The Uchiha Fraud
Chapter Two
As promised, a black vehicle arrived outside her home at nine 'o' clock sharp the next morning. Sakura had made sure to read the packet at least twice, reading each biography carefully and memorizing the pictures, making sure she knew every inch of each of their faces down to the hairline. Medical school was - at its core - just a bunch of memorization, so she was able to recite each and every profile in the packet after only one night.
Sakura was currently sitting in the backseat of the car, after being politely escorted in by the driver who she recognized as Gekkou Hayate. "One person down, and a million more to go," she muttered to herself, unconsciously squeezing the plastic bag in her hands.
Last night after she had finished reading, she had searched for the ring mentioned in the post-it that Naruto had left her. It was in a clear Ziploc bag, sitting innocently on the comforter as if Sakura had placed it there herself. Inside was a gold wedding band - a truly simple one, much to her surprise.
If Sakura was honest with herself, she was half-expecting a big fat diamond on the ring - though this one was much simpler and easy on the eyes. Not to mention, it would blend in with her clothes and wouldn't attract too much attention.
.
.
While some girls were dreaming about their wedding day, Sakura spent most of her life hoping to make a difference. So she threw herself into academics, never allowing herself to indulge in fantasies of a life filled with love and commitment.
It would be fitting, of course, that the one time in her life she was presented with a wedding ring - it would be for the sake of her future.
.
.
She decided to prolong the inevitable and leave the ring in the bag for a while longer.
Uchiha Estate
.
"Where is she?"
Naruto instantly panicked the second he saw the raven-haired man's eyes flash red. "H-Hey! You told your driver to pick her up at nine, it's only—"
"It's ten 'o' clock, you dumb shit," Sasuke hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "It's ten."
"So she's a little late, no big deal," Naruto shrugged, fiddling with the clock sitting on top of the bookshelf. What was the bastard's problem, anyway? Should've been thankful that he had found someone at all!
"Can we even trust her?" Sasuke snapped angrily, instantly realizing how stupid it was of him to have asked Naruto of all people to do him a favor. "Knowing your lack of brain cells, you could've easily chosen someone bent on clearing out my bank account."
It wouldn't be the first time that a woman tried to cozy up to the Uchiha heir in order to snipe a few shares of his fortune… greed did wonders to a person's morals. Karin had been an exception, having been the heiress of a competing firm—she was given almost everything she desired with just a snap of a finger. Being born in a wealthy household had its faults, never truly knowing if the bonds you formed were out of the other party's pure intentions or because of the potential mergence. This was primarily why Sasuke preferred to stick around people of the same social status; it didn't mean that they were any less greedy, but he felt it was safer to be around people with a similar background.
"You worry too much," Naruto retorted, looking completely relaxed despite how tense his friend was. "I trust Ino, Ino trusts whoever her best friend is—so that means you should trust her, too! She knows what she's doing."
"I don't see how that matters if she's not here," Sasuke snarled, pushing up his sleeve to reveal his wristwatch. "Everything is going to be complete shit if we're stuck waiting here."
"We'll catch up; just need an extra hour or two. Besides, Ino said she was a medical student which means she's pretty smart. Less time to teach her the ropes."
Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance.
"That would be just fine, dobe, but my mother is going to be here earlier than planned."
The blonde snapped his head up, eyes widening.
"What are you—how early?"
"She's arriving from my father's private jet in less than five hours," Sasuke replied calmly, ignoring the way Naruto's jaw dropped—horrified.
"You… you couldn't stall her for—I don't know—a freaking week?" Naruto spluttered, his eyes turning frantic. "We're so screwed! Holy fuck!"
"Shut up."
.
In all honesty, Sasuke did try.
After receiving his mother's call at seven 'o' clock this morning, he had attempted to reason with her, claiming he would be busy throughout the week with meetings. The Uchiha matriarch had waved it off, telling him that if he was busy she would just spend some quality time with her new daughter-in-law; she had yet to meet the young woman, after all. Sasuke had cursed, knowing fully well that if his 'wife' couldn't play the part sincerely, they would be found out—and that was unacceptable.
But there was no arguing with her, the decision was final.
.
"This is just dandy," Naruto groaned, slapping a hand over his face. "Your mother's going to hate me when she finds out her 'dear Naruto-kun' is a liar—"
As if on cue, the sound of the front door opening caught their attention.
.
.
.
"Uh, hello?" Sakura called out quietly, feeling incredibly awkward standing in the hallway.
She had arrived more than half an hour ago, but she had pleaded with Hayate to circle the block a few times in order to calm her nerves. Sakura had taken a glimpse at the mansion, noticing the tall silver gates along with the Uchiha crest standing elegantly on top of it.
It had definitely put into perspective how tiny and normal Sakura's world was.
.
"In here!" shouted a voice, breaking Sakura from her internal musings.
'Now or never,' she thought, taking a deep breath before walking into what appeared to be the living room.
The sight that greeted her was surprising, to say the least. There were two males occupying the room, one was leaning his back against the wall with his arms crossed—a look of murder in his eyes, while the other was sprawled comfortably on the couch with his arms behind his head. Had she been more calm and relaxed, Sakura might have laughed at the odd picture they created.
