AN: Yup, I knew Sheng being Syaoran's brother would be a twist none of you would suspect, or see coming. Mission accomplished, from the reviews I read. I thank all of my reviewers for reviewing this story!

Now on with the story! Enjoy!

Affairs of the Heart

Chapter Fifteen

Sakura watched Syaoran pace, worried at his tightly drawn face. He hasn't said a word for ten minutes since admitting that Sheng was his brother, whoever Sheng was.

A brother. Sakura couldn't believe it. Syaoran has never mentioned having any sort of a brother at all. He has mentioned sisters, four to be exact, but not once did he say that he had a brother. There wasn't even a clue. Why didn't he say anything?

She glanced at Haru, half-expecting him to be glaring at her. She was surprised when she saw him looking at her with a soft expression. He nodded once at her, not having moved from his position from the door. He mouth the words 'I'm sorry'.

She knew he was apologizing for glaring at her those times at the mansion. She still, however, wanted to know why he glared at her in the first place.

"I know I shouldn't be shocked" came Syaoran's mutter. Getting her attention, she looked back at him, but remained silent. She watched as he stopped pacing and looked at her. "You are probably wondering why I never spoke of Sheng."

"A little. But you don't need to tell me why" she added quickly. "You have reasons not to tell me and I'll respect them."

The corner of one side of his mouth twitched. "You sound as if you have no right to be curious." He stepped forward and sat on the bed. He looked at Haru. "Don't move. I have questions to ask, but I want to enlighten Sakura as to why I never spoke a word of my brother."

"Of course, Xiao-Lang."

"You don't have to" Sakura stated firmly.

Syaoran shook his head, brushing off what she said. She should know. Has a right to know. He didn't want anymore secrets between them, because secrets was what destroyed them the first time. He'll be damned if more secrets destroyed them a second time.

He cleared his throat. "Sheng is the oldest of us children. He's eleven years older than me, to be more specific. Siblings should love each other, right? I love all my sisters but I absolutely hate Sheng." His eyes grew cold as he spoke of him. "Since the day I was born, Sheng has rivaled me in everything, and has made my life miserable. Always looking down on me, calling me useless, pathetic. He beat me up, or at least tried to, a few times, and nearly killed me once when he tried to run me over with his car. He's like an evil step-sister from the Cinderella story, only worse. I guess he was jealous because he was no longer the only boy, and from what my sisters told me, my father had paid more attention to me than to anyone else before he died. And then, after my father passed, my mother gave me the most attention."

He became silent.

"You're brother tried to kill you?" She asked in astonishment. What type of brother would try to kill his younger brother by running him over with a car?

He nodded. "And there's more. My father was the owner to Li International, a company that does trading with every country in the world. It makes millions. When he died, the company went to the hands of my mother, and she improved it until the day she died" He sighed. "In her will, she gave the company to me. That, Sakura, was what made Sheng hate me even more, his jealously consuming him. He was the eldest, yet me, the youngest, got the company. But a few days after receiving the company, he tried to burn it down. He tried to burn my father's legacy, my father's pride and joy. I hated him more than what I had already did for attempting that."

Sakura felt the tension in him so she ran her hands up and down his arms. "Why didn't you run the company?"

He shrugged. "I didn't want it. I have never wanted it. Selfish as I sound, I had wanted to build up my own company, start my own legacy. And I did by building up Li Corps. But I still kept Li International, and right now one of my sisters is running it for me." He looked at Haru, who hadn't moved from his post by the door. "I assume that's why Sheng wants to kill me? For Li International?"

Haru nodded. "That, and for Li Corps. He wants both."

Syaoran nodded. "I shouldn't be so surprised. Sheng is a ruthless man, and he has proven countless times that he will do anything to get what he wants." He gave his butler a clear, narrowed-eyed gaze. "How is Lydia and my- I mean, your baby- involved?"

