A/N: Warning: Lots of dramas ahead! And yes, pretty long chapter again! :) And oh, I absolutely wanna thank I. Kiryuu for always giving me sweet reviews. Thank you, girl. This chapter is totally for you.

Yesterday was very awkward for Sasuke and I because after being kissed by him, I started avoiding him to the extent of sleeping early last night.

I woke up to Neji's kiss about ten minutes ago when he brought me my breakfast. Breakfast in bed after an amazing sex last night, seriously, what could go wrong? I pulled out my phone from the drawer to check my horoscope. While my horoscope was still loading because of the weak countryside network service, my fingers were crossed. I was hoping my bad-day streak had ended yesterday.

After a minute of waiting, my horoscope showed up, You're currently wrapped up in making some kind of relationship work - platonic, romantic or professional, it really doesn't matter. You want to make and keep a promise, and to be sure that the promise or pledge that's been made in return was given with equally honest intentions. There's only thing for it, and that's time. Wait, watch and see. It's one of the things you do best!

In other words, I'd be paranoid today. Screw this, my horoscope before I left in Monaco wasn't this bad. I sighed and checked the digital clock to my left, 8:16AM. I then unwilling got up from the bed after eating my breakfast.

Everyone, excluding all the Hyuuga's, was at the living room, chatting. I walked towards them and asked, "Uh, where did Neji go?"

"It seems like you had a great night last night," Suigetsu smirked at me. This was the very first time I ever talked to him. Hanabi mentioned to me yesterday that Suigetsu was one of Sasuke's friends along with this guy named Juugo.

"How did you know?" I asked him, filled with curiosity.

"Because your hair is messy as hell," the pink haired said, I believed her name was Sakura. "You didn't even bother combing your hair before you left your room."

"But you look really hot though," Kiba commented. I would have been flattered but Kiba would compliment just every kind of girl that's why I just ignored him. "If I weren't engaged I would do you, no doubt."

"Any guy would bone her," Suigetsu checked me out from head to toe and for some reason, I felt somewhat uncomfortable and disgusted. "Engaged or not."

"I'm like right here," I reminded them. "But anyway, does anyone know where Neji is?"

"Why do you need him for?" Kiba's face turned sour. I had noticed yesterday that Kiba didn't seem to like Neji because they hadn't really talked. "You're always with that guy but if you really want to see him, he's with Hinata and Hanabi."

"I want to ask him if he wanted to take a morning walk with me," I told Kiba since he couldn't keep his nose out of my business. "And of course, I'm always with him because we are, you know, kinda together."

"Kinda together, you said?" the girl who was sitting next to Sasuke asked. "So that means you guy just have sex but not officially together."

"Karin, isn't it?" I gave her a smile, a very unauthentic one. "Well, Karin, you shouldn't care, should you? I mean if you are that interested in my love life and sex life like Sasuke had been these past few weeks, all you gotta do is ask because I will happily answer you in details."

She looked at Sasuke and told him, "I can't believe you can actually fall for a very rude girl like her – you so deserve better than that."

"I definitely agree to Karin," said Sakura who had been glaring at me. "And all she's got is her family name and looks."

I shot back without second thoughts, "And what do you have aside from having a ridiculously oversized forehead and a body of a twelve year old boy? Listen here, I'm not try'na compete with both of you because it would be a disgrace to my family name if I ever competed with lowlifes."

She didn't answer.

But Sasuke broke the ice, "You both," he gave Sakura and Karin death glares before continuing, "owe her an apology. I have my reasons why I love her, so never ever question why I do."

I refused to speak. I stood there silently until Hanabi grabbed my arm firmly. I looked at Hanabi, she seemed very upset. I didn't understand what made her that way that's why I had to confront, "You're hurting me and I'll never forgive you if you ever leave a bruise on my arm. What happened to you?"

She loosened her grip, "I need to talk to you, Ms. Ino."

Everybody left the living room except Hanabi and I. She was trying to calm herself, I could see that but I was wondering what I had done wrong to her. Did she find out that I intentionally didn't want to share room with her because I found her annoying as hell?

"What do you wanna talk about, Hanabi?"

"About my cousin."

"Then why are you upset?" I asked her and then I began to worry – did something happen to Neji? "Is there something wrong with Neji? Did he get sick or something?"

"No," she shook her head. "But there's something wrong with you!"

"Does this top make me look fat?" I worriedly asked. "If that's that, I'm gonna go change right away!"

"Can you please be serious for a moment?" she screamed as the tears from her eyes started forming. It was a shame because I was serious when I asked that. Did she think I was kidding?

"What the hell is wrong with you, you brat?" my patience started wearing out. "I didn't do nothing to you!"

"Question is what the hell is wrong with you, you selfish bitch!" shouted Hanabi. Woah, she seemed really mad at me. "You are hurting my cousin each day and you know what? If he can put up being hurt by you, well, I can't."

I was shocked that I couldn't reply. I just realized that she was being phony to me yesterday – truth was, she didn't really like me and she just wanted to make me feel uncomfortable yesterday by asking many questions about my past and Sasuke.

"You're just using my cousin to forget Uchiha-sempai!" she continued, getting angrier. "You don't love Neji-niisan but you are with him because you need him to help you forget! And he doesn't deserve that – he deserves much better than that!"

My eyes started tearing up. Even though I didn't want to admit, Hanabi was partly right. But I never thought of using Neji because I sincerely wanted to love him.

"You don't know how badly I want to change myself just to be that person who deserves someone like Neji," the tears started to fall from my eyes out of anger. I didn't want to cry but I couldn't stop. "I knew already that he deserved someone better than me but believe me when I tell you that I'm not using Neji as a rebound because if you haven't already noticed, I very much care about him."

