Apologize for the delay and thank you for still being with me and hope you will enjoy this chapter as well. Er…I guess that's all from me? Haha!
Oh, a kind WARNING: I LOVE SPICY FOOD. So, I added a little SPICE into the 'recipe'? Teehee…
Anyway, enjoy!
REVIEWS pls! :D
SUNNY DAYS!
(Sweet Seventy)
Five…What Never Dies
.
Listen to it.
Look at it.
Believe it.
Imagine; having faith hurts;
Hey, this hurt you know;
It does.
.
She didn't spare the minute to wait another moment longer just to sit by and watch; Sakura barged into the room that was hers to begin with without thinking about the consequences.
No. There isn't any.
She HAS the right.
Expressionless; she cannot find the emotion to accommodate her face and all she can find is a layer of heat that surrounds her face and her heart that grows unsteady and her head comes to ache.
She just stood to watch both man and woman staring back at her as though she had interrupted something. It's a detestable sight despite it isn't her nature to turn negative at someone when this by impulse.
She feels it; the sense of rejection is everywhere in her head. Right now, she seeks hate by snarling her green eyes at the people before her.
Laila; no doubt was surprised and filled with guilt. Her cheeks flushed the instant she was caught and she shriveled timidly, backing away from the staring pinkette and without freezing up, she hastily grabbed for her shirt and flee out of the room within moments.
And all there is left is a pair of man and woman:
Husband and Wife.
Facing each other suddenly felt so foreign and it seems that the distance between her and the man is fading away; farther. His mind is, judging by his plainly worn facial expression and there still exists exhaustion shown in his eyes that he failed to recover from within the day's rest.
Silence was left alone to linger like a plague that eats the heart.
Sakura's did.
Why?
You know what, Sasuke-kun. This hurts…
The pinkette continued to stare at the raven in silence only but to study him. She stared at her topless husband in his pajama trousers hanging loosely with only his showing hip bones to support it in place; he has grown thinner from the tired and stressed days.
She felt guilty for not being there for him. She felt guilty for leaving him with troubles he finds it heavy to shoulder. She felt guilty, oh, she felt so guilty. But,
He need not have to inflict her in such a way;
Why were he and Laila…? In their room!
It really hurts…
This shouldn't be. This may not be what it seems to look like. Perhaps she had misjudged the situation too quickly before Sasuke could explain. He should deserve a chance of explanation. However,
One thing is for sure; he didn't refuse Laila!
Why isn't he saying anything, why he didn't shove Laila away? Moreover, keeping his words to himself and staying root on the spot without the urge to find forgiveness or beg for it?!
Isn't he wrong?!
She had never felt so betrayed.
Drip. Drop.
Drip. Drop.
Drip. Drop.
"Sasuke-kun…"
In muttering whisper.
There. Those onyx eyes that she believed in so much avoided hers where tears fell out of will. It leaked from the wounded heart.
Does he have no guilt? No shame?
"Sasuke-kun…"
Please.
Please turn this way.
Don't look away and avoid because,
It really, really hurts!
"Are you so sick of me that you brought another woman into our room?"
"…"
If it is the one thing she began to develop fear is the sealed lips of the man she loved dearly; that avoiding gaze, that stoic expression and guilt-free attitude.
She feared so much that she had to lose her temper, her composure in order to search the love she still believes in for this man. It was too hard for her to give up when love has taken her too far to turn back.
She is in need for another reason to overcome this fear and that is…
"It was only two weeks…I was only away for two weeks…was our love boring already…?" her pink brows arched disbelievingly with emeralds drowned in tears.
To blame herself.
"…"
"ANSWER ME!" she yelled.
How she wish to rip off the ugly face she is currently wearing. It's not the person she was raised to be; Haruno Sakura, the dignified and composed woman. Right now she has completely become a simple woman, fed with too much of love that she is addicted.
She is no different compared to a woman who'd lose her mind to a cheating husband. This is ugly! Pathetic!
"Huu! Huu! Ugh…huu…huu…!"
She sobbed her heart out and let her feet be soaked in tears that fell on them. She cried like a child and she rubbed her eyes like one as well. It hurts when there was no reply she strictly demanded from the blunt man she calls husband.
She sincerely cried.
It's hard to bottle up the emotions that drove her vulnerable.
"If two weeks had made me bored of you…then what about the ten years you've put me into waiting? I bet ten years of life waiting for you!"
At last, the Uchiha spoke.