"Lydia was hired to get you interested enough to marry her. A few months before you two met, Sheng found her on a trip. She was a prostitute, so I wasn't lying when I called her a whore. Sheng told her of his plan, and she greedily agreed when told that she would be living the rich life. He then fixed her up, trained her, gave her a fake past, and by the time you two met she was acting like a perfect lady."

"So the family I met was a fake?"

"No. Her family is real. They are all snob people, spending more money that what they were earning. When Lydia was nineteen they went broke, and had no qualms of making their daughter a prostitute in order to get food on the table. Lydia's prostitution was what was getting them money. Her parents agreed to Sheng's plot with the promise of receiving fifty-thousand dollars a month."

"I still don't get it. Why not kill me right away?" It was odd, but Syaoran was believing all of this rather easily. Maybe because it explained all kinds of things, such as Lydia's need to get pregnant.

And also because he knew his brother. Sheng would do anything to anybody who was in his way of getting what he wanted; even if it meant killing his own brother. It was all too much, but he easily believed it, and that's what hurt the most out of all of this. There was definitely no love lost between the brothers if he believed it so easily without any proof.

"Because everyone will know who did it. Everyone knows of your great dislike for one another."

"Dislike isn't the word for it" Syaoran muttered.

Haru sighed and nodded, agreeing. "Yes. You're hatred for one another is well known. Besides, Lydia was his ticket to getting Li Corps. When he heard that you were starting to build your own company, he knew it would make lots of money. I don't know how, but he knew it would. If he were to kill you, he wouldn't have been able to get the company. He assumed that you would pass off the company to Lydia when you die."

"No, I wouldn't have" he said, frowning.

"He also assumed that you would give Li International to her as well."

"No. Lydia would have brought both companies down. She doesn't know how to do business. I would have given both my companies to my sisters. Still, how was he to get the companies if I had given them to Lydia?"

"Marriage, of course. He would have married her."

Syaoran chewed on that information. It made him angry. Not that Sheng had been planning on marrying Lydia after he was dead, but that they were trying to kill him. And that Lydia has lied to him for two years. She was using him for money.

Which meant that Eriol and Tomoyo had been telling the truth. And if they told the truth about Lydia, then that meant they told the truth about being blackmailed to leave the town. Jesus, he yelled at his best friends for no reason, accusing them of lying and telling them to disappear.

Which they have. He hasn't seen them in months, and now he had little hope of ever seeing them again.

Damn Lydia to hell! Both her and his brother!

"What about the baby?" he asked softly, dangerously. Somehow, he couldn't believe that the baby wasn't his. He already loved the child- now to be told the baby wasn't his? That meant that this was the second child he has lost.

But, oddly, he wasn't overly devastated about it.

"The baby was a back-up plan" Haru explained. "If, for any reason, you didn't give the companies to Lydia, then he assumed you would give the companies to your child." He raised an eyebrow. "Would you have?"

Syaoran didn't know. It's a possibility, considering that he would have wanted his child to own the companies.

Haru stepped forward. "The whole staff knows of the plan. None of them are actual butlers and maids. Some are crooks, others drug deals, prostitutes. Sheng found them all, and paid them to keep quiet. He didn't want to run the risk of having you hire real butlers and maids because there was a chance that they might overhear Lydia talking to Sheng on the phone. He didn't want anyone to be calling the police. And he wanted the staff to be on the look out for anybody who could be a danger to the plan." He looked at Sakura. "That's why I glared at you. I felt that you were a threat, and I figured that if I glared at you a lot, it would scare you enough to go away."

"And you, Haru?" Syaoran questioned. "Are you a real butler?"

"My story is true, Xiao-Lang, about my mother and how she ditched me. Lydia dragged me along because while you and her were together she and I were having an affair. It wasn't until you two got married that we ended it." He sighed. "I'm in love with her, Xiao-Lang, and like a puppy I did whatever she told me. It seems that while you were with her" he nodded at Sakura "she had decided to sleep with me because she couldn't get you to sleep with her. She needed to get pregnant, because she had promised Sheng that she would be. She had lied to me, and told me she was already pregnant with your baby. I believed her, and thought nothing of it while I was sleeping with her. Then I overheard her talking to herself, gloating to herself, about how the baby wasn't yours but mine. I was planning on kidnapping the baby, because I didn't want my child to be involved with the plan, but then . . ."

