AN: Another month passed by. I am so sorry! I've been doing other stuff, and hadn't really had much time for the computer. But, I am finally at peace, and in vacation! So hopefully I could upload this story faster. Now, remember what I said about no more writing fan fiction? Um, let's forget about that. A few of you said that maybe I can write both fan fiction and original stories. I think I can do that. One, I really don't want to leave the fan fiction world, and two, I really love writing fan fiction. Of course, I'll probably have less time for it, but we'll see! And of course, whatever original stories I write will be put at the fictionpress website.

Anyways, thank you all for your reviews! I didn't expect this story to be so popular. I thought people wouldn't want to give it a chance, considering that I had to twist several things in the geisha life. Not to mention, as one of you pointed out, I would have thought people would think this would follow the plot of Memoirs of a Geisha. Although the book was my inspiration, I knew that I could not write a story with the same plot as the book. I wanted mine to be original and fresh.

Now that I've explained myself . . . Here is chapter eleven! Enjoy.

Rated: M for Mature do to sexual content and language.

Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura and its characters belong to Clamp. Plot and original characters of this story belongs to me.

Geisha Girl

Chapter Eleven

It was Monday, officially one week after Syaoran and Sakura were engaged. Everyone in the office saw just how happier their employer was, how he smiled more often, how he wasn't as strict as before. All the employees, except for, of course, Totsuda, were happy for him.

Even Touya and Fujitaka saw just how lenient their new employer was when they entered his office, holding on to important documents that they must hand over.

"Take a seat" Syaoran said with a smile. "I'm sure you have the documents?"

Fujitaka frowned. "Yes, of course."

"What's up with the goofy smile?" Touya asked rudely.

Syaoran's smile grew into a grin. "I'm engaged" he stated proudly. He wanted to tell Fujitaka that he was engaged to the older man's daughter, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. At least, not yet. Syaoran has to tell Sakura about her father and brother. He had accidentally left the papers with their addresses and names at his apartment in a suit jacket, and he hoped Sakura wouldn't stumble upon it.

"Who would want to marry you?" Touya grunted.

You're sister would.

Syaoran bit back the comment, frowning at Touya. "I'm sending Zen Akio as your supervisor. You guys no longer have to work in the office, and instead can work in your lavatories along with your employees to work on your metals."

Fujitaka and Touya glanced at each other. "You mean, I won't need to be in my office anymore?" Fujitaka asked.

"Nope. Paperwork and whatnot will now be in the hands of Zen."

Syaoran saw how happy Fujitaka was at the fact of no longer dealing with paperwork. No one liked to do paperwork.

"Now, shall we go into details about it?" He invited, and they got right down to business.

- -

Sakura frowned as she entered the Dynasty building. It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and she wondered what Syaoran wanted. The secretary called her saying that her fiancé wanted her at his office around three. Her bruises around her neck were gone, along with the redness on her cheeks. She still had the stitches, however, and would have to return to the hospital in two weeks to get them removed.

So lost in her thoughts, she accidentally bumped into a tall man, who had been walking very briskly and in a fast pace.

"Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am" he stated, looking at her with intense black eyes. "My father is waiting in the car for me and I'm afraid I was walking quite fast."

"Oh, that's all right. I was lost in my own thoughts." She noticed the intense stare she was receiving from him, and she shifted uncomfortably. "Um . . . May I ask why you are staring at me like that?"

As if snapped out of a trance, he blinked several times before saying "I apologize. You just look like someone I know . . ."

"Oh." Sakura cleared her throat. "Well, I must go. I do apologize for bumping into you."

She walked away, hurrying when she saw how late it was getting.

Touya watched the young woman walked away. "She has mom's eyes" he murmured, but then shook his head. Many women had emerald eyes, so he continued on his way before his father suffocated in this heat waiting in the car.

- -

Syaoran's eyes grew very cold the moment Leiko entered his office. "Get out" he ordered.

