Chapter 17

I woke up to be in the arms of Tomo. We've been together for over 2 weeks now and everything has been amazing. For the last couple of weeks, we've spent each night together, making love by the fireplace, when it's dark. I understand Tomo was still at school so at day, I left him time to do his school work. I've heard about what happened to Syaoran's grandparents and I expressed my sympathy to them when I visited Mr. and Mrs. Li and gave them support. I couldn't bare see Syaoran now when I've got a stable relationship with Tomo now. Its been 2 weeks since I last saw of any Li.

I opened my eyes and let the sun in, and I felt Tomo's strong arms around me. He asked me 'You awake?'

'Uh – huh', I could feel his sweet kisses in my neck.

'Don't you have to start going … you have school today?'

He groaned and he said 'I don't want to go today, I feel really tired'.

I laughed and said 'Did I work you too hard last night?'

He laughed at what I said 'You wish … its just I've got swords training later on and I have soccer practice at school'.

'So does that mean you can't make it tonight for the party?'

'Oh no … oh I totally forgot', he was kidding around. He did that around me and I hated it sometimes because it was believable.

'You can meet my hot friends', I said teasing him, he had seen some of my friend and he thought they were hot, but they were nothing compared to me 'You don't have to bring anything, just be here allright?'

'I'll try', he smirked.

'What do you mean you'll try, you better be here or else I'll be disappointed', I frowned at him, but all he did was kiss me by my cheeks.

'I have to go … I'll see you tonight I promise', he said, he kissed me one last time and he drove to his house so that he could get changed.

When I went downstairs, Nolee was already feeding Machiko pancakes and they were so happy. I'm glad they liked Tomo, and especially Machiko, she loved it when Tomo went over because they always played around. I asked 'Nolee can you go shopping today, I've got friends over and I'd love it if you cook tonight … my friends love your cooking', I sat down beside my daughter drinking tea.

'Sure … anything specific?' Nolee asked me.

'Lamb roast or something as long as it doesn't involve seafood. I'm just going to go upstairs I'm running a bit late', I kissed me daughter in the cheeks before I went upstairs to take a long bathe.

I walked into my office and there was a newspaper opened up and I looked at it with headlines.

NO MORE WEDDINGS FOR THE PRINCE.

Syaoran called off the wedding, and I knew he would eventually do that. Ramos knocked on my door and he asked 'Did you read the news?'

'Yeah I just saw it just then', Ramos and I had a great working relationship now. Everyone in the company grew to love me and I was the heart of the company now.

'Do you like the fact that it happened?'

'I don't care anymore … I'm with Tomo now and I love him'.

'Did you tell him that?'

'Not yet, but I want him to say it first … don't guys usually say it first anyway?' I waited for him to answer my question.

'I don't know … I said it first to my girlfriend (his girlfriend is Jessica Killde) and she didn't say it back to me till a few days later. I guess it made her think about the relationship we had'.

'I love you sometimes', I said to Ramos. I loved him as a friend nothing more. He grew to be my best friend now.

'Well darling, I've got to go back to work, by the way Darien wanted to see you …' he left my office and I just sat there thinking about what just happened. Even though I keep thinking that I was over Syaoran, he was still in my mind.

Back in Japan.

Syaoran was rowing, he was so angry at everyone in the palace right now, forcing him to make decisions. He took out all of his anger in rowing. Then he took a break, he looked at the lake around him and it was a great view. He was wondering what to do right now because he had a decision to make about leaving his throne to be with Sakura or live a life without her.

He also had his painting kit there with him. Everytime he went rowing, he just brang his kit in case he wants to paint and right now it was the perfect time. It was now autumn and the leaves were just starting to fall and he looked at the Cherry Blossom Tree in front of him and painted it with so much passion. It looked amazing, then after that he rowed back to the lake nearby the palace and he looked at the life he would have to live if he did this. Chaos …

Sakura's friends

They were all hot, rich people.

Yuki & Takara was still together, and now they are engaged and to be married.

Natsuko Kita, is a childhood friend and she was the girl who didn't like being in relationships.

Haruko Toyo, is in the music industry and she gets to work with the hottest music stars of the time. She is currently going out, with this guy named Goro.

