An additional fic update for the week! There'll be one more update this weekend and it'll be break till end of Feb when I am finished with my exams. So, expect to see more chapters in March. And if things go as planned, hopefully there'll be a new story in March or April. ^_^ In the meantime, please enjoy the chapter!

Be My Valentine

Chapter 20

By Sakura aka Michelle

"Li Meiling, fiancé of Li Syaoran, heir to the prestigious Li Corporation in Hong Kong, has been spotted in Japan. She was surrounded by her group of bodyguards and declined to comment on the current scandal between her fiancé and the Tomoeda High School student, Kinomoto Sakura. "

"Onii-chan, can you please switch to other channel?" Sakura asked grudgingly as she frowned and pouted at the news that she did not want to hear. The picture of Meiling on the television screen doused whatever good mood she was in at the moment.

She was on medical leave for a week after being discharged successfully from the hospital and it was the second day that she was at home. Both her father and brother were at home with her as it was weekend. Tooki was asked to stay at home to avoid the media until the scandal had passed and thankfully his workload has dropped and thus allowing him some respite from his usual hectic work schedule.

Touya complied much to Sakura's satisfaction; Meiling's face was no longer on her television screen but it did not mean that she was out of her mind. Sometimes, she thought that she was going crazy with the constant thought about Meiling together with Syaoran; it made her sick.

"You know you have to get over it," Touya remarked as he settled for some movies which was airing in the channel. "Avoiding it won't help."

"It's easy being said than done," Sakura retorted with a huff, a little ticked off by her brother's comments. "There is nothing much I can do. It's general knowledge now that he is already engaged and word has spread of how suitable she is for him. Who I am to object?"

Touya scratched the back of his head, suddenly feeling awkward as he fought for words but ended up failing miserably. His sister was feeling bitter but there was nothing that he could say to make her feel better. He let out a sigh and went up to his room, leaving Sakura to think on her own.

So lost was she in her own thoughts that she did not even hear the doorbell nor did she hear the door opened by her father who then greeted their guest. She only reacted when she felt a gentle hand on her arm and looked up to find Tomoyo's concerned eyes on her.

"Tomoyo-chan? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked after giving her cousin a quick hug for just being there by her side.

"Came to see how you are faring with all the nonsensical news brewing outside," Tomoyo admitted with a sheepish smile. "You don't look that bad at all."

Sakura attempted a laugh but it sounded bitter to even her own ears. "You mean about me being betrayed as the third party to ruin Syaoran's engagement? Apparently, the reporters and paparazzi aren't doing a good job at discovering the truth. I am as much as a victim as the engaged couple!"

"Come on, Sakura-chan. It couldn't be that bad! Did Prince Li contact you?"

Sakura looked pointedly at the coffee table in front of them. Her mobile phone was on it and its battery was taken out and placed haphazardly beside it. Apparently, Sakura had ripped it out when her phone went into a ringing frenzy when she had tried to switch it on earlier to access her messages.

"So… I assumed that he did at least try to call or even message you," Tomoyo deduced. "But why did you cut him off from you totally?"

Sighing dramatically, Sakura looked at Tomoyo and misery was reflected clearly in her emerald orbs. "I don't know what to do, Tomoyo-chan. It is already a fact that Syaoran is engaged. Moreover, his mother objected violently to our relationship and had even come to my house to retrieve their family ring personally. This went to show how displeased she was with me! And do you know what the news said about Li Meiling? She's simply too perfect and too far above me! She will make a suitable candidate to be the fiancé of Syaoran."

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo exclaimed and shook her cousin so hard that her head felt as if it would drop from her shoulders. "Cheer up! Negativity isn't you!"

"I know who I am – just Kinomoto Sakura and nothing more."

Tomoyo made some strangled voices in her throat out of sheer frustration with her impossible cousin. She would have to do something to pull Sakura out of her misery and negative thoughts. She needed to know the truth from Syaoran and that was the only way that would help her.

The plan would have to work.

Correction: It has to work.

"Be serious will you?" Yelan admonished her son with displeasure etched clearly on her stern face. "This behavior isn't befitting of the Prince of Royal High! You have been neglected the Li papers for quite some time already."

Syaoran sighed in his high backed chair behind his work desk, his elbows were on the top of his majestic teak table and his face was in his palms. He was tired of everything, from his mother to the paparazzi and then the irreparable misunderstanding between Sakura and him. She seemed to be drifting further away from him with each day and the need to see her nearly killed him. Calling her and texting her did not help to improve his situation for the other party did not respond to him. He was starting to get desperate.

"Son, I am talking to you," Yelan warned darkly when he refused to even look at her.

