Chapter 32
Hearts Aching
Still Sebastian lay there, staring up at the ceiling, his heart thumping loud and fast and his body exhausted from swimming. It wasn’t long before he noticed a pair of long, tanned legs walking toward him. He turned and saw Tara coming to a stop only a few inches away from him, gazing down at him.
How the hell did she get in here without him noticing?
Sebastian swore under his breath and turned away, ignoring her. Right now all he wanted was to be alone, and Tara was the last person he wanted to see.
“You’re training awfully hard,” she said, “considering the fact that you’re not entering any competition. But then again, you’re too old for that now. So what’s this for? To keep fit? Or was there something else bothering you?
“I’m not training,” he said, closing his eyes so he didn’t have to see Tara’s annoying face.
Oh shit! He could see Sakura in his mind’s eye. Her glossy black hair, her soft skin, her sensual lips—those lips he had just kissed.
He flashed his eyes open. He found Tara beside him, her face very close to him. He scowled.
“You’ve changed,” she said softly. “All of you’ve changed since we got here. What happened?”
His scowl darkened. “What?”
“It’s because of her, isn’t it?”
Sebastian gritted his teeth.
“None of you ever wanted her as part of the family before. So why now?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tara,” he said coldly.
Tara couldn’t care less what was happening now. All she wanted at this moment was Sebastian. She was ready for him. She had been ready for him for ages. Today he was here all by himself, and it was her chance. She moved to sit on top of him, her legs on either side of his waist, saddling him. Oh, God! She could feel his six-pack beneath her, and it was such a turn-on.
Sebastian reacted by pushing her off him. Tara, however, was quick and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his muscular neck.
“I want you, Sebastian,” she said softly near his lips. “Have always wanted you for so long.”
“Tara,” he began. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re my sister.”
She giggled. “Adopted sister. Not blood related.”
“Tara,” he said through gritted teeth. “This is wrong. Very wrong. I don’t know how you feel about me, but I definitely don’t feel the same way about you.”
Tara gritted her teeth and yelled, “You kissed her! So why the fucking hell couldn’t you kiss me?”
Sebastian was shocked into stillness.
“You like her, don’t you? It’s not fair, Sebastian. Not fair. You kissed her!” She tightened her arms around his neck, her long fingernails digging into his skin. She brought her lips down and kissed him hard.
Sebastian didn’t respond. He didn’t feel anything for her, didn’t feel anything when she touched him.
No, he was wrong. He felt something all right. He felt revolted. He felt disgusted. He couldn’t believe Tara had stooped this low.
He pulled back, removed her arms from his neck, and shoved her off him. He stood up and stared at her with disgust. He wanted to shout at her to get hold of herself.
Tara sat there staring up at him as she caressed her lips, a weird grin on her face.
Sebastian shook his head and turned on his heel, ready to leave her, ready to leave this weird incident behind. He didn’t get far, though, and stood rooted in his spot when he noticed Sakura at the door, watching him.
His stomach flipped. Shit!
“So you have the habit of doing that to your adopted sisters?” she asked.
Sebastian understood the meaning of her words immediately. Bloody hell! No! Of course not!
“It’s not what you think it is,” he said.
“Sebastian Princeton,” Sakura said, her voice quivering, her heart trembling, her whole body shaking with anger, frustration, and confusion. “Allow me to get one thing clear for you.” She glanced at Tara, who was now posing elegantly before them. She even managed to give Sakura a leering grin.
Sakura turned her eyes to Sebastian, who seemed to have become as stiff as a rock. “I’m not a toy to be played with. I’m not about to commit incest.” She nudged her head a little higher as she stared at him, tears brewing in her eyes. “And by the way, I no longer want you as my swimming instructor. I’m going to ask Darcy instead. Sorry for interrupting your wee party.” She tried so hard to control her emotions, but she just couldn’t. She turned on her heel and headed back out the door.
“Sakura! Wait!” Sebastian shouted.
Sakura wasn’t listening to him, however, and blindly ran up the stairs to her room. There she rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She cried her heart out as droplets of water pounded down on her. Once her tears were all used up and her face raw and her eyes red, she managed to calm down and got hold of herself.
God! She was pathetic. Why was she so upset just because she’d witnessed Sebastian kissing Tara? Obviously, if those two had a relationship, then what did that have to do with her?
She got out of the shower, dried herself, and put on a pair of skinny jeans and a light blouse. After blow-drying her hair and putting on some light makeup, she stared at herself in the mirror, hoping she didn’t look like she’d just had a good cry. Yes, she thought. She looked just fine. Maybe just a bit red in the eyes, but that was all.
Suddenly, she was thinking about Sebastian again. This is ridiculous, she thought as she stared at herself in the mirror. Why couldn’t her stomach settle down? Why couldn’t her heart slow down? She felt sick. That scene was still fresh in her mind. She couldn’t believe it. Sebastian and Tara?
She turned away from the mirror in disgust. God, she needed to calm down. She needed to be doing something. She needed to get her mind out of this stupid notion of Sebastian and Tara together.
She left the bathroom, grabbed her camera and her bag, and headed out the door.
Half an hour later, she was deep in the woods, alone with nature. She had already missed lunch, but that was okay because she’d had a big breakfast before—
She paused right there. Don’t think about it, Sakura. Just don’t!
Her phone beeped. She took it out and saw she got a text message. It was Conrad, scolding her for going off without telling him. She also got text messages from Nicolas, Tristan, and Logan, informing her that she’d better turn up for dinner or else.
Else what? And how did these guys get her number anyway? Mary? It must have been Mary.
She put her phone back into her satchel and took out her camera. She tested the light, found that it was excellent, and then proceeded to take pictures. Soon she was lost in admiring the woods and the many creatures that were living there. She took photos of a grasshopper hanging on to the tall grasses, of bees sucking nectar from flowers, of birds chirping in the trees, and of wildflowers that were surrounding her. At a certain point, she felt as though someone were following her, watching her in the distance. She scanned her surroundings but saw no sign of anyone and relaxed again. She knew she had nothing to worry about because this was the Princeton Estate and no one else had ever set foot in these woods. For years, she’d roamed this place by herself. It was in essence her playground, and she loved it that way. Hence, despite that odd feeling that someone was following her, watching her every move, she felt that she was, in actual fact, very safe.
In fact, Sakura did not know that Sebastian was following her. He had spotted her heading out into the woods when she left the house and had desperately wanted to go to her and explain what happened back at the pool. Now, however, he found he didn’t have the guts to talk to her, knowing very well she didn’t want anything to do with him. Thus, he stayed back, following her silently like he always had when they were children.
Still oblivious to Sebastian tailing her, Sakura came to the biggest cherry tree on the is
land. It was her tree, the one she’d planted with Ned when she was little. It had now grown to a massive height, and the flowers bloomed beautifully. She couldn’t help herself and took picture after picture. Once she thought she had enough, she sat underneath it, her back resting against the big trunk.
She sighed, inhaling the scent of spring air. Then she brought the camera up and started flicking through the photos, smiling with satisfaction as she inspected each one in turn.
Alone, she set down the camera and gazed across the distance. It was peaceful and beautiful here, and it helped her forget about everything.
Yes, she’d miss this place dearly once she was gone, and she felt rather sad about that. Slowly she closed her eyes, and it wasn’t long before she actually fell asleep, smiling, thinking about her mother, the woman whose name was Haruka Tanaka.