Without a word she walked forward and took off her shirt, leaving her in just a bra and skirt. "I can't" she whispered.

"Leiko, put your shirt back on and get out!"

"Make me" she said huskily before rounding the table and propping herself on his lap.

"Get the hell off-"

She shut him up by placing her lips on his mouth.

- -

Sakura smiled at the secretary. "You called earlier telling me Syaoran wanted to see me?"

The secretary frowned. "No, I didn't. I didn't call anyone. I was out on lunch and just barely got here about thirty seconds before you did."

Sakura frowned. This secretary sounded different than the one who called her. "I better see Syaoran just to make sure" she murmured, and the secretary nodded.

Sakura walked to the office and opened the door.

She froze seeing Leiko sitting on Syaoran's lap.

Syaoran tore his mouth away, completely disgusted. "Get the-" He froze seeing Sakura over Leiko's shoulder. She stood motionless, her face deathly pale. "Get off" he growled to Leiko and stood up abruptly, dumping the nineteen-year-old on the ground.

"Sakura, this isn't what it looks like" he immediately said, rushing to her and grasping her shoulders. "Leiko just came in, and took off her shirt, and I told her to get out but she didn't listen and so she sat on my lap-"

"And disguised her voice to get me over here in order for me to see the scene" Sakura said numbly, looking at the nineteen-year-old, who stared back at her with a shocked expression as she stood up from the ground, probably surprised that her plan didn't work out the way she thought it would. No wonder the secretaries didn't sound the same. "I knew it was her plan the moment I walked in" she stated looking at Syaoran with a blank face. "She had told me that I would get mine." She looked back at Leiko. "It's such a predictable and over done plan."

Syaoran glared at Leiko. "Your plan failed, Leiko. Get the hell out and I swear if you-"

"The engagement is off."

His head snapped back around to stare at Sakura. She was looking at him with her face void of any emotion. Her hand was held out, palm upward, and on her palm was her ring.

"What?" He asked in a hoarse whisper. "You said you believed me about-"

"I do. But I can't marry you." Her blank face disappeared to be replaced with sadness. Her eyes began shimmering with unshed tears. She grabbed his hand when he didn't move and placed the ring in his hand. "I'm sorry" she whispered, and began walking away.

Syaoran stared down at the ring. He was losing her . . .

Fear of losing her made him run after her, not caring that a few of his employees were staring at him.

"Wait- Stop!" he caught up to her and spun her around. "Why? Why is the engagement off?"

Sakura stared at him, feeling her tears that she tried to stop from falling sliding down her cheeks. He looked completely confused. "In a space of five seconds" she spoke softly, her voice singing with hurt and sadness "I realized that I can't settle for less than what I deserve."

"Deserve? I'm giving you everything you want! I promised that I would stay faithful, that I wouldn't smother you-"

"And that's all fine, Syaoran, but don't you see that that isn't enough for me?" He merely stared at her, and her voice cracked as she said "Syaoran I can't marry some who doesn't believe in love!"

He didn't stay a word, and Sakura grasped for some kind of control. "I thought I could settle for anything but love, but I can't."

"But I care for you . . ." he whispered, his hand clenching her shoulders.

"I know, but that isn't enough for me. Seeing Ms. Tokumatsu sitting on your lap . . ." She shook her head, a sob leaving her mouth. "God! My first thought was that it was another woman, and . . . Syaoran, how long will it take until you start to care for someone else? Caring for someone isn't as strong as love, and I have no reassurance that you'll never leave me for another woman you care about!"

"Damn it, Sakura, I told you everyday since we got engaged that I would never leave you."

"Yeah, that's what you say now, but look at how many women flock around you? You could grow to care about one of them, and then you'll start sleeping with her and-" She cut herself and then she covered her mouth with her hands. She slowly back away, dislodging his hands from her shoulders. She bumped into the wall, and frantically she pressed the button with one hand for the elevator, keeping her other hand firmly over her mouth. Her eyes never left the face of the man she loved with all her heart, and she couldn't believe that she was leaving him, but she knew she had to, but that didn't stop her heart from shattering. "I t-thought I could handle it, b-but I can't . . . I just can't . . ."