Daisuke, is a painter. Lately he's been concentrating on his work that's why Sakura hasn't heard from him for a long while. Daisuke was also Ryu's best friend.

Misaki, is a ballet teacher and she's been dancing for while. During high school, she won lots of awards during her senior years and now, she's just settling down with her boyfriend Nobu. She still had a crush on Daisuke ever since they first met and that was ages ago.

Yuudai, likes Sakura. But after he heard about all the bad situations he tried forgetting about her and now he was with Umeko, a model. Yuudai used to work for the NW magazine as a professional photographer but he quit last year. Now he was working in architect industry.

I got home and I found Nolee cooking the Lamb Roast already and I smiled, I went into the kitchen and said 'I'm so happy you were able to cook … I really want to thank you Nolee', I put the bags down, since I bought wines.

'Its allright … I didn't have any plans anyway'.

'Have any of my friends called?' I asked as I put the wines in the fridge and I saw the house cleaned up and decorated.

She started chopping up vegetables and said 'Your friend Yuudai called he said he was going to be late for a couple of hours. Apparently his girlfriend had a fashion show to do but he made sure he would come'.

'Okay … what about Tomo?' I turned and looked at her.

'He didn't call …' I was shocked that he didn't call because he usually called 'Don't worry Sakura he'll be here'.

I tried smiling, but instead I excused myself upstairs 'I'm just going to get changed and take a shower, I promise I won't be long'.

'Okay …' I slowly walked upstairs and checked on my daughter and luckily she was already sleeping.

10 minutes till the party started

Everything was prepared in case any of my friends came early. I've been calling Tomo's phone and he wasn't answering. I started getting worried, thinking that he couldn't make it. It would really disappoint me if he didn't come because he promised me …

The doorbell rang and I excitedly answered the door, but before that I straightened up my white vintage dress and I opened it, I saw Daisuke and he was holding a box that looked like it contained food 'Daisuke … your early as usual', I hugged him tightly missing him so much and he looked good so I told him 'Your looking good', I welcomed him in my house.

'I haven't heard from you for a long while … I've missed you Sakura', I put the food down but I realized that it was cheesecake ( And I loved cheesecake!). I sat beside him and he asked me 'So how are you really?'

'Fine I guess … everything's going well', I smiled warmly at him.

'So where's your boyfriend … isn't he the reason we are all here?', he wondered where he was and I didn't know how to answer him, and luckily the doorbell rang.

I stood up and answered it and it was Tomo and I was glad that he came, he kissed me passionately not realizing that one of my friends were already there. I pulled away and said 'Tomo my friend is here', he laughed and I said 'Come on in, I'll introduce you to him'.

Daisuke stood up and he smiled at Tomo 'It's good to finally meet you – u', suddenly the doorbell rang and it was Syaoran I stepped back in shock.

'What are you doing here Syaoran?', I wanted him out already.

He pulled me to a kiss and I tried to resist him but his kisses always melted me 'Sakura … I will do anything for you. We need to be together. I know you have feelings for Tomo but we both know the feelings we have for each other is way stronger … I love you'.

Tomo came up behind me wondering who was at the door, he asked me 'Is everything allri- oh', he saw Syaoran and he stopped talking. This night would turn out to one of those stupid nights. Tomo was always overprotective of me and he hated Syaoran. 'What are you doing here Li? Didn't I tell you to stay away from her?'

'She's not just yours … its not like you two were married?', Tomo started getting angry, then Syaoran continued 'Do you know that we share a daughter together?', that sent Tomo over the edge and he punched Syaoran hard. But Syaoran wasn't the type to give up and now they were fighting. It was a disadvantage for Syaoran because Tomo was a very skilled fighter (and swordsman too) and now they were fighting like there was no tomorrow.

I yelled to the two men 'Stop right now please!', but they still continued on fighting and I knew I couldn't stop this so I faked collapsed and the two men ran over to my side. They realized I was faking it when they got to me …

I said to Tomo 'I think you should leave for tonight … I'm canceling the party. I just want to talk to Syaoran alone to settle things', Tomo was disappointed that I chose to stay with Syaoran instead of him, but he left.

