AN: Wow, it's been over a month since I last updated. I'm so sorry! I've had this chapter ready for some time but other things kept popping up. (jeez, I wonder how many authors came up with that same excuse?)

Well, anyways, thank you for all your reviews! On with the story!

Affairs of the Heart

Chapter Three

Lydia whined at her husband. "Xiao-Lang, couldn't you take this one day off?"

"No, Lydia. You know I can't. It's Monday, meaning that my desk is probably filled with papers that weren't taken care of over the weekend."

Lydia pouted. "Xiao-Lang-"

"Lydia, if you want to spend the day with me, come to work with me."

Syaoran knew she wouldn't. For reasons she wouldn't state, she hated his company, and would rather go poor then enter where he works.

She changed the subject immediately, not wanting to answer his question. "I want to redecorate the mansion" she announced.

Syaoran's eyebrows rose, questioning her motive.

"This mansion is no longer glamorous, and I do wish that it looks pretty for when our guests arrives."

Syaoran stopped buttoning his shirt and looked at Lydia through the mirror. "What do you mean when our guests arrive?"

Lydia blinked. "For the party, dear."

"What party?"

"The one we are having for the Matsumono's to celebrate their engagement. I still haven't decided when the party will be, but I supposed it'll be sometime after the mansion is redecorated, if you let me."

Syaoran turned around and looked at her sharply. "Why wasn't I informed about a party?"

"Darling, I asked you a couple of days ago if I can throw the party. You nodded yes."

Syaoran frowned. He never remembered that. Maybe he hadn't paid attention when she had asked. Sometimes when he works at the mansion in his personal office, he doesn't pay attention to anything around him, including words from his wife's mouth. He decided to pretend that he remembered.

"Oh, right. Of course. Well, I suppose you could redecorate the mansion, so long that whoever it is doesn't touch this room."

"Why not?"

Syaoran didn't like the idea of someone changing this room, which he had decorated himself. He liked the way it looked, and he wasn't very enthusiastic at the idea of a stranger thinking that they will know what he liked and disliked. "I like the way it looks" he replied flatly.

Lydia decided not to argue, seeing the determined look in his eyes. "All right, then. Every room except this one."

Syaoran nodded and finished dressing. He grabbed his briefcase and kissed her cheek before leaving.

Lydia sighed, slightly shaking her head at her husbands predictability. Of course she had never asked him for the party. In fact, she barely thought about it last night and had called the Matsumono's, who got engaged two days ago, to ask them if she can throw a party for them before they said yes. But she knew her husband would pretend to remember and say yes.

And, of course, the party wasn't really for the Matsumono's. It will be more of a cover up, because she will announce during the party that she is pregnant. She wasn't pregnant now, but she will be. Last month she had gone to a clinic, without telling Syaoran, to see how fertile she was. And, to her relief, she was very fertile. So fertile that all she needed was one night without protection while she is ovulating and bam!!!! she has a bun in the oven.

But once she's pregnant, her husband will think that she got pregnant on purpose---which is true---and she can't have him mad when she announces her pregnancy. And that's when the party comes in. He would never yell at her in front of guests, and by the time the guests leave he'll be calm and happy about having a child.

She felt no guilt whatsoever about what she was going to do. She needed to get pregnant, and if that meant tricking him into getting her pregnant, she'll do it. That's why she canceled the new prescription of birth-control pills.

Of course, if she didn't get pregnant by him, she'll get pregnant by someone else, and she knew the perfect candidate. He would greedily do what she says; he had done whatever she said before she had realized that Syaoran just might find out what they were doing behind his back. But really none of that mattered. Her only concern was to get pregnant.

(Kiyo)

Kiyo entered his hotel room, not at all happy with what his partners in the Cabinet have decided to do.

"Why a party?" he muttered as he began to loosen his tie. "Couldn't they just do a ceremony for the new member?"

