organizing the spreadsheets and signed contracts into their proper places. Syaoran couldn't take being ignored any long and roughly wedged himself between the table and his friend.

"What is your problem, Eriol?" Syaoran asked aggressively.

Eriol rolled his eyes before pushing Syaoran aside. "Maybe I'm just sick of basically running this company while you space out and do nothing?"

"That's bullshit and you know it!" Syaoran grabbed onto the front of Eriol's shirt, "You know better than anyone that the nonchalant attitude I have towards this company is because you were rightfully the one who was meant to run it! Now that I'm being married off I can never give it to you!"

"Oh poor Syaoran, you're stuck marrying the most loyal, beautiful, and kind girl in the world! To make your life so much worse, you are the true heir to an international superpower company! My heart bleeds for you…" Eriol's words were laced with anger and jealousy. He turned and began walking towards the door, not caring about any of his belongings.

"Eriol, are you in love with Sakura?" Syaoran asked.

Silence hung in the air for a long time as both men were frozen in place. "And what if I am?" Eriol finally said. "That poor girl has had to deal with so much of this by herself because you keep screwing up. I was the one who stopped her from being raped in her own office. I was the one who quieted the press about the pregnancy fiasco. I was the one who called her after you kissed her in her apartment and just left her there furious only to find another man answering her phone. Tell me Syaoran, why you deserve her when you're the cause of everything!"

Syaoran stood rooted in his place. He had been wondering what had been the "incident" that no one wanted to talk about. He thought about Sakura's smiling face, the way that nothing else mattered when she smiled at him. To think that someone would try to rape an innocent girl like that made his blood boil. He raged even more to think of Eriol being the one to comfort her and his stupid actions of forcing himself on her. Her anger was completely justified.

Eriol turned around and faced his best friend, "I nearly kissed Sakura today." Syaoran broke out of his own self-loathing and turned his anger to his friend. The distance between them closed to fast that Eriol was unprepared for how angry Syaoran was. He gripped Eriol's shirt so hard that he unknowingly lifted his friend off the ground.

"She is my fiancé, Eriol. I may be an ass and I may screw up a lot, but that doesn't mean that I don't care about her." Syaoran wasn't sure if he was ready to admit it to Eriol or even to himself, but he was sure that his feelings went far beyond just caring for her. Sure he had just lusted after her at first; falling into the role of a playboy he had set for himself, however over the month and a half that had passed since then. She had made him want to give up his façade and be a better man, despite his screw ups.

Eriol looked away from Syaoran's heated gaze, "Well you don't have to worry; I was rejected pretty quickly. Despite being angry with you, I think Sakura cares for you too… more than she realizes or would care to admit."

Syaoran loosened his grip, letting Eriol's feet firmly touch the ground. The two men stared at each other for a minute before Syaoran completely released his friend and walked past him. "I meant what I said earlier. You should have been the one to take over the business." Syaoran said as he took hold of the doorknob.

"Well I wasn't so if you really are serious about Sakura, start by being serious about the company and this merger." Eriol said coolly. It was clear that

Syaoran sighed and walked out. He looked back at Eriol one last time and said "You know I want you to be happy, but Sakura is the one thing I can't give you; even if you are family."

Family, Eriol laughed. It had been a long time since a Li had called him that. After all, he was just the poor orphan kid left outside the Li manor that Yelan's sister had taken pity on. Syaoran would always been the rightful heir to the Li empire, and he would always support his best friend.

Eriol leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. It hurt to give up the girl you love, but Syaoran was right. Sakura was the one thing he couldn't have, but he was glad that Syaoran Li for once had something to work for.

It was around seven o'clock that evening that everyone started to show up at Sakura's apartment. She had left the office early and with some help from Yukito, was able to prepare the food just in time. While Yukito greeted everyone, Sakura rushed to her room to clean herself up and to prepare for her unavoidable encounter with Syaoran.

When she was finally ready, Sakura emerged wearing a one strapped, light pink dress that fit her chest perfectly, making her seem curvier than she was. The skirt of the dress puffed out into a cute, short bell shape that came just short of her knees.

All eyes were on her as walked into the room and smiled, "Thanks so much for coming, everyone. I know this place isn't exactly glamorous, but please make yourselves at home."

