AN: I have a perfectly good excuse for not having uploaded yesterday, or this past week. For one, I had way too much school work to do and didn't have time to get on the computer. And yesterday the website was doing their upgrade thing, so I was not able to upload the chapter. So that is why I am uploading today. A day late, but that is better than a week late.
Anyways, this story has sixteen chapters to it, meaning there are six more chapters to go (I had finished the very last chapter about a week ago). What, exactly, can I write for another six chapters? Just read and find out. And yes, Lydia is carrying Haru's baby. I mentioned that in chapter six, I think.
Okay, thank you to all who reviewed! They mean so much to me!
Now, on with the story!
Affairs of the Heart
Chapter Eleven
Sakura felt like she could not breathe as everyone applauded at Lydia's news. Instead, she stared at the way Lydia clung to Syaoran's arms, kissing him on the cheek.
Syaoran . . . Was married? Throughout this whole time, she was in his home and didn't realize who Lydia's husband was? How can she not know?
Now he was going to be a father!
That bastard!
She needed to get out of here and get some air. The balcony was empty. She knew that for a fact because the butlers had told everyone who was outside to go inside because Lydia had something to say.
Not caring what Kiyo thought, or will do, she walked out of his arms and frantically made her way through the dozens of people who were clapping their hands. How can they be so happy when she was so miserable!
Kiyo frowned when his wife walked out of his arms. He was about to follow her when her brother grabbed his arm.
"Let's congratulate the couple!" He suggested and without waiting for an answer, Touya began to drag Kiyo along with him, away from where Sakura went.
Mai followed them, glancing over to the retreating back of the young woman. She understood what Touya was trying to do.
Sakura needed to be alone after finding out such a shock.
Syaoran's head snapped around to look at his wife as she smiled at him. "What?" He croaked, not believing what was happening.
"I'm pregnant, Xiao-Lang."
Syaoran looked to where Sakura was, only to see her moving through the crowd towards the balcony, with Tsuchida attempting to follow her but being led away by Touya.
Tsuchida and Sakura . . . Mr. and Mrs. Tsuchida . . .
He clenched his hands, suddenly angry. He yanked his arm out of Lydia's hold and marched down the few steps. Ignoring everyone's attempt to congratulate him, he went through the crowd, practically pushing people to move out of the way in order to follow Sakura.
He glared at whoever didn't move, taking out his anger at his guests.
Sakura's breath came in short gasps; she was on the verge of hyperventilating as she reached the railing of the balcony and grasped at it, needing it's support.
This was just supposed to be a party. Nothing dramatic. Just a damn party.
She knew she was crying. She could feel the hot liquid streaming down her cheeks. She squeezed the railing when a sob escaped pass her lips.
She heard someone walk up behind her and snap, "You lied to me."
The lying bastard was behind her.
She stood erect for a moment before spinning around and slapping him. His head moved to the side as she glared at him. "You lied to me" she hissed. She walked around him and only took two steps before he grabbed her and spun her around to face him.
"You're the one with the damn husband!"
"And you're the one with the damn wife!" She gave a hash laugh. "No, let me change that. You're the one with the damn pregnant wife!"
"Hey, I didn't know she was pregnant!"
"It doesn't matter if you knew or not! The point is that you are a married man and will soon be a father!" She tried to yank her arms out of his hold but he just tightened it. "Let go of me, you son of a-"
"Don't you dare call me names because you did the same thing to me!"
"Who cares! You lied! I trusted you and you lied!"
"Trust? You want to talk about trust! I trusted you with my very soul only to find out, in my house, that you are married to a lying bastard!"
"You're the bastard!" She tried to stop crying but she knew she was failing miserably. This hurt. Knowing he was married hurt her more than she thought imaginable. "Damn it, I thought you were wonderful, and reliable, and worth everything I had! And now I know you are worth nothing!"
"Oh, don't act like you are an innocent in all this! I gave you a chance to tell me when we first met if you were married and you never said a damn word! And now I find out you are not only married, but that your husband is a lying ass! I gave you gifts, I took you to the most expensive restaurants around, spending money on you like a princess because I thought you were worth every penny, but I regret ever spending one single dime on you! Hell, I even took you to Italy!"
"I didn't ask you to spend money on me! I didn't ask you to take me places, or to shower me with gifts. I didn't ask you to take me to Italy! You decided to do that! It was your damn choice!"