He stopped talking, and Syaoran urged "And then what?"

"Tsuchida came over to the mansion last night."

At that, Sakura gasped. "My husband? Where is he? Do you know?" She wanted to know where he was because it worried her knowing that he wasn't found. It scared her as well.

Haru shook his head. "No, I don't know where he is. He left after talking to Lydia."

"What were they talking about?"

"I'm not sure, but I assume Tsuchida had arrived to tell Lydia about your affair. Actually, I'm positive that he told her."

Syaoran and Sakura were positive too. She looked at Syaoran. "Syaoran, if she knows about us why hasn't she confronted you? Or me? Kiyo stabbing me and killing Jia Li is all over the news. My location is all over the news. She knows where I'm at, and no doubt knows where you are at now. Why hasn't she said anything?"

"Because Sheng is with her right now." Haru took a step forward, but Syaoran gave him a warning and Haru froze. He couldn't help but smirk. He recognized that look. A lion fending off those who can harm his mate, the lioness. In this case, the Little Wolf saw him as a threat, and he wasn't about to let the threat get any closer to the woman he cares for. "Xiao-Lang, I need your help. My baby is in danger. Lydia will kill the child and I can't allow that to happen."

"Why should I help you?" Syaoran snapped. "It's obvious you would have let Lydia kill my baby if you hadn't known it was yours. Moreover, you were an accomplice in a plot to kill me. I can have you arrested!"

"I know you can. And I am sorry for doing this, but you have to understand that I have been in love with Lydia since I was a teenager. I wanted her to love me too, and I thought that if I did whatever she told me she would feel the same way I do." Almost desperately, he asked "Please help me, Xiao-Lang. Believe me when I say that I have never supported the killing of your baby. I have never liked that part. Please don't have me arrested- at least, at least not yet. As soon as I know that my baby will be safe, you can call the cops on me."

Syaoran looked at him with a blank face. "Get out, Haru. I need time to think."

"But-"

"Now".

Haru cursed and left.

Silence hung in the air between the couple. Sakura didn't know what to say, and waited for him to say something.

Syaoran was thinking over the whole situation. Sheng wanted him dead. Lydia knew about Sakura. And Haru has just told him the baby she was carrying wasn't Syaoran's. He wanted to report it, wanted all three of them arrested and tried and taken to prison for life. But would that really do any good? Lydia was a good manipulator, and Sheng was a cunning guy with sly tricks.

And Haru . . . What about him? He confessed, so he'll surely get some type of deal.

He felt Sakura cup his cheek, her way of reassuring him that she was there if he needed her, and he groaned with frustration. "I hate this . . ."

"I'm sorry. And I thought my problems were bad . . ."

He smiled slightly at her attempt to lighten the mood. "I love you."

She smiled. "Me too."

He surprised her by asking "So is this enough for you to want to be with me?"

Why did he have to choose the worst moment to ask her this type of question? She gave him a stricken look. "Not now, Syaoran! You are going through a rough time now and-"

"I may seem straightforward" he interrupted softly "And I am taking any chance I could to convince you to be with me. But you have to understand how I'm feeling. I'm scared of losing you. I don't want to go through the torture of not having you with me like the last six months."

"Just- Just give me time. Right now I just want to be here for you for support like- like a friend."

He gave her a look that told her he didn't want to act like friends, but that he'll accept it.

"So what now?" She asked softly, inquiring about his situation.

He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know." His gaze turned flinty. "Wait- Haru said that Sheng is with Lydia, right?"

She nodded, frowning. "Yeah. Why?"

He stood up abruptly. "That means he's at my mansion. I'm going to take care of this once and for all."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'll figure it out once I get there."

He took a step away from her bed but she grabbed his arm. "Wait! Syaoran, don't do anything stupid!"

