REMEMBER

A/N: Okay, with the limited chapters that I have left, I just want to say, thank you to every one who was patient enough to accompany me with this journey. Again, thank you, CatalinaG, for pointing out grammar mistakes. Don't worry. I'm so like you and I will re-do and edit these chapters as soon as I finish the story and have the time. Actually, I'm looking for a beta and haven't gotten around to look. Please recommend me one if you know one. Thanks.

vwinck, Muito obrigado porseuscomentários ! Euamo o seuidioma ,Português, e eurealmenteestoutentandoaprender. Obrigado porreverusandoestalinguagemparaqueeupossapraticar a leitura . Deus abençoe.

Chapter 7

Itachi waited patiently for his wife to finish dressing up. It was that time of year again for the annual ball the Uchiha corp. always throws. Sakura's parents were taking care of the twins over night while they attended with Itachi's parents. It would be the first time Sasuke would be missing the ball ever since he officially joined the company as he was in Europe attending to contracts with potential clients.

It would be Sakura's first formal engagement since giving birth. She had confided in him that she worried about her figure. She had called herself as having a 'mommy body' and said her body wasn't as it used to be before she got pregnant with the twins.

Itachi had simply wrapped his arms around her and said, "You are beautiful, Sakura. I personally love the changes your body took because it was to nurture the growth of our children. Besides, you have always been small. You did not change too much."

"Well, you're biased."

Itachi had smirked at her and kissed her forehead. "I am entitled to be biased."

Sakura grumbled before burying herself against her husband's chest. "If you weren't so good looking I wouldn't even bother." She mumbled, causing him to laugh.

"As far as I am concerned, you are perfect." He whispered.

She burrowed herself against him further. "Hold me." It was a request that he was more than willing to fulfill.

As he fixed his bow tie, Itachi smirked at the memory. Sakura had always had lingering insecurities with how she viewed herself after the childhood she had. As much as she had learned to love herself and be confident about it, she still had bouts where the insecurities ran high. As her husband, he took pleasure in showing her how unfound her insecurities were.

The door to the bathroom softly opened behind him. Instinctively, he turned to look and then froze. If he were any other man, his jaw would have dropped at the sight that greeted him.

His wife stood there in an emerald satin gown. It was lace from the waist up with a nude under lining. It had cup sleeves and a scoop neckline. The perfect A-line silhouette highlighted the curves that Itachi loved.

Sakura had fixed her hair in soft curls on one side. Her make-up was minimal from what her husband could tell. She had used a bronze shade to high light her cheek bones and a nude lipstick. She had made her eyes dramatic by opting for a smoky eye make-up. It brought out Itachi's favorite feature on her, her luminous emerald eyes.

"How do I look?" Her soft question drifted towards him as she twirled slowly for him. The dress was backless.

As she completed the turn and met eyes with her husband, she could see the darkening of his eyes. She could clearly see the passion and the want enter his vision. It sent goose bumps throughout her body.

Sleek as a panther, Itachi crossed the room and took possession of her lips. It grew heated but both broke off knowing that they would have to be leaving soon.

"Perfect,"

If she could only see herself through his eyes, perhaps she wouldn't feel even an ounce of insecurity. But that was one thing he loved about her. Sakura was confident with herself, never boasted or trying to be more than what came naturally. Her bouts of self-doubt were endearing only because he was more than happy to prove her wrong.

Itachi's one-worded response wasn't really needed as Sakura had gotten more with just a gaze. She smiled up at him and headed to their dresser. She took out the gold chandelier earrings her mother had gifted her. Before she could wear her wedding ring, Itachi had gotten it and placed it on her finger, just as he did on the day they got married. He lifted her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it, eyes never leaving Sakura's.

Never would Itachi doubt that he had chosen well in Sakura. No one would ever make him feel, bring him to his knees as Sakura did. How he had allowed himself to think he could build a life with another, he would never understand. Given that he had lost his memory, still, the feelings his wife evoked in him was far more than Mika ever made him feel. Looking at his beloved, he could clearly remember when he first started to see her as a woman and no longer a little girl.

XxXxXx

Sakura was surprised to find out that her host family in California was Ino's relatives. Ino's aunt and her two teenage daughters were the ones to welcome her at the airport.

She knew Ino had a hand in it somehow. "Thanks, Ino-pig."

Mina, Ino's aunt, had been living in the United States ever since she had finished university. Both her daughters had been born and raised in America. Sakura had met them before when they visited Ino and her family back home.

Mina was waving at her as she caught sight of the pink-haired girl. "Welcome, to Los Angeles, Sakura-chan." She said.

"Thank you, Mina-san. When Ino told me that there was a surprise waiting for me when I got here, never would I have thought that it would be all of you."

Ana and Emi approached Sakura and gave her a hug. Mina motioned for their chauffeur, Bob, to gather Sakura's bags as Ana said, "Welcome to the US, Sakura. You'll be attending our school. We will be starting in two weeks. I think they managed to give you the same schedule as Emi."

