Chapter 7

Strawberry Fields Forever

"Oh I think so Li," she said, surreptitiously sliding her ring off. Syaoran's eyes widened and he smirked.

He came in close to her, "I always knew you were a whore," he whispered.

Sakura looked down to the child who looked to her with hope, "For some things, I'm willing to do anything," she fiercely whispered back.

She'd save that child, if that were the last thing she'd ever do.

*

Sakura lay on her side, wide-awake. Sleep, it seemed, would not bless her with its presence tonight. Well, so be it, she thought. There were a couple of things that she'd wanted to think over anyway.

Like that snarky Li for one. She still couldn't believe it. Li. Li Syaoran was that man she'd met not but two months ago. That man that had made her breakfast and then left abruptly when she'd tried to be cordial and make conversation. And he'd lied, no less. I review hotels, he'd said. More like I own this hotel, and I'm your bestfriend's boyfriend's boss and I also happen to own half of the Hong Kong skyline.

She kicked at her duvet. She hated him. She hated, hated, and hated him. Because he'd made her out to be the fool. That's why he'd grabbed at the chance to humiliate her at the ball. He had recognized her, even with her shorter hair, and had embarrassed her—making her feel as if she were the centre of attention while the whole time, it was in actuality his charity gala.

And Niyaah. Kami, that precious child. Her beautiful silky long hair, her pearly brown eyes, and that cute little button nose. She was the most beautiful child on the planet. And her father didn't even appreciate her. She just couldn't understand why. Why would her father not love his own child? It made absolutely no sense.

Granted, Sakura's father was never really there for her, but he had loved her, and she had always known this. Li. Now Li just acted vile.

She couldn't believe he had yelled at his own daughter, making her come to tears, over absolutely nothing. She was a mere six or seven at the most. That despicable man had a black hole for a heart. She was sure of it.

How he managed to have a daughter was above her. Which reminded her of the fact that he had actually had a daughter—who was six or seven, while he himself was twenty-something or another.

"When did you have her anyway, when you were 16?"

"Yes, actually, not that it should matter to you anyway," he looked around the suite, "didn't I tell you to leave already?"

He had been 16 when his girlfriend, or lover, or one-night-stand or something or another had given birth to his child. At sixteen. What was she doing at sixteen; worrying about her math finals, not worrying about taking care of a child.

Ah well. Teaches him, she thought. There were consequences for going around sleeping with whomever you wanted without so much as a thought. But it was too bad that little Niyaah and to the witness the brunt of his mistake. Life just wasn't fair sometimes like that.

Which, of course, reminded her of her own situation.

Tigen. She didn't know what to think of him. He was all right most of the time, she guessed. He was pleasant to be around. Not like that Li. He had a nice smile and, oh yeah, he was saving her family. There was always that.

But she didn't feel anything towards him. She played with her engagement ring on her left hand. How could she marry someone whom she harbored no feelings for? For her family, she told herself. Might as well make it your mantra.

And there was Li once again. Either he kissed every girl he saw on the street or either it was another attempt at humiliating her. Or there was another possibility, but the chances of that being true were slim to none. There was no way he had had any feelings for her.

His distaste for Japanese woman was clear. It reminded her of her brother and his hate of Chinese men. Or just men in general, when it concerned Sakura. Not that he would need to worry about that anymore.

But he just couldn't like her? And then it occurred to her. Perhaps he didn't like her. But that didn't mean he wasn't attracted to her.

Because she was too.

*

"Sakura, do you have to go there?" Tigen was asking, sitting across from her on the breakfast table. Sakura munched on an apple and continued to read her newspaper. "Because if I had it my way, I'd keep you at a 100 mile distance from that man at all times."

She looked up now, because that warranted a reply. "He can't be all that bad, and besides whatever happens in business between your families is, well, between your families. No need to drag me into it."

Tigen looked as if he'd swallowed a golf ball. "I don't know him on a personal level," he said smoothing down his blond hair, "but I do happen to know that he is not a good man. Not a good man to do business with. Not a good man to be friends with. And not a good man to associate with in any way whatsoever."

Sakura eyed him, "Oh, and pray tell, what has he done that is so bad?" she asked, challenging him.

"You'd have to ask my father," he said, taking a sip from his milk, "he'd have a bounty on his head if he could."

Sakura bit her lip. Tigen clearly didn't know how bad the situation was.

