A Secret Proposal Read online

  "Snow? Why do cherry blossoms fall?" he asked, gazing off at the millions of tiny pale pink petals raining on them.

  "They are tears of spring, Darce," she replied, smiling as she, too, gazed up at the swirling flowers that surrounded them. "They tell us spring is here. We're under this cherry blossom tree, Darce, and we are one."

  He chuckled, grabbed her hand that was still stroking his hair, and held it tight against his chest. "And we share the same thoughts."

  "Yes," she said. "We are one and we share the same thoughts."

  Darcy took a deep, shaky breath that shook him to his core. "Sakura," he said softly under his breath. "It's spring again, sweetheart."

  A few minutes later, he was at the indoor pool on the second floor of their private apartment. He stood on the diving platform, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then ran off the board and did a beautiful somersault in midair. He was flying and then falling and then splash!

  The moment he was in the water, he took control and swam faster, kicking his powerful legs and propelling his strong arms--racing as if he were being chased.

  In the water, he opened his eyes, and in his mind's eye, he saw the woman he loved drowning. He had to go to her. He had to save her. Sakura, he thought, I will save you.

  He flipped, kicked his legs against the wall, and then swam the other way, harder and faster, working his athletic body to the brink of exhaustion.

  When finally he was spent, he climbed out of the pool and sat on the edge, staring into space.

  "Hey," a voice said some moments later.

  Darcy jolted back to reality and looked up to see his older brother Sebastian standing beside him.

  "You're up early," Darcy said, flicking back his dark hair.

  "You're even earlier than I am," Sebastian replied, eyeing the exotic tattoo on Darcy's chest, right where his heart beat under his breastbone. Did Darcy really love Sakura so much to have a tattoo of something that would remind him of her on his chest?

  Sebastian hadn't been able to believe, still couldn't believe it in fact, that two brothers were falling in love with the same woman who had happened to run away from them.

  The brothers were silent as they stared into space, each in their own thoughts, both thinking about the same woman who had affected them so much. It was a companionable type of silence, and they both were comfortable with it.

  A moment later, Sebastian expertly dived into the water.

  Darcy watched as his brother swam toward the other side, stroking his powerful arms and kicking his strong legs. He watched Sebastian do a few more laps and decided he had enough and stood. He was heading toward the exit when he met Sosuke Suzuki, their new neighbor, coming in.

  "Ohayo," Sosuke greeted a good morning in Japanese.

  "Ohayo," Darcy replied, nodding his wet hair at the handsome Japanese man.

  Sosuke said, "You're early, Darcy-san. It is a Saturday after all."

  "It doesn't matter what day it is," Nicolas said from the door as he came in. "Darcy will always be up at five."

  Darcy glanced at his eldest brother. "Habit," he said. "See you at breakfast." Then he left them.

  After he had a nice, long shower, Darcy turned on his laptop and started working on his new project. By eight o'clock, he had completed what he planned to get done and headed out the door into the spacious living area of the apartment where all the brothers gathered for meals and entertainment.

  Once Darcy was in the dining area, he noted Nicolas, Sebastian, Hayden, and Conrad were already there, drinking their standard coffee, made by Beth, their housekeeper, and eating their breakfast.

  Darcy took a chair beside Conrad and poured himself a cup of black coffee.

  "I'm starving," Tristan said a moment later. He slid into a seat and then proceeded to help himself to the perfectly cooked toast sitting in the middle of the table.

  "Morning," Logan murmured as he came in, his hair all sticking out everywhere like he'd just had an electric shock coursing through his body. He took the chair next to Tristan and then poured himself a cup of coffee.

  "Ugh!" he made a sound after swallowing a mouthful. "This is disgusting. I wish Sakura was here!"

  The moment he said it, he wanted to punch himself in the face, for his brothers had stopped what they had been doing and were now looking at him.

  "Shit!" he swore under his breath. He shouldn't have said her name. He knew it hurt them--all of them--and more so for Sebastian, Darcy, and Conrad, who loved Sakura dearly.