Syaoran slowly walked up to her, clenching her ring in his hand. He couldn't believe this was happening. She was leaving him, and he would have given anything to convince her otherwise but . . . But she wanted love, and he couldn't give it to her.

Damn it, he couldn't give it to her!

"You know I don't believe in love, you know I can't give you that. But I could make up for that" he frantically told her. "I'll give you anything you want-"

"Except love" she whispered. "Love is all I want. I don't want money, or riches, or jewelry or a house. Hell, I'll even live on the street wearing nothing but rags if I can have your heart. All I want is your love, but you can't give me that."

"Why do you need love?" he asked desperately, something in him just hurting over the fact that she was leaving him. "Why isn't me caring for you enough?"

The elevator doors opened, and she stepped into it backwards. "Because I love you" she confessed softly.

Syaoran reeled back, eyes widening.

"I love you so much, Syaoran" she whispered. "I would give anything to stay with you, to accept that fact that you won't ever love me, that caring for someone is all you have to offer, but I can't! I need your love, Syaoran."

"Sakura . . ." He couldn't say anymore, not knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry, Syaoran." She gave him a wobbly smile, tears streaking down her cheeks. "My Little Wolf, I'm so sorry . . . It's for the best . . ." The elevator began to close. "I'll always love you . . ."

Sakura watched as the doors closed, and she began to sob in earnest, heart-wrenching cries escaping her lips, and she covered her face as she let all her sorrows escape.

Syaoran stared at his reflection on the elevator doors, staring at himself with confusion and . . . Hurt. He was hurting so bad. He groaned, and banged his head against the wall, staring down at the ring in his hand. He lost her . . .

"Hah, serves you right, Li. You wouldn't have made her happy, anyways."

Syaoran growled. "Shut it, Totsuda."

Totsuda merely grinned, ignoring the frowns and glares that his fellow employees were giving him. "What? Can't handle the truth? She knew you weren't the one for her. Now, I can finally have her, and I can assure you that I will take care of her the way you never would have, the way-" A swift punch sent him to the floor, cutting him off. He looked at Syaoran in shock.

"You're fired" Syaoran bit out, not caring what anybody thought of it "Pack your things and get the hell out of my sight."

He headed toward his office, stepping over Totsuda, but he paused when seeing Tokumatsu, reminding him that Leiko was in his office. He looked at Tokumatsu. "Your daughter is in my office. Get her out. She planned to break me and Sakura up, and although it happened differently than what she probably expected, she succeeded. I never want to see her again."

Syaoran waited, anger and hurt running through his whole being, as Tokumatsu went to retrieve his daughter.

"I have had just about enough of you" Tokumatsu growled with a scowl as he dragged his daughter out of the office. He dragged her down the hall towards his own office. "We are sending you to your uncle in Australia so you could learn some discipline."

Everyone heard Leiko's gasp. "No, daddy! He's a boot camp officer. You know how he is! He'll treat me just like the kids he treats at boot camp."

"Exactly" came her father's growl as he dragged her into his office.

"But daddy-" was the last thing everyone heard before the door was closed.

All the employees were quiet as they watched their employer stand in the middle of the hallway, his head bowed.

"Back to work" everyone heard him whisper before he made his way, slowly, to his office, shutting the door behind him.

Zen looked around at the all the employees who still hadn't moved. "You heard him, back to work!" he exclaimed, and everyone scurried to continue doing what they had been doing, mumbling and talking to those they passed about what just occurred.

Zen looked down as Totsuda rose up, holding a hand to his bloody nose. Zen glared at him. "You know, what you had said hadn't been necessary."

Totsuda glared back. "Damn it, Zen, you know how she was supposed to be mine. I was supposed to be her danna, and he stole her away from me."