"A choice you didn't complain with! A choice you were all too happy to accept!"
She stubbornly wiped her eyes with her hand, rubbing the tears away. He doesn't deserve her tears. She glared at him.
"What we did doesn't matter because apparently it had meant nothing!"
"Apparently not!" His arms tightened around her arms. "If I had known you were a married woman I wouldn't have dated you, let alone screw you!"
"And if I had known you were a married man I wouldn't have let you put your hands on me!"
She yanked her arms out of his hands. "You are a cheating, lying bastard" she snapped.
With fire in his eyes he snapped back "And you are nothing but a common whore."
They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity but in reality was just a few moments.
She then turned and ran away.
Syaoran looked at her retreating back before turning around and slamming the railing of the balcony, cursing both out loud and mentally. He then placed his head on his arms, closing his eyes tightly as he tried to control his rage.
Neither of them had to say it.
The relationship was over.
(Chen)
Chen couldn't believe what he just heard.
When everyone else had gone inside, he had decided to stay outside for a bit, waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Tsuchida to come back outside. But when they didn't he had decided to go back inside.
Just when he had been moving out of the bushes he saw not only Mrs. Tsuchida walk out, but also Syaoran. Being curious, he got closer in order to hear what they were saying. She had been crying while Syaoran had looked outraged.
He couldn't believe that throughout this whole time, while he was chasing after Mrs. Tsuchida's lover trying to get a picture of his face, he could have just walked up to Li Corps and taken a picture of Syaoran!
He wanted to confront him, ask him what will happen now, because not only did Mrs. Tsuchida have an affair, but with a very married Li Syaoran!
It was clear neither of them knew the other was married, so now what happens with Chen's plan? Does he send the pictures he have already taken to Tsuchida of his wife having an affair with Syaoran? All the pictures he has only shows Syaoran's back, but Chen didn't want to risk it, knowing who the lover was. It was different when Chen thought that Mrs. Tsuchida's lover was a stranger. Knowing who was sleeping around with the married woman made things dangerous and risky.
With a sigh, he wondered what would happen now. Their plan was a bust.
Or was it?
He had to speak with Syaoran about the whole situation. But not now.
Maybe in a few months.
Literally.
(Tomoyo and Eriol)
"Oh Eriol, did you see their faces?" She whispered to him as they slowly left the mansion.
"I did. Clearly neither of them knew the other was married."
"Both looked so heartbroken."
"And Lydia is pregnant" Eriol growled. "I told him not to get her pregnant. And that's the first thing he does!"
"But Lydia said that he hadn't known. He might have gotten her pregnant before we warned him."
"Yeah, but now that she's pregnant . . ." He sighed. "He's doomed. Once that baby is born we'll never know when they'll strike. And we can't keep an eye on him twenty-four/seven. We just can't. I knew there was a reason for this party. I just knew it!"
Tomoyo ran her hand up and down his back. He was shaking, clearly outraged at the turn of events. "I wonder what will happen now. We should tell him the truth, darling."
"He won't believe us. He'll never believe us. He has to figure it out on his own, because that's the only way he'll know the truth."
"There's no time for that-"
"Tomoyo, we can't do anything else. Especially now. He just found out that he was having an affair with a married woman, and that his wife is pregnant. The last thing he wants is some more bad news. Knowing him, he'll just forget everything I said about Lydia and say that her pregnancy is a happy occasion, because right now all he wants is happiness. He'll want to forget everything bad in his life and concentrate on something good, like his baby."
They were silent for a few minutes as they walked towards their cars. "'What a tangled web we weave'" Tomoyo whispered.
"'When we first try to deceive'" Eriol finished in agreement.
(Sakura: Later)
Kiyo opened the front door of the Tsuchida mansion and entered it as Mai and Touya each held Sakura's hands. She needed their support; tonight was just too much for her to handle it alone.
But she knew she would have to.
"Thanks, you guys" she whispered as she stood under the door way. She let go of their hands and gave them a grave face. Because Kiyo was behind her, she couldn't explain why she was thanking them. Her husband didn't understand why they had been helping her up the driveway in the first place.
And she wasn't going to explain it to him.
They smiled, but their eyes held concern. She reassured them with her own smile. "I'll call you later."
"Please do" Mai stated. "Tomorrow, at the very latest. I just realized we haven't had any girl time. We must go to lunch sometime."