So I cancelled the party and none of my friends were coming. Now I was in my penthouse that I bought in the City. I would stay in my penthouse everytime I couldn't make it home. It was a place just for me and it was pretty huge. I just got the penthouse over 2 weeks ago. I was in the living room with Syaoran and he looked at me … we both didn't know what to say and we couldn't just say anything, IT WASN'T THAT EASY.

I looked into his eyes and he smiled at me 'I don't know where to start …'

'You were all I was thinking about ever since I left for Japan. I need you in my life and I know there's a part of you that wants me in your life. Sakura I promise you and I really mean it this time when you decide to forgive me and give our relationship another chance. I promise not to disappoint you, I promise to love you, I promise to never ever leave you again …'

I heard all he was saying but he broke other promises before and I wasn't sure that I was just going to trust him, but when I looked into his eyes, there was trust in those brown eyes, and I realized deep inside me I was STILL in LOVE with SYAORAN. I've loved him, but I couldn't just live like this and pretend no more. He stood in front on me and he went on his knees and started kissing me passionately. At first I didn't respond but his kisses always made me melt. I didn't need to say anything to him to make him understand what I felt for him. We had this special relationship of knowing each other's want and right now we wanted each other so bad …

After we made love so many times, that I couldn't remember how many times, we looked into each others' eyes. It was around 1 am and we were so tired, but Syaoran wanted this moment to last, instead, he told me stories that slowly made me fall asleep. All I could remember from that night was that he was purely amazing and romantic. I could live a life like this forever with him … and that night I chose to. If I chose Syaoran that would be meaning that I would have to break Tomo's heart, and it would distract him because his final exams were coming up so soon. So I decided to wait …

The next morning after a lovely evening. I woke up to be in Syaoran and I was in his arms. I realized that he was already awake and I smiled up at him and asked him 'How long have you been awake?'

'Long enough … I just loved seeing you asleep, it's the greatest sight ever', he smiled and he kissed me softly and we swapped positions and now I was on the bottom and he was on the top 'Last night was amazing … god I missed you so much', then he gave me another kiss. A kiss which he never gave me and I loved it. We stayed in that kiss till my home phone started ringing. He pulled away from me and gave me space to answer the phone.

'Hello', I said when I picked up the cordless phone. It was Nolee.

'Sakura! Machiko had an asthma attack and she isn't doing so well, she's in ER', sounding so worried about the little kid.

I looked at Syaoran as I was starting to get changed, he was wondering what was up because I started panicking, he asked me 'Is everything allright?', whilst I was still on the phone.

I hanged up the phone call and I said 'Machiko is in ER, she had an asthma attack', he was in shock and he started getting changed and I asked him 'Are you coming with me?'

'Yeah of course, she's my daughter too you know', I smiled, I haven't seen this side of him before. We quickly rushed to the hospital where Nolee told me my daughter was and I rushed in and saw Nolee by the waiting area.

'I found her this morning and she wasn't breathing … she was feeling well last night', Nolee told me and I looked at the emergency room.

'How long has she been in there?', I sat down next to her and Syaoran smiled at Nolee.

'About 30 minutes now, the doctors haven't been coming out so I guess its pretty serious. I'm so sorry Sakura, I wished I was there for her', she surprisingly hugged me tightly.

'Its allright Nolee, it wasn't your fault', I hugged her back, we have grown to be close to each other ever since she started caring for Machiko.

2 hours later.

Dr. Reynolds, who was there to help deliver Machiko and had been Machiko's regular doctor came out and he looked exhausted. Nolee had fallen asleep and Syaoran had to go somewhere, and I stood up as Dr. Reynolds walked over to me, 'Is she allright?', I asked him.

'She's fine, though she just suffered a very serious asthma attack. Someone should always be with her and with her medication. If this happened again, it might even be more serious. She's currently asleep now and its best for her to just rest now', I sadly smiled at him and he said 'She'll be fine Sakura', he reassured me.

'Thank you so much', I smiled at him once again. I went to my daughter's hospital room and Machiko was so serene sleeping on the bed. I regretted leaving with Syaoran that night, because I put Syaoran over my daughter's safety. From now on I would put my daughter first.

The next day.

I woke up to be alone in the room and Machiko was awake and I went to her side and asked 'How are you feeling?'

