Purely Coincidental

She was a free spirit and he a successful business man. She didn't care for love and he didn't have the time for it. Two strangers meet in an empty movie theater and nothing is ever the same.

Chapter 12

You keep your distance with a system of touch and gentle persuasion
I'm lost in admiration, could I need you this much?
Oh, you're wasting my time, you're just, just, just wasting time

Something happens and I'm head over heels
I never find out till I'm head over heels
Something happens and I'm head over heels
Don't break my heart

~ Tears for Fears or Digital Daggers "Head over Heels"

"This has to be a joke," Sakura muttered staring at the grainy photograph on the magazine's cover. The picture was of poor quality but it was still obvious it was her and Syaoran at the costume party. She recognized his costume, her costume, and more importantly the way he held her.

It was way too coincidental to be anyone else.

The bold yellow question beside the photograph "Billionaire Playboy with Unidentified College Student?" was the only reason she was also sure it couldn't be them.

Because who was the billionaire?

There was no way she was a billionaire with her nanny job the only way she could afford to live. Syaoran may be rich, but she was sure he was not a billionaire. That was a level of affluent that could not be hidden. It would be easily detected so it was obviously a mistake.

So with unrealistic hope and shaky hands, Sakura opened the magazine and found the table of contents before flipping to page of the cover story.

If there was any doubt, the two page article dispelled it. There were three additional pictures in which she recognized herself and Syaoran. She stepped out of line to read the article.

Young, hot, and reclusive billionaire Syaoran Li is seen at a costume party for a nearby university and sources say he was never far from a pretty brunette.

Syaoran Li, 2010's businessmen of the year and 2011's most eligible bachelor, might be off the market if his actions last Saturday is any indication. He was spotted arriving alone at an annual party hosted this year by the esteemed cheerleading squad of a local university.

"He wasn't very talkative," A close source divulged.

The businessman known for his good looks and standoffish behavior was anything but the cold man he portrays.

"He was all smiles and all hands," The source goes on to describe. "They seemed very happy and very in love."

It was not too long ago that ENQUIRER did an article about him at a bar with another brunette.

Li just might be loosening up and playing the field.

Though the rumors were never confirmed, and proof never substantiated, he had no short list of women he dated. Previously, he was connected with famous beauties like Mila Kunis, Kate Beckinsale, Blake Lively, Camilla Belle-

Sakura stopped reading, unable to make it past the fourth rumored girlfriend. She felt nauseous and confused. She dropped the magazine back on the stand and ran outside, ignoring Tomoyo's surprised cries.

Once outside, she decided to walk home.

If they didn't have to carry so many bags this time, Tomoyo and Sakura would usually walk to the store. The grocery store was only a few blocks from their apartment so the distance wasn't great.

Sakura hoped the time alone and nature would help clear her mind.

It didn't.

She reached the apartment as Tomoyo was pulling into the parking lot. Sakura ran up the stairs and into the apartment, desperate to be alone. She locked her bedroom door and grabbed her laptop. She willed the old computer to load faster and nearly cried out when she was able to enter her password.

Wasting no time, she typed Syaoran Li in the search bar.

Sakura clicked on his Wikipedia page, fan sites, and everything she could find.

She read about his tragic childhood and his high intelligence. She read about his expensive education and his family's history. She read about how, even though the company was given to him, he worked at a lowly entrance job out of college. She read about his determination and perseverance.

She read about his expansive car collection and where he was seen shopping. She saw pictures of him on the street, in meetings, and in photo shoots. She saw him with pretty actresses, gorgeous models, and stunning entertainers. She saw him in fancy restaurants and other places she could never be. Mostly, she saw him.

The real him.

Now, she felt like an idiot.

And betrayed.

She shut her laptop, unable to continue.

She laid on her bed and thought.

She thought about their outings, their interactions, and his words.

There were little things that should have caught her notice like how he drew glances everywhere he went or how people automatically knew his name. Or maybe the big sign outside of the company that said Li Corporations.

She had visited the building so many times.

How could she have missed that?

She picked up her cell phone and dialed his number.

"Hello Sakura."

Sakura closed her eyes at his voice and hated herself for the small smile it produced.

"Is this Syaoran Li?" She asked with a voice hoarse from crying.

He laughed uneasily. "Of course it is, who else would it be?"

"Is this the Syaoran Li who is owner and CEO of a Fortune 500 business?"

He choked, "Sakura-"

"Is this the Syaoran Li who was voted as 2011's most eligible bachelor?"

"That doesn't-"

She continued, "Is this the Syaoran Li who owns many expensive cars but uses a driver?"

"Please just-"

She interrupted him again. "Is this the Syaoran Li who was photographed multiple times with an unidentified college student?"

"I was going-"

Sakura took a deep breath before gathering her courage to say what she really meant.

"Is this the Syaoran Li that never told the unidentified college student and consequently made their whole relationship a lie?"

