Greetings to all of the readers! Thanks for all of the supports for this story! I'm so happy to receive your warm and supportive reviews for the previous chapters! For some anonymous readers, I'm sorry that I can't reply to you directly, but I really appreciate it and I also would like to thank you all for reading and reviewing!

As for this chapter, I dedicate it to a friend who'd been very kind and supportive from the very beginning, she had been my first reviewer for almost all of my updates in this story. She is VividPixie or Lexie-chan! Thanks for your continuous supports and I hope you like this chapter!

Have a pleasant reading, everyone! ^^

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Disclamer: Although I would be more than happy if KWMS would be mine, but unfortunately it still isn't, so I'll say it again, I have nothing to do with KWMS or Maid-sama, I'm just a fan.

Flashback: Direct continuation of The Memory…

She didn't mind. She didn't care what others would tell about her, because she knew her heart. It was longing only for one person.

She moved her gaze to the sky and saw twinkling stars far above her and listened to the voice of the wind that was blowing through her hairs. She faced the winds and smiled. She imagined that even the wind would laugh if it knew what she was thinking.

Takumi… Is it my greatest fault, that I can't stop loving you?

End of flashback…

"Have you ever asked yourself that is it the greatest mistake, for you to ever meet him?"

Misaki gasped as Hinata's voice echoed in her mind. She had no idea why the words suddenly came back at her at that very moment. It felt like a long time ago, yet it still engraved in her memory like yesterday. It happened three years ago, but she could still clearly remember their conversation when Hinata tried to 'resuscitate' her from something that he called 'an empty hope'.

Ever since Takumi left her, Hinata had always been beside her, he even went to a college in Tokyo just to be near her. At first, his intention was to help her went through those lonely days without Takumi as her best friend, because he knew exactly how she felt for Takumi and that he knew pretty well that he didn't have any chance to win her heart. But after they spent so much time together, he realized that he couldn't deny his feelings for her that had been kept for so long in his heart. It thrived inside of him even though he didn't dare to speak about it and risked their great relationship.

So he secretly hoped that Takumi would never come back to her, and that he could slowly foster her feelings towards him through time. Therefore, when he knew about the letter Takumi wrote for Misaki as a token of releasing her from the promise she made to him and at the same time giving her a choice whether to wait in uncertainty or free herself from the promise, Hinata saw it as an opportunity that he had been waiting for so long. He finally got the chance to express his real feelings to Misaki.

Flashback to the day their relationship changes….

"I want to tell you the truth about my feelings, Misaki… If only you know how much I love you, and how long I've kept this feeling from you… But not anymore… Not after I knew how he treated you… You know that tomorrow and the days after that I'll still be around you… I'll never let you down… So please, Misaki… Give me a chance to be by your side and you will never regret it…" Hinata said earnestly. He had decided to step up and confessed his feeling that was kept deep within his heart for as long as he could remember. He couldn't suppress his feelings for her anymore because he knew that he wanted to be more than just a friend for her, and he was willing to risk everything that they had to let her know that fact, he couldn't wait any longer because he didn't want to see Misaki tortured herself in loneliness.

Misaki was shocked beyond words when she heard Hinata's sudden confession. Although in the back of her mind, she silently knew that Hinata's feelings for her didn't change even though he said that he wanted to be her best friend. He could never hide his real feelings from anybody because it was just his nature. She should have known that.

But over the years, she found herself being too comfortable with his presence as her best friend and she decided to ignore the warning her conscience had given to her, hoping that it was just her imagination and maybe he really was over her. She knew that she had been very cruel to him. Even though he had never said anything, she knew that over the years, she had really hurt his feelings and she had no idea how to make everything right again.

For a second there, she thought about agreeing to his offer, to accept his feelings and never looked back. It might seem like the best decision she could take at the moment, because she knew that Hinata would love her with all his heart, and that he would do anything to make her happy. Her life would be much more easier if she would just give up and chose him over Takumi and live a happy life together with him. But at the critical moments, her inner conscience warned her once again, because when she thought about losing Takumi, her heart ached like never before.

Then suddenly all of the old memories of the days she and Takumi went through together came rushing back at her without her consent, and as she remembered his warm and innocent smile that was so perfect in her mind, she realized that in her heart, nobody could ever replace him. There was nobody that could make her feel the way that he did. Even though it hurt her so bad to live her life without him and so lost because she wouldn't want to prepare, to know that something might gone wrong and he might never come back, but she couldn't deny that he was the only one who would always had a special place in her heart, something that even herself couldn't undo.