  Conrad groaned depressingly and turned his attention to his black coffee, wishing there was the art of a swan, or better yet, an attempted ugly dragon that looked more like a teddy bear gone seriously wrong on it. He'd preferred that than this mug of mud-like coffee Beth had made for them, even if with love.

  "It's been a year," he said softly. "I can't believe we still haven't found her."

  "She might have changed her name," Nicolas put in logically, his finger furiously typing away on the tablet.

  "She probably doesn't want us to find her," Hayden said. "Considering what happened last spring."

  "I wouldn't blame her," Logan said. "She knew it was Alaina and Tara who were behind the whole thing, making Kate go all mental and attack her."

  The brothers had known all along it had been Tara and Alaina. And Sakura herself could have died if the brothers hadn't happened to be there surfing and seen her falling off the cliff into the raging sea below.

  "On a brighter note, there's the fashion show today," Tristan said cheerfully. "There will be models."

  "To flirt with," Hayden put in sourly.

  "Just as long as you don't bring them into this house, I'm fine with it," Nicolas said, staring at Tristan meaningfully.

  Though Nicolas had said that, he knew for a fact neither Tristan nor Logan had been sleeping around like before. In fact, they'd been rather cautious with the women they picked to bed nowadays. Perhaps they were beginning to settle down in their Casanova ways after all.

  "This is a no-female zone," Conrad said. "The only females who can enter are Mom, Grandmother, and Sakura, if we ever find her."

  "Cheer up, young pup," Tristan said, smiling. "We'll find her." He turned to Nicolas then. "Are you sure that bloody private detective you hired is actually working to find Sakura and not just taking your check and running off for a good holiday?"

  Nicolas put down his tablet and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'm sure. Detective Osborn is very good at what he does, or so I've heard."

  "Or so you've heard," Logan said. "God, this is beginning to annoy me. Where the hell is she?"

  "Be patient," Nicolas said. "Finding missing people isn't easy."

  "Especially missing people who want to stay missing," Tristan said. "She must really hate our guts."

  Darcy glanced at Tristan and scowled darkly. If she really hated their guts, then why had she left them notes? Why had she left him a note telling him she loved him? No, Darcy would never believe that. He was sure she'd been confused, perhaps was still confused even now, about her feelings.

  Then there was also the fact about Alaina and Tara, who had always wanted to hurt her despite them being adopted siblings. And Sakura, being the nice one, hadn't wanted the family to take sides and cause any more conflicts and had decided to leave. Yes, that had been the reason. He knew it in his gut.

  Now, if only they could find her, then everything would be right again. But then, he thought, would everything really be right again? Especially when both he and Sebastian were so in love with her? Darcy knew for certain Sebastian would never, ever give her up. But what about Darcy himself? Would he give Sakura up for Sebastian? Would he rather suffer losing the woman he loved to his brother?

  He didn't know.

  He stood and said to his brothers, "I'm going to my loft. See you guys at the hotel this afternoon."

  He was just at the door when Sebastian stopped him. "I need a favor."

  "What?"

  "Sinc
e you're going to Soho, could you pick up a painting from Tanaka's Gallery? Luke will be too busy this morning to pick it up," Sebastian said.

  "Yeah, no problem. What's the address?" Darcy asked.

  "Actually, I've never been there myself," Sebastian said, sliding off his chair. "I'll get the invoice. It has the address on it."

  "Sure," Darcy said, following after his brother.

  Some twenty-five minutes later, Darcy was in Soho, driving along a secluded street in his sleek black Ferrari. It was quite busy, and to Darcy's annoyance, he found he had to stop many times in traffic. He was running late and just about had enough when he noticed he was on the street where Tanaka Gallery was located. He rolled down his side window and had a quick scan of the buildings. He found the gallery to his left-hand side, not too far. He noted the gallery itself was rather interesting, though it wasn't yet opened for the day.

  Something bright flickered past his eyes. He blinked and then looked up. He found it was from some crystal chandelier by the window on the top floor. The morning sunlight flashed onto the crystals, causing sparks of light to reflect off them and onto him.

