Chapter 26

"Sakura…" he spoke softly when he got into the back of the SUV and found Sakura with her face buried in her hands and quietly crying.

She looked as if she had tried desperately to dry the hot tears as they had spilled down her cheeks, but failed miserably as he watched the makeup she had worked so hard on begin to smudge and smear. He felt awful. Angry. Disappointed that he let this all happen. He was the reason for her pain.

'Can't I go one week without her hurting because of me?'

"Sakura, I'm so sorry. It's not what you think, she launched herself at me. I was trying so hard to pull her off of me. She had to have done this on purpose." he explained.

Sakura jerked her head in his direction and shot him a death glare. Her usually happy and bright green eyes were glossed over and dark in the dim light of the back of the SUV. It felt like a stab to his heart seeing her so torn up like that.

"Shut up. I'm not going to discuss this with you right now." she snapped back at him.

Kakashi could only nod once in reply. She didn't want to argue in the back of a car with their driver there obviously listening in and he understood that reasoning. She also needed time to think. He needed to think too. He sank back in his spot with a defeated sigh and brought a hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose. The threat of a migraine lingered close by.

'This is not how I planned our first Valentine's to end up as… She trusted me and now that trust is probably shattered. I don't know what to do.'

He turned his head and looked over to find Sakura staring out the window. He caught brief glances of her reflections when they passed under streetlights and it only hurt him more. She looked so heartbroken and it was his fault.

'No. This is Ino's fault. Why the fuck would she do such a thing? She has nothing to gain… If anything she just ruined a multi million dollar investment. She knows we'd never get back together, but her insistent need to interfere and drive Sakura away is infuriating…'

The remaining car ride was spent in a tense and painful silence. He wanted to reach over to her. He wanted to hold her and kiss and apologize for everything and anything he could think of. He didn't want to see her cry anymore. Every so often he'd hear Sakura sniffle and it only cut him deeper each time she emitted the sound.

The moment they pulled into the parking garage and before they even came to a stop, Sakura was already out of the SUV and heading towards the elevator. Kakashi made quick work of keeping up with her as he had to practically jog to reach her.

'How can she move so fast in those heels?!'

"Sakura, can we please talk now?" he asked as they stood waiting for the elevator.

He only got silence in reply.

'Jesus. This isn't good.'

The ride up seemed to have taken longer than usual it felt like for Sakura. She knew she'd be sleeping in her old bed tonight. She just wanted to be alone right now. Away from life and the world.

Away from him.

The moment the elevator door opened she was already through the front doors of the apartment. He couldn't seem to get the idea that she wanted to be left alone. She wanted to get away from him before she said something she regretted.

"Saku-" Kakashi spoke the moment the door closed behind him, but she cut him off before he could finish saying her name.

All of that pent up anger she was feeling suddenly burst past the dam she built.

"How dare you!" she yelled as she whipped around to face him.

He opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He was too stunned by her outburst to say anything back. His face registering pure surprise.

"How dare you make a fool of me!" she continued yelling as she stepped towards him with an accusing finger, "What am I to you anyways?!"

Kakashi's face then twisted in confusion at her question. Acting as though she suddenly started speaking another language.

"What do you mean what are you? You're my girlfriend!"

Sakura felt the tears return and it only made her angrier. He wasn't understanding what she was trying to say. She knew he couldn't read her mind, but she wanted him to in this moment. It was only breaking her heart more as her emotions ran wild. Who knew being in love would cause this type of pain?

"Are you sure? Because usually boyfriends don't go around kissing other women, especially their fucking exes, when you have a girlfriend!" she bit out as she bent down and lifted a foot and carefully took off each heel. Her feet were killing her at this point, she still wasn't used to wearing heels for hours on end.

Kakashi took another step towards her when she stood back up. She clutched the heels in one hand to stop herself from pushing him away. Or punching him. She really wanted to lay him out right now.

"Sakura, I wasn't kissing her! She basically jumped me when I told her I didn't and would never have feelings for her again. Please, don't let her petty jealousy come between us!" he begged.

Sakura bit down on her tongue to really stop herself from saying something she'd regret. The internal conflict she was experiencing was like a hurricane. Knowing the promises he made to her and also knowing about his past lack of consistency and faithfulness to stay in a relationship for long caused her to question everything that left his mouth.