With words that speeches no guilt but fury. He became angry and turned his voice back at the crying female; firmly, strongly voicing out his feelings and recalling a gallant fact that he shouldn't be blamed for. He shoved words back at her without the least sense of guilt about the 'crime' he had committed.
"Then why—"
"Why didn't you call? I hated it when you didn't take the effort to!"
So he blames her for the trivial instead?
He does have no shame! But…is he?
Sakura had no reason to give for holding her words back. She couldn't fight him; she finds no strength to do that and her heart tells her that he wasn't wrong. The both of them weren't wrong in any way. It's just that at this moment…they weren't on the same page.
They were never to blame; blame it on time.
"Then why didn't you?" she murmured from her confident-less self and Sasuke was silent a while.
Clutching onto her chest that felt crushed; it's sour and suffocating. She hardly expects to eat different words from the man she only sees love in.
"You are a busy woman remember?" he cruelly reminded her. "How would I know when will you be going to pick up when you always reject my calls? You're always in meetings, having business dinners, attending to the media. So when then? In the end I was resulted to waiting. Like always…You always leave!"
He's right.
Nothing wrong to each word he had said.
She always made him wait…for too long. So…
This is The End?
"Are you saying you're regretting your loneliness?" she muttered between clenched teeth…and out of the control of her mind.
Stop it. Stop it, Haruno Sakura. Taking it too far will leave no room to back down later!
"Don't put words into my mouth, Sakura!" without a suffix to spare, the raven male snapped. He is unreserved. Merciless…
This is real.
Uchiha Sasuke could be merciless when he wants to or is it that she was the one naïve; enough to believe that she had matured and believed that she had obtained an ideal love life.
She doesn't blame him.
He is after all human.
She is too.
"Then I ask: Are you regretting it?"
And out of a human's behavior, she stubbornly pressed and her question met with another of his pausing silence again. He did not hesitate, he just…stopped…for the moment to pass and find the right interval to speak.
And when he did,
"There is one thing I do regret…is my incapability."
Huh?
The rosette's head perked surprisingly at the different tonality that comes with such an answer she failed to anticipate due to a sorrow heart. With intrigued eyes, she watched the raven carefully.
Not only his speech changed, his personality, his expression; they were coloured.
In the sense that,
"I always lose for what I lack to be your equal. We were never equal."
He said them in a humble tone with a sigh initially. And it made tears fall more from the female he looked in the eyes unwaveringly. She sees a man. That is him in front of her standing in slim physique.
He is the man she loved so much.
So much…
So much…
So please don't say that this is The End…
"So you're saying…" she sniffed. "…that you are regretting me…?"
She is too stubborn to not press on. That is;
Just like Haruno Sakura.
The extraordinary woman that Sasuke sees as the only woman he loved as much.
He sighed, hid that face of his which looks stupid and dumb for making his woman cry; he walked up to her, crouched down and held her trembling figure while she continued sobbing.
He snuggled up to her closer and whispered tenderly in her ear,
"I never regret loving you…" and,
"I ever regret not being a better man…"
Oh the tears…it comes…falling bitter droplets to the sweetest bit like sugar.
Now she thinks that all this isn't their fault, they made no mistakes, he made none, time as well but her: She didn't have enough faith to believe what's beyond her eyes. It was wrong of her to doubt.
It was…stupid…
"I am sorry…," she sniffed. "I am sorry for leaving you…"
"This fight…it's so silly," he admits like a man then bumped foreheads with his wife, their noses rubbing ticklish and their breath were warm on each other's skin.
"I am in love with you for a decade; it should be long enough to forge something stronger than to be broken by some two-week misunderstanding. Don't feel insecure. Don't doubt."
He confessed.
It's funny. Chuckling in her head, it is funny for everything to be restored to how it once were between them; the love they knew about…puts those almost-crumbling pieces back and held it firmly altogether. And it's weird that they can fall in love so quickly again…
If it hadn't for Sasuke. He was firm. He was unshaken. Unlike her…to lose faith in the belief of a moment; she knew she wasn't betrayed yet…she was betrayed by the self of her own. It was…shameful.
Other than that, she was scared.
She submitted to unnecessary fear and to think it was over for them when Sasuke never had the intention to let them to. He planned it and he was sure that they would survive…or he was confident.
"But Laila…"
She is yet to quit; like any other girls, they are persistent. Perhaps this is sweet jealousy that proves love existed. It's called the urge to dominate.