Kiyo wasn't fond of parties; he easily got bored at them. He knew he wouldn't be bored if he actually brought his wife with him instead of those sleazy escorts his friend hooks him up with. But bringing his wife just wasn't going to happen. Sakura might like going to parties and then she would want to go to every party he was invited to. If that ever happens he knew he would lose control of the life he created for them. He grabbed the newspaper the maid left on the table next to the door and laid down on the bed. He frowned when he saw that Blossom Petal has gotten yet another story written about it.

He didn't like Sakura's occupation. He admitted to the fact that she was a good interior decorator, but he didn't like the way her business was booming. When she first asked if she can start a business, he agreed to it, thinking that her business wouldn't survive for long because there were many interior decorator businesses out there. A new one wouldn't be able to compete with all the others. He didn't know that Sakura's business would become one of the best in Japan.

He was jealous. Didn't take a genius to see that. He despised her success, her popularity. But he knew he couldn't outright and say to shut down Blossom Petal. Not yet, at least. It wasn't the time. Sakura was slowly becoming the wife he had always wanted; a quiet, shy woman who would hide behind the shadow of her husband and do everything he told her to do and not object or argue with his decisions. But he had to go about it slowly, and once he molded her into the perfect wife, he would tell her to shut down Blossom Petal.

And if she refused . . . Well, he would hate to leave bruises on her beautiful skin, but if he had to, he had the perfect explanation to give to people if they ever ask about them.

(Syaoran)

Syaoran tapped his pencil against the desk. He couldn't concentrate. For the life of him, he couldn't remember what he had been working on Friday night before he left work. He tried, but Sakura kept entering his mind. Not that he really minded, but he still needed to get some work done.

With determination, he sat up straight, looked at his papers . . . And gave up. He wasn't going to get any work done. With a sigh, he opened a drawer and took out a magazine. He has an appointment with a representative from a company who wanted to do business with him in half an hour. Since he obviously can't get any work done, he decided to read a business magazine to pass the time. After flipping through the pages and reading a couple of articles, he stopped and frowned at a picture of Tsuchida Kiyo. He wasn't too fond of the Cabinet member. Tsuchida thought he was so smart, so talented.

What crap.

Tsuchida was nothing more than a liar. Sure, magazines and newspapers made him look like a wonderful man. But in truth he was a lying cheat. He had stole millions of dollars from stock companies, including Li Corps, in order for his campaign. At first, he came to the companies and asked each of them for money, promising he would pay them back. Each of them had said yes, thinking that they would get paid back.

Yeah right.

Tsuchida had never paid them back. In fact, when each of them had asked about when they will get paid back after he was elected as a member, he pretended that he didn't know what they were talking about. But after persisting, he had threatened that he would bring bad publicity to each and every one of the companies that asked for their money. Nobody had underestimated the new Cabinet member, not even Syaoran. He now had the power to make the companies look bad and none of them wanted that.

Syaoran wished he had never allowed him to borrow money from his company. Now the million he had loaned to Tsuchida will never be seen again, although a million wasn't such a big loss. But what angered Syaoran the most was that he allowed himself to be tricked. He desperately wanted some action to be done; he wanted to sue, to humiliate Tsuchida, to show the world how slimy this man really was. But Syaoran couldn't risk bad publicity being brought on his company. He would have to spend more money trying to restore Li Corps good reputation, and destroying a reputation is a lot easier than restoring it. He skimmed through the article –a lot of it about how good of a man Tsuchida was- but then he paused when the article mentioned Tsuchida's wife.

Mrs. Tsuchida . . . he thought to himself. He continued to read and it said that Mrs. Tsuchida has yet to be shown to the public. Apparently, no one has taken a picture of her yet and the only reason the public knows about her was because Tsuchida had mentioned his wife a few times when getting interviews.

Mrs. Tsuchida . . . wasn't that the name on the article in Blossom Petal? He sat up straighter. Does Sakura do business with the woman?

He wondered about it, but didn't wonder for long. He wasn't really interested if Sakura was working with Tsuchida's wife. In fact, he was so disinterested in the matter that he forgot about the wife all together. Instead, he began to think about Sakura . . . again.