"But will you ever fall in love with him?" she looked at me straight in the eyes. "He's with you for more than three years and he's been opened about how he feels about you! If you can't love him for real, just let him go because he's already wasted enough of his time for you!"

I felt my heart crushing into pieces. Not only my heart but also my tongue because nothing came out of my mouth when I tried to say something.

"Don't you get it?" she wanted to destroy me, I could feel it – and she was succeeding. "If you don't love him by now, you never ever will." Her voice started breaking, "He's stayed by you long enough – give him the chance to be actually loved by someone because he doesn't deserve any less than that."

I just froze. I couldn't argue with her. Her words hit me and they burnt. I realized that sooner, I'd need to do the hardest thing I would ever do in my lifetime, which was set Neji free. I found myself wishing that the time would just stop because in that way, I would have more time to keep Neji by my side.

"Neji!" I called his name as I ran into his direction and hugged him tighter than I ever did.

He was confused and worried, "Don't you feel well?"

"Just please hold me for a moment."

He wrapped his arms around me, "Okay."

I would have given up everything for that moment. Because that might be the last time he would ever hug me again. But I had made my decision, if I wouldn't let go of him sooner, the harder it would be for us in the future.

"You have to remember that you will always be the most important person to me," I told him as I buried my face on his chest so he couldn't see me cry. "And that you're the person that makes me very happy constantly."

"Ino, what's the matter?" he asked concernedly. "Why are you telling me all these?"

I pulled myself away from him. My body started shaking as the tears continuously flowed on my cheeks. I didn't remember when was the last time I cried this hard. I felt pathetic.

"I...I w-want to set you fr-free..."

"What?" Neji took a few seconds to regain his composure. He was certainly surprised. "Ino, what the hell are you saying?"

I heaved a deep breathe before answering back. I tried to wipe my tears but the tears wouldn't stop, "I just..."

"Just what?"

And the biggest lie of all came out of my mouth, "I don't need you anymore."

Neji was starting to lose his stability, he knew me all too well, "Tell me the truth for God's sake!"

"I can't love you."

And then a tear fell from his eye. That was the first time I ever saw him shed a tear. It was the tear that broke me into pieces. Seeing him being like this was the most painful thing I had ever witnessed.

"Why is it that the person you fall for is never me?" he looked miserable that I wanted to just shoot myself and drop dead. "You keep on saying that I'm the most important to you and I make you happy but why can't you love me?"

I wished I knew the answer to that so I could give him a proper reply, "I don't know."

"But I want to be there for you."

"Dammit!" I didn't know what to do anymore. This was far worse than I had expected. "Neji, you have a life to live and I feel guilty that I'm taking it away from you by asking you stay beside me! And the fact that I can't fall for you makes me feel like I'm the worst person on this planet!"

He just stared at me, not saying anything.

"Neji, you deserve someone who can love you," I said in a lower tone. "You'll find this woman – and unlike me, she'll be wonderful – she'll love you with all her heart and give you everything you deserve."

The tears were endless. This was hundred more times harder compared to when I had to leave Sasuke for Monaco. However, I had to do this, for Neji's sake. There's nothing I wouldn't do for Neji.

"This is killing me," I confessed, I felt my heart getting stabbed repeatedly. No one told me it would hurt like this. "Letting you go, that is."

He remained silent. He could see right through me, and I knew he could see how much hurtful this was for me. Neji's importance to me couldn't possibly be measured. When people said I was too attached to him, that was a clear understatement.

"Even if I'd ever fall for someone else, you'll still be the most important person for me," I let him know. "And I promise you, that'll never change."

I didn't say goodbye because I couldn't. I just walked away. I'd walked away many times in my life, but this had to be the most difficult one.

The engagement party was tonight but I had to lie and tell them that I had a cold. Not only me, Neji did too. Kiba told me that Neji "didn't feel alright for some odd reason." Even though I wanted to go to his room and take care of him (like I always did before when he felt sick), I couldn't because I was the 'odd reason' why he didn't feel alright.

Honest to dear God, I really felt suicidal for the first time in my almost 22 years of living. I was so depressed that the last food that I ate was the breakfast that Neji prepared for me. I didn't feel hungry or even thirsty. Heck, I hadn't even taken a shower for today.

I had already given my father a call. I told him everything, and he was so scared that I would kill myself after I hung up the phone. I had to convince him for ten minutes straight that I'd get through this without hurting myself physically. He swore to me that he'd personally pick me up tomorrow because according to him, I sounded all torn up.

My horoscope was half right because I had made a promise to Neji that he'd always be the most important person to me, whether I fell in love with another guy or not. I definitely would keep that promise.

But it was also half wrong because I didn't make our relationship work, in fact, I did the opposite. I destroyed our relationship for his sake.

And along with that relationship I destroyed, I also destroyed myself.

A/N: Well, losing the person you're most attached to is eminently destructive. It wouldn't be easy, even if you had all the money and luxury in the whole world.

So, it's been exactly a year since I've published this story that's why I worked very hard on this chapter. Thank you to all who have reviewed the last chapter. I deeply apologize if you were rooting for Neji and I really hope you still read the next (and also the last) chapter. I love him and Ino together too but I put this story in Sasuke/Ino filter. To make it up to you, I'll definitely write a Neji/Ino oneshot. :)

And one more thing, I do plan to change the summary. But I need ideas. If you've got one, I'll gladly consider it. Just PM me, thanks. :)

Criticisms and reviews are well-loved!