"Are you even taking us seriously? Or was that all sweet talk to just get what you wanted? Am I a joke to you?!" Sakura cried out while she wiped away the tears, silently noting she probably looked horrible now that her makeup was smeared, "Do you even love me or was that some lie to try and get in my pants?!"

Kakashi drew back at her questioning. He stared at her in disbelief. She obviously hit a sore spot for him. After a few seconds, a look of realization came over him and he shook his head a couple times at her before he furrowed his brow. He brought his hand back up and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Ino spoke to you, didn't she? That's why you wanted to leave suddenly. What did she say, Sakura?" he shot back, his tone suddenly angry, "What did she say to make you doubt me? You have never questioned my love before!"

Sakura stared at the man before her as she took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm herself down.

"It doesn't matter what she said at this point!" she yelled again, "I caught you two making out!"

"I wasn't fucking kissing her!" he suddenly yelled back as he threw his hands down.

Sakura flinched at his sudden volume. Nothing good was coming from this fight, they were just screaming at each other now. It was exactly what she feared when she wanted to get away from him for the night. This was only causing a bigger divide between them.

"You were probably planning to cast me off to the side once my assignment here was done anyways, right? You just figured you'd try to bang the bodyguard! You only care about yourself!" Sakura told him in a bitter tone, firmly standing her ground, "I knew all this coming into it and I still let you fool me! I'm the fool here! God, I am such a fool!"

Kakashi brought both hands up at this point and ran them through his messy hair with a loud groan. She couldn't help the mean things she was saying. Sakura knew they were unnecessary to say, but she wanted him to feel at least a fraction of the pain she was feeling right now.

"Sakura! I don't know what she said to you, but she only said it to get in your head! That's how she operates! Why do you think I left her?! She was a manipulator!"

She knew this was true, but her judgement was clouded right now. She just wanted him to answer her questions.

"Answer me, damn it! Is it true?"

The CEO dropped his hands and gave her a sad half smile as he shook his head and Sakura just felt her heart shatter at the sight.

'Oh, god…'

"You are different, Sakura! I never wanted this to be a fling from the start. You know this! I don't want to end this with you! Ever!" he explained, his voice breaking towards the end, "I have worked my ass off to prove to you that I'm serious! Don't let her get in your head. Please, for the love of god, don't let her win. I beg you, don't let five minutes of her manipulation ruin these months of me working so hard to prove that I love you, Sakura!"

More tears started as he stood there explaining himself. His words sounded so sincere, but she couldn't believe them. Nothing good ever came out of being in love. Nothing good came out of trusting others. Why would this be any different? Why did she think he would be any different?

"How am I supposed to believe you?" she whispered, "I don't know what to believe anymore when it comes to you."

"Because I love you, Sakura!" he yelled back at her, waving his hands in the air.

Sakura gasped at the passionate declaration and it only caused more tears and a new wave of anger to spread throughout her.

"That's your only reason? Because you love me? How fucking stupid do you think I am, Kakashi?! You told all of them other girls that because you know that's what we want to hear! Sweet talk us to get what you want and once you've used us up, we get tossed to the side like trash! I won't let you do that to me! I know my worth! I won't let you lie to me like this any longer!" she shouted.

Kakashi's brow furrowed further and his entire presence stiffened at her accusations. He stepped up to her, almost touching but not. Sakura could feel the warmth as it radiated off his body and she wanted to step away, to shove him away from her, but she was determined to stand her ground against him.

"No, I'm not lying. I have never told another woman I've loved them before, Sakura. You are the only woman I've ever loved like this. I don't know how I can further prove it to you because my track record doesn't help me at all. I just need you to believe me, Sakura. Trust me." Kakashi spoke so softly by the end that she had to strain her ears to catch his words.

Sakura looked straight ahead into his chest for a moment while she chewed her bottom lip. This was not how she wanted to end her night. It had been so perfect, almost like a fairytale. But this wasn't a fairytale. This was reality. And it hurt so much. She was a fool to trust him.

"I can't do this. This was a mistake, Kakashi." she whispered as she turned away from him and began walking towards her room, "I'm removing myself from this assignment effective immediately. You'll get a new bodyguard within a couple of days. I need to leave. I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry."

Sakura felt as a large hand grabbed ahold of her arm and forced her to stop walking. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. When Kakashi spoke she could clearly hear the pain he felt.

"Sakura, please don't do this…" he pleaded.

She let her head fall slightly as he begged to her. Why was he making her suffer more than she already was? Hadn't he done enough? Why couldn't he just let her go peacefully?

