Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

Pairings: Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

I was supposed to upload this chapter last night but things (my boyfriend) got in the way and I got sidetracked. Gah.

Anyway, it's here now.. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty

"Efforts Made"

"Lan! Come on, we're leaving!" Sakura called out into the house.

The fluffy white Shih Tzu was the only thing she had left that reminded her of Syaoran or her old life in Tokyo. She actually considered leaving her as well since she was given to her from Syaoran but she didn't want to add taking care of an untrained puppy to Syaoran's burdens. She couldn't bare leaving her in a pound or anywhere like it either. So she took Lan with her and she served as a living reminder for Sakura of her mistakes.

"Is that really all that's left of your luggage Sakura?" Chiharu asked looking at the singular roller bag. The last time she visited them, she had another large bag with her. And during her visit before that, she had three other bags. And before that, even more so.

"Mhmm, I've already done away with the others," she said and nudged at Chiharu with a grin. "I told you I was serious."

Chiharu sighed exaggeratedly then shrugged. "I don't think I'll ever understand. All those shoes, and bags, and… Ughhh! You should've given them to me!"

They all laughed at this just as Lan came bounding out the house after her run.

"I'll put the leash on her," Naoko offered and took the pink strap from Sakura. But Lan had other plans as she ran back inside. "Ah? Hey!"

Naoko darted inside, followed by Chiharu who intended to help, after the puppy and Sakura couldn't help but giggle.

"You look better," Toyama observed with a careful look at Sakura.

"I feel better," she admitted. "Uhmm… by the way, did he really…?"

"Yes he did," the older woman said with a wide smile. "He dropped by four days ago."

So what Chiharu and Naoko told her earlier was true. Syaoran really did come. Was she looking for her? The two women didn't say much about his sudden appearance except they thought her husband was drop dead gorgeous. They also told her that he spent quite a bit of time with Toyama. Sakura wanted to question her old tutor about it but decided to wait until she brought it up. But she didn't. Now she was about to leave so she couldn't help but bring it up herself.

"Did he… say anything?"

"I did most of the talking and he left shortly afterwards. But he's a nice man, that husband of yours."

"He is," Sakura agreed happily. She didn't have any business what people thought of Syaoran anymore but she still felt absurdly pleased hearing others compliment him.

"Don't you think you should return?"

Sakura blushed at this. "He… He told you that I left him?"

"No he didn't," she said with a small smile. "Like I said, I did most of the talking. But it was easy enough to assume what happened after a while with you coming by here more often lately than you have the last couple of years and with him suddenly showing up."

"I'm afraid," Sakura admitted. "I'm afraid to face him. I don't know how to face him. A lot of things happened between us and it was mostly my fault for being dishonest. It's only right for him to hate me but… I don't want him to. I know that's a selfish thing to say but… I just love him so much, that's all."

Toyama gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

"It's times like these when you have to be strong. You married him, and he married you. That counts for something, right? Have a little faith in your feelings for each other. I'm not saying you should go see him right this moment, but when the time comes that you do… face him head on and don't run away this time. Okay?"

Sakura nodded at this.

"I will."

"I'm home," Sakura called out into the small apartment before releasing Lan from her leash.

She placed her purse on top of the large roller bag before heading towards the sofa and sprawling across it tiredly. It had been a busy week. Well, weeks, to be exact.

Ever since she left Tokyo, she had been busy with a number of things.

First were her possessions. When she cleared out her old apartment, she had already arranged to sell more than half of her collection of shoes, bags, clothes, jewelry, and other things. That was why it took her a full week to settle everything there back then. Luckily for her, everything had been settled before she did her little disappearing act so she only had the couple things she intended to take with her to Syaoran's place to deal with. But even those, she already dealt with by now too and ended up with just one luggage left which she felt was suitable enough for her new lifestyle.

She was a veteran when it came to selling used and branded products. She had been doing it for years after all.

People around her thought she was living a luxurious lifestyle since she always had the latest product from the best of brands but they didn't know that Sakura had always sold most of her things afterwards. When it was spring, she'd start shopping for new things for summer. When it was summer, she stored the things she used during spring and start shopping for autumn, and so on. The things stocked in her old apartment were stored perfectly and in the best possible condition so its value wouldn't drop by the time Sakura resold them online or to her regular buyers. That was how she maintained her appearance without having wasted too much money.

