Thanks as always to my lovely readers for your reviews. Big hugs to all of you especially Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius, lolgreeness, dragonroses, RosyRedPen, EchizenRyoma, redeyes143, xSapphirexRosesxFanx, SeafoamMist and kira07!

So in the last chapter, Sakura received an invitation from the Li...

Be My Valentine

Chapter 29

By Sakura aka Michelle


Sakura pulled out the invitation card from the envelope, marveling at the elegance of the design on the card before scanning through its contents for details. The word invitation was printed in bold right in the middle of the card with some small prints below stating the date, venue and time. Her eyes almost bulged out at the venue of ball. It was one of the grandest hotels in Japan, meaning that if she were to attend whatever function it was, she would have to wear something fanciful.

"I can't attend this!" Sakura said. Her hands trembled slightly and she longed to dump the invitation and pretended that she didn't receive it. "Why did she send this to me if she dislikes me so much?"

"Your whole family is invited," Eriol said after taking the invitation from Sakura and reading it for himself. "To Miss Kinomoto Sakura and her family…"

Sakura blanched at the thought of being in the public with Touya. As if the episode with the paparazzi at their front gate wasn't enough for her family. What would her father say to this? Would he agree that all three of them should turn up for the function?"

"Actually, I'm invited too," Tomoyo said a little sheepishly after a few moments of watching Sakura's internal battle. Eriol grinned at her announcement while Sakura was shocked by it. "The Daidoujis are always invited but I didn't really get to meet the Lis…"

"Maybe you should wait for your father to come back before making a decision," Eriol suggested. "Perhaps he knows something about this."

Sakura blinked, her mind automatically bringing her back to the day when Yelan caught the whole lot of them in her house. "Now that you've brought this up, I can't help but think that there is something my father is hiding from me… He blurted about something and told Syaoran to forget what he had said when he asked him. Eriol-kun, do you know if my father and Syaoran's mother knew each other?"

Eriol shook his head immediately. "I wish I knew but I really have no idea about that. This came as a surprise to me too. The idea that Syaoran's mother and your father knew each other is rather appalling. If this is true, that means that something bad must have happened between them for his mother to react the way she did with you."

Sakura cringed. "That is really bad."

"Maybe we were just over thinking it?" Tomoyo asked uncertainly. "Let's just wait to hear what your father has to say on this. It's pointless for us to draw conclusions on our own without any proof."

"Daidouji-san is right about that." Eriol agreed, giving the invitation back to Sakura who accepted it with a murmur of thanks. "Let's all stop thinking about this and do something fun for a change. How about a movie together and then I'll whip up some sumptuous dinner?"

"Someone's confident," Tomoyo said with a twinkle in her eyes. "Movie sounds great."

"What do you have?" Eriol asked, moving towards the open shelf with all her family's movie collections. He spent a few seconds looking through the nearest pile and grinned when he spotted something that interested him. Sakura laughed when she saw the title that he picked and more so at the expression on his face—he looked like an eager young child waiting to open his Christmas presents. "How about an action movie? Any violent objection?"

"Not at all," Tomoyo said and giggled. "You look as if you have just discovered a diamond mine."

"What? There's hardly time for me to indulge in a relaxed and good movie with all those responsibilities piled on me. Now that Syaoran has cut me some slack, I intend to fully utilize the time doing something fun—like watching a movie with pretty ladies."

"You're such a flirt!" Tomoyo said, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Look who's flirting?" Eriol asked with a smirk on his face.

Sakura visibly gagged watching the two of them flirt with each other. Wordlessly, she took the selected movie from Eriol's hands and popped it into the player for them. She turned around and found her two classmates still staring at each other. Shaking her head, Sakura left the two of them in their own world while she set off into the kitchen to make preparations for their dinner.

xxx

"Thanks for the wonderful dinner!" Both Tomoyo and Eriol chirped simultaneously with gusto. Not a hint of the spaghetti they had eaten was left on their plates.

"The two of you are of the same frequency after watching a movie together? How surprising!" Sakura said, smiling at them.

Tomoyo eyed Eriol, watching a handsome grin spreading across his face and she blushed in response. "Great minds think alike, don't you know that?" Tomoyo asked, gathering both Eriol and her plates to put into the dishwasher.