  "Beautiful," he murmured under his breath. That was when he saw somebody walking past the window. He could see long hair and a slender figure. It was odd he couldn't take his eyes off the silhouette of the woman, because since Sakura had left them, and until this very moment, he'd never really paid any attention to women in general. Why did he find her so interesting? Even though he couldn't see her in full view? Even though he couldn't see her face?

  Beep! Beep! Beep!

  Darcy jumped. He hastily turned his attention from the woman to look around him and realized the light had changed to green. He closed the tinted window as he muttered, "Shit!" under his breath. Then he stepped his foot on the accelerator and sped away.

  *

  CHAPTER 4

  A Chance Encounter

  It is beautiful, Sakura thought as she gazed at the bright rainbows that formed from the crystal chandelier by the window as sunlight shone on it, causing it to sparkle everywhere in her bedroom. She reached her hand out in midair as if to catch them. The prism of colors appeared on her pale skin instead.

  "Another beautiful spring day," she said softly.

  She turned her face to her right to look at the alarm clock on her bedside table and noted it was nearing nine in the morning. Suddenly, her stomached flipped.

  Today was the day she'd get to see her biological mother, the woman named Haruka Tanaka, the woman who worked as an assistant to the famous Japanese designer Mr. Tachibana. The thought made her smile. Finally, after one full year of searching and waiting, she was able to meet her.

  Toby, her West Highland white terrier, nestled his head into her arms, seeking attention. She laughed.

  "Good morning, Toby. I'm sorry I won't be home until late this evening. I have important business to attend to. And don't you be naughty and bother Ned too much, all right?"

  The dog cocked his head to one side and gave out a friendly bark. She stroked his head fondly. Toby stuck out his tongue and licked her. Sakura chuckled. "That tickles!"

  A moment later, after she'd given her beloved dog his deserved attention, she went into the adjoining bathroom to shower. After she'd finished, her person still dripping wet and wrapped in the thick, fluffy white towel, she stared at herself in the mirror.

  The Sakura Tanaka gazing back at her now looked nothing like the Sakura Princeton one year ago. This Sakura had hair the color of dusty corn and eyes so deep and dark brown that one could almost call it black. The shape of her face, too, had changed dramatically. It was slimmer and more defined, marking her maturity. Her lips, however, were still as red and as plump as ever.

  Slowly, she put in the contact lenses. She knew people thought her a bit weird for wearing two different colors, but she didn't care because she had her own reasons for doing so. One was because they hid her eyes--and therefore her emotion--and her true identity from the world. The other was more personal. The two colors represented the two men she loved dearly, the two men she couldn't have in her life.

  Her left eye was an azure blue, which represented the summer and the day, just like the man she loved, Sebastian Princeton. He was her day, her light, and he'd always been there to protect her. The other was a mauve-grey, which represented the winter and the night, just like Darcy Princeton, the other man she loved. He was like the moon to her, shining so bright when night came, showing her the way through life in the dark, secretly giving her the support and love she so cherished.

  Her heart ached at the thought of them, at the thought of their love for her. But she could never accept their love because in doing so, she would be selfish. She wasn't worthy of their love. So far, she'd only brought them heartache and sorrow. And she never, ever wanted that for them.

  Casting aside the thought of the two men, she quickly got dressed in her powdered peach-color pleated maxi skirt and lace embroidered blouse of a similar color. Then she put on her makeup. A few moments later, she gazed at herself; her lashes were long and dark, her cheeks tinted with peachy blush, and her lips rosy. She was ready.

  She came back into her bedroom, walked past the window toward the antique mahogany chest-of-drawers, and retrieved a pair of peach gemstone earrings. She was just finished putting the earrings in when she heard loud beeps from outside the window. Curious, she took a few steps back and had a peek. She saw a sleek black Ferrari speeding off.

  She shook her head. "Rich boy too busy daydreaming," she chuckled softly under her breath.

  A few moments later, she rushed into the dining room in her beige round-toe pumps and made herself a quick breakfast of toast and coffee. As she was eating, her phone beeped. She picked it up and noted it was from Jane.

  "Hey," she said into the phone. "Are you heading over already?"

  "Yeah," Jane said. "Got to be there early. Lots to do. Be there in a minute, okay?"