Meaning she wanted them to get together and talk about what happened tonight. "Maybe" she replied. "I'll talk to you later."
"Bye" They said in unison and walked away, although Touya was a little slower because he glanced behind her shoulder and glared a little. She was confused and watched his retreating back.
Sakura closed the door and locked it. With a heavy sigh she turned around.
With a cry she was pushed against the door.
"I said" Kiyo whispered as he grabbed her throat and pushed her head against the wood "that you were to stay by my side all night."
"I-I-"
"Shut up!" He tightened his hold on her throat, nearly preventing her from breathing. "I know you deliberately put the speakerphone on earlier. I figured it out when Kinomoto prevented me from going after you. A concerned brother would have gone after you, but he merely dragged me away. You wanted them to come. And I have a feeling that he didn't invite himself the way he had. I believe that you had previously invited them ahead of time, and that he pretended to invite himself." He glared at her. "Don't tell your brother about this, or anything else I do to you. If any bruises appear, hide them. If you don't I will hurt you even more, got it? I don't want to run the risk of killing you, Sakura. And you know I'm capable of it."
His eyes held so much rage that she couldn't help but whimper. "Please" she whispered, trying to get air into her lungs. "I can't- I can't breathe."
"And?"
"Please!"
"Are you begging, Mrs. Tsuchida?" He grinned. "The only time you begged was when we were in bed." He then kissed her cheek before nibbling her ear. "So why not go to bed so you could do some more begging?" He whispered.
Her eyes widened. "N-no!" She tried to scream but it only came out as a whisper. She didn't want to sleep with him. Not tonight, not ever!
"No?" He raised an eyebrow as he pulled back to stare at her frightened face. "Do you really want to deny me, my sweet?"
"P-please-"
"Ah! More begging. I'll take that as a sign that you do want to go to bed with me." He tightened his hold on her throat, preventing her from saying anything else, and slowly pulled her away from the door, and led her to their room.
(Syaoran)
The party was over. The mansion was once again quiet. Everyone left, saying how they had had a great time.
Whoopee for them.
Syaoran drank another shot of Tequila as he sat in the kitchen. He doesn't easily get drunk, so he heartily filled the shot glass with some more tequila. It would be his sixth shot. He paused when he lifted it half way up to his lips. Maybe he shouldn't. Besides, how many can he take before it becomes dangerous? He shouldn't risk it.
But he shrugged and drank it anyway.
He needed the alcohol.
"Xiao-Lang!"
He looked up as Lydia came in to the kitchen with a frown. "What are you doing?" She demanded, snatching the shot glass from his hand.
"Nothing" he stated. "Just trying to get drunk."
"Well stop it. It's two o'clock in the morning. You should be in bed."
He raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be in bed too?" He looked at where his child was forming within her body. "After all, you are going to have a baby." Then he looked at her face again. "That's why you stopped pestering me for sex. You found out you were pregnant."
She sighed. "Yes. I wasn't sure how to tell you.
"I thought I had made it clear I didn't want kids yet."
She gaped at him. "I-I know, but this wasn't my fault. Believe me when I say I didn't get pregnant on purpose."
"I thought you were on birth control pills."
"I am. I mean, I was. But those aren't 100 effective." She frowned, apparently worried. "Aren't you happy that I'm pregnant?"
No. No he wasn't. How can she get pregnant? She shouldn't be pregnant! His child shouldn't be in her body! He doesn't want her to have his kids!
And how can Sakura lie to him!
He took in a deep, ragged, breathe. He was being unfair. He was now taking out his anger at Lydia. "Of course I'm happy, darling." He smiled and stood up, walking over to her. "You're pregnancy explains everything."
"What do you mean?"
"The way you have been fidgety, the way you've been screaming at me. Mood swings, right?"
She looked up at him when he reached her and nodded. "I do apologize."
"It's okay." He drew her into his arms, and rocked her gently. "I apologize too."
"For what?"
For cheating. For lying. For being fooled. For being drawn to a woman who was nothing but a liar. For believing Eriol. For thinking she was keeping secrets.
She was having a baby. That explains all her actions.
Eriol had said that Lydia was going to use a baby as a way of killing him, but that couldn't possibly be true. His wife wasn't going to kill him. She loved him. And he loves her. He'll take care of her, and the baby, and forget everything that has happened in the past six weeks. He'll forget about Sakura, about Eriol and Tomoyo, and everything else that was bad. What mattered now was the future
"For a lot of things" he finally replied, and kissed her forehead. "Come, let's go to bed."
