Falling For Sakura (Falling For Sakura Trilogy, #1)

PRACHAN PRESS

Falling For Sakura

(Falling For Sakura Trilogy: Book 1)

Alexia Praks

Copyright © 2014 by Alexia 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. This book was self-published by the author Alexia Praks under Prachan Press. 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.

The author can be reached at:
www.alexiapraks.com

Published worldwide by Prachan Press

Falling For Sakura

Falling For Sakura Trilogy: Book One

ALEXI
A PRAKS

For Wanitta & Wannasa,

SUPPORTERS, BETA-READERS
, & SISTERS.

Thanks for believing in me and this nonconventional reverse harem romance story.

You guys are awesome.

C
HARACTERS

Sakura Princeton
(Maiden of Innocent): Twenty-three-year-old Japanese-American young woman with raven-black hair and chocolate-brown eyes. She was found abandoned on the doorstep of the orphanage when she was a baby and was later adopted by the Princeton family.

P
RINCETON
SIBLINGS

(
In order of birth)

Nicolas Princeton
(Prince of Guardian): Twenty-eight-year-old oldest brother with golden-blond hair and silvery-gray eyes.

Tristan Princeton
(Prince of Flirt): The oldest of the nonidentical twenty-six-year-old triplets with golden-brown hair and teal-blue eyes.

Logan Princeton
(Prince of Luck): The second born of the nonidentical triplets with copper-brown hair and silvery-gray eyes.

Sebastian
Princeton
(Prince of Heart): The youngest of the nonidentical triplets with pale blond hair and azure-blue eyes.

Hayden Princeton
(Prince of Rebel): The fifth Princeton brother at twenty-four years with chestnut-brown hair and cobalt-blue eyes.

Alaina Princeton
(Princess of Envy): The only daughter of the Princeton family and the older nonidentical twin, twenty-two years old with honey-blond hair and baby blue eyes.

Darcy
Princeton
(Prince of Darkness): The sixth Princeton brother and the younger nonidentical twin with raven-black hair and mauve-gray eyes.

Conrad Princeton
(Prince of Innocent): The youngest of the Princeton brothers at twenty years with honey-brown hair and silvery-gray eyes.

OTHERS

Tara Byrd
(Queen of Poison): Twenty-three-year-old woman with brown hair and blue eyes.

The Throwaway Child

Sayonara, my beautiful daughter. Mono no aware. You are like the sakura flower that blooms vibrantly in spring, just like this spring, so lovely and full of life and color. You are here in my life for only a short time, enchanting me with your innocent beauty and kind soul, and a brief moment later you are gone again, out of my life. Thus, I shall name you Sakura. I am sad, my darling daughter, to leave you behind. I am sad to never see you grow up, feel your love, or hear you call me “Okasama.” But I am not a worthy mother. Thus, sayonara, my beautiful Sakura.

Sakura
, with no last name, was found in spring on the doorstep of Queen Mary Orphanage in a small town called South Hampton in St. Joseph Island. Her mother mysteriously disappeared after leaving the baby girl in a basket along with a note that said
My daughter’s name is Sakura
and a beautiful necklace with a pink diamond pendant in the shape of a cherry blossom.

Sakura wa
s a shy, quiet girl. Her childhood lacked the love and affection that one receives from one’s parents. From very early on, she knew she didn’t have a mother or a father and longed to have them. She did not interact much with the other children in the orphanage, knowing she looked different, having half-Caucasian and half-Asian blood, and therefore she was constantly picked on.

Mrs
. Byrd, the headmistress of the orphanage, didn’t like Sakura very much, and neither did her pretty little daughter, Tara Byrd, who was Sakura’s age and her worst nightmare. It was apparent from very early on that Tara was destined to be Sakura’s enemy. The little blond-haired, blue-eyed girl enjoyed tormenting Sakura and making fun of her, isolating the girl from the rest and setting her as a target for her amusement.

Tara
knew she was pretty and everyone adored her. She had her mother and most of the staff at the orphanage wrapped around her little finger. Many times she would tell her mother, and everyone else for that matter, lies about Sakura. That Sakura worshiped heathen gods other than their Jesus Christ, spoke to the devil, stole food from the kitchen, bullied her or the younger children, and many more.

Mrs
. Byrd, always believing her beloved daughter, would punish Sakura many times, slapping the little girl on the cheeks, spanking her backside, taking away her toys and books, denying her meals, and making her kneel on the concrete floor in the church from midday until midnight without any food or water, all in order to teach her a lesson. Hence Sakura lived in the orphanage being bullied, hated, and ignored.

