Love Gone Wrong

Summary: Syaoran is a womanizer. To gain his independence from his family, he must first be married and produced an heir to the Li family. But there's a slight change in the bride. What will Sakura think of the bargain her sister made with Syaoran?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm just putting the characters of the anime Cardcaptor Sakura in the story for your entertainment. (Am I a little harsh? Gomen nasai)

Prologue

Hong Kong

The hectic activities of the day left Li Syaoran exhausted and flushed. His companion too is known to be good at cards. Indeed, Mr. Allan Avalon had been a man playing with the luck of an angel on one side and the devil on the other.

They sat facing each other now, slouched in their seats, legs outstretched, a glass of brandy each. If anyone is watching the darkened corners of the men's club, they would cared to give them anything than an peculiar glance and have seen nothing more than a pair of incurable shameless men savoring their victories despite the prospect of tomorrow's hangover.

Only Syaoran would likely notice that his companion was tense and had been less than focused on the game this evening. Five hundred bucks was not shameful for an evening's work. But it would have been doubled. It was time to find out what was causing the distraction. He had a feeling he would not like the answer, so he sighed before he demanded, "Spill it."

Uneasily, his companion shifted, running his fingers through his hair with nervousness that is evident. But there was no hint of deceit, no claim of innocence. That was one of the reasons of their friendship. "I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but your bride-to-be is about run away."

The news gripped him around the middle, like a boxer's hold. For a moment he struggled for breath. "And where would the fair Cattelaya be going, if not to the altar with me?"

"To America."

Syaoran wanted to curse. To shout. To argue. But he did not doubt the truth of the information. He slumped further into his seat. "I knew I had a poor reputation, but I didn't expect it would fly her to another continent." The amber of his brandy glimmered in the dim light of the club as it swirled to and fro with his movements.

His companion leaned back into the lavish leather of the chair, relaxing now that the fateful news had been delivered. "You can curse me for bearing bad news, if you wish."

Syaoran stared grumpily into the shadows. "Will cursing you deliver my bride to the altar?" The answer to the question was certain to happen, but all the same he had to ask.

The reply was as clear as he had expected. "No. But I thought maybe some impolite words might, however, ease some of the temper I see growing in you."

"What temper? I am calm as a priest at prayer." He swallowed down the contents of his glass and held it out, wherein a servant stepped in from the shadows and refilled it.

"The temper that is turning your face red."

'Sometimes a friend could know one too well,' Syaoran thought. Which was why he did not have many friends.

"Do you resent me for my few moments of annoyance? I was planning to be married in two weeks' time, and now I am told that my bride will not join me at the altar. No one will spare a little bit of sympathy for Li's rake heir, will they?"

"Sympathy? Why? You are not marrying for love. You have made no secret of it. You have to face this conflict only to secure an heir and gain control of your funds from your grandfather's hands."

"Only?" Remembering his traitorous earlobes, Syaoran spent a moment to calm his anger. "The reasons seemed essential to me when my grandfather promised me control of my inheritance simply for marrying and producing an heir. Why else bother to find a woman who'd agree to my terms?"

"Perhaps he will be willing to give control of some of your funds once he had learned that your bride has walked out in you, in pity for your poor and wounded pride?"

Syaoran laughed aloud, a laughter that carried the sound of his bitterness through the quiet room. "No. He will not. Not until I am married and produce an heir." 'Even then the old man might have some trick up his sleeve to try to hold on to his control,' but Syaoran had shared that possibility with no one, not even his best friend.

"So, you are still determined upon that option? Despite" – with a dramatic pause and an apologetic sigh cut by a wicked half smile – "despite knowing that proper ladies will be cautious of the jilted Syaoran ne?"

"Cautious? They will be eager, the foolish children. What is it about a man with no moral restraints to speak of, that green girls see him with stars in their eyes?"

" I have never imagined the secret of such idiocy, myself, despite having two sisters. Though I don't suppose it hurts that you are devilishly handsome as well as a Casanova. I believe the combination of amber eyes and hazel nut hair is almost guaranteed to make women swoon."

They both sighed and spent a moment in silent consideration of such behavior, before Syaoran's companion complained about, "How unfortunate that you do not wish a green girl."

"Beyond unfortunate. Where shall I find a woman who is as agreeable as Miss Cattleya Kinomoto to living her own life and leaving me to my own disreputable one is a puzzle I do not enjoy having to solve – again," he grumbled, almost completely resigned to the fact now. Amazing how the effect of a few glasses of brandy could make him. Tomorrow he'd experience a terrible headache.

"Perhaps this time you will just have to settle for the next best alternative."

"And what would that be?"

"Compromise one of the young women who has begun to think she will never find a husband. Perhaps her gratitude will keep her from complaining when you do not reform your ways."

"Such an act would be in keeping with my reputation, I suppose. Do I sound meticulous if I say the idea disgusts me?"

"Why? You need a wife. Isn't seduction a time-honored way for a rake to acquire one?" There was a faint bitterness beneath the words that made Syaoran's ears burn up.

"The work involved seems excessive: wooing and seducing a young virgin only to have to deal with her tears before and after the wedding. I much prefer the the straightforward bargain that Cattleya and I made."

His companion switched position in the leather chair, as if trying to find a comfortable position, before leaning forward to offer in a casual tone, "Perhaps I have the solution for you?"