"Stole? You sound just like Leiko, Totsuda. Sakura was never yours to begin with."

Zen walked away, not believing how his plans had gone awry. He had been satisfied when Li and Sakura got to together, but now . . . He glanced at the close doors that led to Li's office.

He didn't know what would happen now.

- -

Sakura numbly walked into the motel room, carrying her suitcase. She shut the door behind her, not knowing how she would survive the next few days. The moment she reached Syaoran's apartment she knew she couldn't stay. She had had to get out of there, so she had grabbed her suitcase, threw everything she had in it, and had fled. That had been about two hours ago, and she had been walking aimlessly, carrying her tiny suitcase, knowing that she was receiving all these looks but she was too hurt to care.

She threw the suitcase on the bed and opened it, knowing that she would have to go and search for an apartment and a job. She didn't want to go back to be a geisha. That life was long gone, replaced by the real world that she had entered the moment Syaoran had asked her to marry him.

She had enjoyed being just a woman, with a man to care for her, not having to worry about playing an instrument, or to sing and dance. She had simply ate, slept, shopped . . . Just like any other woman.

She opened her suitcase, and with surprise she saw Syaoran's suit jacket resting on top of her clothes. She had probably accidentally grabbed it when grabbing all her clothes that she hanged in his closet not long ago. She picked up the jacket in her hands, and a soft sob escaped her lips, her scratchy eyes welling up with tears again. She brought the jacket up to her face and buried her face into the fabric, inhaling it. It still smelled just like Syaoran, and her tears fell into it.

She couldn't believe that she left him. Everything in her was screaming at her to go back to him, to wait until he learned to love her, that everything will be all right. But she couldn't. She needed to know she had his love, because love was the only emotion that would prove to her that he wasn't going to stray and sleep with other women.

Oh God, the moment she saw Leiko sitting on his lap everything inside her had shattered, until she realized that it was just a ploy. Like she had said, that plan had been done several times in movies and in books she has read. She knew what Leiko had done immediately, telling her that the nineteen-year-old wasn't very original. But still, that very moment she knew she couldn't marry Syaoran. She deserved love, didn't she? Didn't she deserve to walk into a marriage knowing that her husband loved her, knowing that the man she was now committed to loved her too much to ever be with another woman behind her back? Sakura knew she couldn't stay with Syaoran, because eventually he would have left her. He would have found a more beautiful, a more fascinating woman to care about, and he would have left her. The scene today could have happened again in the next several years or so, only this time Syaoran would have been willingly cheating on her.

Sakura just wouldn't have been able to handle that. She loved him to much, so deeply that if he ever left her for someone else she knew she wouldn't be able to recover. It would have cut deeply into her heart and soul, making the sorrow and pain she currently felt a mockery of what she knew she would experience later on in life. The only way to protect herself from that future pain was for her to leave him first, and let him know that she needed more then what he could offer. She needed more than just him caring about her, because caring for someone was easy.

She pulled the jacket away from her, her vision blurry as she ran a hand across it. If she wasn't such a coward, she would march right back and give him his jacket. But she knew she was too weak. She would go back to him the instant he asked her to. No, she couldn't go back to him. And right now she wasn't strong enough to face him. So she continued to run her hand across his jacket, knowing that this was all that was left from her relationship to him.

Her hand reached it's pocket, and she frowned when she heard rustling. Sniffling, and rubbing her tears away, she reached into the pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She placed the jacket on the bed as she unfolded it,. She had to blink several times to clear her vision, and she gasped, seeing a very familiar name.

There, in neat handwriting, was the addresses of her parents, and of a man named Touya.

"It couldn't be" she whispered, sitting on the bed slowly. How long had Syaoran had this? Why hadn't he told her?

Because she told him she never wanted to see her parents again.

The telephone number was there, and she glanced at the phone that was in her room. Should she call? She immediately shook her head. No, she didn't want to hear her parent's voice, didn't want to hear their excuses. Not today, and maybe not ever. They had hurt her too much for her to even see them without feeling abandoned and neglected.

She lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"I did the right thing" she whispered. "I couldn't marry Syaoran."

But she burst into tears, and rolled over on her stomach to bury her face in her arms, and cried her heart out over giving up the only man she has learned to love.

- -

Syaoran slowly walked into his apartment during the evening. The lights were all off, and for a moment he wondered why. He had grown accustomed to the lights being on when he arrived from work, but then, he has also grown accustomed to having Sakura come up and kiss him the moment he entered the apartment. But this time, it was just darkness that met him at the door, and he turned on the light switch. He dragged his feet pass the kitchen, the living room, and the spare bedrooms and bathroom, before entering his own room. He turned on the light, glanced at the closet, and saw it half-empty, the place where Sakura's clothes had been hanging now empty. He walked to the bed, and sat down on it.

She was gone. She had left him, grabbed her stuff, and now she was gone.

He felt so alone, as if Sakura took half of him away when she left. His closet wasn't the only thing half-empty. He has always valued his solitude, always liked the silence of his apartment, but now it felt too lonely in his place. God, how he would give for some type of noise, someone to talk to. Right now, even a dog would be appreciated. That was better than nothing.

He reached into his pocket to take out the ring to finger it some more, but he paused when he came into contact with a chain. Taking out the ring, he also took out the chain, and suddenly realized that it was the emerald Sakura had been wearing the night they first had sex.

He looked at it, along with the ring. It reminded him of how beautiful she looked, an exotic creature from a fantasy. Never in his life had he felt so unworthy of having someone like her in his bed. Before her, he had never paid any attention to the woman he was sleeping with. Usually, his mind would be somewhere else. But that first night, and every night after that, the only thing he had in his mind was her. He was in tuned to every movement she made, to every moan of pleasure that had been released. He remembered the way she had cried out his name several times over, and he still felt the satisfaction of it, knowing that it was him who made her cry out in ecstasy. Sex with her had been different, and wonderful.

Sex . . . Sex . . . Hadn't it been more than sex? He had ignored it every time Sakura said making love, because he knew that was what everyone, except him, sometimes called sex. But now . . . Jesus, now he didn't know. It had been more than sex, but he couldn't possibly call it making love, the way Sakura had. Sakura had her reasons for calling it making love.

She loved him.

He looked at the ring. He still couldn't believe that she loved him. It was so strange, really. The moment she spoke those words, he was shocked, but underneath that shock was another emotion, something he hadn't been able to understand. Now he did know what that emotion was.

He had been happy. For one tiny second, hidden beneath the shock and the fear of her leaving him, he had felt joy that she loved him. But then she was gone, leaving him in the despair and sorrow he was now wallowing in.

Why didn't he know?

Why couldn't he give her the love she wanted?

He felt so useless, so powerless. It was such a simple thing she wanted, but at the same time too hard to give. He wanted her with him for life, and all he had to do was love her, but love wasn't something he gave, because it didn't exist. Damn it, why did she have to be a fool like the rest of the world and want something that didn't even exist! He should just find her and tell her he loves her, and then she would be with him. That would satisfy her, and then she would be with him.

But he couldn't lie to her. He couldn't give her a false emotion. Why didn't she ask for money? Or a puppy, or a car, or anything else that he had the power to give her? But she wanted love, the one thing that he could not hand her. She said herself that that's all she wanted from him. For the first time since he met her, he desperately wished that she had been exactly like those spoiled women who wanted him solely for his money. That way love wouldn't have been a necessary thing for her to be with him.

But deep down, he knew that if Sakura had been like that, he wouldn't have been with her for this long, wouldn't have even asked for marriage. Knowing him, he would have just left her within a week like he had done with other women. No, he liked Sakura the way she was, and he wouldn't change her for anything.

If only she hadn't wanted love . . .

He should just forget about her. They weren't going to get married if he couldn't give her something she wanted. There was no future between them.

