Summary: What if you have a chance to go back to your past and change your life? What if you can live your life differently, make new choices? Will it make a difference? Or will making a different choice still take you down the same route? What if your decision changes the rest of your life and everything is different from what it is supposed to be? What would happen if you make the wrong choice?
The next 4 yrs of Syaoran's life's like a roller coaster ride – full of ups and downs. He made movies, cut albums, held concerts, ventured into business and attended functions with a different woman at his side each time.
Tomoyo and Eriol didn't comment about it at first because Tomoyo thought he would grow out of it and Eriol thought he would get tired of revenging himself on someone who wasn't there to witness his revenge, but as time went by, and Syaoran didn't stop, they became worried. Still they didn't say anything because, what was there exactly to say?
They stood quietly, while Syaoran and his current girlfriend smiled for the cameras. They watched as Syaoran efficiently conquered one girl after another and dumped them just as quickly as he acquired them. They were nothing more than toys to him; they weren't even a challenge. Those girls who played hard to hard, Syaoran turned on his legendary charm and dazzled them. He made them fall for him and then ruthlessly reject their advances.
Tomoyo once tried to broach on the subject Sakura and Syaoran turned nasty.
"Never, ever speak of her to me again! Never, did you get that?!" he actually raised his voice at her and his brown eyes had seemed like twin shards of icicles.
Tomoyo never spoke of Sakura to him since that day.
Sakura did go to Tomoeda, Japan, but she'd taken another plane from there to Tokyo. Within a month after she got to Tokyo, she found a job as a nurse in a hospital that paid pretty well and that offered boarding to her. Sakura wasn't happy there, how could she ever be happy without Syaoran? But she felt a peace she never experienced before.
She regularly saw Syaoran on the cover of magazines and she collected each and every one of them. Even as she read about his life through the magazines, she knew she was torturing herself needlessly. She'd given him up willingly so why was she collecting every piece of info she could about him?
Other then her penchant for collecting articles about Syaoran, Sakura led a completely normal existence – boring, but eventful. She managed to work her way through med school and got her practicing license. Initially, she shut herself completely off from the world, but even as she forgot about the world, the world didn't forget her. Her classmates and colleagues refused to leave her alone, they insisted on including her in all their activities and slowly, Sakura found herself smiling again, then laughing. Slowly, bit by bit, she became less depressed and more optimistic about life. Sometimes, she would forget that she didn't belong here, at this time.
But there was one thing she never allowed herself to forget. She never forgot Syaoran and thought about him constantly. He was there in her thoughts when she woke up in the morning and he was there when she went to sleep at night. She missed him terribly and his exploits in the papers hurt her so much that the pain was almost physical. She wanted to go back to Hong Kong so badly and see him. Just one glimpse she tried to convince herself, but Sakura knew that she would never be contented with just one glimpse.
The urge to see Syaoran, feel him and talk to him never left Sakura. It was a constant ache and it left a hole in her soul that only Syaoran could fill.
Two years after she ran to Tokyo, Syaoran was there for a concert. Despite her resistance, Sakura attended it. The sight of him almost made her break down. She wanted so much to run up to him and just let him hold her in his arms. She wanted to wrap her arms about him and never let him go. She wanted to stay with him forever and ever... Then, she ran out of the stadium less than halfway through the concert because she couldn't bear the sight of him without throwing herself at him anymore. She'd proceeded to lock herself in her room during his four day stay there because Sakura was afraid of what she might do otherwise.
Now, four years later, Sakura was going back to Hong Kong. She was still afraid of facing Syaoran, but her sister was getting married. Sakura owed it to Tomoyo that she turns up for the wedding.
Eriol stared at the yellowing letter in his hands. It was the letter that Sakura had left behind for him four years ago. She'd stipulated that he not open the letter until today and he'd compiled even though there had been times when the urge to open the letter became overwhelming.
Dear Eriol,
By this time, you would have either broken up with Tomoyo or is marrying her. If the both of you are getting married, congrats and I think that you were incredibly brave to propose to her during your concert. I'm really happy for the both of you if you are getting married, if you're not, I'm sorry. Don't blame him for your separation because before my intrusion, things were supposed to happen that way.
Either way, Eriol, I'm coming back.
Interlude (2013)
Tomoyo sat quietly in front of the dresser, staring calmly at her reflection in the mirror. She looked radiant today in her wedding dress. It was just a simple cream-colored dress, nothing as elaborate as the wedding gown she wore at the other wedding, at a wedding she rather not remember ever. The dress draped itself along her curves, showing off every asset Tomoyo had. There were no sequins, no nothing on it to catch attention. It was quietly stunning. Tomoyo loved it.
And Eriol would love it too.
Slowly, Tomoyo looked away from her reflection to the window. She couldn't see the ocean through the window, yet from here, she could hear the waves crashing on the sand in a rhythm that was hypnotizing. Eriol and her had decided to go out of Hong Kong to get married. He didn't want the fuss and Tomoyo didn't want to plan a elaborate wedding. She wanted them married as soon as possible.