"It's not all him though," he continued, "our families have been in a feud for generations. But see, Li is exactly like his forefathers. Personality, mannerisms, looks—spitting image of his father actually. It's uncanny."

That piqued Sakura's interest.

"How do you know?" she asked carefully.

"Because we went to the same school when we were teenagers."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "But you just said that you didn't know him on a personal level," Sakura said, her brows scrunching together.

"I don't, but it doesn't mean we didn't know of each other."

"I'm surprised he didn't pick a fight with you."

Tigen shrugged his shoulders, "He knew not too. I am four years older than him anyway."

Sakura nodded and looked to her watch. "Oh that car should be here now," she got up and picked up her coat, "I'll be back by dinner."

Tigen meekly nodded and turned back to his omelet.

Sakura rushed down the building, hoping that Li's Hyde side wouldn't kick in so early in the morning, and leave her without waiting.

No. She had to be there earlier. Two could play at this game.

She peeked out from the lobby. Nope. No sign of a car. Or driver. Or (and thank Kami) Li, for that matter. She didn't think she would be able to stand his form so early.

She sat on one of the benches lining the foyer and watched eagerly out the widow. Oh blast it, what if he didn't show.

No, he had to. She gave a quick glance out of the window. And there, down the street, she could see a fast approaching convertible. She scoffed.

How rich of him. Actually, she hadn't expected anything less. After all, his righteous arrogant self wouldn't stand for anything less. She hoisted herself off the bench and ran out of the foyer, hoping to run to the end of the driveway before he got there.

No such luck. The man didn't know how to slow down. He reached there precisely four seconds before she did.

It was a Porsche, she noticed upon closer inspection of the black vehicle. Her family had had money. But they surely weren't buying Porsche's whenever they'd pleased. She slowly inspected the vehicle, her curiosity getting the best of her. She ran her finger over the smooth curve of the handle.

He turned to her, impatience etched onto his face. His hair was knocked out of its place by the wind. "Get with the program, Kinomoto," he said patting the beige leather next to him.

"Kinomoto?" She questioned.

He raised an elegant brow, "If you think that I'm going to refer to you as Sakura, pigs might as well roam the skies."

She frowned and took a seat in the car, buckling herself in. "What happened to Wang?"

He paused as he reached for the gear, "I'd rather not."

She sat back in her seat. He started down the driveway, shifting gears as he did so. She had to admit that there was almost a grace in the way he handled the car.

The car, speaking of which, warranted her a bit too much attention. When they'd stopped at a cross light, the pedestrians tried to sneak glances at them. Some weren't even that shy, pointing obviously at them and whispering to their companions.

Li was smirking, enjoying the attention. Obviously, she thought, the obnoxious git. A part of her just wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.

They stopped in the front of the row at a red light. She watched as the pedestrians started their trek between the white lines. A girl knocked on the hood of their car (their car? She meant his. Yes. Definitely his).

"Hey Li," she said waving and standing in front of his car, "you can give me a ride anytime you want."

Beside her, she could see Li trying to suppress a smile. She rolled her eyes. Kami, these women.

It wasn't too long before they arrived at his flat. Niyaah was waiting for Sakura at the door. Manners kept her from running down the hall and hugging Sakura, instead, the girl waited patiently by the doorway.

"Hi Niyaah," Sakura said holding open her arms.

The girl approached Sakura, but then glanced at her father and turned back.

Sakura was bewildered. It seemed that someone had given someone a lecture today. No, she wasn't going to drop this.

"What's wrong Niyaah?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired." The girl was a good liar.

"Do you still want to play with me?"

Little Niyaah nodded cordially and led the way inside. Sakura took off her shoes and watched as Niyaah went further into the flat. When she was out of earshot, she turned on Li.

"What did you say to her?" She accused.

"Nothing."

Sakura flared her nostrils. This wasn't funny. "What did you say to her?" She asked once more, pointing in the direction Niyaah had taken off to.

Li shrugged. And then looked around the flat, ignoring her.

Ugh! That vile vile vile man! She couldn't stand him any longer. "Don't you dare tell me that nothing happened! She was perfectly fine last night when she left, and now she won't even talk to me."

Li sighed, annoyed. "My mother had a talk with her."

Sakura froze. "What do you mean?" She questioned.

"She's convinced that you're my new play-thing, and told Niyaah that you're only being nice to her to get to me."