"And now you are clearing the plates for him too?" Sakura mused, totally engrossed in teasing her cousin mercilessly. "How thoughtful." She had noticed the spark going on between them after her near drown incident and wasn't hesitant to help them fuel it. The invitation to her house for dinner was one of her ploy to get the two of them to be closer and Sakura was proud to say that it had worked a little. One could hardly rush through the process and Sakura had to proceed with care or else her plan would backfire.

Tomoyo rolled her eyes at that. "It's out of politeness. I'm clearing my dishes too and plus the fact that he wasn't very familiar with the house."

"Oh please, my house isn't that big."

Fujitaka was on his way back to the dining table, carrying a tray of desserts that he had made earlier this morning. He was glad that he had made some extras in case his children wanted second helpings, which they usually did. "I'll take it from here, Tomoyo-san. You are our guest after all," he said, stopping Tomoyo from stepping away from the table. He then passed a plate of chocolate mousse cake to each of them before clearing the table.

Tomoyo moaned in pleasure as the sweet chocolaty cake filled her mouth and teased her senses. "This is so good!" Tomoyo exclaimed and turned to look at Fujitaka with hopeful eyes. "Can I live here forever? I can get used to the desserts you make!"

Fujitaka laughed, delighted by Tomoyo's compliments on his dessert. "I'm sure the chefs at Daidouji house can do a much better job than me."

"They can never match up to your standard! Never!" Tomoyo said and eagerly pushed in another mouthful of the sweet goodness into her mouth.

"I would have to agree with Tomoyo on that," Eriol said, nodding his head with each mouthful of the chocolate mousse cake he took. "This is heavenly."

"Just so that you know, my dad is not for hire," Sakura said. "If you want to taste more of his desserts, you just have to come here with advance notice. Don't entertain any wistful thoughts of having him in your house. You can't have him!"

"I'm glad you like the cake." Fujitaka said, smiling warmly at them. "Be sure to let me know when you are coming so that I can prepare a feast for you."

"Oh! You'll spoil us rotten!" Tomoyo said with a grin.

"Your brother is missing all these," Eriol said.

"Don't mind him. He'll be busy these few days with photo shoots so we'll hardly see him at all," Sakura replied.

"So he'll miss out about the invitation as well?" Eriol asked.

"He'll be back by next weekend," Sakura said and then she remembered about their earlier discussion. "Otou-san, I have some questions for you about the invitation by the Royalties."

The change in his expression was drastic. Gone was the smiling man and a serious mask was in place within a second. The sudden transformation startled Sakura, who paused in the middle of her dessert to watch her father. She knew it was something serious. Even Eriol and Tomoyo sensed the change and had already stopped eating.

"So that's what the letter is all about… I can't believe that they actually sent one to you… I am sure you want to know about the invitation to the Li Corp's annual event and why you are invited?" Fujitaka asked and Sakura nodded her head in response. He released a sigh before continuing. "It's an annual event for The Royalties for The Royal High School and it has always been hosted by the Lis without fail. What do you know about The Royalties, Hiiragizawa-san?"

"They are the leaders of The Royal High School, sort of like the president of the student council but with lots of responsibilities like the day-to-day running of the school and finances. These students are in fact trained during their term for the real world. After graduating, these people are usually well received by the society and ends up with high ranking jobs and statuses. Their children would be given a spot in the high school as well."

"So who is The Royalty of the school now?"

"Syaoran is The Prince right now." Eriol was a little confused by Fujitaka's questions and was not able to see any linkages between the topics.

"So, who attend these annual events?" Fujitaka asked again.

"The families of current and past Royalties as well as high ranking officials and presidents of highly reputable companies. It is a good opportunity for socializing," Tomoyo replied confidently. Sakura was surprised that Tomoyo knew the answer. "Well, my grandfather was The Prince when he was in high school."

"That's amazing!" Sakura exclaimed. "But why weren't you in Royal High then?"

"I wasn't interested…"

Sakura frowned. Who wouldn't be interested in studying in such prestigious school? Then it hit her. "Don't tell me you were trying to follow me…" She paused when Tomoyo shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "You were! Oh my gosh! Tomoyo-chan, you've wasted a good chance in getting a better education! And it's all because of me!"