"That would be great." Sakura answered, as she followed them towards the car.

As they headed to the house, Sakura started, "Um, if it isn't too much to ask, I would like to practice my English while I'm here."

"That's an excellent idea, Sakura." Ana replied.

"Don't worry. By the end of your exchange student program, you'd be speaking like an American." Emi pitched in.

"That is nice. Ah, eto, practice…eto ne…difficult speaking." Sakura tried. She blushed. She knew that her conversational skills in English were almost non-existent.

Mina, who had only been listening up until that point, finally spoke up, "I think some additional English classes would do you well. What do you say, Sakura."

Did she understand right? "Eh? Did I understand correctly? Additional English classes?" Sakura said under her breath. She hadn't meant to voice out her thoughts out loud.

As Sakura was formulating what she was going to say in English, Mina laughed. "Yes, that's correct. Once get to the house, I'm going to look for a tutor for you."

"Maybe you could also look for a tutor in French, mom. I have French this year and if we have the same schedule, she might have to attend that class?" Emi suggested.

"French?"

Emi turned to Sakura and nodded. "I have French this year. But since you are an exchange student, I think it is okay if you don't want to attend that."

Sakura tilted her head to the side. "Sorry…but…can you say one more time? Slowly?"

"Sorry. I said that I have French this year. I think you can change your subject because you are an exchange student."

"Oh. But I want to challenge myself. I've always wanted to learn French. I actually want to learn a few more. I'll ask my dad if I could enroll."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. I've already talked with your parents before you came here. They gave a go-signal to enroll you in anything you want, given you don't do anything reckless like drugs, alcohol, or get pregnant."

Sakura couldn't help blushing, causing the other ladies inside the car to laugh. "Um, sure. Uh…yes, English and French lessons would be great."

"Our house keeper, Maria, speaks Spanish and a little English. She taught me enough Spanish to help me pass my elective last year." Ana confessed.

"Really? Spanish? I think I'm up for the challenge. Like I said, I've always found languages fascinating. I want to learn."

"Alright then. Let's start with English and French. Maria wouldn't mind teaching you. So at home, we are only going to speak in English and I'm going to tell Maria to only talk to you in Spanish. How does that sound?"

A huge smile crossed Sakura's face. "That sounds great!"

XxXxXx

"Okay, spill." Ana said as she sat and hugged a throw pillow from the bed. Sakura had just finished unpacking her stuff and getting ready for bed when the two sisters entered her room.

"Ino said something about a boy as to why you suddenly accepted the exchange student program." Emi added.

Sakura let out a sigh and quietly counted to ten. She made a mental note to kill Ino when she got back. She shouldn't have shared what Itachi had said about her and Sasuke. But knowing Ino, she would have pestered her until she caved.

From the looks of it, Sakura knew that Ino's cousins weren't very different. It seemed like they were prepared to stay in her room the entire night until they were satisfied with her answer.

Screw it. Sakura decided to tell them everything, from her feelings towards Itachi, how she inadvertently confessed to him, her insecurities, and to what made her run to the United States.

After the long speech, both sisters were looking at Sakura with wide eyes. "Do you have a picture of Itachi?" Ana couldn't resist asking.

Without much thought, Sakura took out her phone and started to scroll through the pictures she had of home. She picked the one that was taken just before things got weird between them.

It was one of her favorite pictures. It was taken during lunch at her and Sasuke's school. Since Itachi's high school was right beside the junior high she and Sasuke attended, Itachi and Shisui had decided to have lunch with the two.

Sakura was the one in the middle, in between the Uchiha brothers. Sasuke had his arms crossed in front of his chest, giving a small grin. Itachi had his arm around Sakura's shoulder, his hand clasping Sasuke's shoulder. Sakura grinned at the memory. Itachi had done it to make sure his brother was part of the picture.

She had fought off the blush but failed miserably. She was feeling the tingling normal for a school-girl crush at that time. She made V's with her fingers.

Shisui was being his crazy self at their back.

Ana and Emi squealed when they saw the picture. Ana started fanning herself and said, "You are so my new best friend. You are surrounded by hot men!"

On cue, Sakura felt her cheeks grow warm. Both sisters couldn't help but laugh at the pink-haired girl's reaction.

"So which one is your Itachi?" Emi asked.

"He's not my Itachi." Sakura immediately denied. Ignoring the "yeah right" comments from both sisters, Sakura pointed to the right one. "This is Itachi. He's always had long hair."

Both sisters became quiet. After a moment more, Ana said, "Girl, we are so doing a makeover!"

"A makeover!" Emi squealed and started jumping up and down in excitement. "We are going to make you so pretty that when he sees you again, he's going to kick himself so hard to being stupid!"