It was at the moment that she took a time to reminisce about the feelings she used to feel, and the promise she had made, both to herself and to him. Then she realized that no matter how hurt she was, no matter how much pain he had caused for making her waiting for him in uncertainty, if there was still a chance to be together with him, she would never abandon it. She would always stay true to her feelings and there she decided to stay on the line of hope. She then took a deep breath and lifted her head to face Hinata. She had made her choice and she must make him understand.

"….Shintani… I'm thankful for your feelings… I really am... You are my precious friend, and because of you, I am able to go through my life with joy… But… I can't… I don't wanna hurt you but… I—" Misaki was about to break her best friend's heart, once again, before she was interrupted by the said person.

Hinata interrupted her before she could finish her line, as if he knew what she was about to say next, and he didn't want to hear it. "Misaki… You know I don't mind… You can hurt me as many times as you want, as long as you let me stay by your side and give me a chance to show you how much I love you… I won't regret a thing…"

"No, Shintani… I already know how do you feel about me, even if you hide it and tried to be just a friend for me. I am a cruel person, I know all about it but yet I let you stay with me as my friend. Can't you see? I'm using you to make me feel better, for my own selfishness, I forced you to suppress your own feelings!"

"I don't care, Misaki! I will gladly go through it again if you ask me to, I'm willing to do anything as long as you are happy!" Hinata said earnestly, without doubt in his eyes.

"Don't say that anymore, Shintani… You know my feelings… I had never thought of anyone else except for him, even if he isn't here… You'll just waste your time with me…"

"Don't you think that you're the one who wasted your time with him? Have you ever asked yourself that is it the greatest mistake, for you to ever meet him? He messed up your peaceful life, and after that, he left you just like that. He made you wait for him for four years already. He broke his promise, isn't it? How can you be sure that he isn't with another girl in England right now?"

"Please stop saying that! He will never do that!" Misaki shouted, more to herself rather than to the person she was facing. She received that kind of comments from her friends at college when they heard about her relationship status, but it didn't affect her. They never know him, that's why they could say anything and it would never bother her in the least. But when Hinata said it to her, she felt emotionally disturbed even though she knew that he said it because he was upset.

That kind of thought was bound to appear in her mind whether she allowed it or not, especially on those days when she needed his presence and he wasn't there. She wasn't perfect. She had her ups and downs, and there were times when doubt preoccupied her mind. So when she heard it directly from Hinata, she felt as if her inner thought was the one who had spoken to her.

Hinata immediately regretted the words he had spoken mindlessly just now. He didn't mean to hurt her and honestly he didn't think about Takumi that way. He didn't know why those horrible words slipped out from his mouth in the first place. He knew that he needed to fix it in one way or another, but when he saw the pain he caused that was visible in her eyes, the guilt he felt drove him speechless for a few seconds before he was back to his senses.

Just before he pulled himself together and opened his mouth to utter his apology, Misaki beat him to it.

"Shintani… You said that you would do anything to make me happy… Will you leave me alone if I say so?" Misaki said without looking at him. She knew that he would never give up on her unless she put an end to it. It was a hurtful decision, but she had to do it for their sake. They had been on that path for too long. She knew that she would never turn to him, and he deserved someone better, someone who would love him from the bottom of her heart, and that someone wasn't her.

Hinata stood still. That words he just heard from Misaki felt like million stabs in his chest. He was unable to digest it in his mind. It was the last thing he ever thought Misaki would say. He felt his body limped as he lost his strength. It was the worst day ever.

End of Flashback…

That was when their relationship changed and that day marked the day when she lost her very best friend. Nobody could ever predict that everything would end up that way, not even Misaki. She didn't know whether it was right or wrong, or was that the best decision she had made or the worst ever, but it was her choice. Nothing could ever turn everything back to the way it used to be, but yet, every single decision, every single step she took, that's what made her the way she was.

She kept asking herself since the day Takumi left for England, why couldn't she hold back the pain and loneliness even though she worked so hard to get through each day and night so that she wouldn't have to remember how long had it been since the last time he was there with her. It was painful yet amazing, because even though it had been seven years since the last time she saw him, the fact that she couldn't escape those emotions up until that day had evidently showed her how deep her real feelings toward Takumi.

However, when she looked back into every important moment she had passed without Takumi, she couldn't help but feeling an empty space in her life, it was incomplete without him.