"Welcome Sakura-chan!" The blonde walked over to her, grabbing her hand and shaking it enthusiastically with a large grin on his face. Shooting a look at the other male against the wall, he added, "Told you she'd be here!"
"Thank you, uh, Naruto-san," she replied, noticing that his smile increased ten-fold after realizing that she had recognized him.
Out of all the profiles, his had been the most interesting.
It was a wonder how anyone could love the color orange and eat ramen for days on end, and he had a girlfriend! From what she could tell, he seemed obnoxiously loud and dimwitted… but she wasn't one to judge. Uzumaki Naruto was fairly attractive, his blonde locks messy, and he owned a pair of electrifying blue eyes—the most beautiful shade she's seen.
"Naruto-san sounds old, call me Naruto!" He laughed, clearly excited. "We're friends now, so no need for the formalities. Over there is the bastard, the one you'll be stuck with for a while."
"Idiot."
Sakura eyes shifted over to her 'husband,' who had remained quiet throughout her and Naruto's encounter. When Ino had first brought up the story of a friend who needed a wife, Sakura had pictured some washed-out loser with no backbone who hid in his house, shying away from the outside world. But looking at him, she could instantly tell that her original assumptions were incorrect—and that it was evident he came from a rather prominent family.
.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Though Naruto's profile had been the most interesting, she had spent the most time on his—knowing that she wouldn't be able to play the part as his wife if she didn't know him as well as she knew herself. His blood-type, birthday, likes, dislikes, and even his favorite food along with his relationships with the others listed in the folder. The picture provided did nothing to prepare her for what she'd see in person—Sakura didn't know if she ever met such a handsome man.
And judging by the pictures of his parents, he was a spitting image of his mother, who was breathtakingly beautiful. The same raven-colored hair, high cheekbones with the exception of Sasuke's defined jaw, and a nice angular nose along with the same dark shade of onyx eyes. If she had heard correctly, Ino mentioned that he had an older brother that—
No.
Sakura had a task to complete, and ogling her pretend husband was not going to pay for medical school no matter how much she wished it—neither was daydreaming about her supposed brother-in-law.
.
.
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted, a hesitant smile on her face. To be honest, she had debated on what to address her husband when first meeting him. Just plain "Sasuke" would have been a bit too comfortable, but "Sasuke-san" was too formal between the two—so she concluded that "Sasuke-kun" would've been the best bet. The name itself seemed far too familiar for her, but she had agreed to go through with this charade and she'd be damned if she didn't do it well.
"Did you read through everything?" Sasuke asked, the ends of his lips tugging into a frown. Hearing the name "Sasuke-kun" again only reminded him of Karin, and as much as he wanted to correct the pink-haired woman, he knew it was necessary. Of course there was no way in hell that he'd start calling her "Sakura-chan," but having her address him as such would be enough for now.
"Uh, yea—"
"Good," Sasuke rudely interrupted, causing the girl's eyes to narrow a fraction. Walking towards a bookshelf to the right, he quickly grabbed something off of the shelf before he was standing in front of her again. "Here," he said, roughly shoving a small object into the palm of her hand. Taking a closer look at the item, she noticed it was another gold ring, but in the center was a round ruby—a brilliant shade of red—surrounded by what seemed like fifty small diamonds, all twisted into an intricate design around the gemstone.
It was absolutely stunning, and apparently more extravagant than the first one.
But why did she need this one? "Uh, why—"
"You wear it together," Sasuke explained impatiently, already feeling pressed because of the time. "We've already wasted too much time waiting for you, we need to get going."
"Well, excuse me," Sakura muttered sarcastically. If she knew what kind of person he was prior to agreeing to this whole stupid thing, she might've rejected the offer. But her future was on the line, and if enduring two weeks with this jerk meant being able to pursue a career in the medical field—then so be it. 'Do it for the money,' Sakura repeated in her head, resisting the urge to scowl.
Shooting a glare at the apathetic male, Sakura stuck the wedding band under the ruby ring, aligning the two before positioning it on top of the ring finger on her left hand…
.
"We can get it altered later after…"
.
—sliding it effortlessly down her finger.
"Huh," Sakura mused, all of her irritation vanishing as she looked at her hand in surprise. "It fits perfectly."
She heard a small noise coming from Naruto, but dismissed it when he made no further move to say anything. Sakura looked up, catching a strange look in Sasuke's eyes before it disappeared—the stoic expression returning. She turned to Naruto, a questioning look on her face before Sasuke cleared his throat.
"I'll have my maids unpack your belongings and organize it inside the room," Sasuke explained, shooting a look at Sakura before she could protest. "Right now we have to head to Iwa's photography."
Sakura raised a brow.
"Iwa's photography? What for?" she asked, watching as Sasuke disappeared down the hallway—most likely to find his maids.
"Wedding pictures, of course!" Naruto smiled, patting her a little too roughly on the back before walking past her towards the door.
.
.
Wedding pictures.
Was it too late to go home?