by Alexia Praks
Falling for Sakura Vol. 3: A Secret Proposal Part 1
Sakura and the Princeton Brothers
The Princeton Brothers Series
Alexia C. Praks
Copyright © 2016 by Alexia C. Praks
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without agreement and written permission of the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Published by Alexia Praks Media
Cover Design by Alexia Praks Media
The author can be reached at: www.alexiapraks.com
FALLING FOR SAKURA
Vol. 3
A Secret Proposal Part 1
Sakura and the Princeton Brothers
The Princeton Brothers Series
Alexia C. Praks
Table of Contents
Falling for Sakura
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Next in the Series
More Books by Alexia
About Alexia
Falling for Sakura
When Sakura once again meets her gorgeous adoptive brothers, Sebastian and Darcy Princeton, forbidden feelings are awakened and an old flame ignites.
When orphan Sakura Tanaka sneaks into a famous Japanese designer’s fashion show in order to meet her biological mother, she doesn’t anticipate a complication that will turn her world upside down.
Through mistaken identity, she ends up modelling for the designer, which in turn leads to an unexpected encounter with her seven drop-dead gorgeous adoptive brothers, two of which have intentions for her heart. One of them is Sebastian Princeton, the handsome multi-billionaire real estate investor, who isn’t afraid to show his feelings for her and openly pursues her. The other is Darcy Princeton, the multi-billionaire game designer and entrepreneur, whose love Sakura has always secretly possessed.
To whom will Sakura ultimately give her heart?
Japanese Honorifics
-San: Derived from sama, is the most commonplace honorific, and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. E.g. Sebastian-san
-Sama: Is a markedly more respectful version of san and can be used for any gender. It is used mainly to refer to people much higher in rank than oneself. E.g. Oka-sama (mother).
-Kun: Is used by people of senior status in addressing or referring to those of junior status, or by anyone when addressing or referring to male children or male teenagers, or among male friends. It can also be used by females when addressing a male that they are emotionally attached to or have known for a long period of time. E.g. Nicolas-kun.
-Chan: It expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing. In general, chan is used for babies, young children, grandparents and teenagers. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, close friends, any youthful woman, or between friends. E.g. Sakura-chan.
-Sensei: Is used to refer to or address teachers, doctors, politicians, lawyers, and other authority figures. It is used to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill, and is also applied to novelists, poets, painters, and other artists. E.g. Tachibana-sensei.
Family Member Words
Oka: Mother. E.g. Oka-san or Oka-sama.
Oba: Aunt or middle-aged lady. E.g. Oba-chan or Oba-san.
Onii: Older brother. E.g. Onii-chan or Onii-san.
Imouto: Younger sister. E.g. Imouto-chan.
CHAPTER 1
A Mother’s Regret
It was spring again, and Haruka Suzuki felt her heart aching to once again hold the beautiful baby girl she had abandoned twenty-five years ago.
Torment, guilt, and regret—those were the feelings she felt deep within her being, burning in her soul, ripping her heart to pieces.
Why did I abandon my beautiful baby girl? Why?
Haruka couldn’t come up with an explanation as to why. The only pathetic excuse she had was she’d been too young to see reason, understand, and stand up for what she thought was right. She had also been too afraid of what might happen—too afraid of the future, society, and her own parents, of what they’d do to her and her beloved daughter.
Twenty-five years ago, her arranged marriage to Kenji Suzuki, the eldest son of the wealthy Suzuki family, had been imminent. She’d known it would ruin both families’ names if anyone were to find out she’d been pregnant before marriage with an unknown American man. Thus, she had no choice but to leave the baby girl at the orphanage in St. Joseph Island, a place she’d chosen because it had seemed so far removed from this corrupted world, a place where she thought her daughter would be well taken care of. Then she’d returned to Japan and honored her family’s wish by marrying Kenji in order to forge the bond between the Suzukis and the Tanakas and strengthen the already powerful, wealthy families even more.
Haruka Tanaka. That had been her name once, twenty-five years ago to be precise. She hadn’t understood why she hadn’t given her baby girl her last name. If she’d been smart enough to do so, then it wouldn’t have been so hard to search for her now.
Many times after her marriage, Haruka had doubted her decision. Perhaps she should have confronted her family and kept her daughter. She, however, had been too weak. Now her daughter was nowhere to be found. She hadn’t a clue where else to look, as the old Queen Mary Orphanage had burnt down seven years after that fateful spring day when she’d left Sakura on the doorstep. All records of the children had been destroyed in the flames and most of the children had been adopted. She knew Sakura had been one of them.
Her beloved daughter Sakura would be turning twenty-five years old today.