"Sakura," He whispered brokenly once he was sure she would not interrupt. "I wish you wouldn't have found out this way."

She wished he would have told her the truth.

"I have to go."

"No," He shouted. "Just give me a chance to explain-"

"This is over," She told him with a hard voice that she had never used before. She was surprised she could sound like that.

"No it's not," He warned her before she hung up.

Sakura darted toward the door and unlocked it. She stumbled, as if drunk, through the apartment looking for her best friend. She found Tomoyo standing at the sink and threw herself at her, sobbing.

Sakura slept on and off for days.

She cried more than she slept, which was saying a lot.

She heard a knock at her bedroom and was slightly surprised at Tomoyo's interruption. She had been very understanding since the sink incident. She never asked her to talk or shower, just held her and never commented about the smell.

Tomoyo let her talk badly about men and love but she never demeaned Syaoran. He was still too important to her. So she spoke in generalities as she conveyed her feelings. She also spent a majority of her time criticizing and then idealizing the women he had been connected to. How could she compete?

So when someone knocked on her door a week later, she thought nothing of it.

"Yes?"

"Just let me explain," A masculine voice said through the door.

Sakura froze. It was definitely not Tomoyo.

"I've given you your space like everyone says I should. Now we need to talk."

"Who let you in?" Sakura screeched.

"Your roommate," He said. "I've been in your hallway almost since you hung up."

"She shouldn't have let you in," Sakura told him, hurt at her friend's behavior.

"She had no choice when I threatened to buy the building."

Sakura wanted to giggle but pushed away the urge, he was such a billionaire and she was still upset. "You can't buy your way out of trouble."

"I can try," He replied honestly. "I will do whatever it takes to make this better again."

She sighed, "Some things cannot be fixed."

"This is not one of those things and we need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you."

He growled in frustration. "Well that's just the same because I have a lot to say."

She huffed, "I don't want to hear it."

"Sakura please stop acting like this and give me a chance."He took her silence as acceptance. He leaned on her door and spoke to the wood gently. "None of that stuff matters. None of that stuff is me."

Sakura laughed bitterly, as if she did not believe him.

"I'm serious," He growled again, starting to feel angry at her dismissal.

Tomoyo tried not to giggle in the kitchen as she peeked her camera around the wall. She figured the only way he could get to her was to be more aggressive. Sakura wasn't going to respond to his heartfelt pleas. She needed more.

"Let me in," He said calmly, disguising the anger that he felt drowning him. "And I'll explain everything."

"No," She replied stubbornly.

"Let me in or I'll break down your door." He promised. He half hoped that she refused because he felt it might be good to get some aggression out.

Just like the big bad wolf, Tomoyo thought to herself.

"No you won't," Sakura said confidently.

He took a step back and threw his shoulder into the door. Sakura swore it felt like the whole apartment shook. She opened her mouth to acquiesce but another boom interrupted her.

The third time was the charm and the door swung open like it was unlocked and hit the wall loudly.

Sakura gaped at him for a second before diving under the covers.

"You won't even look at me?" He asked, the anger draining out of his body. He walked into her dark room.

He didn't notice Tomoyo creeping down the hallway with the video camera in hand. She had a feeling that something important was going to happen. She would never forgive herself if she missed it.

"Are you that repulsed by me?"

"Repulsed?" Sakura's muffled voice squeaked. "I haven't even showered in like a week. I don't want you to see me."

He sat next to her shape in the blankets. "I don't care about that. Please, just let me explain."

He tried not to smile as her saw blob nod or at least that's what he imagined.

"From the first time I saw you, I was gone. I can remember the curl at the end of your ponytail and the facial expressions you made. I watched the movie through you and was able, for the first time in my life since my dad died, to feel again. Then you came in my office more beautiful than I could remember but also more kind."

He layed back in the empty space next to her and stared at the ceiling as he continued his story. He told her about his obsession with their Fridays and the work he had to do to be able to go eat a strawberry pastry with her. He described the pain and the fear he went through when she didn't show up the first time.

When he told her about his dependence on her to feel anything positive, she pulled the covers back enough so she could watch him speak. She tried not to hide again when his head turned and he began speaking directly to her.

When he hesitated and then described how she felt in his arms the night of the costume party, she knew what she had to do. So in the middle of the most romantic speech she had ever heard, Sakura pounced. He groaned at the weight before his mouth was covered by hers.

The result was instantaneous.

It was teeth and tongue.

Passion and need.

He gripped her like she would disappear and Sakura hung on as desperately.

Only when the need to breath became too much, they separated.

"I'm in love with you," He told her, staring in her bright eyes.

She hesitated but he chuckled.

"You don't have to say it back," He teased. "Not yet at the very least."

When the feeling became too much to handle, she kissed him again.

One more short (yes shorter than this!) chapter to go...