And together, they walked out of the kitchen
AN: Okay, this part is a little tricky. In parenthesis is the month that they are in after the break up happened. So if it says, like, Month Three, it means two months have passed by since they broke up and that is now the third month. And while the months keep passing, I'll be putting the characters in different places, different scenes. I'll tell you where they are. I hope this was understandable
(Month One: Sakura)
How can this happen to her? Sakura lay in bed, a hand on her stomach as she stared at the ceiling. Kiyo was at work, which she was grateful. She needed to be alone. She needed to figure things out.
She was pregnant.
She turned on her side, hugging a pillow to her. Who was the father? She wasn't sure. She had barely found out that she was pregnant yesterday when she went to the doctor. She had been throwing up almost everyday and she wanted to know what was wrong with her.
Her doctor told her she was two months pregnant, so either Syaoran or Kiyo could be the father. She slept with one, and then the next day she slept with the other. The latter wasn't by choice, and the former was just a big mistake.
Thinking of Syaoran brought tears to her eyes. How can he lie to her? Why didn't he say he was married? She admitted that she did the exact same thing, and that she had no right to be angry. But the sense of betrayal was still there. How can she not be angry? He hurt her. At least she hadn't been pregnant when they first met. She had tried not to sleep with Kiyo while they had been together, but apparently Syaoran didn't have the decency to do the same. It was obvious with how Lydia announced her pregnancy during the party that he continued to sleep with her. Doesn't that make him worse than her?
(Month Two)
Why couldn't he have gone to a different store?
Sakura busied herself by looking at baby clothes, resisting the urge to see if Syaoran saw her as well. She was in a baby store, looking for things that she might need for the baby. Kiyo had been indifferent when she told him she was pregnant, and at times seemed like he didn't want the child. But at least he stopped hurting her.
He was convinced he was the father, and she wasn't going to convince him otherwise.
She glanced up, and she nearly cried when she saw Syaoran holding Lydia's stomach, smiling as he cooed at the unborn child. She looked down at her own stomach. She was barely showing, and no one was there to appreciate her own child.
"I'm sorry baby" she whispered as she clutched her stomach. "At least know that I'm here with you. At least know that I will love you."
She looked at him again with heartbroken eyes, just as he kissed his wife on the forehead.
She loved him, and at the same time she hated him. It wasn't fair that he gets to be so happy while she gets to be so miserable.
Glancing around, something wrenched her heart as she saw all the other smiling couples, husbands holding on to their pregnant wives as they bought clothes together. She was the only person without a spouse, without a smile. Everyone else had someone.
All happy . . . And in love.
She just couldn't take it anymore. Dumping everything she had in her hands on the closest shelf, she rapidly left the baby store, not even looking at where Syaoran was.
If she had, she would have seen him looking at her too.
(Month Three)
"I think you should close Blossom petal" Kiyo stated as they ate dinner.
She looked at him. "What?"
"Blossom Petal. I think you should close it." He narrowed his eyes at her. "As soon as possible."
Close Blossom Petal? She couldn't! She loved that store to death.
"Why?"
"You're pregnant. You couldn't possibly be running that store while you are carrying my baby."
"But I-"
"Close it, Sakura." he said so softly that she knew it was a warning.
Blossom Petal was her lifeline. How could she close it? It was her space, her time to be alone. A place where she can escape this horrible reality.
She couldn't close it. She'll die!
"I can't" she whispered. "People love that store. So many people are depending on me to fix their houses. So many clients-"
"I don't care how many clients you have. I don't care how many people love the store. Close the store, if you know what's good for you and your baby."
Her baby? It was his too. Or, at least, that's what she's been telling him, and herself. But was he really threatening her baby's life? What type of man would do that?
Kiyo. He's the only type of man who would threaten an unborn baby's life. And she couldn't risk her baby's life. Even for a store she loves so much. She should leave him, she knew she should, but she was so scared too. What if he finds her and kills not only her, but her baby? Her fear forced her to be with him, which means that if she wants to protect her baby, she has to do as he says.
"Fine" she said thickly, already feeling tears forming in her eyes, and fled the table.
In her room, all alone, she cried her heart out. How was she stuck in this mess? How? Was she such a bad person that she deserves all this pain and misery?