The problem was, he couldn't see himself living the rest of his life without her.

He nearly jumped when the phone rang, and he leaped for it, half-hoping that it was Sakura calling to tell him how she changed her mind.

"Sakura?" he greeted quickly.

"Mr. Li?"

He blinked. "Yes, who is this?"

"This is Dr. Yang. I have tried to reach your sisters, but haven't succeeded. I'm calling about your mother. She is at the hospital. She is gravely ill, worse than usual. I think you should come."

Syaoran felt like he couldn't breathe. Gravely ill? I think you should come . . .

That only meant one thing: There was a chance his mother was going to die.

- -

Syaoran stared at his mother, resting on the hospital bed the next day. He wondered where all his sisters were, but only briefly. If they weren't here in the hospital, that only meant that they had gone out of town, and currently couldn't be reached.

It had been nine years since he last saw his mother, and to his surprise she still looked the same, although her skin was a little more waxy. Her hair was still the shiny black, making him suspect that she dyed it, and her face was virtually free of any wrinkles, except for the crow's feet at the edges of her closed eyes. Machines hummed, needles in his mother's flesh.

The doctor informed him that she had collapsed in her home, barely able to breathe, fever making her weak. Then, when she arrived at the hospital, she had had a major seizure.

Worry knotted in his stomach, and he wondered if this would be the last time he ever saw her alive.

Her eyes suddenly fluttered open, and she looked at him. "Xiao-Lang?" She questioned softly, staring at him as if he was a mirage. Hell, could he blame her? He has never before come to her when she was ill.

"Hi, mother" he said, walking over to the side of her bed, and kneeling beside it. "How are you?" He murmured, grasping her hand.

She laughed softly. "Fine." She looked him over, her upper body propped up on the bed. Her eyes were wide with amazement and surprise. "My goodness, how handsome you are . . . How long has it been? Nine years . . ." With her free hand she ran a hand on his face. She suddenly frowned. "You look like you haven't had any sleep."

"I haven't. I've been awake for the past twenty-four hours. I was worried sick when your doctor called and told me that this has been the worst it has been. He said he had tried calling Fuutie and the others first."

"Oh, I sent them all away with their husbands and children. All of them traveled out of Hong Kong. I got so tired of the way they were flocking around me I told them they better take some kind of trip away from Hong Kong before they make me mad." She sighed and smiled.

He couldn't really share her amusement. "Mother, they told me you collapsed with a fever. If you were ill, why were you walking around?"

"Oh, posh, I wasn't that sick, son. I felt a little woozy, yes, but I was tired of being treated as if I couldn't do things on my own."

"If you have a fever, you shouldn't be doing anything on your own. In fact, none of my sisters should have left you alone."

"My fever wasn't bad when they left yesterday. They were to return in a few days, and I didn't feel like bothering them."

He rubbed his thumb over her fragile skin. "How often do you get sick, mother?"

She sighed. "Ten to thirteen times a year, I estimate."

"Mother! Why didn't hadn't Fuutie or any of the others call me and tell me that you were getting sick so often? Or at least tell me every time you get sick."

"Would you have come?" She asked softly.

He quickly nodded. "Of course."

"The truth, son."

He stared into her eyes and lowered his head with shame. "No."

"I figured as much. Besides, I wouldn't have wanted you to smother me. Everyone flounders around me, wondering why I get sick and waiting for when the next illness will strike. It's quite annoying." She then smiled. "But enough about me. Oh, dear, there is so much I want to know. But first things first. How are you and Ms. Kinomoto? You haven't called me about wedding details since the day you told me you were getting married."

He glanced up at her before lowering his head again, this time with hurt. "Mother . . . Sakura left me yesterday."

He looked up when his mother gasped. "Why?"

"She said that she needed more from me, emotionally. She said that me caring for her wasn't enough anymore." He sighed. "She said she loved me, mother, and she said she needed me to love her in return."