The day when she decided to leave her mother and sister to go to Tokyo, to seize the opportunity that Takumi had managed to obtain for her, the day when she graduated as the top scholar in the Faculty of Law, the day when she received The Best Lawyer Award in high-profile legal practice in Tokyo, the day when she was appointed an executive corporate attorney of one of the biggest financial company in Japan, and also when she was finally able to take her family to live with her in Tokyo after she cleared off their debts, and all of other things that she managed to do out of her struggle to catch up to him, to be eligible to stand beside him on her own feet.

A bitter smile appeared on her beautiful face as she realized how ironic that was, if only fate didn't infuse such a twist into her life, she might not find the strength to face everything ahead of her and there might not be as many things she could have achieved. If only she didn't meet him, everything would have turned out differently.

But whatever happened, it was the choices that she made that brought her to her current state. Even her being there in the park every year, too, was driven by the choice that she made despite of all the disappointment she held for him.

As she felt the night breeze turned cold, she realized how long she had been sitting there and a while later she stood up, ready to leave the place. As she walked through the gate of the park, she turned to look around the place with a longing look, as if it would be the last time she might be there. Seven years… I wonder how much longer I'll be able to do this… Will I still be here next year? I don't know… Misaki sighed and walked away.

Misaki was walking down the street towards the last place she would always visit just before she made her way back to Tokyo as the snow started to fall over her head. She stopped walking as she saw the high-rise building across the street that held so many memories of him. She slowly directed her sight to the topmost area of the building as her heart beat faster, filled with the remaining hope she held. But as she looked at the unlit windows of the apartment that she used to visit on a daily basis a few years back, she felt disappointment saturated her heart once again.

The longing was a pain that left a heavy pressure on her chest. For the past seven years, she came to that place with hope that ended up shattered every time. She knew that the pain would only get steepened every time she came to that place and found out that he wasn't there, but she came anyway because she just couldn't think of one single thing that mattered more than just to savor the possibility to see him again. It was a way to stay close and to feel like he was there, a way to hold on to the promise they made to each other.

But after years of insatiable yearning and shattered hopes, she felt like she was nearly losing all of her hope and faith. She started to wonder, what would she do if Takumi never came back? What would she become? Would she be able to forget all of the memories of him and moved on? Did she actually want to move on? All that sort of things was stuck in her head and she felt like she would never be able to escape from it.

She was too deep in thought that she didn't realize when the snowfall got heavier. It was freezing cold but in contrast, she felt something hot converged in the back of her eyes. She tried her best to hold the tears from falling down her face, but she soon realized that it was a futile attempt when she felt her wet cheeks. The snow that fell on her face melted with the tears and the hot water immediately turned icy cold, leaving a stinging pain to her cheeks.

She shivered as the cold wind started to blow her over as she instinctively hugged herself to keep her warm. But suddenly she felt something light and warm flunked onto her shoulder as if it fell down from the sky to protect her from the cold. She moved her gaze to the thing that comfortably encircled her neck while running her fingers through it and soon recognized the familiar white-colored muffler and the untidy stitching all over it. Her heart started to pound three times faster than it normally did upon realizing how it could end up right there on her shoulder and her heart tingled with newfound hope as she slowly turned around to face the owner.

She was greeted by the warm smile of a very attractive man with beautiful jade green eyes and golden hair, the man that she had been waiting for in the past seven years and the man that occupied her mind even in her wildest dreams.

"Takumi…." She called the name that was only allowed being spoken in her mind for the past seven years. Hearing her own voice speaking his name in her ears suddenly brought awakening senses that stirred from within. It wasn't the feeling that she had whenever she woke up after having a dream that felt so real, a dream about him. No… It wasn't a dream. He was right there in front of her.

To be continued….
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Author's note:

I can guess what you guys probably have in mind right now… What a cliffhanger, isn't it? I can't help it, so sorry for this, guys! I need to end it here because I'll have to make it longer for the next chapter. But I'll make it up to you in the next chapter, so please don't be mad at me :)

In the mean time, please tell me your opinion about this chapter, I'll be really please to receive feedbacks from the readers, it will help me to improve more and lifted my spirits to write more and faster *hint ^^

Sorry for the mistakes anywhere in this story, if you guys found it while reading, please tell me and I'll correct it as soon as I can. And as usual, if you guys have any doubt or if you want to ask something about the story, feel free to PM me, I'll respond as quickly as I can too!

The promise will probably finish in the next chapter or two, if I can accomplish it, I will end it in the next chapter + epilogue. But it all depends on the amount of time that I have to write and how quickly the idea come and hit me while writing, but I will definitely finish it soon :)

Last but not least, thanks a lot for reading, guys! See you in the next chapter! ^^

Cheers,

-Fin-

August 02, 2011.