“Take care,” Sakura said, hugging Jane tightly as they stood in front of the house at dawn. Meanwhile, Luke, Mr. Tachibana, and Ms. Ruka were busy putting their luggage into the trunk of the taxi.
“You, too, Sakura,” Jane said. “Take care and have fun on the rest of your vacation. When I see you again in New York, I expect you to be refreshed.”
Sakura chuckled. “Yes.”
A few moments later, after a series of farewells, take cares, and good-byes from Sakura and James, the four people hopped into the taxi and disappeared from view.
Beside her, Daddy James pulled Sakura into his arms and then kissed her forehead. “Did you have a good sleep last night?”
Sakura nodded. “Yes, I did. I didn’t know I was that tired.”
“It was a full-on two days for you.” He looked at her, noting her pale face and the dark circles under her eyes. “Hmm. You should go back to bed to get some more sleep,” he suggested.
Sakura shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m wide awake now anyway. Besides, I still haven’t packed, and we’re going to St. Thomas Island this afternoon, too. I better get myself ready and everything.”
James said, “In that case, how about you come into my office and we can have a cup of coffee and a little chat before breakfast?”
Sakura chuckled. “Good idea. I feel like I haven’t talked to you properly for ages.”
“Me, too,” James said. “I feel like I haven’t talked to you or had your delicious homemade coffee in ages.”
Sakura laughed. She couldn’t help herself. So he was in pursuit of her homemade coffee, after all, which both pleased and amused her.
James tightened his arms around her fondly as they headed back into the holiday house. After Sakura had made them each a cup of her special coffee, they headed to James’s study at the back of the mansion.
Inside, Sakura took a seat on the sofa, while James went about retrieving his tablet. Sipping her hot coffee, she eyed him with interest.
When James came to sit beside her, she asked, “What’s that for?” She nodded at the tablet in his hands.
“Important information you need to know,” he said.
Sakura felt her stomach flipping instantly. She thought the man looked too serious for her liking.
After he had made himself comfortable on the sofa, James began. “Sakura, I’m sorry to suddenly do this to you when you’ve just finished with the modeling work and you’re tired, but there’s no way around it. This is important.”
Sakura watched her adoptive father for a moment. Then she nodded. “No. That’s fine. I understand.”
She suddenly had the feeling that this had something to do with Mrs. Clark, because otherwise, he wouldn’t look so solemn.
“So what is it?” she asked.
James was silent as he handed her the tablet.
Sakura looked at it for a moment, fearful of what that gadget would reveal. Then she put her coffee cup on the table and grabbed for the tablet. Scrolling through the files, she noted they were mostly background information about Mrs. Clark—who the woman had been and what she had done in the past.
“Mrs. Byrd,” she said a moment later, remembering the woman who used to be the headmistress of Queen Mary Orphanage, the woman who used to bully and torment Sakura when she had been a child.
“That’s right, Mrs. Byrd,” James said. “The woman who burnt down the orphanage and left you for dead eighteen years ago.”
Sakura stared long and hard at the photo of Mrs. Clark on the screen. For sure, the woman hadn’t changed much in terms of physical appearance. She still had that slightly plump face, thin, sharp nose, and small, beady eyes Sakura remembered so clearly.
“Fraud, tax evasion, and voluntary manslaughter,” she said under her breath.
James nodded. “The police are after her.”
Sakura raised her eyes to him then. “Does that mean she’s on the run?”
James nodded again. “My private investigator found out she bought plane tickets to Hawaii.”
Sakura absorbed this information silently while her heart pounded loudly in her chest. “Tickets. Hawaii.” She licked her dry lips. “She’s coming here? Why?”
“Your brothers and I assume it’s to get to you.”
Suddenly, Sakura felt her body go cold with trepidation. “To get to me,” she said under her breath. “Why me?”
“You’re a witness to the arson eighteen years ago at Queen Mary Orphanage and possibly more. Though you were small and wouldn’t likely have understood what you saw.”
Sakura felt as though her brain had gone numb. She shook her head as she said, “So Mrs. Clark is coming here to get to me? Just because I was a witness to the fire eighteen years ago at the orphanage.”
James wrapped his arms around her as he said, “Don’t worry. We won’t let her get to you.”
Sakura raised her gaze to him and noted the warmth of his silver-gray eyes radiating out to her. “I’m sorry I bothered you and your sons again.”
James chuckled. “That’s what family does, Sakura. And your brothers, they care about you. They’ll do anything to protect you.”
Brothers. The word sounded rather odd in her ears this time. Yes, the Princeton brothers were her adopted brothers, after all.
A moment later, James scrolled down the file until there was a picture of a man. When Sakura saw the image, she gasped. “Him!”
James nodded. “Darcy said he was harassing you yesterday.”