“Sakura, where are you?” she murmured under her breath as she watched the petals of cherry blossoms raining down around her. She reached out her hand to catch some, brought them lovingly to look closer, and gently stroked the petals, tears brewing in her eyes.
“Mono no aware,” a manly voice said softly.
Haruka turned to see the handsome billionaire Sebastian Princeton standing not too far away, his eyes on the cherry blossom tree in full bloom of pink clouds behind her. He had a faraway look in his azure-blue eyes, which she knew spoke of loss, of beautiful memories long gone. Now he was reminded of those unforgettable memories and it pained him, as it pained her. Had he lost his loved one, too, she wondered and felt saddened at the thought.
“Mono no aware,” Haruka said, nodding. “You understand its meaning.”
Sebastian opened his eyes. Before him, he saw his new tenant from Japan who, with her small family, had moved into this luxurious private apartment on the upper east side of Manhattan three months ago. Haruka, Sebastian thought, was one very traditional Japanese woman all right, for he had never seen her dressed in anything except yukata. This one was very beautiful indeed, with purple and white flowers.
Sebastian liked to visit Haruka. He liked to talk to her because she was always so soft spoken and so philosophical. Then there was also the fact that Haruka reminded him so much of Sakura.
He came to sit beside her and said, “Someone told me.”
“A woman?” Haruka couldn’t help asking. There was a lovely ring of teasing in her voice that Sebastian didn’t miss.
Sebastian nodded without hesitation.
“Is she beautiful?”
Again, Sebastian nodded. “The most beautiful being I’ve ever seen.”
Haruka smiled. “You love her?”
Sebastian frowned and his face darkened.
Haruka noticed. “I apologize, Sebastian-san. I did not mean to ask you such a personal question.” She stood, her hands folded politely in front of her as she bowed her head apologetically. “Please, forgive me.”
Sebastian shook his head. “There’s nothing to forgive. I’ve come to see how you’re settling in the apartment. Please, if you needed anything, just inform the manager Mr. Smith. He’ll take care of everything.
Haruka chuckled. “Sebastian-san, I thank you for your wonderful hospitality. Might I thank you for the lovely design of the apartment as well? It is very much to my taste, especially my bedroom. How did you come up with such an idea? A mixture of Japanese and European décor.”
It was Sebastian’s turn to chuckle. “I stole the idea, so you shouldn’t thank me. After all, it was the decorators who did all the work. I just gave them my thoughts.” He didn’t tell her it had been Sakura’s bedroom back at Princeton Mansion on St. Joseph Island that had inspired him.
“But still,” Haruka argued. “It was very kind of you to think of us Japanese. Oh dear, I am being a very bad hostess indeed. Please, I invite you to have tea with me. It’s Japanese tea, if you don’t mind.”
Sebastian stood. “I don’t mind at all.”
Haruka nodded. They both left the exotically designed private courtyard filled with cherry trees in full bloom on the ground floor of the building and entered the enormous lobby nearer to the front. They took the lift to the third level. A few moments later, they entered Haruka’s enormous, luxurious apartment that was classically designed and decorated.
“Baka!” They heard a feminine voice echo through the hallway. “Baka! Why does it have to be her who gets to wear Oba-chan’s precious necklace?”
Haruka glanced at her guest, hoping Sebastian didn’t mind the obvious loud argument happening in the house.
“It’s my niece Akira,” she explained. “I think she is still upset about the casting for the upcoming fashion show.”
Sebastian took off his shoes and nodded in understanding. “There’s another model Mr. Tachibana has enlisted to wear his finale?”
“Yes,” Haruka said. “Sakura.”
Sebastian felt his heart skip a beat and glanced at Haruka.
“Her name is Sakura Taito,” Haruka said, leading Sebastian into the living room. “She’s very beautiful and very famous, so I’ve heard. She will be wearing one of my precious pieces.”
“I see,” Sebastian murmured.
“Don’t look at me like that, Onii-chan.” They heard Akira snap. “I’m not jealous. So not jealous of her. I’m just pissed that she gets to wear Oba-chan’s necklace.”
“If she doesn’t wear that necklace, then who will?” the deep, manly voice of Sosuke Suzuki asked. “You?”
“Onii-chan!” Akira shouted.
“Dear me,” Haruka said the moment they were in the living room. “We have a guest.”
Akira Suzuki stopped her muttering immediately and smiled pleasantly at their guest. “Sebastian-san, how nice of you to visit us. When was the last time?” Akira cocked her head to one side. “Ah, two months ago. How shameful, Sebastian-san, considering the fact that you only live one floor above us and keep that beautiful view all to yourself. Not to mention the very private garden you have up there. Don’t tell me you don’t have one because I’ve seen the Sakura trees from the streets.”