"I knew."
The Uchiha said with another allowing silence to take over for the second. Like a habit he developed as a sign of maturing wisely.
His smile was assuring for a positive continuation to his statement.
"For years I knew. Bad it sounds I pushed it onto Kiba and pretended it never existed. I continued by love for you, you should know that."
Dear, how Sakura loved the sound of his deepening voice when it diminished.
How silly…stupid…when there was no Laila to begin with in his heart.
"I am so silly…," she bashfully admitted.
"Very," he IS merciless when he wants to.
Ah.
Sakura gasped loudly when she wasn't prepared the time when the raven male lifted her high and swung her around in their tight-spaced room. As always, he loved to tease her when he found the chance she was absent minded. Her expression would be pure; he enjoys seeing it.
Her presence is life.
Hold her in his arms, tightly, in fear that she might take flight onto another journey with those unbound angelic wings of hers; he held her firmly and seduced her with no intention to allow her mind to leave him. He will do all his best to keep his existence in her head so that she wouldn't forget.
How she got angry and jealous and fretted and cried and whined at him when she conclusively assumed of his betrayal before, cruel he is but he loved to see it anytime. It is evidence that he had captured her.
All for himself.
He wanted to laugh, it isn't the proper time to but he would save it for later. He would laugh aloud for being loved and thank her at heart.
As for Laila…she isn't something he should worry.
.
.
Just like a shooting star, an aircraft glided across the glittery night sky then pierced into the clouds above.
It's so loud.
Sakura had to cover her ears as she tried to capture the take-off. It's exciting to watch the man-made-miracle have its glory every time of its aerial success; a fascinating view in fact.
And,
It's funny.
To feel the warmth of Sasuke's hands against hers the time she closed her ears… it was wonderful. Feeling his tender grasp, he held firmly pressed against hers; doing his best to protect her in every simplest way.
It is the simplest.
These comeback feelings of affection were just as ever; never fading, never ending and always so new, newer every time. Even after there were and she believes there will be more tears to shed, more time to waste and more hate, jealousy, evil and lots and lots of unhappiness to come;
This feeling…will always return.
She believes,
Preserved by miracle,
This love.
Yes,
It has been.
It is.
It will be.
Look.
It was on the brink of ending, their story.
Yet,
Here they stood. Together. With their odds.
Funny.
They once again wound up back to where they began by the string of fate, they are able to lie on the withering grassy ground and set their minds free into another star-gazing journey.
Scattering sugar-like stars on that inky pitch blackness; it is the coming end of fall and it'll take months to get to laze around like this. But even when the cold comes, there's nothing to worry.
If they couldn't be here on this hill top, they could always snuggle up by the heating ovens at home. Giggle under the covers while drinking hot chocolate.
Um hmm, that's right.
They'll do that.
And there are still many, many things to catch up so…
"Are you cold, Sakura-chan?"
The raven asks the petite person who rests close to his chest…right there next to his heart.
"No."
She answered gently but he didn't take it and held her close. He has to be sure.
Then the quietness drew over them out of their generosity; the two laid in the tranquility, staying far away from the noise of the city, they just stared at whatever they can set their eyes on without having the need to think.
It's a relaxing feat until she sat up,
Fixate her emeralds upon the resting male and he who returned a smile and a gentle caress on her cheek. He tucked away hairs that covered her face and pulled her close when it was she who initiated the kiss.
It was a light touch between both lips.
She didn't take it all the way too deep, just lightly and just enough to be addictive.
And then she placed another of that softness onto his lips.
Tore apart and again. Tore apart and again.
Sasuke loved it, knowingly she isn't teasing him. It was the act of apologizing.
"Sakura-chan."
The emerald-eyed female broke her chain of repetition. She faced him when he sat up as well to face her with strict obsidians eyes.
"I wouldn't want to say something cliché as 'I want to turn back time and start again'."
He began,
"It's just not real neither I say that we should make better memories from now on; that would sound unrealistic too."
And,
"I know it's hard to get rid of bad memories that happened so I am not going to say we should try hard to forget; we can never forget. I rather say: Let's put it behind our mind, make it a lesson that teaches us."
Tenderly,
"I love you Haruno Sakura. That is something I need to tell you."
So tenderly,
"Do you get me?"
Why did his eyebrows arched worriedly?
Sakura rose to her feet so she could reach out to ease that set of fretting eyebrows; she kindly stroked them with her thumbs affectionately.