Second, her job. Well, it wasn't exactly a job but she thought of it as such. Since leaving Syaoran's apartment, she went straight to her home in Tomoeda. Where else could she have gone? There was nothing left in her apartment save for a few boxes. So she returned to the dreaded town of her childhood. From there, things sort of just happened. She mailed her resignation to Li Corp. (a rude and very unprofessional way of doing so but she didn't want to risk running into Syaoran) and then had the movers deliver the couple boxes in her apartment to her old home.

She then spent days wallowing in her own misery and self-loathing until she suddenly got continuous phone calls and text messages from Tomoyo. Though she was guilty about not telling her best friend about the situation, she didn't think she had enough nerve to stay away from Syaoran if she had any more connection to him besides the puppy she had brought with her. That's also precisely why she left her engagement ring and wedding ring in his apartment. This was her punishment and she deserved it. She had to break it off completely. But her resolve was still shaky and she didn't think she could stick to it if she had communicated with Tomoyo in any way.

So she started to make her move again. She reorganized the last of her possessions, selling the rest and leaving only the most necessary to keep with her with included a few pairs of footwear, two jeans, two skirts, two dresses, a couple of tops, a couple of jewelry and other accessories, and two purses. From her vast collection, that's all what it came down to. Then she changed her cell phone number. Then she moved out to rent a cheap apartment not too far since she also just decided on what to do with the house and her father's money. Although, admittedly, she also left because of the high chances that people might go there to look for her. In truth, Toyama had told her that a young lady- whom Sakura could only guess was Tomoyo -had come asking if anyone else lived in the house besides herself at some point weeks ago right when the older woman had just moved in. Luckily Sakura had already left by then.

In terms of her father's money, it had been her plan from the beginning to donate most of it to worthy organizations. She had also planned on keeping a portion for herself so she can continue with her buy and sell thing but it wasn't exactly necessary now considering she wasn't living in Tokyo anymore and she didn't exactly have a job that would require a lavish city lifestyle. If she intended to do what she planned on doing now, sneakers would be more necessary than 4-inch heels.

The past few weeks involved visiting all sorts of places around Tomoeda and when that was cleared, neighboring towns. She met with a lot of people that ranged from the very young to the very old. She can't even remember how many organizations and companies she had visited and donated to by now. Because of how far the other places are, that's also one of the reasons why she had to move around often. She only ever stayed in one place for five days or so. After she gave away a portion of her money to the nearby institutions, she would go to another area, rent another apartment there, and start again.

So to speak, she got around. This also made it near impossible for anyone who might be looking for her to track her down.

This was something she both liked and hated. Yes she feared facing Syaoran, but at the same time she wanted so much to see him again.

Lan gave a loud and distinct bark that it rattled Sakura. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed anything else around her.

Her cell phone was ringing.

Sakura clambered to her feet and dashed to her purse. "Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Li?"

A sharp pang immediately coursed through her at the name just as it always did whenever people addressed her as such.

"Please call me Sakura, and yes?"

"Of course, Sakura-san. This is Yoshikawa, Sayuri from J&I."

"Oh," Sakura replied, caught off guard. "Yes, how may I help you Yoshikawa-san?"

"We received word from our London branch regarding the property which you put up for sale a week ago."

"Ah, yes? What about it?"

"There's an interested buyer. They also expressed no objection to the set price so if you have no objections as well, they want to settle the sale as soon as possible."

Sakura was more stunned than anything else at the moment. She had never been to England, scratch that, she had never been anywhere outside Japan save for that one trip to Hong Kong with Syaoran for their honeymoon. The property her father bought which she currently owned was something she didn't know a thing about. She had never been there nor did she know how the place looked liked. Was there even a house there? Or was it just an empty lot? Why did her father even have a place in England? From the many things her father owned, that was probably the most unusual and out of place of all.

She never considered these things. Not that it interested her in any particular way. It was just one of the things she thought that she may as well let go of together with the many other things she had once owned. That's why she went on and casually got an international Realtor to see to that matter the previous week.

"Sakura-san?"

"A-Ah, yes, uhmm… so how do we go about the sale exactly? This is my first time doing this you see."

