Sebastian and his brothers didn’t miss the tears that seemed to swell quite quickly within Haruka’s eyes. She couldn’t help herself and dabbed her eyes with the back of her sleeves.
“I’m sorry. Something is in my eyes,” she said quickly as she got up. “Please excuse me.”
She left the room in a hurry as the brothers watched her go.
Akira said, “Excuse me,” and then followed her aunt out of the room.
Sosuke said, “Please enjoy the meal. Oba-chan isn’t feeling very well lately.”
The brothers nodded and continued with their meals. It was half an hour later when the brothers thanked Haruka for lunch and left.
“She was crying,” Conrad said as they walked up the stairs back to the fourth-floor apartment.
“Sosuke said she isn’t well lately,” Logan supplied. “She’s probably just tired.”
Sebastian, however, wasn’t convinced. He’d seen the look on her face when they mentioned Sakura’s name. Then there had been last night in the conference room, when she’d asked about Sakura and how she was related to them. Something was nagging at him, and he knew he had to find out. It was just his nature.
Back at the apartment, Beth made them coffee and chocolate cake for afternoon tea. None of the brothers bothered with coffee or cake, since they were so full from their recent lunch. They headed straight to work, discussing last night and Sakura. It was half an hour later when the request Nicolas had put through to his team came back via email.
“We’ve got it,” he said loudly.
Darcy, who was sitting on the sofa, quickly got up and rushed over to Nicolas.
“Put it up on the big screen,” Sebastian said.
Hayden pulled down the white screen whilst Logan prepared the projector. Tristan quickly shut all the curtains in the room to darken the place.
Nicolas opened the file and pushed the play button. In seconds, the white screen lit up with flicks of the fashion show from last night. The brothers watched intensely, looking for any clues that could help them find Sakura.
On screen, there were images of the show hall, with people everywhere. There were backstage staff going about doing their thing, and in the corridors, there were guests walking about.
“We have to go backstage,” Sebastian said.
Nicolas nodded and fast-forwarded until they came to the backstage scene. Thank goodness for the cameramen they had hired for the occasion and for Hayden to have suggested the idea there might be shots of Sakura there somewhere early that morning.
It was at the backstage scene they found Jane directing many of staff under her.
“Isn’t that Luke’s sister?” Conrad asked Sebastian.
“Hmm.” Sebastian nodded. “She works for Mr. Tachibana.”
They watched on in silence, their eyes glued to the screen. It was a few moments later when a blonde girl walked into the organized chaos of backstage. As the view of the screen scanned around, it stopped with her standing beside Jane.
“Pause!” Darcy shouted. “It’s Sakura.”
They went past that scene, and Nicolas had to rewind. They went through again, and just as Sakura walked in, Nicolas quickly clicked the pause button.
There she stood with Jane, a folder in her arms, smiling, her eyes bright and her face flushed. She was beautiful in her blouse and long shirt. The brothers watched as if they couldn’t believe it.
So it was real after all, Sebastian thought. Last night hadn’t been a mere figment of his imagination. She had been there, and they had met. He drew out a shaky breath as his hands shook just a little. He felt relieved and elated, and his heart raced at the prospect that soon, they’d find her—really find her.
Darcy’s hands were shaking and he couldn’t stop the tremor within his being, either. She was real on the screen. She’d been there at the hotel last night. She’d been that close to him in elevator, and now it gutted him that he hadn’t realized it had been her at the time. How he wished he’d grabbed her in his arms and shut the elevator door before she could escape. But alas, that wasn’t to be, for she had escaped.
The brothers silently watched her for a few moments, taking in her look and how much she’d changed in the past year. She was slimmer now, her face more elegant and refined. One could say she had grown into an even more beautiful woman.
“Shall we move on?” Nicolas asked.
The brothers nodded, and Nicolas pushed the play button. The scene shifted to guests entering the hall and then to the corridors and the entrance of the hotel. There were lots of scenes with random people doing random things, until the screen came back to backstage. In the distance that wasn’t the focus of the camera, the brothers could just make out Sakura being pulled by a makeup artist, which she resisted, and placed in one of the chairs.
The scene cut to random models showing off her gowns and some still sitting in the chairs that a couple of makeup artists were working at. Then it flicked to Akira waving and smiling at the camera. She did the Korean version of a love heart with her hands and then laughed merrily. This was then cut to Mr. Tachibana doing his final touches on one of the models. He was showing off his gown on the girl and showed the camera of the intricate design of his work. Then it cut to a very close shot of candy floss-pink hair with a pair of hands working on the cherry blossom flowers. The camera zoomed out and came to focus on Sakura’s face instead.
The brothers sucked in their breath in unison as they glued their eyes to the screen. She didn’t at all look pleased with what the people were doing to her.
“I’m not supposed to be here,” she said clearly. No one was listening to her, however. “Jane, I have to get Jane. Please, I have to go.”
“She knows Jane,” Hayden said abruptly.
Nicolas paused at the scene where Sakura was trying to get out of makeup.
“Does that mean Sakura works for Jane?” Conrad asked curiously. “Seb, Luke might know.”
“I’ll give him a call,” Sebastian said. “Now move on. We might learn something else.”
At Nicolas’s nod, the screen continued. It was an hour later when they came to the stage again where the modelling began. In the background, they noted Haruka and Sosuke in the crowd. Luke was just behind them. There were, of course, Tara and Alaina entering the room late, dressed to the nines. Then they saw themselves on the screen, here and there with their parents.
The show began and the music started. It wasn’t long when they saw Akira striding elegantly along the runway, showing her jewelry and Mr. Tachibana’s gown. She posed seductively at the end and gazed smolderingly at the camera. Then she winked, and Nicolas found himself responding. His heart skipped a beat and his throat became dry.
Tristan did the wolf whistle, and Nicolas frowned at his brother. Of course, Tristan didn’t see Nicolas’s glare, nor did any of this brothers because they were glued to the screen as the next slight figure appeared on the runway.
It was Sakura, dressed in that amazing gown. She made her way up to the camera. During her short walk, it was as if she were lost in her own dreamland. She looked serene and absolutely exquisite. She stopped at the end of the runway, and then her posture changed. The brothers knew immediately that she had seen them.
She looked hesitant, as if she didn’t know what to do next. Then she hastily turned and walked back. It wasn’t long before they saw Mr. Tachibana come out again with her by his side. The brothers could tell she wasn’t pleased with this and she wanted to run. After the applause and bow, the scene was cut short.
“That’s it?” Conrad asked Nicolas.
“Nope,” Nicolas said, looking at the screen on the laptop. “There’s still a little more to go.”
The buzzing and blank screen was still on, and then it flipped to the chaos of backstage again. They saw Hayden and Darcy running across the length of the room. Then it was Sakura who gave her shoes to Jane. Then it was Nicolas running after them, who banged into Akira. And then the camera went out.
“Huh!” Tristan said. “You killed the camera, Nicolas.”
“Sakura gave her shoes to Jane,” Nicolas said. “She lied about not knowing Sakura.”
“It looks like I need to call Luke ASAP,” Sebastian said and pulled out his cell phone.