Where should I take her tonight? It can't be someplace where I'll be recognized.

He smiled. An out-of-town picnic by the lake. I told her dinner, but I bet she would like a picnic under the moonlight with candles surrounding us to give us light. Romantic and creative! It would be just us two, and I won't run the risk of being recognized.

His smile grew as he began to think of what type of food and wine to bring. But then the smile left when he realized he can't bring the food. He has no time to go shopping, and he definitely can't ask anyone from his own staff to whip something up and then to set up the picnic; they'll ask questions.

I'll figure it out, he told himself.

A buzz sounded in his intercom on the desk. He leaned forward and pressed a button. "Mr. Li? Mr. Wong has arrived."

Why is he here? I don't have an appointment with him.

He looked at the clock and saw that he still has twenty minutes to go before that representative arrived. With him not being busy, he decided to let him in.

"Send him in" he said and released the button. He leaned back in his chair just as a thirty year old walked in.

Wong Chen, owner of Wong's Stocks, was about Syaoran's height, with blackish hair and blue eyes. Chen was divorced, has no kids, and was going broke. The divorce had taken a lot of money from him and from his company but he had been okay and had been slowly rebuilding his company back, financial-wise. But then Tsuchida came and borrowed heavily from Chen, after promising publicity for his company, and never gave him back his money. Wong's Stocks collapsed and now Chen, himself, was scraping just to eat. He had a home and all, but he was about to lose it and everything else. Syaoran had tried to help him, but Chen refused his help. He didn't want anyone's 'charity'.

"Xiao-Lang" Chen said, speaking in Chinese "I-" He frowned when he saw the picture of Tsuchida. "That lying jerk."

"I know" Syaoran said, also speaking in Chinese. "I had frowned when I stumbled upon this article too. Nothing in the article except about his being a good man."

Chen couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Scumbag is what he is." He walked forward and sat on a chair in front of Syaoran's desk. "I think I know how to get our money back."

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "Chen, you always think you know how to get our money back."

"But I now have the perfect plan." Chen grinned. "We can't touch Tsuchida, right? But we can, however, touch the wife."

Syaoran raised both eyebrows this time. "What do you mean?"

"Tsuchida will have to pay if we, say, make a scandal involving the wife having an affair with another man."

Now Syaoran sat up straighter. "No, Chen. We can't involve an innocent woman into this and-"

"No, Xiao-Lang. You don't understand. We'll make pictures, write letters, and show it all to Tsuchida. He would have to pay us to avoid creating such a scandal."

"But wouldn't this make the wife look bad?"

"Yeah, but the main reason a woman has an affair with another man is because the man isn't satisfying her."

"That's not true" Syaoran felt compelled to say. If that was the main reason for a woman to have an affair, then it would be the same for a man, and he wasn't having an affair because Lydia wasn't satisfying him. He was dating Sakura because he liked her and wanted to see her.

"Okay, true, sometimes an affair happens because of attraction between the one who is married and his or her lover. But people might think that Tsuchida doesn't satisfy her needs, or, at the very least, that is what Tsuchida will be worried about. And Tsuchida wouldn't want a scandal of any kind involving him in it."

"Why couldn't we just say that Tsuchida is the one having the affair?"

"Who would believe that? There have been so many good stories about him that an affair wouldn't occur in the people's minds, especially when the story is coming from someone –me –who, Tsuchida had already announced to the whole public, was lying about him coming to me for money just when I was going broke and him not paying me back."

Syaoran had to agree with that. The people would never believe such a story when so many good stories about him has been published and read. Plus, a lot of people with power will back him up and say that him having an affair is not possible.