Sakura's father smiled widely at her. Next to him, Yukito and Touya stood side by side gazing at her with the fondness of proud older brothers. Sakura could feel the unspoken praise of all of her friends and family in the room.

Tomoyo beamed as she ran up to her best friend and squeezed her. "You look amazing, Sakura!" The two girls linked arms and made their way to the table where Yukito had laid out all of the delicious looking food. The midnight-haired girl fawned over how amazing was, keeping the topic away from a certain man who would be arriving shortly.

There was a knock at the door fifteen minutes later and Sakura's heart sank. She had been preparing herself all day to come face to face with the man that she was supposedly furious with. After she had let out her scream of frustration, Sakura called Meiling and poured her heart out to the only woman she figured would understand what was going on in the heads of both Eriol and Syaoran. Meiling couldn't help but laugh at the situation, much to Sakura's dismay. Mailing had promised that things would become a little clearer at the dinner party. Sakura hoped she was right.

Syaoran walked through the door and all of the air left Sakura's lungs in a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. His hair which was usually wild was slicked back, calling more attention to his defined jawline and warm chocolate eyes. Instead of street clothes or even the well-tailored suits he wore to business meetings, Syaoran wore a grey suit vest over a dark navy blue shirt and black tie. He would have looked perfect for the red carpet if it weren't for the dark blue jeans that made him look the part of a gorgeous, sophisticated bachelor.

"You look beautiful, Sakura." Syaoran said. Sakura hadn't even noticed that she had been daydreaming about how amazing he looked and that he was currently standing right in front of her.

"So… So do you, Syaoran."

He gave her a gorgeous smile before walking over to Tomoyo who was also openly gaping at the impossibly hot man in front of them. That's actually Syaoran, Sakura thought disbelievingly. She remembered that Meiling had said that everything would make sense at the party but Sakura was even more confused than before. She was supposed to be mad at him, but within a few seconds he managed to melt it all away.

The clinking of glass drew everyone's attention, even the distracted Sakura, to Kero who stood proudly at the end of the table. "Now that pretty much everyone has arrived, we can begin."

Sakura took her seat to the right of Kero who sat at the head of the table. On his left, Syaoran took a seat which caught many people by surprise. It was a silent statement that he was ready to stand by Sakura and support her as Kero's right hand.

At the opposite end of the table, Meiling smiled at the action. Although she was proud of her cousin, she knew that he had finally accepted that there was no escaping the road that he had been put on. Across from her, Eriol sat silently watching as Sakura looked shocked at the smirking Syaoran. It was clear that he was hurt but had also accepted that there wasn't much he could do to change what was going to happen.

"At the press conference tomorrow there will be many questions about this merger and the intimate details of your relationship." Kero began as everyone began serving their plates. "As the current president of Clow Corporations, I will speak on the behalf of the company in a professional manor, but it will be up to the both of you to answer your own personal matters."

"There isn't much to tell…" Sakura said quietly.

Kero smirked, "Oh I'm sure there's plenty to tell," Syaoran and Sakura looked at each other with wide eyes, thinking about everything they had gone through up to that moment. They looked at Kero who shrugged his shoulders. "I may be getting old, but that doesn't mean I'm not still in the gossip loop.

"So tonight I want you two to work things out and come up with a consistent story that you can feed to the hungry press."

With that, the conversation ended and Kero continued to talk to the other guests at the table about less serious matters. Sakura was no longer hungry for the food she had worked so hard to make. Seeing her discomfort, Syaoran nudged her foot under the table.

"Do you want to go out onto the balcony for a minute? You look like you need air." Syaoran said with a comforting smile.

Only hesitating for a second, Sakura nodded and rose from the table. The young couple made their way outside, grabbing their coats as they went, and closed the glass door behind them.

The sounds of cars racing down the streets, the wind sending a chill up Sakura's body, she suddenly felt like they were too close. She hoped that he would think it was the wind colouring her cheeks and not the thoughts that were running through her mind.

"Syaoran –"

"Sakura –"

They both said at the same time. "You can go first." Syaoran said shyly.

It was the first time she had ever seen him so openly nervous. He was usually so sure of himself and acted rashly, it was as though he was someone completely different.

