After the games, the Princeton brothers, along with Sosuke, Luke, Peter, and Jim, helped each other clean up the mess. Once this was done, they also decorated the garden for the barbeque party, along with setting up the stage and dance floor for the disco, where there’d be live music from a famous local Hawaiian band and some hula girls.

Meanwhile, the adults and women went either to rest or get themselves ready. Sakura, however, did none of those things. Instead, she took the opportunity and escaped with Michael, heading for the beach. With her digital camera in her hands, she took photos of everything that interested her.

“Did you have fun today?” she asked Michael, who was skipping along beside her.

“Yep. Loads of fun,” the boy said. “The four-legged race was my favorite.”

Sakura chuckled. “I thought so. And you got the whole basket to yourself, too.”

Michael shrugged. “Akira and Jane said they didn’t want any, so I ended up with the lot. But I think the kissing prize was better.”

Sakura smiled and couldn’t resist teasing. “What if it was Mary you had to kiss instead? Or even Beth?”

Michael made a show of shuddering in distaste while pulling a disgusted face. “I wouldn’t want to win in that case.”

Sakura chuckled with amusement. So I was part of the reason he wanted to win, then?

They were a little farther away from the mansion now, and Sakura deeply inhaled the fresh ocean air.

“It’s so nice, quiet, and lovely here,” she said.

“Is it better than New York, where you live now?” Michael asked.

She nodded. “In some ways, yes. New York is also very noisy and congested.”

“This place is a little like St. Joseph Island, isn’t it?”

Sakura nodded. “I miss it. St. Joseph Island, I mean.”

“When are you going to come back?” Michael asked.

That question took Sakura by surprise. Honestly, since she had run away, she’d never thought about going back. But recently...

“It’s your home there, isn’t it?” he asked. “You’ve lived there for a long time, right? With Uncle James and Aunty Brenda, Grandma Molly, and Grampa Dale? And the brothers, too?”

Michael’s words made her heart constrict with emotions. Yes, St. Joseph Island had been her home for a long time, since she had been born in fact. Her life with everyone there had been wonderful. Of course, with the exception of a few. Suddenly, she missed Grandma Molly and Grampa Dale, Daddy James’s parents. She wanted to see them again, see their kind, caring smiles and be embraced by their warmth. And of course, she wanted them to meet her biological mother, sooner rather than later.

She said, “We’ll see. I’m thinking about it seriously. About moving back...”

“Then everyone will be awesomely happy, including me, because I’d get to see you more often.”

Sakura chuckled. “That’s true.”

After that little talk, Michael ran up ahead and went about his exploration of the seashore. Meanwhile, Sakura enjoyed her time alone, and occasionally, she’d take photos of the beautiful scenery before her.

The sound of waves crashing onto the shore, seagulls crying, and the gentle breeze was indeed the ultimate Zen, which Sakura loved. She closed her eyes and smiled, basking in the atmosphere, imagining herself on an isolated island where only she existed. She imagined herself floating in the air as the gentle breeze fluttered her long hair about and kissed her skin.

“Hello there.” A manly voice came her way.

Sakura snapped her eyes open in surprise and hastily turned around. Before her stood a man she had never met before.

He was tall, over six feet in fact, with dark hair and blue eyes. He didn’t look like he was a local, so she assumed he must be here on holiday. Oddly enough, his appearance reminded her of both Sebastian and Darcy at the same time. If the two brothers were to combine into one person, the result would most likely be this man.

Though his looks reminded her of her beloved men, this stranger, however, did not give her the same feelings of the warm comfort of love and belonging that both Sebastian and Darcy gave her. Instead, she felt a dark menacing threat from him that chilled her spine.

She frowned and asked, “Were you talking to me?”

The stranger grinned as he nodded. He said, his voice deep, “Are you alone?” He even moved closer to her, which more than freaked her out.

Sakura was instantly on guard. God, there was just that something about this man that put her on edge. She felt it in her gut that she had to be careful with him.

“No, I’m not,” she said firmly and coldly, taking a step back to put some distance between them.

His eyes flickered from her face to her breasts, as if scrutinizing her, which made Sakura self-conscious about how flimsy her summer dress was. But it was hot and humid, so wearing a dress was the only way to ease the heat. Almost every female here was wearing something like this. And she had felt fine with this piece until now, until his eyes strayed to her chest, emitting a sort of predatory vibe that made Sakura feel both scared and disgusted.