"It was too good to be true. There was no way this was going to work. I flew too close to the sun. I got hurt. Again." she spoke softly as the continuous tears fell freely onto the floor in front of her.

Sakura heard him suck in a breath and sniffle at her words. The sound of his voice was nothing like she heard before as he struggled to speak.

"Don't say that! This is nothing like that! I haven't betrayed you like that!"

She felt him tug her arm ever so slightly as he continued.

"Please… Don't make any rash decisions, Sakura."

She couldn't find her voice to reply to him. He tugged her arm slightly again as he spoke again.

"Sakura, please look at me." Kakashi whispered.

The pinkette took a deep breath before she stood up more and half turned to look at him. She gasped when her eyes focused in on his face. Kakashi had started crying himself at some point, granted not a profusely as she had been all night. She had never seen him cry before, not even when he experienced a horrible nightmare. This only caused her heart to break further.

"Please, think this out. I need you in my life, Sakura. I love you. So much. You love me too. Please reconsider? I'm not going to force you to stay, but I just want you to make absolutely sure that this is really what you want. Okay? Don't just throw this away."

She only nodded once in agreement as she stood there with no voice and she felt Kakashi's grip on her arm loosen before he reluctantly let go.

"Come and see me when you come to a decision." he added as he reached up and wiped away his own tears, "Whichever choice you make."

She just nodded again before turning away and walking down the hall, leaving him alone.

Five hours had passed since Sakura walked away from him to think about her decision to leave him or not. It was well after three in the morning and he couldn't sleep even if he wanted too. After she walked away and into her old bathroom, he made his way into his own room and showered before changing into his usual sweats and t-shirt.

He hadn't moved an inch since sitting down on the edge of the bed four hours prior once he dressed. Kakashi stared at the bed for a while after he entered the room. Staring at her side of the bed and the thought of her not sleeping there any longer made him feel like he would pass out. He stayed leant forward with his elbows resting on his knees once he sat down. His hands were clasped together tightly as he stared idly at the hardwood floor below.

Anxiety, worry, dread, sadness, and anger kept cycling through him at a rapid pace.

Kakashi thought he knew pain well at this point. He had lost his mother when he was five years old then watched his father die in his arms last July. Hell, the pain from his injuries and losing his eye didn't even compare to this. The pain he felt now at just the possibility that Sakura could really be leaving him hurt so much worse than he could have imagined. He never knew being in love could be so painful. He didn't even want to think about the pain that would ensue if she did decided to go and leave him and her assignment. He couldn't imagine life without her at this point.

He wanted to go and see her. Hold her. Kiss her. Tell her how much he loved her. He had never begged for anything in his life. But he was willing to drop down onto his knees and beg her to stay. He was that desperate. That desperately in love.

But, she needed this space. She didn't want to see him right now. And, he would respect that. He should've respected that from the beginning. She had obviously wanted to get away from him and think, but he was stubborn and wanted to deal with the situation then and there. The CEO feared he had fucked everything up for them.

Kakashi told her to take her time. To reconsider. Not to act rash on this. Think it over. It was a huge decision. Life changing. He told her to come to him when she had a solid answer. But when would that be? Would it be tomorrow? The day after? Or maybe a week from now? He only felt his anxiety flew through the roof at the uncertainty of this whole situation.

The sudden sound of a couple soft knocks on the door ripped him away from his thoughts. He stared at the door in disbelief.

'Oh, god.'

Another couple knocks.

"Kakashi? Are you awake?"

Kakashi shook his head when he heard her voice.

'Answer the door, you idiot!'

He shot off the bed and opened the door to find Sakura standing patiently outside. She had changed out of her dress and looked freshly showered. She was in a pair of fleece pajama pants and an old t-shirt that hung loose on her petite frame. She left her long pink hair down and it flowed freely around her slumped shoulders.

When they finally made eye contact, it pained him to see that she had still been crying until just recently and that her cheeks were red and swollen from the residual salt. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. He felt awful knowing he was the reason behind those tears.

"I made a choice." she whispered.

Kakashi held his breath as he mentally prepared himself for her answer.

A/N: Ow, my heart.

Please leave a review letting me know your feelings on this too. It took a lot out of me to even write this hence why I skipped last week so I could work more on it.

Thank you as always to Taytay95 for rocking the edits and helping me when I was struggling to find the words for this chapter.