Yelan stared at her son, at his lost expression. "And that depresses you? That she loves you?"

"No. What depresses me is that she wants love, and you know that I don't believe in that stuff." He paused and closed his eyes, possibly remembering the moment the geisha revealed her true feelings to him. "But . . . Mother, other women have said they loved me, and all I had felt was annoyance and a desperation to get away. But when Sakura told me that she loved me, I felt . . . happy. I felt like the king of the world, complete, satisfied. I mean, it wasn't until after she left when I realized that I was happy for her loving me. But I only felt it for a second. The next second she was gone, after she told me she loved me, and I felt so lost, remorse." Almost to himself, he said "I wonder why I never noticed . . ." he looked at his mother, and smiled. "She was a geisha, you know."

Yelan smiled. "Oh, a geisha. I have a friend who once was a geisha."

Syaoran chuckled. "Sakura was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and I went after her, of course, but she resisted me for about three weeks, saying that I would be a risk to her reputation as a top geisha. But it had felt so nice just being with her, with no sex. We would just talk and laugh."

Yelan smiled. "She resisted you for three weeks? You mean that she didn't want to have sex with you?"

Syaoran grinned, surprised that he wasn't uncomfortable having this type of conversation with his own mother. "Nope. But then she finally asked me if I could take her to bed, and at first I resisted because she . . . Well, it's private, but just know that I wasn't able to resist for long."

"Oh, Xiao-Lang, you should have known right then and there that she loved you when she stopped resisting you." At his confused look, she explained, "A woman who resists to have sex for a long while because she doesn't want to sleep with you, and then finally gives in, is a woman who loves you. She is trusting you with her body because she gave you her heart, because she can no longer resist. She loves you too much to deny what she has learned to want herself."

Syaoran looked down. "Mother . . . I'm so confused. I've never felt a need to commit to a woman until Sakura. I've never cared for a woman the way I care about her, or felt the need to protect someone the way I want to protect her. I keep telling myself that I wanted her to marry me so that I could take her out of the geisha life, that I wouldn't have to share her with any other man, that I wanted her with me for the rest of my life. She's the only woman who I felt such a strong desire to spend the rest of my life with." He sighed. "I just don't know anymore . . ."

Yelan studied her son. "I've always wondered why you didn't believe in love, and I think I now know why."

Syaoran looked at his mother with a frown. "I believe this is going somewhere."

"It is. Now hush up and let me continue. Like I was saying, I think I now know why you don't believe in love. No one has ever told you they loved you when you were young. I've never said it, and I doubt your sisters have, because for some odd reason siblings of different genders usually shy away from saying they love each other unless there is a crisis going on, or unless they say it playfully. And as you grew older, you just didn't believe love existed. When other women said they loved you, you didn't believe them, because love was an illusion to you, and no one could convince you otherwise." She smiled. "Until you fell in love yourself."

Syaoran reeled back with the news. "W-what?"

"You love Sakura, Xiao-Lang." She sighed. "No one has ever given you love, so you didn't give love in return, hiding behind this façade that love didn't exist for you. You knew when the other women proclaimed their love, it was fake, a desperate attempt to keep you around, am I correct?"

Syaoran nodded dumbly.

"But then this young woman enters your life, and you spend time with her, care for her, have a desire to spend the rest of your life with her. When she announces her love, you know, deep down, that it was true love. Don't you?"

Syaoran swallowed. "Yes" he whispered.

"Don't you see, Xiao-Lang? For the first time in your life, someone said she loves you, and she meant it. Someone was giving you love, and now you know that you can give love in return."

Syaoran didn't say anything. He loved Sakura? It was impossible . . . But then, why did he feel the way he did around Sakura? Why was he so hurt over her leaving him? His heart ached, and it felt broken.

His heart did have emotions, he realized. His heart was hurt over Sakura leaving him, and it was breaking because he thought he would never get her back. And if his heart felt these things, that meant it could feel love. That meant love existed.

That meant he loved Sakura.

