Falling For Sakura: A Secret Proposal (Part 1) (35 page)

“She’s not real,” she said softly to herself. “She can’t be real. I was hallucinating.” But even as she said that, she knew she wasn’t hallucinating. She knew for certain Mrs. Byrd was still alive. She’d just met the woman yesterday.
 

Toby sensed her disquiet and awoke, his eyes large with concern. He came to her and begged to be hugged. Sakura obliged and embraced her dog tight against her chest as she lay there under the thickness and warmness of her duvet. So unlike eighteen years ago.
 

“Thank you for being with me all these years,” she said to the pup. If it hadn’t been for Toby, it would be just like all those nights, sleeping alone and crying her heart out after the nightmares.
 

Toby rubbed his head against her chest, telling her it was his pleasure.
 

“What am I going to do, Toby?” she said. “She’s back, and I know nothing good is going to come of this.”
 

The dog whimpered and licked her chin.
 

“I can’t let her get away, Toby. I just can’t. I’m not that child anymore. I won’t let her scare me. I won’t let her torture me anymore.” She chuckled brokenly. “She’s a bitch and a child abuser. Who knows what else she could be?”
 

She rolled on her back and stared up at the ceiling, wondering how she’d go about dealing with this new information. Mrs. Byrd’s presence and crimes needed to be brought to the attention of the police, and the incident of eighteen years ago needed to be investigated properly. But would the police believe her? She’d merely been a seven-year-old little girl at the time. It would be her word against Mrs. Byrd’s if it were to be brought public.
 

Sakura rolled to her side again, conflicted. Suddenly, she sat up, her mind reeling with dread.
 

“I know she recognized me,” she said under her breath. And of course, Sakura had no doubt the woman would do her worst to make sure Sakura kept her mouth shut.
 

Suddenly, she just didn’t feel safe anymore, not even in Lady Haruka’s apartment with the Princeton brothers one floor above.
 

She sat up, searched for her cell phone near her bedside table, and dialed the number that belonged to the man she knew she could trust.
 

“Hello?”
came James Princeton’s voice.
 

Sakura heard Brenda’s voice in the distance.
“Honey, who is it at this time of night?”
 

Sakura took a deep breath, hoping like hell she didn’t sound like she wasn’t going to die any second now. She didn’t manage that. Her voice came out shaky.
“Daddy James? I need to talk to you. Can I come see you now?”
 

A short pause and then he replied,
“Sure. I’ll come pick you up.”
 

“No. No,” Sakura said quickly. “That’s all right. I’ll take a taxi. I’ll be there soon.”
 

She was about to hang up when James said,
“Sakura, sweetheart? Be careful.”
 

“Yes, I will,” she replied and then hung up. Quickly, she slipped out of bed and got dressed in a pair of jeans and a warm pullover. Then she grabbed her bag and keys and silently headed out toward the door.
 

Toby rushed quietly after her, not wanting to be left alone. She sighed. “Fine, but behave yourself, all right?”
 

Toby licked her chin in reply. Before she departed, she wrote a note for Lady Haruka that she was out on a personal errand in case she was late and the woman got worried about her. That done, she locked the door and rushed to the elevator.
 

Outside the building, she signaled for a taxi and instructed the driver to take her to Princeton Hotel. Some twenty minutes later, she headed in through the front door. She was about to greet the sole receptionist there when James, still in his pajamas and robe, called out to her.
 

Sakura rushed into his open arms and buried her face against his chest, Toby between them. James stroked her head fondly, and once Sakura lifted her face to look at him, he felt his gut wrench with sickness. He’d seen her looking like that many times when she’d been young. It was usually after the nightmare.
 

He tightened his arms around her and said, “Come on. Let’s get you comfortable.”
 

At Sakura’s nod, he led her into the elevator. Not long afterward, they reached the top floor and headed into the penthouse. Brenda greeted Sakura by pulling the girl into her arms. Husband and wife understood something had happened; otherwise, Sakura wouldn’t have come to them at such an hour.
 

Once Sakura was comfortably sitting on the sofa, a hot chocolate in hand, James began. “Tell us.”
 

Sakura turned her gaze from her hot drink, which had soothed her a little, to her adoptive father.
 

James was stroking Toby, who was comfortably asleep on his lap.
 

“I saw Mrs. Byrd,” she said softly.
 

James and Brenda looked at each other. Then Brenda said, “Are you sure, sweetheart?”
 

Sakura nodded.
 

“But she was killed in the fire that burned the orphanage,” Brenda stated, confused.
 

Sakura put her mug on top of the coffee table and sighed. “There’s something I haven’t told you.” She added, “Haven’t told anyone.”
 

James watched her carefully. “You can trust us, sweetheart.”
 

Tears suddenly brewed in Sakura’s eyes and flowed down her cheeks. Brenda rushed over and pulled the girl into her arms.
 

“You can trust us,” she said.
 

Sakura nodded and lifted her head. She wiped the tears away with the back of her sleeve and began her tale.
“That night eighteen years ago, when the orphanage burned down, I was there and saw everything.”
 

James and Brenda once again looked at each other, their faces sick with concern.
 

“I had the nightmare,” Sakura said. “I was cold and then I was thirsty. I thought it was very late and no one would see me just get a glass of milk.” She swallowed, for to speak of that night again really hurt her. It just reminded her so much of the pain she’d been through.
 

“I saw her pouring gasoline…”
 

Sakura had a faraway look in her eyes as she recited her horrid experience that night, and by the time she finished, her whole body was shaking.
 

Brenda hugged her tight and said to her husband, “James, we need to investigate.”
 

James nodded.
 

“Sakura,” Brenda said. “You need to rest. Come along. You can stay in one of our spare bedrooms.”
 