"It was my choice and still is," Tomoyo countered.

"The politics within the school itself was unbearable," Fujitaka said. "It takes a lot for The Royalty to be able to withstand the pressure."

"You sound as if you spoke from experience," Eriol remarked as he eyed Fujitaka.

Fujitaka was smiling a little fondly now as he recalled the past. "I was speaking from experience but it was not from mine. I was merely a bystander."

"I'm confused," Sakura said, trying to make sense of what her father was saying.

Fujitaka was looking at his daughter in the eye right at the moment and Sakura braced herself for what was to come. "Your mother was once The Princess of The Royal High School."

Sakura's eyes widened at the announcement. Never in her wildest dream would she have thought that she was affiliated to The Royalties.

"It made sense now," Tomoyo said. "I never would have thought Sakura-chan should receive an invitation. And grandpa was The Prince… Silly me! How could I not have seen the link?"

"You can't blame yourself for that, Tomoyo-san. You have been brought into the world of Royalty since young—your father was The Prince and so was your grandfather. So it's natural for you to receive an invitation. But for us… I can only say Nadeshiko suffered a lot during her Royalty term of office. She made me promise to prevent Touya-kun and Sakura-chan from entering the political world of The Royalty. I've rejected every single invitation that was sent to me over the years. It didn't cross my mind that they would address it to Sakura-chan this year… After all, your grandpa did disown Nadeshiko…"

Sakura knew about her grandfather disowning her mother so it was not surprising for her to hear it from her father again. Eriol, on the other hand, was pretty shocked by the news. "But why did they send it to me?"

"As I've said earlier, I have been rejecting all invitations for a long time now. I guess Li-san found out about you being Nadeshiko's daughter in some unknown ways and sent it directly to you. She was, after all, the one pulling the strings in The Royalties right now since her son is in the position."

"But that would mean Sakura-chan is exposed now," Eriol said. "It would be impossible for her to ignore the invitation now, wouldn't it?"

Fujitaka leaned his elbows on the table and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling an upcoming headache. He knew it was a matter of time before they were exposed and he was hoping that he would be able to keep his children out of it.

"But it doesn't make any sense to me… If she knew my mother was The Princess, why does she still oppose to me being together with Syaoran?"

Fujitaka shrugged. "She probably doesn't know about you. Nadeshiko didn't keep in contact with The Royalties after graduating from High School and then she married me." A warm smile spread across his face as he was recalling the past when he was younger with sweet Nadeshiko by his side. "Then she had Touya and then you."

The way Fujitaka said that made Sakura feel as if he was proud of her and proud of his children. Sakura's breath hitched as tears welled up in her eyes. Somehow, she felt guilty for bringing the mess to her family. In truth, the whole crazy mess started with her encounter with Syaoran at the fast-food restaurant.

"Otou-san… I'm so sorry…"

A look of shock passed Fujitaka's face before he hurried to Sakura's side. He pulled her into his arms despite having guests in the house and patted her back consolingly. She heard him exhale loudly in a sigh. "It's not your fault, Sakura. It would have happened eventually. If there's anyone to blame, then blame me since I'm the one keeping the truth from you and Touya."

"But…"

Fujitaka patted her head like she was still a young child who needed to be pacified. "It's not your fault and never will be. I just want you to be happy."

"But I am happy."

"You'll be happier once everything is over," Fujitaka said. "I will see to it."

"But how?"

Fujitaka released Sakura and stepped back grinning at her. "First, we'll attend the function and then we'll see from there."


Oh yea! Finished a week earlier! How's that for you? :D

Anyway, I've paused my job hunt while I revise for my last paper. I wouldn't want to disrupt the office with my study leave... It'll be troublesome for the company I suppose. That means I'll have a bit more time to write! But I'll be spending some time on my ORIGINAL story. Not sure if I'll be posting it online but I may be looking for beta readers for that but that will be in the future.

Oh, and I'm continuing The Chase since it consists of really short chapters and it makes it easy and fast to update. :) Stay tuned!

Btw, did you join me at FB? If you did, you would have noticed there's sneak previews on my progress every few days. :D It's fun posting my updates on FB.

Happy weekend!