Relax. That's it.
He inhaled a great deal of breath and let his shoulders fall all the way like his head did and onto her stomach.
"I have so many things to tell you, Sakura-chan. So many, I don't even know where to start..." sighing at the end, he felt her returning embrace.
Her slender waist and bony arm; he noticed she became thinner. Both of them did in their own ways struggling through hardship.
"I have too. It's so filled inside of me, I wish I could say it all with just a single word," she uttered, rests her chin on his head.
They are both exhausted, too tired to think of any other words to speak for themselves when all they want to is hold each other and stay in the same position without bothering about time. If it wasn't for the chilling weather, he wouldn't have urged to return home before it gets too cold to ride on the bicycle.
Just like how she liked it, this distance, close enough when she fasten herself around the thinner waist of the peddling man. And her head would rest against his back, on the comfortable fabric of his fleece jacket and this would continue all the way home.
Closing her eyes, she told herself not to fall asleep; she would listen to the sound of the wind as they rode against it and also the rotating gears that continued all the way.
They didn't talk; it's pointless when she is too soft to be heard, therefore, she just had to make her ride as enjoyable as possible. Nevertheless he would check up on her; ensure that she is safe.
"Don't fall asleep, okay?" he reminds her with a gentle touch. The pinkette would nod assuring him so he could continue peddling.
It's quite the long journey from home.
No matter how cold the night is turning, they have no intention to lodge over at someplace other than their own bedroom. They just have to sleep in that cramped third-floor space of their own and mess up the neat sheets.
Yeah,
That room that Sakura had grown to hesitate a little.
She stood there with her back against the door, closed, right after they entered. However not him, Sasuke acted as if nothing had happened; even if it was only hours had passed since, the tension hadn't left.
Perhaps it applies only towards herself.
She continued to stare at the busy male while she stood from where she remained unmoving, she closely watched: from the time he placed away his keys, ruffle his hair loose, removed his jacket then his shirt, his belt…
Up to that point, she immediately looked away.
Her eyes dart away towards anywhere else except for her half naked husband. Not the sense of being embarrassed, however, the dislike that swells up to her chest is suffocating her along with dissatisfaction.
She didn't like it; he and…
Moreover she recalled that he didn't apologize. Not since it all happened!
"Sakura-chan…"
The rosette was too immersed in thought that she jerked at his calling.
Sasuke was right in front of her, his onyxes were stared as if it could pierce right through her, read her; she became anxious. Crouching, his bare shoulders so thin, his skin so fair…
She can't shake off the evil that resides in her mind that is driving her crazy; jealous!
"Hiyaa!"
She didn't mean to let out an immature voice like that if it wasn't for Sasuke who scooped her up abruptly and threw her onto the bed. He needed no permission like he used to ask out of courtesy and he wasn't being gentle at all. Then there he towered her by the view below when she lay motionlessly anticipating his next move, he was huge; threatening.
She stunned. Completely.
And staring at his face was all she could do; out of her own will, she gazed dumbfound at the male. Listen to the shower outside the window that began and feel the chilling room but there was no way that could ease the heat that engulfed her body. Her heart was utterly racing at breakneck speed.
She knew nothing to react. It was this stiffness she could hardly take and at last resort to crying…
Tears unconsciously escaped the corner of her eyes. This is the worst.
Sakura felt the shame for her incapability to suppress her unsorted feelings when it was obviously born from jealousy. She began to hate this man. She began to hate his stoic face, his remorseless attitude.
Does he not feel anything?!
For she believes that this isn't the Uchiha Sasuke she knew and believed all this while. He should be the gentlest, the kindest and the most…honest man.
"Why are you crying?" the raven male asks in foreign monotone.
As he remained towering her, supporting himself with his arms, he repeated,
"Why are you crying?" this time it was softer, kinder…still there was something that she didn't like.
She couldn't answer him. She could not bring herself to tell him that she was unsure of him; hurt him.
"I am not going to apologize for anything I didn't do."
Ah, he finally said it and in the coldest tone with a hint of dislike towards her doubts and he was being clear:
He did not cheat!
It was loud enough to resound in her mind that it made her feel stupid.
"But."
The pause.
Then gently, very carefully…he caressed his thumb on her cheek and took away her tears so that he wouldn't graze her skin.
"I will apologize for making you cry." He touched her again; slowly, carefully as he uttered in gentle voice. "So..."
Don't cry.