Syaoran has prepared himself for a joke, but then noticed that his companion once again is apparent with the tension he had noticed earlier this evening. "Let me guess. Akiko Yuri – squinty eyes, lots of pimples, and all."

Instead of an answering grin at his humor, he received a sharp chide. "Miss Yuri is too good for the likes of you." Belatedly, Syaoran remembered that his friend disliked anyone making fun of the less-than-beautiful young women who were forced to compete with that nature had blessed.

"I mean Sakura Kinomoto."

Syaoran would have laughed, but for the pair of serious emerald eyes focused on him. There was not a hint of a smile, and he knew the subtle signs of humor in his best friend too well to doubt that he had just been made a legitimate offer. "Impossible."

The only answer to his rejection of the idea was silence. Syaoran thought of Sakura, Cattleya's twin. Though they were identical in appearance, they were greatly different in behavior. He imagined putting the same bargain before the prim Sakura as he had before Cattleya. The very idea was absurd.

He counted off the reasons on his fingers, allowing them to be absorbed into the silent and dimly lit of the club's dark-paneled walls. "She is Cattleya's sister, she is impossibly proper, and has made no secret of utter disregard for my rather questionable morals."

"Not as impossible as you think." Reluctantly, his friend added, "She has a secret that makes her vulnerable to an offer from you right now."

The only type of secret he could imagine was a scandalous recklessness. He could not imagine such a thing in context with Sakura, whenever try as he might. "What has she done? Allowed a man to kiss her? What young miss worth her salt has not?"

"She took a lover, expecting a formal engagement for her hand, but he proved to be a dishonorable man."

Syaoran had thought himself incapable of being shocked anymore. The idea of Sakura Kinomoto with a lover was so unbelievable he'd have believed no one else who told him such a thing. "I hope, for her sake, he did not prove as clumsy with her pleasure as he did with her heart."

His comment was rewarded with a flush of color upon his friend's cheeks, to his great satisfaction. "I believed this might put your spirit in a new light. I did not intend to spread rumor that might hurt the young lady."

"If no one knows, her reputation is secure. If she marries me, her reputation has a permanent flaw. Cat accepted that."

"Relished it would be more accurate."

"Her sister – "

"She is not so conservative as she appears."

"I will take your word for it. Certainly she has scolded me for both my drinking and gambling habit."

"You are to marry her twin; it is understandable that she is concerned."

"And now you are suggesting that I exchange one sister for the other at the altar?"

"Exactly."

Syaoran considered the idea. "Am I expected to blackmail her into marriage?" He found the idea distasteful.

"Of course not. You will make the same bargain with her as you made with her sister – in addition, you will promise never to bring up her indiscretion in the future."

"I can see the advantage for me," Syaoran said slowly. "But for Sakura? What does she gain from marrying an unrepentant rake? Wouldn't she be better off chasing down her lover and forcing him to marry her? Surely Touya has the necessary power."

"Sakura is not a fool. She has the sense to see marriage to a willing husband as preferable to being chained up to an unwilling coward. Which benefits you, in that she understands too well how futile it is to attempt to change a man's true nature."

Syaoran's curiosity rose at the contempt that shaded his companion's words. "Just who was able to break Sakura's remarkable decorum?"

"That information is not for me to reveal." A curt, sharp warning that Syaoran was close to trespass.

His curiosity grew stronger. He continued to persuade, "If I am to approach the girl to offer a bargain – " but his companion suddenly cut him off.

"Let me manage that. Simply decide whether this exchange of brides will suit you."

Syaoran did not need to ponder overmuch. The girl was Cat's sister after all; there must be more similarities than were apparent at first. He could, at the very least, be honest with her. "You swear she will leave me to my own custom?"

"Exclusively."

A warning voice in the back of his mind compelled him to be cautious. After all, a wife was forever. "I'll need to speak to her. Can that be managed? Someplace private. I want to know the truth from her, not you – especially if she's the one to be my bride."

"I'll arrange it. And then you'll see I'm right." His companion swallowed down the remaining brandy before standing to go. The emerald eyes that met his shone with frankness, and the smile was one of pure relief. "I know my sister."

With a quick glance around, Cat planted a hard kiss on his lips.

Syaoran pushed him – or rather her – away with a harsh exclamation. "You forget yourself Mr. Avalon. And that after jilting me."

She only laughed which made her disguise in her head quiver. "What? Are you bothered about your reputation?" And then her expression grew more solemn. "I'm sorry, Syaoran. I don't want to be married, not even to you, who'd let me do as I liked."

He didn't replied. She, of all people, knew the hopes he had on marriage. An heir. A life of his own that did not depend on his grandfather's approval.

He was glad to see her feel awkward a bit with guilt. Still, he was not surprised to see that she would not change her mind.

She fiddled with her whiskers, her gaze full of certainty. "I know my sister. You and Sakura will be perfect for each other. I'm sure of it."

Next Chapter:

Confrontation – Sakura and Cattleya have a heart to heart talk. Cattleya is discussing to her sister the advantages of being Syaoran's wife on her current predicament.

AN: Did you like it? I hope so. In all the fanfics that I have read, Syaoran is usually a womanizer. I don't know why, but I think it adds more to his appeal. Don't you think? Please review and tell me what you think. If you have any comments and suggestions, please feel free to inform me. Thank you and have a nice day.

**********truehearts signing off**********