  "Okay," Sakura replied. Once she'd hung up, she quickly downed her coffee, grabbed her bag, and then rushed out.

  She came into the gallery located on the ground floor of their building a moment later.

  "Running off again, are we?" Ned said from the other side of the counter.

  Sakura chuckled. "Yes, Jane's coming."

  "I do hope you realize it's the Princeton Hotel you're going to?" Ned asked gently.

  Sakura nodded. "I know that, and I also know for sure I'd never see them. Or rather, they'd never see me." Then she turned herself around as if to show Ned she no longer looked like the Sakura Princeton she'd been before. "See? I have blond hair. Well, at least I think it's blond. Also, different colored eyes."

  "Which I think is odd," Ned countered.

  Sakura ignored him. "Ned, dear, please try to understand it's my mother Haruka I'm going to see. I mean, I just want a peek."

  "I know what you mean, Sakura," Ned said. "Just be careful."

  "Of course I'll be careful, Ned. And please be a dear and look after Toby for me while I'm gone."

  "Of course," Ned replied, giving her a smile.

  "Morning," a voice said from the doorway.

  Sakura turned to see Melissa Williams, her sales assistant, heading toward them.

  "Where are you going?" Melissa asked, her eyes on Sakura, noting the perfect makeup, the pretty though rather too conservative clothing, and the handbag. "Not a party, I hope."

  Sakura frowned. "No, not a party," she replied. Then she turned to Ned. "Please don't forget to walk Toby this morning. Otherwise, he'll be really agitated when I get back."

  "A whole day out, eh?" Melissa asked. "You're going out quite a bit lately, aren't you?"

  Sakura frowned again. What was with Melissa? She was always being so nosy. Gosh, she wished she hadn't hired the woman in the first place. There was that something about her that Sakura just didn't trust or like.

  Jane bustled in then, her blond hair flying around everywhere, her glasses haphazardly perched on her nose. Melissa snorte
d and wanted to laugh out loud at Jane's unpleasant appearance. Sakura noticed and scowled darkly at the assistant.

  "Hey, Ned," Jane greeted, nudging up her glasses.

  "Morning, Jane," Ned replied. "Look after that one, won't you? She could be quite wild and get into all sorts of mess. Should keep her under lock and chain, if you ask me."

  Lock and chain? On Sakura? Not a bad idea, Melissa thought. That one deserved to be imprisoned in a dark cell where no man would ever be able to lay eyes on her.

  Yes, Melissa was envious of Sakura Tanaka. So envious in fact that sometimes she couldn't even stand the thought of standing next to the oriental beauty.

  Sakura said, "If I'm wild, then it's all your fault." She turned to Jane. "Let's go. I don't want you to be late for work."

  Jane nodded and said farewell to Ned, ignoring Melissa completely. As they headed out of the gallery into the beautiful spring morning outside, Jane said, "I don't like your sales assistant."

  Sakura replied lightly, "Me either. But I had no choice at the time, since Megan left three months ago. I hope she'll be back soon. I miss her."

  "Me, too," Jane said. "I miss her cakes more, though."

  Sakura laughed. "You and your cakes."

  Jane giggled and nudged her glasses up her nose again.

  Sakura noticed and said, "You know, you always look so uncomfortable wearing your glasses. Why don't you go see an optometrist and ask for contacts instead?"

  Jane raised her hand for a taxi. "I do have contacts," she said as the car came to a stop before them. The girls slid in and put on their seatbelts.

  "Then why don't you wear them?" Sakura couldn't help asking.

  Jane turned to the driver and told him where to go and then turned back to her friend. "You think I should?"

  "You have beautiful eyes, Jane. You should show them off more often."

  "Really?" Jane wasn't so sure about that.

  "Thanks for letting me tag along," Sakura said.

  "Thanks for offering to help," Jane replied.

  Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the Princeton Hotel, and the girls couldn't help gasping in awe. People! There were people everywhere. People going in and coming out of the hotel, staff going about their jobs, backstage people lifting equipment from trucks, etc. It was loud and noisy and very busy.