Sebastian laughed. “You are welcome to use the private garden at the penthouse if you so wish. There’s no one to stop you.”
Akira pulled her face and flicked her short black hair. “How could I do that, Sebastian-san? Onii-chan would kill me.” She glanced at her older brother Sosuke, who was staring at her intensely. She secretly smiled as she watched him nudge his glasses up the bridge of his fine nose. She knew he was concerned about her wayward ways now that they were living here in New York. Sosuke needed to loosen up his uptight manner, even just a bit, she thought.
She continued. “Considering the fact that you have, what? Six other brothers living with you, and all still single.” She cocked her head to one side. “Hum, maybe I should really go up there and introduce myself.”
“Akira!” Sosuke said warningly.
Sebastian chuckled. He thought Sosuke was very much like Nicolas. It hadn’t surprised him at all that the two had gotten along so well since they first met and had become very good friends.
Akira laughed. “Don’t worry, Onii-chan. I was only teasing. Besides, I’ve haven’t met any of them yet, except for Conrad-san. Ah, he seems awfully depressed all the time. Poor man.”
Sebastian thought Akira could say that again. Conrad hadn’t been himself since one year ago when Sakura had left them. In fact, none of them had ever been themselves again. Darcy had been the worst. Of course, Sebastian knew Darcy was deeply in love with Sakura, and he hadn’t taken the news very well.
“Now, now,” Haruka said. “Let us have tea.”
Sosuke came to sit on the slightly raised floor with his aunty, their guest Sebastian, and his sister Akira. He watched as Haruka expertly prepared the green tea. He noted the sad expression on her beautiful face even though she tried to hide it well. He knew her heart was aching to find her daughter Sakura.
Though this Sakura wasn’t in any way blood related to him, he had to help Haruka find her, because that was what the head of the family should do. Sosuke had been the head of the Suzuki family since three years ago when his uncle, Haruka’s husband, had died in a car accident. Sosuke had known it hadn’t been an accident because the Suzukis were by far one of the wealthiest families in Japan, and they’d been targeted too many times to consider that particular accident an accident.
Sosuke turned to look out the window at the clear blue sky. Cherry blossom petals swirled about as they rained down from the Princetons’ private garden above. He knew the garden was particularly beautiful because he’d seen it by accident one day while he’d been exploring. Why the Princeton brothers had gone to such lengths to build such an exotic garden on top of the four-story building was beyond him. At the same time, however, it mesmerized him. Then he wondered if Sakura, Haruka’s daughter, would be as beautiful as the Sakura flower that was so loved by everyone. Now he simply couldn’t wait to find her and meet her in person. Sooner or later, they’d find her, and Sosuke smiled at the thought.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 2
Sakura Tanaka, Lady of Beauty
It didn’t turn out right. It was supposed to be a dragon, but this piece of artwork looked more like a teddy bear gone seriously wrong than a dragon. Sakura Tanaka sighed in vexation as she put down the jug of hot milk. She’d just have to practice some more, she supposed.
She placed the two cups o
f coffee onto an antique silver tray and turned to her two guests, brother and sister Luke and Jane Hamilton, who were waiting patiently for their hot drinks.
“Sorry about that,” she said softly, placing the tray onto the coffee table before them. “My coffee art seems to have turned for the worse recently.”
“No worries,” Jane said, gladly taking a cup. “I’m not here for the art. I’m here for the coffee. It’s totally worth waiting for.” She inhaled the lovely aroma as she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her thick glasses were already fogged up from the hot steam. Jane didn’t care, however, and took a quick sip. The hot liquid burned her tongue, and she quickly swallowed. Then she huffed and puffed, sticking her tongue out to let it cool.
Sakura laughed at her friend’s reaction. This attracted Luke’s attention.
The man couldn’t help but gaze at her, taking in her exotic beauty. To say she was beautiful was an understatement, as there was nothing he could think of that could compare to her uniqueness. Her long tresses, an ombre of pale blond and brown, were braided loosely and resting on the left side of her slender shoulders. The length reached all the way down to her waist. Her skin, smooth and porcelain white, begged to be caressed and touch. Then there were those eyes—the two different colors, one azure-blue and the other mauve-grey, so mysterious and intense, and they fascinated him so much he couldn’t stop staring. Those weren’t her real eye color, and Luke knew for a fact they must be brown. Though how dark and how deep he wasn’t sure.
This new obsession of his was to Luke’s mind merely an observation and nothing more. Luke liked to observe—that was what he told himself he was doing—observing and not gawking at Sakura Tanaka, the gallery owner, painter, and freelance photographer.