He looked at her. "I'll just try to talk to him."

The look she gave him was filled with concern and fear. To reassure her, he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. Just because she wanted to act like a friend doesn't mean he'll stop kissing her. "Don't worry. I'll talk to him."

"Why don't I believe you?" She whispered.

He didn't say anything. He just kissed her again and left the room.

Sakura stared at the door that was now closed. Syaoran most likely left with the butler.

She prayed that he would be all right

(Syaoran: A while later)

He stared at the mansion through the windshield. "How long has Sheng been in town?" He asked Haru.

The butler shrugged. "It took me by surprise when your brother came to the mansion. I had to sneak out and I drove as fast as I could to go to the hospital."

"When I called earlier Lydia had sounded almost happy at the fact that I wasn't going to be home tonight."

"You called while she was talking to Sheng. She probably felt relieved knowing you would be at the office and that there would be no chance of you seeing Sheng talking to her."

Syaoran glanced at his butler. "What made you want to confess?"

"Isn't obvious? My baby. I want to protect it." He gave his employer a curious look. "Why aren't you upset?"

"I am. I'm just holding it in." He thrummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I loved that baby. I truly did. But . . . But when you told me that it was yours, I felt somewhat relieved. Sad, yes. But-but relieved."

Haru nodded in understanding. "Because of Mrs. Tsuchida, right?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah. She's wary about being together again with me. I was wary too. As selfish as it sounds, I'm glad I won't have to worry about Lydia or her child." He paused. "I was- am- going to ask for a divorce."

Haru's eyebrows sprang upward. "You must really love this woman if you want to dissolve your marriage with Lydia."

"I do. I love her with all my heart." Syaoran didn't know why he was telling Haru all of this, but that didn't stop him from talking some more. "The baby she was carrying was mine." His gaze turned cold. "Tsuchida killed my baby. A daughter. Jia Li. So small, so pretty. And now she's dead. I wasn't able to protect my child"

Haru looked at him. "Then you must understand why I want to protect my child."

He was silent for a moment. "Yes. I suppose I do. Maybe that's why I haven't called the cops on you."

He straightened away from the wheel. "Let's go in. I want to talk to Sheng."

"Are you sure you'll be able to contain your anger?"

Syaoran didn't answer. He just got out of car and slammed the door.

"I guess not" the butler murmured.

Syaoran was silent and determined as he walked towards the front door. Him and Sheng have been rivals sine they were little. It was time that their little brotherly war was over. When they talk, it won't brother-to-brother. It'll be man-to-man. Rival-to-rival. Their parents are probably up there sad over their battle. But Sheng started it by being a petty older brother. A jealous older brother.

Syaoran opened the door, only a half-aware of Haru's presence behind him. He walked towards the living room, instincts telling him to go there first. He opened his mouth when he reached the doorway.

He froze, shock freezing him up.

"If it isn't my wife's lover."

Tsuchida stood up, face controlled.

A gun in his hand.

Syaoran clenched his hands. Haru tricked him. He turned to look at the butler, the accusation on the tip of his tongue, but the shocked look on the man's face stopped him.

"Why are you here?" Haru asked, surprise and confusion in his voice.

"Lydia let me in."

"Where is she and Sheng?"

Tsuchida shrugged. "I have no idea where Sheng is at. I don't even know who he is. As for Lydia . . ."

Syaoran looked back at the Cabinet member, who was smiling. "So, how's my wife doing?"

He growled, body shaking from the rage he was feeling. "Fine, no thanks to you" he spat.

"Damn. I was hoping she was dead. At least the baby is dead. Did you know that it might have been yours? Or did that whore just say that it was mine?"

"She's not a whore" he growled. "And the baby was mine. DNA proved it. Damn you, Tsuchida! You killed my daughter!"

"Daughter?" He chuckled lightly. "Then it must be yours. My family is made up of men, women entering the family only by marriage. Having a daughter is highly unlikely." His hand was steady as the gun remained leveled at Syaoran's chest. "How thrilling it was to pierce that woman's stomach, knowing that every stab was a stab to the baby."