The sunlight filtered into the room at awkward angles and Tomoyo stared at them in fascination. She wondered what Syaoran was doing now, would he even notice that she was not in Hong Kong, or would he be too preoccupied with his memories and thoughts on Sakura.
She lied to Eriol. She was never pregnant. She just needed someone to revenge herself on Syaoran and who better to do it with than Eriol. Tomoyo's mouth curved in a bitter smile. That wasn't true; she wasn't looking for revenge, if she was, she would have married herself to someone else, like maybe Wayne and destroyed Syaoran's hopes of her getting back together with Eriol.
Yes, Tomoyo knew that was what he wanted and that was the one thing he cared about. She had known of his nocturnal visit to Eriol's house and she knew that he'd tried to tell Eriol that he was out of the picture and that if Eriol wanted reconciliation, it was highly possible.
She had known because she had been there. After she ran from his house, she didn't go back home and cry as he thought she did. She stayed in her car, trying to calm herself down enough to think about what she should do next. Then, she'd seen Syaoran coming out of his house and had followed him out of concern for him. He'd looked so lost and pained that Tomoyo couldn't just go off and leave him alone. In essence, Tomoyo followed him to Eriol's house and heard what Syaoran said. Her heart – if it hadn't disintegrated before – does so now. To wonder if he really loved her was one thing; hearing conformation about it was another.
Yes, Tomoyo's heart was broken, but more than anything, after she'd cried and mourned about it, she realized that the only thing that might get Syaoran back on his feet was to let him think that he hadn't completely ruin their lives. She had to prove to him that everything was salvageable. If Eriol and her got together, maybe, just maybe Syaoran wouldn't feel so much like a failure anymore.
Maybe that would motivate him back to life again. Tomoyo hoped it was enough.
Eriol stood at the doorway, silently studying his bride. She took his breath away; Eriol didn't think that such perfection could exist in this world. Tomoyo proved him wrong though.
He had been standing there for some time now, just looking at her. She certainly wasn't hard on his eyes, in fact, Eriol could be perfectly happy to stare at her for the rest of his life. He wondered what she was thinking about now.
He knew that she didn't love him yet, but he planned to make her fall in love with him. By hook or by crook, even if he had to tie ladders together to reach the sky so that he could pluck down the stars or moon for her, he would succeed somehow.
But for now, Eriol hoped that his love for her could be enough.
He never stopped loving her, which was why when Syaoran and Tomoyo got together, he felt so betrayed. Syaoran knew that Eriol was still in love with Tomoyo when they broke up, he knew! If he didn't love her still, he wouldn't have cared. All these years, Eriol buried himself in work because otherwise he would feel the loneliness seeping in again. Only until he worked himself into the ground could he sleep peacefully. When he was busy, he could forget that he had no other life other than his work. He successfully kept this up for the past 7 years, but he was glad to be given a chance to change that.
"What are you doing standing there so quietly?" Tomoyo's startled voice jerked him back to reality.
He smiled at her and held out his hand to her, "It's time."
Tomoyo stared down at his strong, capable hand and then back up at his waiting face. She sensed that the longer Eriol waited for her to accept his hand, the tenser he became. Tomoyo sensed that her putting her hand in his had significance to him. Slowly, Tomoyo stood up; she walked towards him and stopped directly in front of him. Eriol's gaze searched her face and his body relaxed when she smiled up at him.
"Let's go then," she said, slipping her gloved hand into his warm one. Smiling, they both turned to the door.
Fifteen minutes later, they were officially man and wife.
As Eriol leaned forward to kiss his bride, he inhaled her intoxicating scent, a scent that was potently her. As his lips grazed her smooth cheek, he heard her whisper to him.
"I'm not pregnant Eriol, I lied to you."
Eriol slowly pulled back at looked down at her, a slight smile on his lips. He'd known that when he found a sanitary napkin in her purse when he was looking for tissue papers just now. "Why did you decide to tell me that?" His voice was decidedly gentle.
There was a slight hesitation before Tomoyo replied, "Because you don't deserve to be lied to. You're a good man, Eriol and I-"
"Shush," Eriol put his finger on her lips, his eyes shining brightly down at her. He was looking at her so tenderly... How could he not be angry when she'd just lied to get him to marry her.? Didn't he understand that she'd made use of him? "Nothing matters now." he told her, "we'll start afresh, you and me. We'll have our own children. I'll make you very happy, Tomoyo, I swear that to you. I don't care about what happened before, all that's in the past. I just want you to be happy in the future, you got that?"
Tomoyo nodded in wonderment. Was this the same glacial man just a few days ago? Was the same man who'd hated her and Syaoran all these years? In this moment, when he was smiling at her like this, looking at her like this, it was hard to believe that he had any connection to that man.
Hope blossomed in Eriol's chest when Tomoyo nodded than laughed up at him. He tucked her firmly to his side as they walked out the church hand in hand. The future definitely looked bright.
------------------------------------------------
Author's Note: Long interlude, but that's a good thing, right? You see why I didn't mention Eriol's letter before now? Anyways, please tell me what you think and REVIEW because this way I'll update faster. Your comments motivate me!