"I love her" he said thinly. "Damn, I love her."

Syaoran couldn't believe it. He loved Sakura, and he never thought he could soar so high! He could give Sakura what she wanted, he realized. He could tell her he loved her, truthfully and happily. They had a future together . . .

Yelan nearly chuckled at the look of wonder on her son's face, happiness replacing the sadness he had written all over his face. He looked so much like her husband . . .

"Xiao-Lang" she said, grabbing his chin. He looked at her. "I am so sorry for neglecting you."

She saw hurt flicker in his eyes, and she felt tears well up in her eyes. "Oh, my son . . . I never meant to hurt you." She sniffled. "Your father died so soon after you were born, and you have his eyes . . . His hair . . . You were his spitting image, and just looking at you reminded me of him. I was so hurt, so concerned and devastated over his loss, that I sent you away as soon as I could, because I wanted to forget your father, and every time I looked at you I couldn't. I just couldn't stand it. Every year, you were growing more and more to look like your father, and every time I felt like a knife was slicing my heart. I couldn't even talk to you without being reminded of your father."

"Is that why, when I returned from boarding school, you kept sending me away?" he asked, his voice thick with emotion.

Yelan nodded. "Yes. Every time I saw you I was reminded of him, and then when you came back to stay, I subconsciously found ways to get rid of you so the pain would go away. And then you finally did go away, permanently, and then I felt a greater sense of loss. You were truly gone, and I was so mad at you, not knowing how ridicules it was because I knew I was the one who drove you away." She sighed. "As soon as I got over my anger, I began to call you. At first you ignored my calls and I knew what I had done was wrong." She put her hands over his. "And then when you finally did begin to accept my calls, you were so cold, so aloof, I felt a need to act the same way. But I truly did want you home, I truly did want to see you, but I knew you wouldn't have come if I asked."

"I think I would have, mother" he admitted softly. "Every time Fuutie or any other of my sisters called and told me you wanted me to come home, I didn't believe it. I needed to hear it from you, to know that you truly wanted me to see you. After years of you sending me away, of avoiding me, the only way I would truly believe that you wanted to see me was if you asked me to see you yourself. But you never did . . . So I never came . . ."

"Oh, my son . . . Do you forgive me? For everything?"

Syaoran smiled. "Of course I forgive you.

Both were silent for a few moments, knowing that this tiny conversation has changed their lives forever.

"All right" Yelan said, drying her eyes. "Now that you know how you feel, get out of here and find your future wife."

He gave her a worried look. "But I should be here with you-"

She shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere. Knowing you are getting married, knowing that you forgive me for what I did, is enough for me to continue living. Besides, I'm pretty sure all your sisters are on their way to see me, because even though they all left Hong Kong, I am confident that none of them have left China."

Syaoran chuckled.

"Now, go on! Go get Sakura!"

"I'm not sure how long it'll take me to find her, so I'm not sure if we'll be able to get married in two weeks the way we were supposed to."

Yelan smiled. "Don't worry. I didn't tell anyone when you were getting married, just that you found yourself a bride. Besides, this is a good thing. I didn't really think that three weeks were sufficient enough to throw the wedding you deserve, anyways."

Syaoran grinned and stood, kissing his mother's cheek. "Thanks, mother."

Yelan cupped his cheeks. "Xiao-Lang, I do love you. I'm sorry I never told you that while you were growing up."

Still grinning, Syaoran replied, "I love you, too, mother."

"Oh, those are the most beautiful words I have ever heard" Yelan stated, her eyes shining. "Now go and get Sakura, and don't come back without her, got it?"

Syaoran nodded. "Got it."

AN: Ta-da! That's it. I worked extremely hard on this chapter. It was a little more complicated than what I realized it would be. Oh well. Hopefully it came out great, and hopefully it was worth the wait (funny, I always say that at the end of every chapter lately, don't I?) Please review! Pretty, pretty, pretty please? Every review still counts!