"Why you-!"

"Careful!" He warned when Syaoran took a step forward. "I can shoot you if I want to. Hell, I should shoot you right now for screwing Sakura. Tell me, is my wife good? She's a wildcat when she's in bed with me. Was she wild with you?"

"Shut up."

"Did she scream and moan-"

"Shut up!"

"Or was she frigid and remote?"

Syaoran's face was red as he tried to control the rage. Everything in him was screaming at him to attack the man in front of him, but he didn't move. If Tsuchida shot and kill him, then the bastard will just go after Sakura, and she'll be defenseless.

"Tell me something, Li. That is your name, right?"

Syaoran said nothing.

"Well I guess it is. Tell me something: what was it about you that drew my wife to you? Did you promise her something? Money? Trips? A good time in bed? Why did she go up to you?"

"She didn't" he hissed. "I went up to her. And I didn't promise her anything. But it's obvious I didn't have to. She knew a good man when she saw one."

Tsuchida's face turned cold. "Careful, Li" he warned again, softly. "I have the gun. I have the power."

"Not enough power to hold onto your wife."

"Xiao-Lang, be careful" Haru whispered.

Syaoran ignored him. "What type of coward slaps a woman? Rapes a woman? Oh yes, Tsuchida, I know everything you did to her. She told me. Did you know she had tried to protect you? I don't know why, but she refused to tell me who had slapped her across the cheek. We were going to Italy, and she tried her hardest to pretend that no one had hit her. Oh, you didn't know she was with me in Italy? Well, we were. And I made sure she forgot her abuser. I made sure she forgot everything except the pleasure I was giving her."

"Shut up, Li-"

"The pleasure you, obviously, couldn't give her." If Tsuchida wanted to play nasty, Syaoran had no qualms of doing the same, although he didn't like talking about Sakura this way. But so far he didn't know how else to prevent Tsuchida from pulling that trigger. He needed to buy time while he figured out what to do.

"I pleasured her" Tsuchida whispered dangerously. "She just didn't know how to handle a real man."

"You? A real man? Ha! Don't make me laugh, Tsuchida. A real man doesn't hurt a woman, or a child." He glared at him. "I'll make you pay for hurting Sakura, and for killing Jia Li."

Syaoran slowly moved forward. Tsuchida was just ten feet away.

"Jia Li?" He raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Well, I guess I did a favor of killing your baby. She was a mixed-breed, and no one wants that." Tsuchida didn't notice that Syaoran was getting closer and closer to him. He seemed to be lost in his own little world as he spoke, concentrating more on the conversation than on Syaoran's movements.

Or maybe he was cocky and didn't care how close Syaoran got because he didn't think Syaoran would have the guts to do anything to him when he's the one with the gun.

"She wasn't a mixed-breed, Tsuchida. Careful of what you call my baby, because I'll make you regret it."

Five feet away.

"Make me regret it? How can you do that when you are dead?"

"Easy. Like this."

Tsuchida yelled out in anger when Syaoran jumped forward, grabbed the gun, and pointed it upward. Tsuchida's finger was still on the trigger so when Syaoran grabbed it the gun went off. Plaster from the ceiling fell on top of them and Tsuchida struggled to keep his hold on the gun whilst Syaoran tried to pry it away. They went in circles as the gun continued to go off.

"Bastard" Tsuchida growled, and he punched Syaoran in the face. Unable to keep his hold on the gun, he stumbled back, hands automatically going to his nose. He saw Tsuchida point the gun at him and he immediately ducked, and rammed his shoulder into the Cabinet member's stomach, sending both to the floor. Syaoran smirked when he lost the gun and out of the corner of his eye saw it skid across the floor.

"Told you I'll make you regret it." Syaoran punched him across the face. Then he punched him again. And again. He heard the sickening crunch of bones and muscles but didn't care. All his rage and sorrow went into each and every punch he delivered, and he was going to make Tsuchida pay. He didn't care about anything else except to make the bastard suffer, the way he had made Sakura suffer.