Eventually, she grew
accustomed to being alone and learned to endure the harassment. When she was told to pray to God for forgiveness for being a naughty girl, she prayed instead she’d get adopted by a nice family who loved her and to leave this horrendous place where no one liked her. Then she’d daydream about it actually happening, about her going far away and living with her very own family. Every night she’d imagine, smile, and thank the Lord for making her dream come true before it actually happened.

S
uch was the power of positive thinking and law of attraction, for Sakura’s dream did come true one day.

The family she wanted to belong to appeared
after she turned seven years old. It was during the summer, and the children of Queen Mary Orphanage were invited to have a picnic with the Princetons, the wealthiest family on St. Joseph Island and sponsors of the orphanage.

Sakura knew the moment she stepped
out of the bus and onto the neatly paved pathway and exotically beautiful garden that she wanted to be here. When she stared up at the enormous mansion like those castles in fairytale books, she sucked in her breath with pleasure. Her head spun in delight as she gazed up at the building that stretched high above her.

“Whoa! So pretty! S
o big!” the children murmured with delight. And Sakura agreed with them.

The man of the house came out to greet them. He was
very handsome with silvery-gray eyes and golden-blond hair, very much like Tara’s hair that everyone loved. He had a nice smile on his face as he greeted every one of them, and Sakura felt her heart quicken with happiness as his eyes met hers. There was kindness within those eyes that Sakura had never received from anyone before.

The man
ushered the children to the large garden with a gentle, rolling lawn and magnolia trees, where delicious food and sweet drinks waited for them to enjoy. That was when the whole family came out, and Sakura instantly fell in love with them and knew she wanted to be with them.

They were
a big family, just like she’d always wanted, and she did her best learning their names when they were introducing themselves to everyone.

The nice father’s name was
James Princeton, and the pretty mother’s was Brenda Princeton. The oldest son was Nicolas, who was twelve years old and had golden-blond hair and silvery-gray eyes like his father, complete with glasses. He looked kind and at the same time serious, just like his father. Then there were the ten-year-olds, nonidentical triplets: Tristan with golden-brown hair and teal-blue eyes, Logan with copper-brown hair and silvery-gray eyes, and Sebastian with pale-blond hair and azure-blue eyes.

The boy
with chestnut-brown hair and cobalt-blue eyes was eight-year-old Hayden. He had a mischievous look about him as he introduced himself. Next to Hayden were the nonidentical twins, Alaina and Darcy, at six years old. Alaina, the older sister by a mere three minutes, had honey-blond hair and baby blue eyes, and Darcy, the younger brother, had raven-black hair and mauve-gray eyes. And then there was the baby of the house, Conrad, at four years old, with golden-brown hair and silvery-gray eyes, hiding his face behind his mother’s skirt.

Sakura couldn’t take her eyes off all of the
children because they fascinated her. She felt a pang of longing as she watched them play with the other children, especially with pretty Tara.

It was
n’t until late afternoon that Sakura became aware of one of the boys, Sebastian, watching her.

“Where are you from?” he asked
. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

Sakura shook
her head as she gazed at him, marveling at his blond hair that glittered like white gold under the sun and his azure-blue eyes, the same color as the beautiful summer sky that shone and stretched endlessly beyond the horizon.

She knew
very well what he meant, for the majority of the population living on St. Joseph Island was white, and she, a half-bred little girl who’d been cast away by her own parents, was a rare specimen indeed.

“Her mother threw her away when she was a baby,” Tara
said behind Sebastian. “Mommy said she’s tainted, a devil’s daughter, and no one wants her.”

Sakura felt
her heart thumping furiously in response, her face flushing with shame. She felt like running away to hide because she didn’t want this beautiful boy to know she was a throwaway, a piece of rubbish no one wanted, not even her own mother or father.

Perhaps Tara
was right. Perhaps she was tainted. Perhaps she was a devil’s daughter, and that was why no one wanted her.

“How could a mother throw her o
wn daughter away?” Nicolas asked. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his fine nose and made a frown very much like his father when he was contemplating something very important. “That’s just mean.”

Tristan stepped toward her and pulled
her hair. “Maybe you are the devil’s daughter. Your hair is so black.”

“And your skin is so white,” Logan put in, pinching her cheek.

Sakura whined.

“If she’s the d
evil’s daughter,” Alaina butted in, “then we shouldn’t be playing with her. We shouldn’t be talking to her at all. She might give us the pox or something.” The pretty girl shivered and pulled a face. “Has she given you anything nasty yet, Tara?”