Syaoran had to admit, this wasn't a bad idea. Tsuchida would definitely not want a scandal of any kind that will ruin his image, and an unhappy, unsatisfied, wife cheating on him will most definitely do that. Not many stories have been published about the wife but people might just easily believe this lie. Tsuchida might threaten them and say if they publish whatever they have about the lie that he'll bring them bad publicity, but by then they would have already published their stuff. There was also the possibility of the people feeling sorry for Tsuchida and praising him more than before, but Syaoran had the feeling that Tsuchida wouldn't even think of that angle. He would be too worried of a scandal ruining not only his image, but his ego, if he believed that the women would think that he can't satisfy his own wife.

"Interesting plan you have, Chen."

"I knew it would be a good plan, Xiao-Lang. I have nothing to lose in this: I have no wife, no reputation to protect, no company, and now no money." Chen grinned. "I might have to follow her from Tsuchida's house since I have no idea how she looks like. But once I do know I'll follow her around and I can take some pictures. Once I get her pictures, I'll have someone do something to it on a computer so it could look like she's with a man or something. Who knows? Maybe she might actually be having an affair and I'll get a picture of her kissing her lover."

Syaoran said nothing.

"So, Xiao-Lang? Do you have my back on this?"

"This might ruin the wife's image."

"I don't think we'll have to publish anything about the wife having an 'affair'. I believe that Tsuchida will be far too worried about a scandal ruining his image. But, if we do publish the story, once we get our money back and reveal the type of man Tsuchida really is, then you or someone very popular and with a lot of influence, can say that it was nothing more than a ploy to get our, and the other companies', money back."

"And what if we get sued by Mrs. Tsuchida?"

Chen sighed. "I have confidence that we won't have to publish anything, therefore we won't get sued."

Syaoran was that sure, too. Tsuchida only thinks about his image.

"Well? Yes or no?"

Syaoran hesitated, but then nodded. "All right. If it'll get our money back then I say go for it. Follow the woman."

Chen grinned. "Glad you agree with me, Xiao-Lang. Believe me, this plan will work and no one will get hurt."

(Blossom Petal)

"Well, well, well. Someone looks like she's in a good mood."

Sakura stopped humming and turned around. "Well, I am Kari. I am in a very good mood."

Hyobanshi Kari, tall and slim with blondish hair and silver eyes, crossed her arms. "Is it because of Kiyo?"

Sakura sighed. "No. I'm just in a good mood." She turned back to stock the material on the shelves.

"If it isn't Kiyo, then it must be because of that man you are seeing."

With a gasp, Sakura dropped the box with all the pillow cases in it. She spun around and looked at Kari with wide eyes. "How- why- when-?" she sputtered, the shock so deep it didn't even allow her to complete a single sentence.

"Yesterday, I saw you holding hands with a man. I thought nothing of it at first, but then you kissed him on the lips, and it wasn't a peck. You kissed him for quite a while." Kari narrowed her eyes. "Are you having an affair?"

Sakura couldn't believe how fast, how soon, someone figured out about Syaoran. "Kari-"

Kari raised a hand. "Are-you-having-an-affair?" She asked again, this time pausing between words to add more emphasis.

"Yes" Sakura said softly. "B-but just l-let me explain!"

Kari stared at her boss for a few minutes before grabbing her arm and practically dragging her to the office. Once she pushed Sakura inside she slammed the door shut.

"Why?" She asked.

The question was so cold that Sakura couldn't hold back a shudder.

"Why what?"

"Don't play games with me Sakura. You know what I'm asking. Why are you cheating on Kiyo? What, he's not enough for you? You are no longer in love with him?"

"Of course I love him!"

"Really? That's a surprise because where I grew up this isn't the way you show love to someone."

"You and I grew up in the same block, Kari."

"Oh God, it doesn't matter where we grew up! What matters is the fact that you are cheating on your husband! How long has this little escapade been going on ?!"

"It's not an escapade!"

"It doesn't matter what it is. Just tell me how long."

Sakura clenched her hands. She was getting mad by the second. She understood the feeling, an instinct that everyone has. When someone gets mad at you, you retaliate by getting mad in return. You can't help it, so Sakura glared at Kari.

"You act as if you have never cheated on someone" she snapped.