Wrapped up in his rage, he didn't notice when Tsuchida grabbed a fallen book, hardcover, and swung it towards Syaoran's head. Syaoran cursed as it hit his head, the hardcover causing pain to shoot on the right side and making him pause in punching the lights out of the man underneath him. That pause resulted in him being socked in the face again.

Kiyo pushed the Li Corps owner off of him and scrambled up in a standing position before the other man rose up. When he saw Li struggling to get up Kiyo kicked him in the stomach with all the strength he could muster. He ignored the pain on his face, ignored the blood that he could feel. All he cared about was killing this man, the man that had the nerve to sleep with his wife!

Kiyo kicked him again, smiling at the way Li tried to gasp in air. Taking it as his chance, he ran for the gun that had skidded just a few feet away. He grabbed it and turned around to see Li swaying up in a standing position. He wasted no time.

He raised the gun, and pulled the trigger.

Syaoran heard the gun, but for a split second he didn't think the bullet hit him.

Until a strong force made him spin and fall on the floor again, face down.

A sharp, burning pain shot through his shoulder and he grabbed his shoulder with his hand. He cursed out loud when he felt the hot liquid of his own blood, and he bit his lip from groaning.

So this was what it felt like to be shot. He was just glad it hit his shoulder, and not his heart.

He turned over on his back and glared at Tsuchida, still holding on to his shoulder. The gun was pointed directly at his chest.

"Don't worry, Li. Sakura, your pretty little whore, will soon be joining you in hell. Maybe she's there all ready." He grinned. "Lydia just couldn't wait to kill her."

Syaoran's eyes widened just as the gun went off . . .

(Sakura)

Sakura dozed, tiring herself as she worried about Syaoran, about where Kiyo was. Everything seemed to tire her these days, even though she gets plenty of sleep, since there was nothing else to do in a hospital except sleep.

She jolted awake when someone shook her roughly. "Wake-up, wake-up."

She blinked her eyes and looked at who shook her.

She gasped, a hand going to her throat. "Lydia!"

Lydia smiled. It was a wicked smile. "So, how is the whore doing?" She looked down at Sakura's flat belly. "Aww, must be horrible to lose a child." She rubbed her own round belly. "And at the hands of your own husband."

Sakura didn't move. "Why are you here?"

Lydia shrugged. "Isn't it obvious? To rub it in your face! Here I am, bulging with pregnancy, and there you are, flat as a stick and defenseless. Poor Sakura. I trusted you with my mansion, with my staff. But there I was, not even considering that you were screwing my husband behind my back."

"I didn't know he was married."

Lydia laughed. "Oh please! That's the same excuse more than a thousand of women use to get away with adultery. So tell me, whore. How did you snag my husband?"

Sakura bit her lip, unsure of what to say, unsure of why Lydia was truly here. "I didn't do anything to snag him."

Lydia eyed her. "You aren't pretty. Why was Xiao-Lang interested in you?"

Sakura didn't say a thing. She just stared, praying for someone to come into the room and help her. There was something in Lydia's eye that scared her, a glint that she couldn't understand.

"What do you want?" She whispered.

Lydia lost the smile that had been on her face. "What do you think?" She asked in a flat tone. "You slept with my husband. You stole another's woman's husband. A woman who is carrying his baby, nonetheless! What type of ill-mannered, slut sleeps with a married father-to-be? Oh, you are so going to hell. There's probably a section in hell with your name on it. You are nothing but a whore-"

"You're the whore!" Sakura snapped. She was tired of being called a whore, of being a victim. Especially when this woman dares to preach about Sakura being a whore when this woman herself was not only a whore but a woman plotting to kill her own husband! Sakura couldn't just sit there and let Lydia call her names as she tried to make her feel low.

And this woman has the nerve to step into this room and gloat about her pregnancy!