Sakura's jaw dropped. She felt like she found herself in an alternate universe. She wasn't sure if it was really happening. Ino had always dragged her into a lot of shopping trips and even suggested a makeover once in a while, but Sakura had always enough blackmail material against Ino to prevent her from doing anything 'drastic'. She should have known that her cousins pretty much shared the same wavelength with Ino.

She resisted face palming herself. In that split second, she told herself to just go with it. She was in America. She left, perhaps it was cowardice of her, to deal and attempt to push Uchiha Itachi out of her system. It was obvious that the older man would never see her as more than a friend, a little sister.

Regardless of the fact that Sakura might regret her next words in the future, she said, "Fine. Do your worse."

XxXxXx

It had been a rough couple of weeks for Sakura. It was hard enough adjusting to speaking a language she had no confidence speaking to starting two others from scratch. On top of it all, Emi and Ana were totally unforgiving. When they told her 'makeover', they truly meant business and every single detail was scrutinized and improved after much debate on the limit Sakura was going to allow them to change without sacrificing who she really was.

XxXxXx

The trip abroad didn't push through as there was a sudden emergency at Uchiha Corp. that Fugaku and Mikoto couldn't leave. Sasuke had opted to join a summer training camp for his club. Itachi had decided to stay at his apartment instead of heading home to the Uchiha main house.

It was a boring day to say the least. He had finished his homework and wasn't due at his part-time job for another day. Itachi wasn't in the mood to go out or socialize.

It was a Friday and when his mother called earlier in the day, he made the mistake of informing her that he didn't have any plans over the weekend. Mikoto had insisted that he head home.

Rubbing his face in frustration, Itachi got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. Without thinking about it, he opened the fridge and started checking what he had. He wasn't in the mood for take out. Annoyed at the almost bare state of his fridge, he closed the door and made quick run down of the things that he needed to restock in his kitchen.

As he was browsing through the aisles, Itachi eventually found himself at the baking section. After aforethought, he decided that he would bake himself a cake, a chocolate cake. Itachi couldn't help but remember Sakura as he gathered everything he needed. It has been Sakura who had taught him the recipe he had in mind.

He could remember that it was their shared love for sweets that started their tradition of finding the newest, delicious pastry or dessert. Since Sasuke didn't like sweets, the two of them compromised and soon the tradition included different restaurants.

Sakura would then try to recreate the dish with her mother. She would share the labor with him. The recipe he was thinking though had been different. It was a cake that Sakura had seen on the internet when she was bored and home alone one weekend and tried it. She loved it so much that she had called Itachi and asked him to come.

At first, Itachi had been exasperated. He had just finished club practice and couldn't wait to go home when his phone rang. Sakura had been adamant and wouldn't take no for an answer. He chose to indulge her request.

When he took his first bite, he had understood why Sakura had wanted him to try. Sakura had teased him how his eyes lit up and how his demeanor changed with that one bite but he had just laughed it off.

It was soft, gooey and full of chocolate. It was the perfect cake for a chocoholic like them. Itachi had demanded that she teach him the recipe. So, the whole weekend, he spent learning it. The final product, they had brought back to the Uchiha household and shared it with the family.

As he baked in his small kitchen, Itachi could admit to himself that he missed those days with Sakura. It all changed when she confessed to him. He liked her, yes, but he knew he didn't return her feelings, not like that. The closest definition to what he felt towards her could be the affections to a little sister.

Perhaps he had been out of line to question her and Sasuke's relationship. He only wanted to look out for the two of them. He wanted it to be real, not a means for them to use each other.

Ever since she went to the States, he hasn't been able to have any form of contact with her. The one time Itachi went home after she left, Sasuke had extended her greetings.

It seemed that those two still talked based on his brother's stories. Itachi didn't have the number she's using there. The messages and greetings he sent via social media were answered with a work or short sentences only. Unlike in the past, she never started their conversations anymore.

The vacation he and his family were supposed to have was supposed to be his attempt to make it right. Although nothing was stopping him from going to America, Itachi knew that if he pushed too hard, he would end up pushing her away from him more than he already had. He simply had to wait for the right time.

XxXxXx

Before any one knew it, a year passed and it was summer again. Itachi had driven back home after his last exams in the morning. The combination of the long drive and the heat drained much of his energy.

When he arrived, Itachi was surprised that his greetings the moment he entered the house was met by silence. He explored the house and as he passed the living room, that's when he heard the noise coming from the pool.

He opened the door and froze at the site of a girl, no, woman with shoulder length pink hair. She was wearing a white bikini with a green sarong. She was talking animatedly with his brother's other friends, Ino and Naruto.

Sakura.

To be continued…

A/N: Happy New Year! So sorry that it took me forever to upload. It's hard finding time to write. Anyway, I kept this chapter shorter than the rest because I have the habit of making the last chapter of my stories the longest, and the second to the last chapter usually I keep all the suspense in. Please review though. I would really, really like to hear from you. Thank you for reading until this far.

Michiko