Kari glared back. "That was high school, Sakura. I was an immature brat. When I cheated it was for fun but now I know better, and besides I hadn't been married. You are. I had nothing to lose, but you do. So tell me how long you have been with this other guy!"

"That's none of your concern so butt out." She walked towards the door but Kari stopped her by grabbing her elbow.

"Don't you walk away from me. In high school you were there to knock some sense into me when I was cheating on my guy. Hell, you knocked sense into me every time I was going to do something stupid, just like a best friend should. This fling you have going on is stupid so you better sit your ass down and listen to me and answer my questions because I am your best friend and it's time to return the favor for all those times you prevented me from doing something stupid."

They stared at each for sometime before Sakura yanked her elbow away and walked over to her chair. She sat down and crossed her arms, staring at her desk.

"So, Sakura, tell me how long you have been with this guy."

"Since Saturday. I met him at the club."

Kari's mouth dropped open, even though Sakura couldn't see it. "Since Saturday?"

Sakura glanced up before nodding.

"Oh God, It's already been two days and you have already been caught. Do you seriously think that Kiyo won't find out? You guys live together, are married. Kiyo probably knows you better than anyone else. I don't even live with you and yet look how fast I found out! You have to know that Kiyo will find out just as fast, and then you'll lose him."

"No, he won't Kari. I know him better than anyone else. I know his habits, the times he gets home from work, when he leaves. In other words, my husband is predictable and I know his schedule inside out. I can work my way around it."

Kari groaned. "Apparently I am the sole voice of reason" she stated as she crossed her arms. "Both of you had vowed in front of numerous people on your wedding day, in front of God, that you two love each other. That you two would be faithful. So far the only person who has kept his word is Kiyo."

"You act as if I don't give a damn about him, as if I don't love him."

"If you loved him you wouldn't be doing this. So this means that you don't love him the way you pledged. This means you are a liar."

"You don't understand!" Sakura stood up, hands on her desk. "I love Kiyo. I do. But there's something about-" She didn't want to say Syaoran's name. She hadn't want anyone to know about him, and even saying his name would be giving away too much. "There's something about Wolf" she continued, thinking of what Syaoran's name meant. "God, Kari, you should see him. He is handsome, kind, sweet, a gentleman-"

"He's not Kiyo."

That blunt statement made Sakura stop talking.

"He's not your husband. It doesn't matter if he's sweet, kind or even if he is famous. Sakura, you are a married woman and you should respect your vows the way he should respect the fact that you are married." Kari paused. "Does he know you're married?"

Sakura looked away. "No. He doesn't know."

"Oh, Sakura. Don't you feel any guilt at all about what you are doing?"

Sakura shut her eyes. "Yes, I do. How can I not?"

"Then end it with Wolf."

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"I had already tried to, Kari. I had. I felt so guilty about what I was doing that I had tried to tell him that we shouldn't see each other again. But I just couldn't. This isn't just attraction, which is what I know you are thinking. It's more. I truly do like him."

"The only way that is possible is if you no longer love Kiyo."

"I do love him! It is possible to love someone and grow feelings for another! Why don't you understand?" Sakura cried.

"I'm trying to, Sakura. I am. But how can I when I see my best friend cheating on her wonderful husband? You two are perfect for each other; all I want is for you to be happy and I know this affair will only end in disaster. All of them do. Kiyo will find out, you will lose him, you will lose everything, and then you will end up on the street crying. That is how this affair will end. How every affair ends!"

"This one won't."

"Stop being naïve!"

Sakura felt tears burn her eyes. This conversation was just too much. More now than ever she felt the guilt within her and it was just too much. "You know what, Kari? I don't want to talk anymore. Please go."

Kari ignored her plea. "You have to end this and then you have to tell Kiyo."

"Are you crazy? If I tell Kiyo then I surely will lose everything."

"He'll find out eventually. At least this way you can tell him that it was a mistake and that it was a moment of insanity and that you were just upset that he was going to leave for two weeks."

