She was nuts! That, Sakura was very sure of. She was utterly and foolishly nuts. What made her think she’d get away from the Princeton brothers? What made her think they’d forget about her, especially after last spring, after what they’d been through?

She closed her eyes and felt tears burn within them.

What am I going to do now? she thought miserably. The brothers had found out she was here, living in New York. In fact, a mere stone’s throw away from the hotel.

No. Don’t think about that. It was the least of her worries. Now she had to figure out how she was going to get her handbag, which was still at the hotel. And of course, how the hell she was going to return this million-dollar gown and diamond necklace.

“You all right there, miss?”

Sakura flashed her eyes open at the inquiry. She managed to give the taxi driver a small smile.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks.”

“Fashion show, is it?”

She nodded.

“Didn’t have time to change, eh?” The driver chuckled.

“Yes, I was in such a rush,” Sakura replied, noting they were driving through the familiar streets of Soho. A few moments later, they were outside the gallery.

“Can you wait here a moment?” she asked.

“Sure thing,” the driver said.

“Thanks.” Sakura rushed out into the street and through the door of Tanaka Gallery, her hands holding up her long skirt so she wouldn’t trip over it.

“Holy shit!” Melissa greeted Sakura the moment she stepped into the threshold of the gallery.

“Is Ned in?” Sakura asked.

Melissa blinked. “How come you’re dressed like that?”

Sakura didn’t have the patience to answer Melissa, nor did she feel the need to explain what had just transpired.

“Is Ned in?” she asked again.

Melissa wanted to scream out, Bitch! to Sakura but managed to refrain herself from doing so.

“Upstairs,” she said coldly.

Sakura didn’t have time to register Melissa’s cold glare. She hastily rushed up the stairs to the first floor where her loft was resided. She found Ned in the kitchen, making a cup of coffee. Toby was fast asleep on his basket on the other side of the room.

“Ned,” Sakura called out.

Ned glanced up, and the moment he saw the look on her face, he knew something was up. The fact that she was wearing a designer gown and a million-dollar necklace didn’t escape Ned’s attention either.

He smiled gently and said, “They found you, eh?”

Sakura slowly nodded. “What am I going to do?”

“Not much,” he said.

“That’s not very helpful,” Sakura retorted, crashing herself on a seat. Her body was still shaking from the encounter. She also felt a headache coming.

“Oh, damn, I forgot.” She looked up to Ned. “The taxi driver is still waiting out front.”

“You didn’t have your bag with you?”

Sakura shook her head. “I was in such a rush. I didn’t have time. Do you mind?”

Ned put his cup of coffee down and headed out the door even before Sakura could finish asking him.

Sakura decided to take the next few minutes to calm herself and gain her composure when she suddenly realized something. Oh, Mother of God! Her bag. What if the brothers went in search of her bag and found it? What if they dug through and found the whereabouts of her house and, more importantly, her new identity?

She rushed out of the chair and grabbed the phone. She dialed Jane’s number and waited in dread.

After a few rings, it was picked up.

“Hello, Jane here.”

“Jane!” Sakura shouted. She couldn’t help herself. “Jane! It’s me, Sakura.”

A little pause and then, “Shit! Sakura, where the heck are you? I was looking all over for you. What happened back there?”

“Jane, please listen carefully. I need your help.”

“My help? Wait, I don’t understand. What happened? Why were those men chasing after you? I mean the Princeton brothers. I mean… Oh shit!”

“What? Jane? What’s wrong?”

“They’re here. I think they’re searching for something… or someone.”

Sakura felt her heart leaping within her chest. “Jane, please listen carefully.”

“Yeah? I’m listening,” Jane said. “They’re heading toward me, by the way.

Sakura noted Jane’s voice was shaking. She said, “Jane, could you please find my bag and hide it? When you’re finished, could you please drop it off here at the gallery?”

“Sure?” Jane said. “Is that all I have to do?”

“Yes, please. Don’t let them find my bag. This is very important.”

“And you sincerely promise you’ll tell me what the hell is going on later?”

“Yes, I promise,” Sakura replied.

“Then, my dear friend, I have to hang up because there’s a hot Japanese guy heading my way, and it looks like he’s about to eat me alive.”

“Okay, thanks. Bye now.” Sakura hung up and sighed. God, she sincerely hoped Jane would be all right.

Ned came back into the kitchen then and cocked his head to one side. “Tell me what happened.”

Sakura bit her lip. “I’ve met them. Ned, I thought they’d forget about me. I thought Sakura didn’t exist in their lives anymore. It’s been a year.”

Ned folded his arms across his chest. “What about you? Have you forgotten about them yet?”

Sakura managed to blush at the question. She shook her head.

“My advice, Sakura dear,” Ned said, “is to listen to your heart and follow it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Ned took his now cold cup of coffee and headed downstairs to resume his work. “I notice a tear on the gown, Sakura,” he said over his shoulder.

Sakura’s heart skipped a beat. She glanced down, and sure enough, she saw a nice tear across the length of the gown.

“Shit!” she swore. She lifted the skirt and examined it closer. She wanted to die. She rushed across to her bedroom and began to change. Fifteen minutes later, with her pink hair still in its coiffure, though messier now, she sat on her bed and proceeded to sulk.

This is the worst day of my life, she thought. As if meeting the brothers wasn’t bad enough, now the million-dollar gown was ruined.

Ned returned some moments later. He came to pat her on the shoulder. “Let’s hear all of it, then.”

Sakura looked up at him, her eyes brewing with fresh tears. Then she began her tale. It was twenty minutes later when she was finished, and by then, Melissa announced her presence by leaning her slim body against the doorframe.

“You look awful, Sakura,” she said. “What’s going on?”

Sakura said, “Nothing. Are you leaving now?”

Melissa frowned at the change in subject. Damn if she didn’t want to know what happened to the beauty. But she hoped it was very, very awful and humiliating. Well, surely it must be humiliating. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be tears in those two odd-colored eyes of Sakura’s.

“Yeah,” she finally said. “See you Monday.”

Sakura nodded. Once Melissa reluctantly left, Ned proceeded to close up shop. He returned a couple minutes later to find Sakura still sulking miserably.

“What are you going to do?” Ned asked suddenly. “You can’t keep running away.”

Sakura sighed. “I know that.” She laughed then. “I can’t believe it. I only wanted to meet my biological mother, and now look where it got me. The brothers know I still exist and am in fact living right here in New York, a mere stone’s throw from them. On top of that, I’ve managed to damage this million-dollar designer gown. Oh yeah, and I’m a criminal of the worst kind because surely they all think I’ve stolen this necklace.”

Ned leaned closer to look at the pink diamond necklace in Sakura’s hand. It was the most beautiful jewelry he’d ever seen and probably worth at the higher end of a million. As he inspected closer, he noted there was a very small diamond missing. He wondered if it had already been missing before Sakura wore it or if it were damaged when Sakura was running away from the brothers. Either way, he wasn’t going to tell Sakura about it because she looked ready to commit suicide as it was. Hopefully, though, no one would notice it once Sakura had returned the jewelry to its proper owner.

He said, “Why don’t you take a shower before Jane gets here?”

Sakura looked up at the older man who had treated her like his own daughter and nodded her head.

* * * * *