Sakura wiped her tears and nodded.
 

“I’ll inform Lady Haruka you’ll be staying here with us for a few days.”
 

“Thanks,” Sakura said. She came over and kissed James on the cheek before heading out the door, Brenda following close behind.
 

In the spare bedroom, Brenda switched on the bedside lamp and then turned down the duvet, getting it ready for her daughter. Sakura hugged the woman, thanking her for her love and help.
 

Brenda patted her shoulder. “Sleep and we’ll figure this out together in the morning.”
 

Sakura nodded. Once Brenda left her alone, she pulled down her jeans and then took of her jumper and
bra. In just her panties and tank top, she climbed into bed and closed her eyes. Not a moment later, her exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep.
 

Back in the living area, James sat on the sofa with Toby on his lap as he looked up at his wife.
 

“James,” Brenda said, “I believe Sakura, and I’m scared for her. What if Mrs. Byrd does something horrible? I mean, that night, James—Sakura was only a child.”
 

James took his wife’s hand into his to comfort her. “She’ll be safe here with us.”
 

“What are we going to do?”
 

“We need to find out about Mrs. Byrd,” James said.
 

“I doubt she still uses that name,” Brenda said logically. “From what Sakura has told us, it sounds like she wanted to disappear.”
 

“Yes, she no doubt adopted another name after that night.”
 

“What about Tara?” Brenda queried. “Do you think she knows about her mother?”
 

“I don’t know, love,” James replied honestly.
 

Brenda frowned. “I’m scared. If Tara does know about her mother, I don’t want Alaina anywhere near those two.”
 

“Then we’ll have to work on bringing her back,” James said.
 

Brenda nodded. “How are we going to do that?”
 

“I’m sorry, love, but you’re the only one Alaina has kept in touch with.”
 

Again, Brenda nodded. “And what about Mrs. Byrd?”
 

“I know some people who could help us,” he said, smiling. “Now go to bed, and I’ll deal with this.”
 

Brenda nodded and got up. She kissed her husband on the lips before heading out the door.
 

Alone, James picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. As he stroked Toby, a voice came through.
“Hello?”
 

James smiled. “Erick, it’s me.”
 

“Ah, Mr. Princeton. What can I do for you, sir?”
 

“Do you remember that case about the orphanage fire eighteen years ago on St. Joseph Island?”
 

“The one you asked me to investigate all those years ago and nothing came up?”
 

“Yes, that one. I have a witness who has seen the woman named Mrs. Margaret Byrd.”
 

“What? But that’s impossible, sir. There’s a record of her death certificate. She died in that fire.”
 

“Well, this important witness says otherwise. She was one of the girls in the orphanage. She lived with Mrs. Byrd for seven years. She wouldn’t forget a person she knew so well.”
 

“Hum, I’ll look into it, sir. Anything else?”
 

“Yes, I have a feeling her daughter, Tara Byrd, knows about this. Get someone to follow her. She might just lead you to the woman in question.”
 

James heard Erick, his private investigator, laugh.
“Sure thing. Will do that.”
 

“Please get back to me as soon as possible. This is urgent,” James said.
 

“Of course, sir,”
Erick replied.
“All right, then. Will keep in touch.”
 

“Good,” James said and hung up.
 

James rested his head against the back of the sofa and sighed. Toby woke at that moment and looked up at him in question.
 

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you something to eat.”
 

The pup barked in agreement and jumped out of his lap eagerly.
 

* * * * *

A Promise of Protection

Sebastian wasn’t behaving like himself since yesterday afternoon, and the rest of his brothers noticed. He looked deep in thought and more than a little concerned about something that was eating at him. Naturally, the brothers wanted to know why.
 

“You look like you’re worried you couldn’t save the world,” Tristan said across the table. “Come out with it, Superman. What’s bothering you?”
 

Sebastian diverted his attention from his smartphone, a dark frown on his face. Still no reply from Sakura. The fact was her reaction yesterday made him feel sick with worry. She’d looked like she’d seen a ghost. God, how he wanted to protect her and make her feel safe. Above all, he wanted her to trust him. He wanted her to tell him what she was so afraid of that made her react the way she had.
 

“It’s Sakura,” he said.
 

“What’s wrong with her?” Darcy asked from the other side of the table.
 

Sebastian noted the concerned look on Darcy’s face and the worried tremor in his voice.
 

“She didn’t look well.”
 

“What did Dave say was wrong with her?” Logan voiced beside him.
 

“Iron deficiency,” Sebastian replied.
 

“Pretty common in young women,” Nicolas stated from the head of the table.
 

“If you ask me, Sakura just simply doesn’t eat right. She needs a man to take good care of her,” Beth commented. She placed another plate of toast on the table. “Ah, poor girl. She’s been through so much.”
 

Conrad nodded. “I’ll volunteer to take care of her.”
 

Tristan chuckled. “Bro, you’re the baby of the house. First earn your place in the world and then think about trying to take care of a woman.”
 

Conrad pulled a face. “As if you can do better. Can’t even use a potato peeler.”
 

Logan tried to hide his chuckle but failed miserably. He ended up laughing, which annoyed Tristan.
 

Hayden looked heavenward and said, “So she has iron deficiency. But why are you so worried?”
 

“She looked like she saw a ghost yesterday. Her reaction scared me. It still makes me sick with worry thinking about it.”
 

“How about we drop by and ask how she is before going to work?” Conrad suggested.
 

“Don’t be rude,” Tristan muttered. “You can’t just knock on Lady Haruka’s door and barge in to see how Sakura is doing.”
 

“Sure can,” Conrad said, glaring at his brother.