It was an order.
That was all he needed to prove his innocence.
How confident he is. How cocky he'd be.
How manly he had become.
Stretching out and reaching her arm to the fullest, she received the man who sunk into her embrace. The sensation of his bones surfacing beneath his cold skin is like a work of art; every corner, every arch…her fingertips could pick up precisely the shape of them and his collar bone that showed from the deepened concave.
These details did Laila studied them this way?
The rosette wasn't allowed to breed jealousy another time when her husband's acts of love kept her too occupied; so much that her mind is drowning in overflowing sensations. He licked her, touched her forbidden surfaces and kissed her…deeply he kissed her without bothering to breathe.
Passionate.
This kiss has Laila tasted them before?
Oh, how her thoughts surfaced from the evil that taunts her when she was given an interval of rest from their contacting lips and she did gasp a while for being in it too long but it was worthwhile.
After,
"Sakura-chan." His tone was dark and obsidians staring. "Don't think of anything else. Think about me." And in that whisper.
"Only me."
Another order.
If she remembered clearly, there is no one, absolutely, no one on this planet has ever given her orders for the past decade yet this man was bold enough to; two in fact. His words like stimulus could bring a 'rush' inside her veins; it was too long since she became this intrigued.
She loved the sound of this authoritative remark, that punctuation and the depth of his voice. It was...beautiful. It made her feel fragile, small and womanly.
It was: the sweetest order.
Engulfed in innocence, she allowed herself fall back into time; going into the moment when they finally sorted out their feelings. It was a start. Love blossomed. A youthful regard filled with affection.
Right now, it revived.
Green eyes; they stared intensely despite their silence there were no words that Sasuke could not understand. For the first time, he was able to read her completely; she was being obvious. Her worry and jealousy were the cause of her emotional distress.
Frankly, he was rather joyed to see his dear wife lose her usual cool. He was thankful that she cried. And she asked,
Did he regret her?
During that moment, he withheld a smirk.
This little female, what is the best way to handle her? A never-ending challenge it seems and it IS joy.
He smirked at heart while he engaged into staring at the woman before him; tracing every inch of her and allowing the image to sear in his mind. In his position gave a sense of overwhelming superiority as she laid small in his dominion. She allows him.
Caress her porcelain skin with gentle strokes of his fingertips. Sakura didn't refuse them,
"Sakura-chan," Sasuke whispered tenderly. "I want to love you."
In serious gazes he repeated at the puzzled pinkette's face,
"I want to love you right now."
And his wife bloomed red instantly at his desire.
"May I?"
Sakura clamped up, her lips pressed in hesitance to the shyness that builds inside her before uttering,
"Don't ask…"
Her muttering lips so pink with hints of cherry red that tempts him to savour; naughtily he licked then nibbled on them before kissing her like he preferred better and he became greedy with urged to take it further as he was given permission to.
Laid on her back, his wife motionlessly waited for his lead except but to blush. She is just as red like all the times they would come together; the rosette is especially shy during these personal practices, he conclusively thought.
Moreover, the sight of her was beautiful.
What about him, does she think he is courageously leading without a hint of nervousness?
She must have forgotten that shyness is part of his nature when she is too dizzy to think from the impulse that drives her stiff and close her eyes was the best option. She let him lead.
To whatever he does to her and all she needed was to feel without sight. She didn't dare move when whatever she wore was stripped off until the last piece. There was no mistaking it when she heard his jeans fall onto the floor before his breath was very close.
Closer.
But then,
It was during that important moment when she flashed open her green eyes made him jerk in surprise. She was right; their skin was the only thing they had on. She couldn't help but blush at the condition they are in and pressed on to what she has to convey no matter what,
"Sasuke-kun…"
The calling of his name; precise and accurate with the right tonality soothes his ears. Nothing but the best.
Retaining his silence, the Uchiha smiled, kissed from the beginning of her forehead to the side of her lips then her neck and travelled his way downwards, leaving trails of sweetness. She wasn't finished and he knew but he had no plans to listen attentively unless she calls to him impatiently.
And surprisingly she didn't but uttered softly, audibly,
"Let's adopt a baby…"
He stopped.
His head perked lightly at the surprise subsequently he met eyes of emeralds that holds no jest to her proposal. She is no doubt serious and he too knew it was no matter that they should avoid.
At heart, they both silently knew what was between them. However they were too hesitant to spell out the problem until now. Sasuke had to admit that he admired his wife much for her bold character; something he shamefully lack as a man.