Sometimes he really wondered how he came to be in this terrible and agonizing situation and it all boiled down to one person – his mother. Being the sole parent, she had taken care of him for as long as he could recall. Or rather, she had employed someone to take care of him; she had been too busy managing the whole Li Corporation to even say a single word to him.

It was a terrible childhood, having to constantly crave for the parental love he could not have. Soon, he had grown accustomed to being alone and living in solitude. To compensate for her absence, Yelan had bring Meiling to his house to accompany Syaoran on her behalf. She was always hovering around him and driving him crazy with her silly girly conversation to a ten year old boy. Before he knew it, the two of them was engaged. He had thought nothing of it then since it was his mother's decision. How he had regretted his silence…

"I had enough of you trying to dominate my life," Syaoran muttered into his palm, trying to contain his grievances and frustration from his difficult childhood. "I had enough!"

Yelan was taken aback; Syaoran was always polite to her and never ever raised his voice against her. He always acted according to his wishes, from the food he ate, the clothes his wear, the friends he made and even the decisions he made and there was never a complaint from him, not until now. She frowned down at him and blamed Sakura for his sudden change. Sakura was a bad influence in his life and she was glad that she had expressed her feelings to the lady in question regarding their relationship.

"What did you just say?" Yelan tested him again, in case he has realized his slip and talked to her politely as he had done so in the past.

"I said," Syaoran paused dramatically and looked up at his mother defiantly. "I had enough of you trying to control me."

"What?" Yelan screeched, still unable to believe what he was telling her.

"I knew what you did," Syaoran said, gritting his teeth to subdue his anger. "You informed the media about my private engagement with Meiling. It was all over the news for the past few days. It was kept a secret between the two families. If it is not Meiling's side that disclosed it to the media then it have to be on our side. You cannot blame me for doubting you. Moreover, it was your last minute decision to bring Meiling to Japan in such a dangerous period of time!"

"I can't believe that we are having this absurd conversation. This is so pointless," Yelan announced and tried to dismiss him but he had slammed his fists against the table and the sound it made was so loud that it stopped her on her way to exit Syaoran's private study.

"It was really you," Syaoran growled out, hissing angrily at his mother. "It was you all along! I've tried to be the son you've ever wanted, following each and every instructions that you gave me but it was just never enough for you. Now, you even want to control who I date! This is my life and I'm not one of your chess pieces to move as you please!"

"You are going overboard," Yelan warned and her face contorted in anger. "I am doing everything for your own good! And clearly, that Kinomoto Sakura is really a bad influence on you. It's good that you are finally staying away from her."

"It's not my choice to stay away from her," Syaoran's eyes narrowed on his mother. "You chased her away from me and in doing so, you are losing your son bit by bit. I don't even know what I am doing these days."

"Losing yourself over a girl," Yelan snarled. "Pathetic excuse for a man."

Syaoran refused to let himself be goaded by his mother's words so he kept his silence and stomped out of his study in anger before his mother had a chance to make her own exit and thus effectively dismissed her.

His phone vibrated from within the back pocket of his jeans as he stalked back to his room and he dragged it out and answered it impatiently without even checking who the caller was. "Yes?" He said gruffly into his phone even though he knew it was a rude thing to do so.

"Who dared to make you angry on such a fine weekend?" his cousin's voice answered him and he sounded a little too cheerful to suit Syaoran's mood.

"I'm not in a good mood at the moment. If it's not important, then call again another day," Syaoran said into his phone and made a movement to end the call but Eriol had shouted him to hold on. Syaoran sighed and put the phone back to his ears. "What do you want from me?"

"Even though you are not in the best of moods now, could you make yourself to meet me for a moment? I have something important to tell you," Eriol told him and waited for Syaoran's answer.

"Can't we just talk over the phone?"

"No, I want to talk to you face to face," Eriol replied and Syaoran sighed regretfully, thinking of rejecting his cousin. "It concerns Kinomoto-san."

Syaoran hesitated for a moment and many thoughts flashed through his mind. About Sakura? What can he possibly talk about? His curiosity was piped and he found himself slightly interested in what Eriol wanted to talk to him about.

"Where?"

Eriol smiled on the other end of the call; he had successfully baited Syaoran to come out from the mansion. The rest of the plan could then be put successfully in place once he met up with him. He was eager to see his plan go into action and he knew Tomoyo would have the same thoughts as he did. After all, the two of them did come up with the plan together.

"We'll meet at night outside Kinomoto's house."

That really got Syaoran's full attention and it was a meeting that he wouldn't miss in his entire life.

"I'll be there."

That's all for this chapter. Do come back for the next update this coming weekend! ^_^

Oh, and do leave a review if you could. Thank you!