"I won't end things and I won't tell Kiyo!"

"Then I will."

Sakura gasped, eyes widening. "You wouldn't. If you were my best friend you wouldn't!"

"Kiyo has to know! Secrets within a marriage only ruins the marriage. If you aren't going to tell Kiyo then I will."

"Then I'll hate you for the rest of my life, Kari."

"I don't want you to hate me Sakura. But I'd rather you hate me than see you ruin your life. I don't even care if you never speak to me again but I'll be content because at least I'll know that my best friend is still happily married with her husband."

Sakura sat down slowly, looking at Kari as if she were a stranger. Her best friend was going to rat her out. Kari was going to tell Kiyo everything. And it has been only two days! Hell, not even two days! It was more like a day and a half because she had met Syaoran Saturday night.

Kari walked around the desk and grabbed her by the shoulders. "I'm sorry Sakura if I'm upsetting you. The last thing I want to do is make you sad. But I need for you to see the truth." Kari sighed, all anger gone. "I'll give you a chance to end this affair you are having and tell Kiyo. But if you don't end things, if you don't tell Kiyo what you are doing, I will tell Kiyo."

"Why?" Sakura whispered. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I love you. I care for you. But I also care about Kiyo. He's my friend too. He's like my best friend-in-law and I have to watch his back, even if it means losing you as a friend. You would do the same for me. I know you would. Even in high school you had told me that if I don't stop cheating on my boyfriend and tell him what went on you would tell him. I'm just doing the same for you, even more so now because you are a married woman. And I know that an affair will only end in disaster for you. I don't want you hurt, or Kiyo."

A knock on the door stopped their conversation. Sakura closed her eyes and composed herself. "Y-yes?"

"Sakura?" One of her employees said as she popped her head in. "A Miss Lydia would like to discuss redecorating her mansion with you."

"Can you get her information from her please? And put it in the computer."

"Okay." The employee left and closed the door.

Kari looked at her again. "I'm serious, Sakura. Leave Wolf. This affair you're having with him might not even last. Are you willing to lose Kiyo, the love of your life, for some guy that you met at a club?"

Kari and Sakura stared at each other for a few moments before Kari turned around and left the office.

Sakura crossed her arms, stood up, and walked over to the window, watching all the people below. She needed to go downstairs, needed to talk with that new client of theirs. But she needed to compose herself first. She needed to think.

He's not Kiyo.

"God" Sakura whispered as she closed her eyes. "Help me, please. Kari is right; Syaoran isn't Kiyo, but he isn't just some guy I met at a club. He's so much more. I love my husband so much. But I like Syaoran and I don't want to end whatever it is I have with him. There's something about him that doesn't allow me to say good bye to him." She opened her eyes and looked upward. "Help me through this. I'm so confused, and so scared. So, so scared. I can't lose my husband. But how can I end things with Syaoran? I need you now more than ever. Help me decide what to do. Help me."

(Downstairs)

". . . and you're age?"

"Twenty-three" Lydia stated.

She watched as the slightly plump woman typed it into the computer.

"Now, here come the important questions. How big is your mansion?"

"Oh, it's pretty big; about three stories, including an attic and a basement and a private apartment, which consists of the third story."

"Okay . . . how many rooms would you like decorated?"

"Umm, Living room, the den, the library, five of our bedrooms, the study, the ball room, and the dining room."

Lydia sighed as the woman typed in the information.

"Okay" the woman said. She moved in her seat until she was sitting straight and staring at her. "Now, would you prefer for her to come with her decorators or do you want just the decorators there?"

"Well, what's the difference?"

"Time"

Lydia turned around as a slim woman walked up to the desk. "Some people want the mansions to be done quickly, and that's when I come in. If the owner had any problems with my decorating ideas they can just tell me when I'm there instead of me not being there and then stalling the decorating process so they can find me to tell me the problem and then I have to go to the mansion and fix the problem. So if you need the mansion decorated for a certain party that's coming up then it's best that I'm there. But if there's nothing important coming up and you just want the mansion decorated because you want it looking nice then you don't need me there." Sakura smiled. "Hi, my name is Tsuchida Sakura."