Since it has come to this…
He is still surprised even when he thought he had grasped the idea that he was mentally prepared for such an option. And the idea, he didn't object nor did he accept.
Blankly, he stared at her with no immediate reply. Sakura as well tried studying that plain expression and dark eyes that grew quiet. They both cultivated moments of silence only but to look at each other.
She reached out to touch his cheek; lovingly stroked the surface with her thumb and Sasuke closed his eye to wholly feel it: Her small forelimb that glides giving a velvety touch was soothing that he could hardly think.
Opening his eyes, he sees a pair of shimmering greens. No matter where, the light in her never fades. He smiled in return to hers then sunk in to claim her lips. They gave it their all, forgetting how much time they took and they effortlessly went with the flow of their love.
They truly burn in their own feelings.
Mutual. Endless.
That brought them in falling in love all over again and deeper into greater depths of it that it was too deep to survive to be someone newer.
They listened to their racing hearts out of the nervousness and excitement from their gapless distance. Then feel each other's breaths on their skin and inhaled the scent of sweat that trickles. She grew meek and he was wild like any man; doing his best like a man and she surrender a moan once in a while for she lost to overwhelming pleasure and he would greedily listen, tease her sensitive spots to make her surrender all of her to him.
She did.
Everything.
Everything…belonged to him.
It is this sort of moment, when pleasure was everything and time isn't of importance and there were no worries except this indulgence; wouldn't that be wonderful? It's a period of endless fantasy, a dream-like existence of time before it disappears…
.
.
How long has she been awake?
The Haruno female didn't have the slightest clue of being tired though she knew that bedtime was rather short last night. Rather she couldn't remember how many hours they spent messing up the sheets, tossing and turning and getting rough with each other while the heat from their love burned their skin.
Every minute was intense and meaningful.
Her cheeks grew rosy at the point of recalling those fleeting moments. Overall, it was pure.
And exhausting.
Laid in bed, Sakura knows that she is too lazy to tear herself out of bed despite she is starting to hate being alone in this room. Sasuke left early when he needed to accompany Uncle Brown to the doctor; the spot where he once was turned cold from the absence of his heat. Thus, she managed to understand a bit more of Sasuke's feelings; the loneliness that could pinch one's heart.
And staring at the empty spot where sheets were left utterly messy makes her realize more.
She always left him behind. He was right.
The Haruno sighed as soon as the guilt rushed in before deciding to rise out of bed.
She made the sheets; effortlessly straightening out stubborn wrinkles that she gave up in the end. She picked up her clothes that lay almost everywhere in the room then headed towards the shower.
The heated water was at the right temperature for a morning bath and the fragrance of an apple-scented soap tinged her refreshingly. It became a good morning with a chilly weather that blows outside and the colour of autumn that paints the city;
Sakura, in this rare occasion had realized the trivial beauty that was always right there. It was her fault for not noticing. Again, busy isn't a word for excuse no doubt it became a habit of use.
The petite female quickly slipped into a set of warm clothing and to her desire, she cheekily threw over one of her husband's fleece jackets. She loved them; she could imagine his lingering scent although there was only the smell of clean detergent from the wash and that it was oversized.
She flushed happily then joyfully made her way down the step to have breakfast. She expects a basket of toast and a choice of spreads to go with. If there is cheese and sausages she would be delighted. Her appetite is kicking in today and she would love to get herself stuffed.
Reaching the kitchen, she was prepared to greet Kiba but to her disappointment he was absent.
There was no one around and the ovens were quiet and cold unlike the usual. There was no hint of steam or buttery dough and there was no breakfast at all. The kitchen was dim and silent so does the shop.
Closed.
Sakura's head perked understandingly when she noticed the sign stuck on the entrance of the shop. How saddening.
The sudden chill would rush up to her spine when she realized that she was all alone in this empty shop. And it was unfair that she wasn't informed of.
Click clack.
Ah!
There's someone at the door. Laila.
She unlocked the door with the key she had and stepped in hastily to hide from the chilly gust that blows. Subsequently she stared with a little surprised expression worn on her face the moment she saw the pinkette.
Sakura didn't speak or greet her not in the sense of hate but…she couldn't bring herself to recall that friendship they used to have. She was confident that Laila thinks of the same but,
"It's good that you're around, I was afraid that you might have left," said Laila casually.
The rosette continued to remain silent. How is she supposed to reply?