“I like your camera,” he said, eyeing her equipment now. “Are you a professional photographer by any chance?”

Sakura moved back a few more steps, intending to get away. She said, “Yes,” as she searched around for Michael, wondering where the boy had run off to.

“You’re not from here?” he asked, moving toward her again.

She sighed because he seemed to be so insistent on talking to her. “Look, I have to go now.” With that, she turned on her heel and was about to walk away when he rushed over and intercepted her, stopping her in her tracks. In fact, he was so close that she almost bumped into him.

Sakura swiftly moved back and glared at him. “What do you want?”

The man chuckled with amusement. “Look,” he said, putting his hands up in the air as if to tell her he meant her no harm. “I only want to talk, because you’re so beautiful. Do you know that you’re very beautiful? You have such long, luscious hair and smooth skin. And your body is just, hmm...” He grinned as he eyed her up and down, which pissed Sakura off. “Perfect.”

His compliments didn’t sit well with her. She knew those words would have made any other girl swoon, but not her. Rather, she felt terrorized.

“Sorry, but I don’t feel like talking,” she replied. “And I’m in a hurry.” She gave him no chance to make another attempt at a conversation, hastily turning on her heel once again and heading away.

The man shouted, “What’s your name?”

Sakura refused to reply. She ignored him and simply kept on walking, or rather, running, while her eyes searched wildly for Michael. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the boy not too far away.

“Michael,” she called out.

The boy, who was currently ankle deep in the water, turned to her. Once Sakura reached him, he asked, “What’s wrong? Your face is so pale.”

Sakura said, “It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired now. We should be heading back.”

Michael nodded. “Okay.”

As they hurriedly made their way toward the house, Sakura’s eyes darted the length of the beach, searching for the stranger. She wanted to know if he was bold enough to follow her. If he indeed was stalking her, then she’d have to speedily find a way to make him lose interest in her. She wondered also if she should tell either Daddy James or the Princeton brothers when she got back. But then again, she reasoned, the strange man was probably just behaving like any single man on holiday, going about flirting and hooking up with girls who interested him. And she was just that unlucky girl who had caught his attention today. Surely, he’d find some other, more beautiful girl to hook up with, sooner or later.

A moment later, she noted that he was nowhere in sight. Thank God, she thought and sighed in relief.

When they got back to the holiday house, Sakura noticed there was a lot of hustle and bustle with staff from the hotel everywhere, going about their jobs setting up the place and preparing the meal for this evening. So tonight, the Princetons decided to get the staff to do some of the work, eh? Well, of course they needed professionals since it was going to be an open party and not just a family affair like the night before.

Watching them working side by side with their staff made her smile. The fact that they were so down to earth only made her grow fonder of them. Other young people their age who were born on a silver platter like them, who were privileged with billions of dollars in their bank accounts, would have snobbishly ordered the staff about. But not the Princeton brothers. These men got down on their hands and knees and worked alongside their staff, which was an admirable thing indeed.

She and Michael were about to enter the house when Sebastian waved at them from across the garden. Noting his enthusiastic greeting, Sakura waved back with a grin on her face.

In the living room, Sakura joined Daddy James, Mom Brenda, Haruka, Mary, and Katherine, who were enjoying their afternoon tea. Michael, on the other hand, went off with his dad.

Sakura noted an assortment of savories, such as club sandwiches, fruit slices, and cupcakes on offer on the table. She came to sit between Haruka and Katherine. Mary was, of course, very busy telling Haruka tales of their childhood. Katherine occasionally added details of their misadventures.

“I see you two have been telling my mother lies about me,” Sakura told her friends.

Mary chuckled. “Yep. All of it. The naughtiest things you ever did when you were a kid.”

Katherine nodded in agreement.

While Sakura munched on a club sandwich, she listened to her friends telling her biological mother of their misadventures. An hour later, Akira and Jane emerged from upstairs, already dolled up in pretty cocktail dresses. Akira had on a black one that enhanced her model figure to perfection, while Jane wore a light pink that showed off her well-endowed chest.

“Sakura,” Akira said. “Aren’t you going to get ready? The guests will be here soon.”

“I’ll do that in a moment,” Sakura replied.

Mary said, “That means I have to go and get ready, too. Although, no matter what I put on, I will still look like a balloon.” She even laughed at her own joke.