Sakura stared at Li, baffled by his honesty. She wondered whether she should voice the question that came to her mind. 'Am I?' She had wanted to ask.

"So she thinks that I'm just using her?"

He stared at her then. "This is a waste of my time," he said turning to walk away. "I brought you here because my daughter told me to. Not because I wanted to hear your incessant chattering."

And there was his mercurial self. She watched him walk away and then headed for the direction Niyaah had taken.

"Niyaah," she called, reaching what she presumed to be the dining room. She spotted the little girl, sitting in the corner of the room.

"What's wrong?" She asked nearing her.

Niyaah didn't respond and turned her head away.

"You have to tell me what I've done. It's okay that you're mad at me. But I want to know why, okay?"

Niyaah turned to her a bit and frowned. "My daddy says that you're only here because you want something from his company. You don't even like me."

"Your daddy? What about your grandma?"

"I haven't seen granma since months now."

Sakura's brows furrowed. He was the real liar.

"I want to tell you something," Sakura said, nearing the little girl, "That I'm here just to see you, not because I'm here to see your father." She reached for Niyaah, trying to bring her close to herself.

"NO!" She screeched, pushing Sakura back. "You're a liar! Don't touch me!"

"Niyaah, it's okay. Honestly. I'm telling you the truth," she tried soothing the girl.

"NO, NO, NO!"

Sakura frowned and looked away. Spoilt child. What else did she expect. Well, she'd had enough of her drama.

"Fine then, I'm leaving."

For a moment Niyaah looked sad, but then she got up curtly and ran out of the room, leaving Sakura alone on the floor.

There was a moment of silence as she contemplated what in the world had just happened. She got up and wondered whether she should go looking for the child but then decided that she wasn't wanted, and quite frankly, she didn't want to be here herself.

She turned towards the entrance and saw Li standing there, wearing a lopsided smirk. Like he had just won or something.

"Why don't we have a chat in my office?"

"Bug off. I'm leaving." She started towards the door.

Li wagged his finger. "No, I think you want to hear what I have to say."

"Actually, I don't." She was starting to put on her shoes. The faster she got out of here, the better.

She turned to look up as she heard his footsteps. He was towering over her, glaring down at her with his ocher eyes.

"I suggest, for your safety, that you come to my office."

She wasn't going to lose. "No." She stated with conviction.

Syaoran bent to her level, grabbing her wrists. The shoes dropped from her hand. He swiftly stood up, pulling her with him.

"Let go of me!" She yelled frantically, trying to free herself from his grip. She pulled back and collided with the door, unable to emancipate herself from his prison.

He did let go, and she froze for a moment. He was in dangerously close proximity. And she suddenly remembered that she was fatally attracted to him. She brushed her wrists, noticing the pain.

"What's your problem?" She asked feebly.

She could feel his hot breath on her face. But she dared not look at him directly. When he didn't answer for some time, and didn't back off, she got impatient and went to push his chest.

Wrong decision. As soon her hands reached him, he quickly grasped her wrists. She didn't resist this time. And she slowly looked up to his eyes.

Those ocher eyes, so full of passion. It should have scared her. And she should have tried to escape but she couldn't look anywhere else. She watched as he moved her hands from his chest to around his neck.

Something was happening.

This was going too far. She should stop. But, Kami, why did he have to be so handsome. She was so blissfully infatuated with his looks, his eyes, that mouth.

That delicious mouth that had relentlessly and without due cause assaulted her the last time they had been together.

"You know," he whispered in a husky tone, "I couldn't stop thinking about you the first time I saw you."

She was sure that if it weren't for her holding on to him, she would have collapsed on the spot. That voice. Oh Kami. That voice cajoled her in. And whatever thoughts she had about possibly escaping had been chucked out the window.

She didn't care for the world. She couldn't look away. And suddenly, they weren't close enough. And she held on tighter, bringing herself even closer, not leaving his eyes for even a moment. Li brought up his hands and cupped her milky white face.

"I can't get you out of my mind," he confessed. Her heart stopped. Me too, she'd wanted to say. And suddenly, she heard herself saying it.

He smiled then. And Kami, that smile was more addictive than any narcotic. Everything about him was driving her crazy—those eyes, that hair, those lips. Those lips were like strawberries. And suddenly, a hunger overcame her. She wanted to taste strawberries. And so she pulled at his neck, almost as if she was under a spell, and he slowly obliged, closing off the space between them.