"Oh, nice to meet you Mrs. Tsuchida" Lydia said with a smile.

"Please, call me Sakura."

"Very well, so long as you call me Lydia."

Sakura turned to her employee. "Did you get all her information, Lin?"

"All except her address."

"Well let me give you to that now" Lydia said. "But first, when will you be able to come by and see the mansion?"

"Today, if you want" Sakura replied.

"Great, today would do just fine."

(Sapporo, Japan)

"Interesting" the woman whispered as she lay on the bed on her stomach. She wrapped a strand of her black hair around her fingers.

"What's interesting?" A man asked her as he lay next to her. He looked at her through his thin glasses.

"Xiao-Lang gave quite a lot of money to this charity. Look, here is a picture." She moved the magazine a little so her husband could see. "Isn't a lovely picture of him?"

"Makes him look like some kind of knight that you would find in a fairy-tale movie. Damn his looks. Lydia is there too."

"Makes her look like a witch" the woman said, amethyst eyes suddenly glaring at the wife of Xiao-Lang, who looked utterly bored.

The man ran a hand through his bluish hair. "I thought Lydia loved doing this type of stuff; going to charity benefits, doing good for the people."

"That was when she was dating Xiao-Lang. She only did that stuff to impress him. Now that she married him, she shows her true colors. That slut."

"Now darling, don't be calling people names."

"You're just jealous because your mother had always taught you good morals, which includes not calling women fouling names."

"No matter how tempting it is" he muttered.

"God, I hate that woman. We should have never given in to her blackmail and leave Tomoeda."

Hiiragazawa Eriol's eyes got cold. "I couldn't believe that she would have stooped that low to get rid of us."

Hiiragazawa Daidouji Tomoyo looked at him and placed her hand on his cheek. "Honey, it wasn't your fault that the baby had died."

"But Lydia twisted the story so much that I felt like I did. I was driving at a reasonable speed; not a mad frenzy the way she said. And I wasn't jealous." He looked at her. "You do believe me, don't you?"

Tomoyo nodded. "Of course."

"I loved the baby, our baby; he was found in his car seat, not in a plastic bag. But I couldn't risk her exposing all that false information. Xiao-Lang was barely building up his company and any bad publicity, even if it is about his partner, would surely have destroyed his career before it even started."

"And she knew it. When we confronted her about what she was doing, she knew we would do anything to make sure Xiao-Lang was happy, even leave the town."

He stayed silent for a while, looking at the picture of his best friend who was so blissfully happy that he couldn't see Lydia of who she was. "We need to go back" Eriol said. "It's been going on for too long. We need to stop Lydia. We can't be cowards and hide here forever."

Tomoyo searched his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Xiao-Lang's company is so popular and rich that even bad publicity won't bring it down. Besides, being away made us tough. Now we know that Lydia wouldn't dare expose all that false information without exposing herself to Xiao-Lang."

"You're right." She got up so she was kneeling on the bed. "We need to stop Lydia and protect Xiao-Lang."

Eriol nodded. "Call the airport and see if we can take a flight as soon as possible, Thursday being the latest. If I recall what we had found out, Lydia is pregnant; but if she isn't she's planning on being pregnant. Hopefully, she isn't pregnant."

Tomoyo nodded and reached for the phone. "Does it matter what type of plane we go on?"

"Whichever takes us to Tomoeda the fastest." She nodded again and began dialing.

Eriol closed his eyes. It has been two years since he last saw Xiao-Lang, the one male person he trusted. He had a feeling that Xiao-Lang wouldn't all be too thrilled to see him again. After all, what person would be happy to see someone who was supposed to be the best man at his wedding, but didn't show up and never contacted the groom again?

No one, especially Li Xiao-Lang.

AN: Tad-da! How was that? Hope it was good. I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as possible. Well, 'till next time!