She whispered to me 'Mummy I'm hungry', I smiled at her.

'Okay I'll go downstairs and get you food that you like, just stay here allright. Don't go anywhere', I kissed her in the forehead and I walked downstairs. I got her a bowl of fruit salad, apple juice and a sandwich. I brought the tray back to the room and when I went back to the room, Tomo was there and he smiled at me and I wondered how he knew that Machiko was here.

'What are you doing here?', I asked Tomo. I was scared for a moment because it seemed like he was stalking me.

'I heard about what happened and I just wanted to visit her', playing with Machiko 'Did you not want me here?', he looked at me.

'I need to talk to you outside', I said, then I walked over to Machiko with the tray and said to her 'Just eat, I'll be just outside to talk to Tomo allright?'

'Okay mummy', she smiled. I took Tomo's hand and we argued outside.

'What the hell are you doing here? Didn't I tell you that we need time apart?', I asked him. This was a frustrating time. 'Tomo I don't think it's a good idea for us two to be together'.

'Does this mean you want to break up?', he looked at me straight in the eye but I tried avoiding it.

'Yeah, you were great, but we're just too different, you're a kid and we can't. You should be concentrating on your exams now, not me and my problems'.

'But I want to be with you. If you want a break then I'll give you the time. I just odn't want our relationship to end, you mean too much to me …', he wanted to make this relationship work but I was with Syaoran now.

'We can't. Tomo, I'm with Syaoran now. Its better this way', for a moment there I saw his eyes getting watery but he just stepped back, knowing something happened last night.

'You slept with him last night didn't you?', he was starting to get angry by the fact that I "cheated" on him last night 'You loved him more than me. You loved him but you still …'

'I'm sorry Tomo, I hope we can be friends in the future'.

'There's no way I want to be friends with someone like you. I trusted you Sakura but all you did was betray the trust we shared', he was so shocked this was happening 'Even though you love Syaoran now, I know that you still love me. I'm not going to hate you Sakura because I love you too much. I just want you to know, that I'll always be here for you, when you are not with Syaoran anymore. I promise you that. Even though it may take 10 or 20 years I'll still be here no matter what', he bent his head and kissed me softly in the forehead. Though I though he was going to kiss me in the lips. Luckily he didn't because I saw Syaoran walking out of the elevator and he was holding a bag. 'I guess I should start going before me and Syaoran start fighting', he smiled at me one last time and he started walking the opposite way.

A minute later, Syaoran kissed me in the neck and said 'Hey sexy', I turned around he kissed me in the lips 'I missed you'.

'I missed you too', I hugged him.

'How's Machiko? Doing better?', he looked at the room and she was eating her food 'I guess she is because she's eating again'.

'If your going to ask me about Tomo, its over between us two', he smiled at me and said 'I'm glad he didn't react negatively'.

'I wouldn't have hesistated to fight him'.

'Exactly and I don't want my daughter seeing violence', he laughed and he kissed me one last time before we entered in and I asked 'How's the food Machiko, baby?'.

'Its yummy mum ... who's that boy?', looking at Syaoran. Machiko had seem him around I just haven't introduced him to her.

'This is your father, Machiko, his name is Syaoran. You can call him dad if you want'.

'Why haven't I seen him around mummy?'

'Because …', I needed to find an excuse, and luckily Syaoran save me there.

Syaoran said to the little girl 'I had to travel around the world', smiling warmly at Machiko.

'Mummy when am I getting out of here?', my daughter asked as I knew she wanted to get back home because she missed her pets.

'Soon baby, you just have to be here in case anything happens. Just a day more', I said to her, she was such an energetic girl. Syaoran sat beside me and he took out something out of the paper bag.

'I got you something Machiko', Syaoran said to her, 'I hope you like it', he took out a new CareBear stuff toy and it was scented.

'I love it', hugging the toy. I smiled at the sight of Syaoran and Machiko smiling and playing together. This was what I wanted, a real family. Somehow when I thought of that, it reminded me of Ryu, and if he was alive now, Ryu would be a great father for Machiko. Then I remembered I haven't visited him for a long while and I ought to do it. I needed to tell him that my life was now settling down and how I missed him.