Laila approached the petite female.
"If you're not busy, can I have some of your time?" she boldly requested, no, more like a demand.
"What is it?" the Haruno uttered monotonously after a short pause.
"I would like you to come with me a bit…to meet someone," Laila still had that kind tone. However, Sakura didn't like it the least.
"Where to? With whom?" the pinkette replied bluntly.
"Sasuke's mother."
Certainly Sakura was surprised from the abruptness; she skillfully withheld sounding out a gasp and upheld her composure well to avoid from being read. This is nothing compared to business acquaintances and affiliates she met. She is confident that she would be able to handle this well enough. Moreover, she would like to quickly get over with whatever Laila has in mind.
A grudge is coming.
It's bad and was beyond the helping of the pinkette herself. She cannot shake off Laila's deed that rings badly in the bad of her mind. She is stained by her own evil towards Laila.
"Sasuke-kun's mother?" the Haruno repeated with a questionably.
Her mother-in-law.
It is proper that she should rush over to greet the parent of her husband. However, the fact that his mother's reappearance was sudden that it became…awkward. Surely Sakura had been hinted of her existence but…Sasuke,
What about him?
She didn't get the chance to speak with him when she was too preoccupied last night.
"Yes. She is waiting at a café and asked for your presence."
Laila.
Where is the Laila of bright and innocent? When her current disposition doesn't suit her at all: strict at words and sharp at tongue; this is the real Laila?
"Alright. Please take me to her," said the rosette.
.
.
Despite how cold Laila had turned out to be, she still initiated that littlest kindness towards the rosette that has a hard time catching up; slowing down and shielding the petite female from being knocked over by the rushing crowd. No matter the crowd is still too much for Sakura to handle alone without assistance. Therefore she is grateful even if they are currently on different terms.
It was Sakura who agreed to set out to their destination by foot and Laila silently took lead.
The two didn't talk like they used to; like strangers, their friendship somehow vanished overnight and they end up being strangers. It was shocking to have a friend confessing to her husband and the thought was still hard to digest, Sakura sighed innerly.
Is this really the end of Laila and her?
She shrugged her shoulders and proceeded walking silently even if they were closely next to each other. The tension between them was less, thanks to the open and the busy people around them.
They didn't take too long to arrive. It was a short distance just as Laila informed.
There.
Even if it was the first time, Sakura could capture a resemblance of the sitting woman with ebony hair. Her sitting posture, her facial features aside from the aging effects, Sasuke inherited some of it. Definitely she is the one, the pinkette affirmed at heart before Laila said.
Straighten her back, held her head high with pride and confidence, Sakura approached the waiting woman. She had come to meet with the woman who brought Sasuke to the world as his wife.
"You came," spoke the woman. "I thought you wouldn't."
Sakura didn't speak and prepared herself for an unwelcoming conversation as the woman initiated. It was obvious that she was being disliked. That figures. Especially when Laila so casually took a seat next to the woman; she is favoured.
The pinkette smirked at heart.
It's going to be a long day.
She was offered a seat and some tea but the conversation didn't quickly continue right after. There was a long period of silence with no introduction surprisingly when things were seemingly clear. The ladies watched the afternoon that passes while sipping warm beverages.
Sakura played along. Feeding herself with sweets with the right temperature of tea; she could enjoy this a bit even when there were better things to worry. The most surprising thing was that the atmosphere became rather relaxing.
Cheekily, the rosette peeked at the woman of dark hair;
She is a woman of elegance; lavished in white fur coat, she pulled it closer to warm herself from the chilling weather and sipped her tea from the brim with proper manners. The weather indeed has turned colder; Sakura had to stuff her hands in her pockets to warm them. It was silly of her to forget a pair of gloves.
"Cold?" said the woman. "I shall be more straightforward then."
At the end of her sentence, she retrieved a piece of paper that was in a well-kept envelope then set onto the table before sliding it across the table towards the petite female.
Application for Divorce
It is what it is and there is no mistake about what purpose this particular sheet is for.
Sakura's short brows knitted subsequently she shifted her gaze to look at the expressionless woman that faces her without wavering. The woman's dark irises were strict and decisive.
And in a much darker tone,
"Give up on Sasuke."
Alright! I think I went on an emotional roller coaster ride and there is drama!
Still, hope you enjoyed it!
Nothing much to add down here but…thanks for reading this chappie!
Hope to see some REVIEWS too! :D