She needed Syaoran. She needed him more than ever. She loved him, and she needed him. He's the only person she felt safe with, but he didn't want her anymore. He didn't want her.
"I'm sorry I hurt you" she whispered softly, and cried herself to sleep.
(Month Four: Syaoran)
Sakura was pregnant. He knew she was. He has seen her a few times in the past four months, and her stomach was now round. Almost as round as Lydia. Was he the father? How he asked himself that so many times! And every time he knew it was impossible. It was Tsuchida's baby growing inside her, and it made him sick to the stomach.
How he cursed that woman so many times for hurting him. She was not only married, but she was married to a man he has hated for so long. He rubbed a hand across his face as he lay on his bed.
He has tried to move on. He truly has. But it was so hard. Like he has said, so many times, Sakura had made an impact in his life. And someone who has made such a strong impact couldn't easily be forgotten.
He pretended to be happy, especially when he was with Lydia and the unborn baby. But for some reason it seemed he was getting more and more depressed.
He tried to tell himself he wasn't depressed, that he was completely happy. But he knew it was all a lie. Those few times he spotted Sakura, his heart would literally skip a beat. And each time he would curse her, curse her for lying to him, for making him depressed. And then each time he would correct himself and say he wasn't depressed.
It was nothing but a huge circle.
(Month Five)
Blossom Petal was closed? He looked at the building, frowning as he read the notice on the closed doors. It stated that the business went bankrupt.
"How is that possible?" Lydia asked beside him, looking at him curiously. "I thought they were making lots of money."
"I don't know" he murmured. It was impossible for the store to be closed. In the newspaper it said that it had been making tons of money.
But it was closed.
He was half-relieved, and half-disappointed. His wife wanted to come here in order to buy some new fabric that had been stained a few weeks earlier. She said that the interior decorator- Sakura- was the one who had brought the fabric. He hadn't want to come, but Lydia had dragged him.
And now, he admits, that half of him wanted to see her, maybe even talk to her. But his other half, his betrayed and angry half, didn't want to see her. Or talk to her. That half didn't want anything to do with her.
"Oh!"
He looked at Lydia sharply as she held her stomach.
"What? What's wrong?"
"The baby kicked!" She grabbed his hand and placed it over her belly. Nothing happened, but then a few moments later a movement occurred underneath his hand. His child was kicking.
He smiled at her, and she smiled back.
He glanced at the building that used to be Blossom Petal, and wondered if at this very moment, Tsuchida was feeling his own child kick in Sakura's belly.
(Month Six)
"Why are you driving me crazy?" He whispered to himself as he stood in the park. The very same spot where he and Sakura first kissed. Where they first made love. Where they got together to escape the rest of the world.
Sakura was driving him crazy. She wouldn't get out of his mind. Her name wouldn't stop leaving his lips. His eyes couldn't stop spotting her everywhere.
He clenched his hands.
He was driving himself crazy, because he still wanted her. He wanted her to so much . . .
But she lied to him. She hadn't said she was single. She had decided to keep it to herself that she was a married woman.
Just like he did.
Damn it, he was getting mad over something so stupid! He did the exact same thing, but he couldn't help the way he feels. She betrayed him, and he couldn't understand why it hurt him so much. He couldn't understand why it angered him so much.
He couldn't understand why he still wanted her after what she did!
He turned around when he heard some rustling. His face went blank.
"Sakura?"
She stared at him, mouth slightly opened as she froze mid-step, hand on her bulging stomach. Why was she here?
He stood there, not doing anything except stare at where her hand rested, automatically protecting the baby inside. Tsuchida's baby. Anger swirled inside him, pored into every pore of his body.
She must have sensed his anger because she turned around and fled, running as much as she was able to, before a word was able to get pass his lips.
Abruptly, all anger left him as quickly as it had come, as if a light switch was turned off now that she wasn't there to turn it on. Every time he saw her, he would remember her betrayal, and he would get mad. But then, after she was out of his sight, all he felt was sadness, all anger leaving him, just like right now.
He didn't go after her. Instead he stared at where she had stood, not knowing why his heart was hurting so bad, as if someone was ripping it in two. And only one thought kept running through his head:
He still wanted her . . . He still wanted her . . .
"I still want you" he whispered, finally admitting that he was depressed without her. That he couldn't forget her.
And that he might never be able to.
AN: So, how was the chapter? Please review!
