Chapter 11: Going as planned
"I don't understand. Where did Syaoran go? How could you let him leave without telling anyone?" Yelan shouted at a very intimidated Leila. "I'm sorry mother. He said that he was going to see you." Leila said looking at the floor the whole time. They stood in the living room of the mansion. It felt empty now that Syaoran wasn't around to mope in it. "Don't you dare call me mother! Only good children call me mother!" She said. Leila looked up shocked and hurt. "Yes Mrs. Li." She said obeying her orders and looking back at the floor again. "Now how long has he been gone? The wedding is in two days! When I get my hands on my son he'll be sorry he ever ran away to God-knows-where!" Yelan yelled. She snatched her phone out of her purse and began to dial a number. Leila watched her in fear. Syaoran had made it seem as if he were really going to go see his mother. He had made it appear that he was on the phone with Yelan before he left and everything. She couldn't understand how he disabled the tracking device in his phone a couple of days ago. After Wei had contacted Yelan it had taken her three days to get back to Japan which was more nerve racking to Leila than Syaoran's misplaced affections. The whole time, Leila tortured herself with anxiety over Syaoran's location. She had wondered if she had really driven such a handsome man away. "Can you find Syaoran's cell phone?" Yelan said to someone on the other end of the phone. Her eyes were an icy stare. Her lips a blood red color. Her dark hair a disapproving spirit wrapped up into a menacing bun atop her head. Her hands were delicately clenched into an evil grip; one around the phone and the other under her arm. Her business suit was a deep plum color and she wore black sensible heels with it. "What do you mean that his tracking device is signaling that he's in the house? He hasn't been home in five days." She said, her voice filled with steel. "Alright fine. Then I need you to do a full credit check. Find out the very last place he used his credit card or spent any money. I want him found and on his way back here immediately." She said and hung up the phone. She then turned her stare upon Leila. Leila gulped. "Why didn't you check in with me that he walked out of the house?" She asked. Leila gulped before she answered. She had thought that Wei would catch the brunt of Mrs. Li's anger but instead she had saved it just for her. "Because…he told me that he had just gotten off the phone with you and that he was going to his new office in town. He said that he would call me every ten minutes while he was out the house. I was also sure that even if he tried to escape I would be able to track him to any location because of the tracking device but somehow…he fooled me." She said timidly.
Yelan's eyes squinted. "So you 'thought' you were going to be able to handle this on your own?" She said. Leila nodded. "I'm starting to feel like you aren't the right woman for my son after all." Yelan said looking past Leila and heading toward the living room window. Leila could feel tears starting to fill her eyes. Since the chance to marry into the Li family came along everything had been going her way. Her father wouldn't question anything that she wanted and her mother had finally come to accept her. She knew that if she lost the respect of Yelan she would lose the respect of her own mother. "Oh please Mrs. Li. Give me another chance. I will find your son and we'll still get married two days from now. I promise." She said. "How can you promise something so impossible?" Yelan asked. Leila searched frantically for the right response then she thought of Syaoran's friends. She was sure that he had told them where he was headed off to. "Syaoran's friends. I think that they would know where he went if he wished to keep it a secret from us." She said. "Now you're thinking like a daughter in law." Yelan said. This made Leila feel a little better.
"I wasn't expecting to see you here." Tomoyo said as Yelan and Leila stood at her door. Tomoyo could feel herself tense up with them in her presence. She knew why they were there.
"For one, you have to make an agreement with me. Then once you make the agreement you sign the old contract thus completing the terms of my old one and nullifying the terms that I would have to agree with." Syaoran said. Sakura laughed then pinched Syaoran's nose. He laughed as he backed away. "Stop playing games Syaoran. Tell me what I have to agree to." She said. "Promise me that you'll say yes first and then I'll tell you." He said. Sakura put her hands on her hips. "Now what fun would that be if you already knew my answer to it?" She asked. "You make a good point. Okay wait here for a moment. I have to go get the contract." He said and got up and went to the room. Sakura sat wondering why he was being so close lipped about the darn agreement. She really just wanted a straight forward answer. When he came back out Syaoran held both of his hands behind his back. He brought one out and a paper was held in it. "Go on, read the part that's high-lighted out loud." He said seeming to bubble over in excitement. Sakura took the old looking piece of paper from him and began to read it aloud. "In the circumstances that the person bound to this document does not agree to these terms once his/her legal limitation have been revealed, he/she can still fulfill the agreement with a wedding proposal to someone of his or her own choice and nullify the confining factors in this contract for he/she completed having a spouse (or potential spouse) in the due time limit." She read almost amused and confused at the same time. She laughed, "So you're business proposal for me is a wedding-" but she didn't get to finish her sentence. When she put the paper down she saw that Syaoran had been holding a gorgeous wedding ring made up of three big princess cut diamonds. The center square shaped diamond had two smaller square shaped diamonds on either side of it but the ring itself looked almost like a princess crown for Sakura's finger. Syaoran had a shy half smile on his face as he said, "Yes my business proposal is a wedding proposal. Will you marry me Sakura Kinomoto and become Mrs. Syaoran Li?" He asked. Sakura sat in shock.