"It's not a problem at all. All that you need to prepare is the original deed of the property as proof of ownership. Other necessary paperwork will be handled by our office in conjunction with our London base."

"I see, very well then." She never knew selling property was this quick and easy. She had actually expected some sort of hassle legal-wise. Not that she wanted any.

"Oh, and Sakura-san, a representative from the other party will be in Tokyo sometime next week. They're actually flying in from England and they expressed that they would like to meet the current proprietor and have them present during the transaction while they're here. Of course, I will be there with you as well."

"Okay. That's fine, that won't be a problem."

As much as she didn't want to return to Tokyo, she felt like it would be rather rude if she didn't. What's a short trip to the city compared to the hours of flight time the other person has to go through to get to Japan?

"Alright then. I'll give you another call in the next few days in regards to the final details of the meeting."

A set of dark blue eyes stared at her intently that it was unnerving.

Sakura fidgeted on her seat uncomfortably. How had she gotten into this situation?!

"So your name is Sakura Li?" she asked in flawless English.

"Yes. And your name is Lydia Greyson?"

The young woman sitting in front of her smiled brightly and nodded. "What a relief! You seem to be pretty good at English. I can speak Japanese too but I might be a little rusty. I don't really get an opportunity to speak the language back home, you know?"

"I understand," Sakura said although sounding uncertain.

Was this girl who looked to be fresh out of her teen years really the interested buyer of her father's property in England? She so badly wanted to ask Sayuri about what was going on. And whether or not this was some sort of joke.

"How old are you?" Lydia asked before taking a sip from her orange juice through a straw.

"I'm twenty-seven."

"Ehh! So you're six years older than me? Wow, I thought you were my age! The Japanese are amazing!"

She was speaking in a really loud and excited voice that Sakura was inwardly glad they were in a separate room from the main hall of the restaurant which was full of people due to the lunch time rush.

They weren't in just any room though. They were in the exact room in the exact restaurant in the exact same building where she and Syaoran dined during Christmas Eve, the exact place where he had proposed to her. Sakura didn't know if this was an act of providence from heaven or hell.

Unlike that time where she had dinner here with Syaoran though, there were unoccupied tables around them so Sakura wondered why they were alone in there when it was currently packed outside. As much of a consolation it was that no one else could hear the outrageous manner in which this foreigner she was sitting with was speaking, this was still somehow odd. And why in the world did she ask Sakura's agent and her own companion to leave them anyway?

"Uhmm… Ms. Greyson, may I ask as to what you wanted to speak to me in private about?" Sakura inquired hesitantly.

"Oh it's nothing really," Lydia said as she flipped her long dark hair over her shoulder. "I just wanted to talk to you, woman to woman."

"So this has nothing to do with the property in England that you're buying?"

"About that!" Lydia suddenly said rather ecstatically. "Are you sure you're selling that place?"

This didn't seem like a kind of question a sure buyer would be asking, wasn't it?

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, first of all, the place is gorgeous! And that house has quite a history, I heard."

"History?" Sakura echoed curiously. That was something she didn't know at all. In fact this was the first time she heard that there was even a house on the lot.

Lydia was nodding, a wide smile on her beautiful face.

"The country house is on top of a small hill and it was built by a man long ago in the early years of the Victorian Era. It was for his one and only daughter whom he loved so much. His daughter, though already of marrying age, was said to have refused marriage proposals, opting to only marry a man whom she loves. That is uncommon back then, you see. A good family background, a place in society, men with fortune, and girls with a decent dowry were the only things of concern when it came to marriage. Love between a couple was hardly ever brought into consideration. It just wasn't practical. His daughter was of a strong character though and probably a hopeless romantic at heart. This was something that her family accepted as well considering her parents married out of love. But then her father fell ill. So he built this house quickly before the disease could affect him entirely and eventually take his life as a gift for her that she may find the husband she so desires and deserves and use it in the future together with her own family. When the house was finally completed, he had just enough time to do one last thing, and that was to engrave words deep into thick stones before digging them into the ground to serve as steps that lead from the gate to the entrance of the house. The engraved words formed the final message to her from her father…

"To my precious daughter

You were born from the womb of the woman I love

That alone is a mark of our never ending bond

You are my treasure which I will hold dear to the end of my days.