"I just wanted to ask you why… why to so many things. Why did you lie to me when we met? Why do we keep ending up in these situations where I'm mad at you for doing stupid things? Why do I get so mad at you? Why does my heart race when I look at you?" Sakura said hesitantly. She had finally said out loud that he made her feel like no guy has ever done before.

Syaoran looked down at her with wide eyes. "Sakura, I'm so sorry for everything… We got off on the wrong foot and I just kept making things worse.

"The me I have been up until this point hasn't been entirely me… I thought that I needed to pretend to be somebody else in order to make someone important to me happy, but I just made everything worse. I want you to know the real me before this press conference tomorrow." Syaoran spoke more confidently than before but it was clear that he was still unsure about saying everything.

Sakura stood staring blankly at him trying to understand what was going on. So he was just pretending to be an asshole? How would that help anybody!?

Before she could ask her questions, Syaoran raised his hand to stop her. "I was supposed to be the perfect son to inherit the business, but it wasn't me that was really next in line. I have an adopted cousin that has been my best friend since before I could even speak. Even though he was older than me, my mother argued that it should be a Li, a true Li, who lead the company.

"I unintentionally stole what should have been his from the beginning. I believed that by acting like a spoiled brat, using his name to do stupid things, I could just become him with time and he could become me. I realize that it sounds crazy and stupid, and it totally is. When I met you in the bar that night, I was doing exactly that and I thought that it was just a regular night until we actually talked and then I learned who you were. I wanted to really be me but I couldn't lose the fake persona that I put around myself and waste all of the time that I had spent trying to make him happy… ruining my life for him."

Everything was slowly coming together. He had tried to give up everything for his cousin… for Eriol. There was so much that Sakura still wanted to ask but there were no words that came to mind in that moment. She was finally seeing the real Syaoran Li, a calm, smart and caring man that would risk everything for the people he cared about.

Sakura smirked at him, wanting to see his eyes glimmer the way they always did when she did something he didn't expect. "So that answers a few of my whys." Syaoran sighed in relief and smiled at her, looking at her with eyes full of relief and something Sakura was afraid to say.

"Is there anything else I can help clear up?" He gave her a toothy grin, as though he had something devilish in mind.

Sakura took a deep breath before passing the point of no return. "I'm still not sure why it is that ever since you walked in that door tonight that I haven't been able to think clearly and my eyes keep wandering to your li –"

The word 'lips' weren't even out of her mouth yet before Syaoran covered hers in a heart-melting kiss. It wasn't like any that they had shared before. It was alcohol-free, mutual, and completely breathtaking.

Sakura wrapped her arms around his shoulders as Syaoran's hands settled on her hips. They felt as though they never wanted the moment to end until it did abruptly when a cold blast of wind whipped through, freezing them both. They looked up at each other and began to laugh.

"I think that clears up the last why." Sakura said shyly, trying to hide her blush in his chest.

Syaoran's arms tightened around her small frame, shielding her from the wind. He lowered his lips to kiss the top of her head.

They stayed close together, wrapped in each other until a loud bang on the glass door caught their attention. Standing against the wall looking out at them on the balcony was Kero smiling knowingly at them.

Sakura sighed heavily before pulling away from Syaoran and walking back inside. Syaoran smiled as the small girl was greeted by Meiling and Tomoyo squealing about how happy they were that things were working out. Syaoran walked passed Kero who clapped him on the shoulder as he went by and whispered in his ear. "You know you're playing right into her hand, right?"

Syaoran looked back at the older man and smirked, "If that's what it looks like to you, then she'll be thinking the same thing. I'm not stepping into this role to be her puppet; I'm doing it for my own reasons." He nodded towards Sakura whose cheeks red and eyes were sparkling as she laughed.

He would do anything to keep Sakura smiling, even if it meant facing Yelan Li.

Hi guys!

So I'm a terrible human being for not updating sooner and I'm so sorry for that! For some reason this story is much harder to write than Amber Eyes, but I'm trying my best to piece this story together so that you guys get the most of it!

Your reviews help shape the story so please let me know what you think of this chapter!

I will be going back and editing old chapters soon for grammatical errors to make this the best story ever! If you guys want to help out with that, you can shoot me a message and I will send you the original word document for you to edit and keep if you want. So if you tell me what chapter you want, it's all yours!

First come, first serve though!

Thanks for all of your support and stay tuned for more in the near future!

~CiaraUotani