"How dare you come into this room accusing me of stealing your husband when he came to me! I don't know what in hell he ever saw in you Lydia. And for the record, I know that baby you are carrying isn't his. I know it! Haru confessed everything. Everything! I'm the one who had been carrying Syaoran's baby. The only one who had been carrying his baby. I'm the one who made him happy. He is even going to divorce you to be with me!"

Lydia stared at her, face pale. "Haru told you everything?" She asked tightly.

"Oh yes, Lydia. Everything. Both me and Syaoran know what you and Sheng were doing, so don't come in here telling me that I'm the whore when you are the true whore! If it wasn't for Sheng I can bet my last penny that you would still be selling your body on the streets!"

"You lie" she hissed. "Xiao-Lang knows nothing. "

"He knows everything!"

Lydia clenched her hands. "Haru wouldn't dare tell anyone anything! I made sure-"

"He knows your baby is his."

Lydia's face paled. "How- when-?"

Sakura glared at her. "Doesn't matter. He knows and he came here to tell us."

The two women glared at each other, waiting for what the other might say.

It was a tense three minutes before Lydia suddenly laughed. She actually laughed, worrying Sakura. Why would the woman laugh?

"Oh, my! No wonder he has hasn't gotten near me!" She raised an eyebrow. "Why am I getting mad over such a little thing?"

Sakura said nothing, nervousness settling on her shoulders again. She tried not to show it.

"Lydia, what do you want?" She asked softly.

Lydia merely smiled. "I don't let anyone mess with me without getting them back."

Sakura froze. What would she do? Sakura wasn't strong enough to take her on. She was too weak, too tired. Depression had robbed her of strength. She desperately tried to get her confidence back, the confidence that had allowed her to cut Lydia into pieces with her words, but it was rapidly disappearing.

Lydia came forward, that smile still on your face. Sakura leaned back.

"Poor, little, woman" Lydia whispered. "Do you know where Xiao-Lang is at this very moment? Getting killed by your husband."

Sakura gasped, hand going to her mouth. She shook her head in denial. "No" she whispered.

"Yes. Xiao-Lang is probably dead already. And now I am going to get his companies, and I'm going to marry Sheng-"

"You bitch!" Sakura shrieked, fear and anger giving her the strength to bolt up on her knees. "Damn you, Lydia! Syaoran isn't going to give you the companies!"

"Please, Sakura. I'm his wife. Who else would he give them to?"

"His sisters! You ever thought of that? Huh, Lydia? You ever that of that!" Sakura tried to prevent herself from getting hysterical. "Lydia you have to stop Kiyo. You have to stop him! Syaoran will die!"

"I know" Lydia replied coolly. "But I don't care because I know I'm getting the companies and-"

"No you're not!" She cried. "Please, Lydia. Please. Call him, stop Kiyo." What was she doing? She couldn't just kneel there and beg Lydia to call Kiyo and stop him from killing Syaoran No. She had to do it herself!

Frantically, she scrambled up to the head of the bed and was reaching for the phone that was on the night stand when she was pushed from the bed. She cried out as her head banged against the nightstand and she fell on the cold, hard tiled floor. She felt blood falling over her face but instinct was telling her to get off the floor. Now!

She wasn't able to get off in time. Suddenly, she was shoved on her back and hands wrapped around her throat, blocking oxygen from reaching her lungs. She gasped.

"I hate you" Lydia whispered fiercely

Sakura bucked her body, her legs kicking, her own hands trying to pry the other woman's hands off her neck. Lydia was pregnant, she knew that, but instincts had her fighting for her life, not caring about anything else but being able to breathe again.

"Please" she gasped. She coughed, her chest burning from lack of air. She began to get light-headed, her vision turning black. "No, please!" She fought harder, urging her body to throw Lydia off of her, but she sensed her movements weakening, slowing down, and she felt tears wet her cheeks. "No" she whispered again as she stopped struggling, eyelids becoming heavier. "Please" was the last thing she whispered.

Syaoran . . .

Then blackness . . .

AN: Next chapter is the final chapter! So please review! Thank you so much!