This house is my gift to you, to show you my everlasting affection

This isn't a mark of my letting go

This is a mark of my pride of having you as a daughter

The warmth from this house is the warmth of my love for you.

In this place I hope you can experience that happiness

I hope you will have your own family with the man you love

As your father, that is my leading wish.

For years to come, be with them and spend time with them

Under one roof, experience everything together

Then cherish each moment together as if it were your last.

I hope these feelings will pass on to your husband and father of your children

That he may love you as his wife and the mother of your children

Just as I love your mother and you.

If he is someone you chose with your heart, then I am not worried

All you have to do and never forget to do is to love each other, forever and always."

"Forever and always," Sakura echoed brokenly.

Everything Lydia had just said was heart wrenchingly beautiful. All throughout her little narration, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if her own father had known about this and had meant to express those same words to her as well. That thought made her close to falling into an emotional pit.

But then those last three words struck at Sakura's heart like a knife although in a different way. And that pushed her over the edge completely.

She and Syaoran had exchanged those exact words the night they got engaged in this very room. Was that mere coincidence? Fate?

"Uhmm… Sakura?" Lydia's voice was laced with concern now rather than the dreamlike tone that she had taken as she recalled the message engraved on a set of stones located thousands of miles away. "Are you okay?" She had opened her purse now and was rummaging through its contents. "I'm sure I have tissues here," she said mostly to herself.

Sakura held her hands to her cheeks and had only just then realized that she was crying. It wasn't just a tear or two either. Her tears were falling in earnest.

"I… I'm sorry," she apologized and quickly tried to wipe it away with the back of her hand. "I d-don't know what suddenly came over me. I was just-"

She was saved from having to make up something to explain her rampant tear ducts however as a familiar voice spoke from behind her.

"Okay, that's enough," he said, followed by a long sigh. "Make her feel moved to the point of tears, that was the plan, but you actually went ahead and made her cry her poor heart out!"

Sakura's eyes widened at this. "E... Eriol?"

Eriol's midnight blue gaze which had been looking exasperatedly at Lydia was now turned to her and this time with a gentler feeling behind them. "Hi Sakura, been a while."

"Y-Yes," she stuttered, flabbergasted. What in the world was he doing here? Not only that, he had spoken to Lydia in such a way that made it seem like they were relatively close.

Just then, Lydia finally produced a packet of tissues which she slid across the table in Sakura's direction before looking up at the new arrival.

"That wasn't my fault!" she shouted in defense- and in Japanese -with a pout on her glossy pink lips. "Besides, those were probably tears of joy! Right Sakura?"

"Huh?" was the only thing that came out of Sakura's mouth as she wiped her tears with a tissue she gratefully accepted.

"Anyway, I had it perfectly under control. You shouldn't have come in here and ruined it all," and with that she crossed her arms over her chest.

Eriol gave yet another exasperated sigh.

"Well you are only a student. I shouldn't have expected m-"

"Hey! I'll have you know that I've been cast quite a lot of times already. I've even had leading roles!"

He didn't say anything to this but simply rolled his eyes before turning back to Sakura.

"Sakura, this is Lydia Greyson, twenty one years old and a student at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Incidentally, she's also my cousin from my mother's side of the family."

"Your... cousin?" Sakura repeated, now more amazed at the situation rather than surprised.

"I know, hard to believe, isn't it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lydia had gotten to her feet now and looked ready to pounce on Eriol depending on what his answer to her question was.

"Enough!"

They all froze. But it was only Sakura who broke into a cold sweat the second that oh-so-familiar voice rang across the room.

Author's Note:

Okay so I made a last minute change.

This chapter was supposed to be long and wasn't supposed to end here in that cliffhanger-way. But I made a slight alteration so instead of the 20 chapters + epilogue + extra short chapter I wrote up for this story, it'll be 21 chapters + an epilogue instead. So I basically cut out the actual ending of chapter 20 and added the extra short chapter to that to make one extra actual chapter.

Does it make sense? If it doesn't... well damn.

Anyway, you guys will (hopefully) understand by the next chapter!

'Til then, I hope you guys won't hate me for leaving you hanging here. Eek!

Ja ne!

Raeny