by Alexia Praks
Just when he was about to have enough of Alaina and Tara’s barking, the door burst open and Toby raced toward his master. Sebastian, Nicolas, and Conrad were behind him.
Sebastian took one look at the scene and felt his stomach knot in dread. He rushed to Sakura and Darcy without a second thought.
“What the hell happened?” he asked.
Toby begged for Sakura’s attention by touching her arm with his wee paws.
Sakura turned to Toby. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were raw from crying.
“Sakura!” Conrad shouted her name, his voice wavering with concern. He came to kneel by her, searching her face. “Are you all right?”
Sakura nodded as she tried to control the tears that just kept on coming.
“You’re obviously not all right,” Sebastian said, a dark scowl on his face. “What the hell happened?” He looked at Darcy for an answer.
Darcy didn’t reply; he was staring at Alaina and Tara, his face a mask of anger. Sebastian understood immediately.
Nicolas narrowed his eyes and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Should take her up,” he said.
Sebastian nodded. He gently pulled Sakura from Darcy’s arms and lifted her.
Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and hid her face against his chest. “This is so embarrassing,” she muttered under her breath.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” he said kindly as he strode to the door. Conrad and Toby followed them as they headed out.
Darcy stood up and headed straight to his sister, his eyes dark, his body tense.
“What?” Alaina asked, folding her arms across her chest.
“You nearly killed her,” Darcy shouted. “How could you do that?”
“Oh, come on!” she snapped back. “She so can swim. She was just pretending. You know how—”
Darcy couldn’t control himself. His palm smacked against Alaina’s right cheek, sending her face swinging to the left.
Alaina blinked in shocked surprise. Darcy had never laid a hand on her before—ever. She touched her cheek, anger and hatred rising within her chest. She turned her eyes to look at her twin brother, tears brewing within them.
“Don’t you ever touch her again,” he said coldly. “If you do, you’ll regret it.”
Tara, who was behind Alaina, secretly hid a smile, though she managed to compose her face well and tried to look as shocked as she could.
“Why the hell did you hit me?” Alaina shouted, tears pouring out of her eyes. “Because of her, is that it? Why? Darcy! Why? She’s just a silly bitch! I did it for you. I did it for us. I hate her. She took you from me. I hate it when you two are together. I hate it so much. We used to be really close, Darcy, you and I. But ever since she came, I lost you to her. To that motherless bitch!”
“Shut up, Alaina!” Darcy shouted. “Just shut the hell up! I said before if you ever lay your hands on her again, you’ll be sorry.” With that, he walked out the door.
Nicolas watched his brother go, and once they were alone, he stepped toward his sisters. “You know,” he said, “I expected more from you. I thought you’d changed, and you too, Tara.” He looked meaningfully to Tara.
Tara knew Nicolas was becoming all businesslike again. He was so like James in his way of dealing with things. He looked calm and collected, but inside he must have been reeling with anger. Though his way of dealing with unpleasant business looked as though he hadn’t done much, she knew the consequences of not following his orders were enormous. And Tara had learned that early on. Nicolas was a pleasant adopted brother to be with, but you wouldn’t want to cross him.
“So you heard him,” Nicolas said. “He doesn’t want you touching Sakura again. That much is obviously clear. You know how Darcy is. You’re his twin, after all.” He pulled his glasses from his eyes and brought them up to the light—a gesture he always did when he gave out orders and expected them done accordingly. He inspected the lenses for dirt, and when he couldn’t find any, he put them back on.
“And I want the same thing. Sakura is our sister, after all, and we don’t want her getting hurt.” He glanced from Alaina to Tara, who stared at him as if he’d gone senile. He chuckled. “You know Sebastian owns that apartment of yours in New York, and from the looks of things, he’s taking a real liking to Sakura.”
Alaina harrumphed. “He’d never like her.”
Nicolas cocked his head to one side. “No?” he asked, begging to differ. In fact, he’d known all along, since they were children, in fact, that Sebastian had always liked Sakura, though he had hidden his feelings from his siblings well because he’d been afraid of their disapproval.
“You understand my meaning, Alaina? Tara?” He watched them closely. “A word or two with Sebastian could save you from the streets.”
“What are you implying?” Alaina shouted.
“That he knew exactly what you did, and I don’t think he likes it.”
Alaina snorted. “He wouldn’t throw us out. We’re his sisters.”
Nicolas sighed. “Well, maybe he wouldn’t. But who knows? His behavior seems to have changed a lot since we got here. And by the way, I don’t suppose you know Dad has given me full control of the family trust.”
Alaina gritted her teeth. “Nicolas! You wouldn’t! You wouldn’t cut off my money. I have a right to it.”
“Seeing how fast you spent it, Alaina, your portion will not last very long,” he said. “Now then. Do we understand each other? It’s a warning, Alaina. I rather like Sakura now.”
Alaina couldn’t say a word because if what Nicolas had just said was true, then his words were law. She said through gritted teeth, “Come on, Tara!” Then she dragged her adopted sister by the arm and stalked out the door.
Nicolas watched them go and shook his head. They hadn’t changed a bit where Sakura was concerned.
* * * * *
END OF FALLING FOR SAKURA: A SECRET KISS PART 1
Next in the Sakura and Princeton Brothers Serial
Thank you for reading Falling for Sakura: A Secret Kiss Part 1. The story of Sakura and the seven Princeton brothers continues in Falling for Sakura: A Secret Kiss Part 2.
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More Books by Alexia Praks
Sweet New Adult Contemporary Romance
The Princeton Brothers Series
Sakura & Princeton Brothers Serial: Falling for Sakura
Billionaires’ Brides Series
The Billionaire’s Hired Girlfriend
The Billionaire’s Kiss
The Billionaire’s Love
Dark New Adult Contemporary Romance
Dark Billionaires Series
Chained to You Serial: James and Mia
Chained by Love Serial: William and Savanah
Enthralled by You Serial: Scott and Yuki
About Alexia
My dear reader,
This is Alexia, and I would like to thank you very much for purchasing this book. If you like Falling for Sakura Vol. 1: Secret Kiss Part 1, then I encourage you to write a review. Better yet, rate this book and post your thoughts on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
Here are some things about me.
I’m a self-confessed hermit who love to write romance; be it contemporary, historical, fantasy, paranormal, or a combination of any of these. Aside from romance, I also write young adult. Unlike my romance novels, my YA counterpart falls into various subgenres such as fantasy, science-fiction, thriller, supernatural, dystopia, mystery, and of course, romance.
I live in historic, students-infested Dunedin, Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud), aka New Zealand. It’s a lone, isolated, beautiful country with ranges of exquisite mountains and breathtaking rivers.
Apart from writing and occasionally losing myself in my own dream realm, I love self-cultivation, is fascinated about Chinese m
etaphysics, and spend most of my spare time watching anime and TV dramas, and of course, reading books and manga.
You can get in contact with me via my website at: alexiapraks.com/contact.