"I really didn't know that Syaoran wasn't here. I thought that you two had him locked up in the house again." Tomoyo said with some venom in her voice. "Oh so you know about those events. How is it that you don't know about his sudden absence?" Yelan asked in a menacing tone. "Maybe because dealing with you two all day would make a guy want to have secrets so she wouldn't be ratted out to his mother and fiancé by his friends. I'm telling you the truth. Both Eriol and I do not know where your son is. I think that it's rather sad that you're running after him like some dog on a leash. He's your son, not some animal now if you would like any more information I think that you should find it out yourself because we don't know what goes on in the Li manor unless told of it." Tomoyo said and shut the door in Yelan and Leila's face. "How rude!" Leila shouted at the door. "How immature." Yelan said rolling her eyes at the way that Leila reacted. "What do we do now?" Leila asked knowing that she lost some of Yelan's respect. Yelan's phone rang and she hurriedly picked it up. She was silent for a moment. "Ok. I understand. Thank you very much." She said and hung up the phone. "He's only spent money here. I don't understand why my son would just go missing like this. But I know Syaoran. He'll come back. He couldn't live with himself if he abandoned the family tradition." She said. Leila just stood there waiting for orders. "Come along Leila. We have a wedding to finish." Yelan said and headed to the limo.
"Can you believe the nerve of some people?" Tomoyo asked obviously in a temper. Eriol laughed and then he laughed some more. Tomoyo's temper rose. "What, exactly, are you laughing at?" She said in her deadliest voice. Eriol turned to his fiancé and motioned for her to come to him. He was on the phone and all Tomoyo could hear was chaos. It sounded like someone was crying and talking while someone else was trying to talk but the words weren't coming out right for either person. "Who are you on the phone with?" She asked; her anger softening with each moment as she listened to Eriol's laughter. "Syaoran just proposed to Sakura and she said yes. Now she's crying non-stop and Syaoran called to ask me what to do. I can just picture him trying to console Sakura even though she's crying tears of joy." Eriol said still chuckling. Tomoyo forgot all about her anger and took the phone from Eriol. "Syaoran, if you haven't already done this do it now. Take Sakura into your arms and tell her that you love her. Make sure you hold her tight." Tomoyo instructed over the phone.
"Ok Tomoyo." Syaoran said and he did as he was instructed. Sakura began to cry even harder. "Tomoyo this isn't working! It made her cry even harder!" Syaoran shouted at the phone. He could hear Tomoyo howling with laughter over the phone. "Put Eriol back on the phone NOW!" Syoaran said panicking. When Eriol got on the phone he told Syaoran to keep holding Sakura and make sure she could only cry near him. After fifteen minutes Sakura stopped crying. It was like someone had to give him instructions on a new born baby or something. "Now hang up the phone and talk to Sakura about how you're feeling. See you soon." Eriol said and hung up the phone.
"Sakura." Syaoran said sweetly. She sniffed two times and looked up at him. "Are you alright?" He asked. Sakura smiled with her eyes still wet with sparkling tears. Her eyes seem to smile at him as well. "I've never been so happy in my life. I never thought that you would propose to me." Sakura said and dug her face happily back into his chest. Troy and Sahara were now standing together watching the two. Syaoran felt as if he was going to cry as he heard her say that. "Of course I would propose to you. I need you in order to live Sakura. I wouldn't marry anyone else. I love you entirely too much." He said looking down at her with worried eyes. "I (sniff) love you too Syaoran." She said. Sahara spotted the ring on Sakura's finger and wacked Troy on the arm. "You two are both business men but he's got better taste than you?" She asked in mild anger. Troy rubbed Sahara's arm. "You got to choose your ring since you didn't like mine. Be quiet and let them have their moment." He said and Sahara pouted happily.
"Yes I heard you. Alright I forgive you. You sure you'll be back in time for the ceremony? Ok. See you when you get here." Yelan said to Syaoran over the phone. It was finally time for the wedding and Syaoran was being unreasonable. He hadn't called her since he disappeared and now he was suddenly ready for the wedding. Yelan was beginning to feel like something wasn't right. "I'm sure I'll figure it out when I see him. He can't hide anything from me." She said to herself. She stood in an immaculate church hall speaking with the wedding planners and decorators. She only had two days to deal with anymore nonsense before she could control everything. She began to feel better now remembering the details of her contract. I'll get everything I wanted and more, she thought to herself as she picked out the colors for the reception hall.