A few moments later, they all parted ways to get ready.

In her room, Sakura went through her luggage, looking for something summery and elegant to wear. But of course, her wardrobe wasn’t as tasteful or as expensive as Akira’s, so she would just have to settle on a floral maxi dress. She’d complete the outfit with a pair of sandals, along with wearing her long hair down. Of course, she’d probably end up looking like some hippy girl from the seventies, but she didn’t mind that. It was some half an hour later when she was ready. The shower had cooled her skin and lightened her mood, and her meeting with the strange man had all but fled her mind.

Smiling, she headed downstairs. She couldn’t wait to devour some food, as she was hungry even after she’d had the club sandwich half an hour ago.

She was just heading across the hallway when she heard loud noises. It sounded as though people were arguing, and one of them, if she wasn’t mistaken, was Daddy James. She frowned, wondering who he could be talking to. Or rather, having an argument with.

Thinking it wasn’t any of her business, aside from the fact that she shouldn’t be eavesdropping on her adoptive father, she sped up her pace, intending to be gone as soon as possible. But of course, she couldn’t get away before the door abruptly opened.

Sakura gasped as a female figure appeared in front of her as if out of the blue, nearly running her over. She hastily took a couple of steps back and out of the way to avoid any collision. When she gained her composure, she realized the woman was Alaina.

Sakura stood there and just stared, because she didn’t know what to say to the woman. She was more than a little shocked and surprised, to say the least. Of course, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen Alaina since she’d left St. Joseph Island after Mary and Peter’s wedding, and then that horrible incident at the beach a year ago. There had been a few times when she had seen Alaina in New York City, and especially at Mr. Tachibana’s show at the Princeton Hotel, where she’d been mistaken for the Japanese supermodel Sakura Taito.

Because of the trauma from her childhood, Sakura found that every time she saw either Alaina or Tara, she reacted by becoming tense. She’d hold her breath while she stood in a sort of defensive stance, waiting for any sort of verbal assault to come her way. Despite the fact that she knew she could stand her ground and give back as good as she had gotten, the years of abuse and bullying, which caused pain and trauma, had really damaged her self-confidence. This made her react the way she did when she saw her tormentors. It was instinct used for self-defense in a way.

Alaina glared at her for a moment. Sakura understood the meaning behind that stare well. After all, she had been on the receiving end of it throughout her childhood. Then, without a word, the woman turned on her heel and walked away.

Sakura sighed in relief that there were no sarcastic or hateful comments from her adoptive sister.

A moment later, Daddy James came out, which surprised Sakura.

The man noted her pale face and asked, “Did you meet Alaina?”

Sakura mutely nodded.

James came to wrap his arms around her shoulders and said, “Don’t let it bother you. Now, come on. Let’s join the others and have fun.”

Sakura nodded, and the pair headed downstairs together.

The night was once again full of noise, chatter, laughter, alcohol, and food. Not only was there delicious catering from the hotel, but there was also barbequed food as well, with the head chef from the hotel performing tricks while he cooked, which drew a lot of attention.

As she and James came out into the back garden, music, laughter, and chatter greeted them. To be sure, tonight was even louder and more entertaining than last night. This was indeed a real party. Sakura guessed there were probably two hundred people crowding the lawn at the moment, and most of them were strangers. She assumed they were Mr. Tachibana and her biological mother’s staff and some higher-up patrons, business partners, and acquaintances.

Throughout the night, Sakura kept close to her family and friends. Of course, she wasn’t able to spend any time with either Sebastian or Darcy because the two, along with their brothers, were constantly surrounded by hordes of young females. In fact, by ten o’clock that night, the brothers were still trapped by their admirers and couldn’t seem to get away. They were even pressed to join the disco when it started. Although they were reluctant at first, they eventually started to enjoy themselves. Well, it was mostly Tristan and Logan who were enjoying themselves, tremendously. At the moment, they were doing a Hawaiian dance along with the hula girls, shaking their hips and swaying their hands like pros.

It was half past ten when Sakura yawned and told everyone she was retiring for the night. After all, she had an early start tomorrow morning, and she couldn’t afford to be tired and not do her best. Mr. Tachibana, and everyone else, was depending on her to perform well.

“Good night,” Mary and Katherine said to her.

“Good night,” Sakura said, and then escaped to her room where she changed into her comfortable pajamas and slipped into bed.