Tara
laughed. “No, not yet. Not unless nightmares count. Mama said she cries at night and it sounds like a ghost. So we shouldn’t talk to her at all. Otherwise, she’ll give us nightmares.”

Alaina shivered and hugged
Tara. “I don’t want nightmares. Go away, you devil witch. You’re a bad witch just like the Wicked Witch of the West in the
Wizard of Oz
.”

Sebastian
frowned at his sister. “Don’t be silly, Alaina. She’s no witch, and she won’t give us nightmares. She’s just a little girl.”

“Oh? How do yo
u know for sure?” Alaina remarked.

“You’re so skinny and s
hort like a dwarf,” Hayden said. “But those dwarves in books aren’t that skinny like you.”

Sakura blushe
d, feeling a bit overwhelmed at being the center of attention. She could feel herself shaking from nervousness and took a few steps back to get some space.

“I think she lo
oks like Snow White,” Darcy said. His hand reached out and stroked her hair. “Really black hair and really pale skin.”

Sakura gasped
at the intimate contact and turned to look at him, her eyes shining. No one had ever stroked her hair before, and for him to do so caused her heart to flutter with joy.

Little Darcy grinned
at her, his eyes sparkling as he moved his fingers to caress her face, marveling at the soft, pale skin.

Sakura shyly returned
his smile, liking his warmth and his gentle, feathery touches. Her wee heart glowed, and she felt warm all over. She wondered if this was what it felt like to have a real family, to have someone love you and care for you.

Tara
laughed hoarsely. “Don’t be silly, Darcy. She’s ugly and a devil’s daughter. Don’t go near her.” She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him back, away from Sakura.

Darcy glared
at Tara. “Why’d you do that for?”

“Just get away from her!
” Tara snapped, frowning darkly at Darcy.

Darcy scowl
ed. “I don’t want to. I like her.”

“Darcy!” Alaina shrieked
. “How could you like her? She’s the devil’s daughter!”

“She’s not the
devil’s daughter!” Darcy replied firmly, taking Sakura by the hand.

Tara looked as though she was
about to scream her head off but held herself in check before she embarrassed herself in front of the Princeton siblings.

“
What’s your name?” Nicolas asked.

Sakura wa
s so conscious of Darcy’s warm hand clasping around hers that she didn’t hear Nicolas. When he patiently asked her again, she glanced up, licked her lips nervously, and said, “Sakura.”

“Sa
… What?” Hayden asked.

“Sa-ku-ra,” Sakura said
again.

“What does it mean?” Tristan but
ted in, his head cocked to one side.

Sakura shrugged her small shoulders and lowered
her head to avoid their gazes. She felt rather ashamed that she didn’t know what her name meant, but she was determined to find out once she got back to the orphanage.

“That name is too hard to pronounce,” Logan
said to himself. “Why don’t we give you another name? A nickname?”

S
akura glanced up, her heart pounding with delight.
Oh God,
she thought.
They are giving me a nickname. Does that mean they’re my friends?

“Why would you give her a nickname?” Tara
asked in annoyance.

“Yeah! Why?” Alaina shouted
at her brother.

“I want a nickname, too
,” Tara demanded, furrowing her pretty brows.

“Your name is ea
sy to pronounce,” Sebastian said. “And it’s kind of short already.”

“How
about Sarah?” Nicolas suggested. “It’s a popular name, and it means princess.”

Tara but
ted in instantly. “But she’s
not
a princess. She doesn’t even look like a princess. She’s a devil’s daughter.”

“She looks li
ke Snow White to me,” Darcy said again, smiling at Sakura. “We can call her Snow or something.”

“What? Just because she has black hair and pale skin?” Tara
muttered unhappily. “She’s plain and ugly like Mommy said. So we should give her a plain and ugly name.”

“Yes,
we should do that,” Alaina said, nodding her head furiously.

“What a
bout Sally?” Sebastian suggested. “It sounds pretty close to Sa-ku… Sa-ku-ra.”

“Yes, Sally sounds about right,” Tara
said, nodding her head. “She is silly, after all, and it rhymes, I think. Sakura is a silly girl. Sally and silly.” She laughed loudly. “Silly Sally.”

And so Sakura ha
d a nickname that she herself did not have a vote in, and soon the children returned to their play and forgot all about her.

Every nig
ht after that day, Sakura prayed the Princetons would adopt her into their family. Then one day her dream came true in the most bizarre way.