“Yes, that’s right. He was harassing me yesterday when I was alone,” she said. “I first met him on the second day we were here, when I was out walking along the beach with Michael. He was very insistent in getting to know me.” She frowned. “But why is his image here? With Mrs. Clark’s information?”
Even though she asked, deep down she knew this man was related to Mrs. Clark somehow.
James said, “His name is Ray Woods. He’s Mrs. Clark’s right-hand man.”
“Oh.” Sakura felt her body shiver in dread. “So he was stalking me to get close to me and…”
James said, “If you happen to see him again, stay clear of him, Sakura. He’s not to be trusted. He’s dangerous. From now on, we’ll make sure you’re with one of the brothers at all times or at least with another member of family and friends, as a safety precaution.”
Sakura nodded, feeling a full-on headache coming.
James noticed her troubled face and hugged her tight. He could feel her body shaking in trepidation, and his heart went out to her. The thought that such despicable people would go out of their way to hurt his adopted daughter infuriated him. Despite that he was a powerful man with great influence, there were limitations to what he could do legally. And the best thing they could do now was to get a private detective to dig deep into Mrs. Clark’s past and hunt down the woman, while keeping Sakura safe.
When he noticed her finally calming down, he asked, “Are you okay now?”
Sakura gave him a weak smile. “I think I need that extra sleep, after all,” she admitted, feeling rather exhausted once again. God, she just wanted to crawl into her bed and sleep forever. She simply wanted to forget about Mrs. Clark, this Ray Woods, and the danger she knew was lurking behind her. She wished they all would just disappear and leave her in peace.
James said, “Good idea. We’re not leaving until this afternoon anyway, so sleep to your heart’s content.”
That made Sakura chuckle. Then a few minutes later, she left. As she was walking up the stairs, her mind was on Mrs. Clark and Ray Woods.
Why did things turn out this way? Why couldn’t that woman just leave me be?
“Sakura.”
Sakura raised her head at the sound of Darcy’s voice. The moment her eyes met his, she felt her knees weaken. Suddenly, she just wanted to lean on him for support and be embraced by him.
Darcy came to stand in front of her, noting her pale face and tired eyes. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.
Sakura eagerly buried her face against his chest and just let everything go. At the moment, she didn’t want to think about her past or Mrs. Clark and this Ray Woods. She just wanted to forget about everything and go to sleep.
Darcy inhaled her sweet scent as he kissed her forehead. “You okay?” he asked softly.
Sakura whispered, her voice weak with emotion that was threatening to overwhelm her, “I think so.”
Darcy noticed and said, “That doesn’t sound convincing at all.”
That made her chuckle. “I’m trying my hardest to make it sound convincing.”
He moved back a little and then gently cupped her face in his hands. “Hey, everything’s going to be okay.”
She furrowed her brow. “You sound too convincing for my liking.”
Darcy gave her a dashing smile. “That’s my job, isn’t it, as your future boyfriend?”
Sakura wasn’t listening to him. Her head was pounding now, and she groaned in pain. “What did you say? Sorry, my head is pounding.”
Darcy noticed her pained expression and said, “Forget about it. How about taking some aspirin and then sleeping?”
Sakura nodded. “I will. Daddy James suggested that, too.”
Darcy cocked his head to one side. “Have you just seen Dad?”
She nodded. “He told me about Mrs. Clark and Ray Woods, the man from yesterday.”
Darcy said, “I see. We found out about them last night.”
She released a big sigh. “It looks like I’m putting you all through trouble again.”
“Sakura, it’s fine. That’s what family is for.”
She nodded, unconvinced. “I guess so.”
He noted her doubtful look and said, “Sakura, sweetheart, you can trust us to be by your side. I know our past hasn’t been the best, considering what we did to you when we were kids, but…” He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “That’s all changed now. You’re important to us. I doubt any of us will be the same again, and you, darling, won’t you promise not to do anything silly again?”
Sakura cocked her head to one side. “Me? Doing silly things?”
He chuckled. “Like running away, thinking it’s the best option to deal with problems.”
Her face reddened at the reminder. But of course, she had done that a year ago, hadn’t she? Escaping and hiding, thinking it was the only solution to her problems.
She nodded. “I promise, Darcy. I won’t run away again. It’ll only hurt everyone, myself included.”
“Good girl. That’s what I want to hear.” He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.
Sakura sighed, thinking how wonderful Darcy was to her. Of course, it was no coincidence that he used to be her best friend when they were children.
When he moved back, he said, “Now then, how about those aspirin and sleep? You’re safe here in the house with everyone around.”
She nodded in agreement. “Yes, my headache seems to be getting worse by the second.” She took a step back, and before heading off, she said, “See you this afternoon, then.”
He nodded. “Yes. Have a good sleep.”
With that, they parted ways, and Sakura headed back into her bedroom.