A/N: Just an idea that had been swimming through my head for a while :D This is an AU and the characters may be slight OOC. It's not a warning, or anything. I was just saying - if it happens, don't get mad. :) Also, this story will contain A LOT of drama. And yes, that is a warning. Enjoy the first chapter!

Summary: When her father first told her she was going to have to marry some guy she knew nothing about, just because that was the best for their family, she knew she couldn't say no, just like she knew she wouldn't be happy. She just never imagined it to be that bad.

Warning: Rated M for mature themes, violence and language.

Disclaimer: Naruto © Kishimoto Masashi

English is not my first language, so sorry for any mistakes.

WARNING (2): The first chapters (about half of the story, really) are old and unedited. Proceed at your own risk!


Incomplete
By The Terrorist

Chapter one
Happy Birthday?


The sky was still painted a dark purple, but the stars were long gone. Small streaks of fiery red and orange could be seen in the distance, signs that the sun would rise soon. On the ground, there were no movements, every being probably still sleeping. The wind blew lightly from time to time, making the trees' leaves and branches move the slightest bit.

It was still early in the morning.

A beautiful, pink haired, green eyed woman was comfortably sitting on her window seat, silently gazing outside. Her feet were tucked beneath her, her back resting against the wall; small pillows surrounded her, a dark green one being held onto her lap. Strange, but she always liked getting up early. Everything was so quiet, so peaceful…the exact opposite of what she was living.

Uchiha Sakura, as she was now called, could definitely say that her life was a complete disaster. The only thing she had ever wanted…was to be loved. But it seemed like that was not meant for her, like that wish was too faraway for her to reach. She never understood why – it didn't seem to her like she asked for much.

Her parents never loved her and, if they did, they certainly didn't bother with showing it. They were always so cold, so uncaring…she never got a chance to talk to them, to tell them what was happening in her life…they were never there when she was happy, or when she was sad, they never comforted her when she had a nightmare, or when she was just scared of simple things, like any child was bound to be, they never took their time to read her stories, or tuck her in at night…in other words: they were never there.

Her father was always busy at work and, when he wasn't, he didn't bother with her; her mother, although she didn't have a job, was always too busy with her friends, or with her daily activities – namely, shopping and stuff – and she never had time for her. She never wanted to spend time with her, anyway.

She often wondered if they hated her, but then she remembered that she hadn't done anything wrong…at least nothing that she was aware of.

There was only one person that had truly loved her. But he was long gone, leaving her completely alone. Well, maybe not alone…she had her husband, but…but their relationship resembled the one between her and her parents. He didn't care and, sincerely speaking, why would he? Who could blame him? After all, the reason they got married for was not love.

When her father first told her she was going to have to marry some guy she knew nothing about, just because that was the best for their family, she knew she couldn't say no, just like she knew she wouldn't be happy. She just never imagined it to be that bad.

As she had said before, nobody could blame him for not wanting anything to do with her. She didn't want anything to do with him, either. Or maybe…maybe she did…okay, she did. She had thought that…that maybe, just maybe, she would find in him the love and comfort she had always needed. When she first met him, she realized he was a cold person, maybe even colder than her father, and that he never seemed to care about anything that happened around him.

She knew he wasn't happy with the marriage, either, for he hadn't spoken one word to her. But even so, she kept hoping. Hoping that he would change his mind, that he would…I don't know…at least start to...like her? However, it didn't happen; at first, she blamed him, because she knew she had tried her hardest to make their marriage work. Arranged or not, she had really wanted it to…to be okay, in the end. But she soon realized it was all her fault. Her fault for getting her hopes up, her fault for even thinking that he would want her around him.

It was because of her that she got her heart broken.

They lived in the same house, but rarely saw each other. He was always at work, or…who knew? Maybe he spent his time with somebody else. The pinkette was not stupid, she knew he had somebody out there, another woman. After all, he was a man, and she never let him touch her. It wasn't like he had shown any interest, and it wasn't like she was going to sleep with him, either. In other words, it was like they weren't married. No. That sounded way too nice. Because, the way the others saw it, they were married and in love, living a very happy life. After all, that was what their marriage was all about: façades. Basically, they didn't need to love each other, but couldn't live their lives, either.

She couldn't go to college like she had always wanted (Why? Because her father slowly and carefully explained that people wouldn't see it as a good thing; they would think that being with her husband wasn't enough for her and that he didn't treat her well enough. In other words, she couldn't got o college and get a normal job, because it would ruin his reputation), she couldn't have real friends (Why? Because she would have to lie to them about her relationship with her husband; and we all know that real friend have no secrets), she couldn't travel like she had always waned (Why? Because it wouldn't be good for people to see her traveling without her husband; and her husband…well, there was no way they could handle spending so much time together), she couldn't fall in love with anybody (Why? Do we even have to talk about this?).

His life wasn't any better, though he could go and fuck as many women as he wanted, maybe even have some kind of secret relationship with them. But she couldn't do so; not only had she no occasions to meet men, but also because…well, she wasn't a whore. She knew she could never sleep with another man and then look at her husband ever again. She didn't even want to try. She just…she just couldn't.

Slowly, she tore her gaze away from the window, only to look down at her hands. Today…today was March 28…her birthday. For a lot of people, it wasn't a special day. For her…it wasn't such a special day, either. It pained her, yes, but she had gotten used to it. When she was still living with her parents, they actually took their time to wish her a happy birthday and, even though those words were always spoken in a cold and indifferent tone, she had learned how to appreciate it. Then they would give her some money to get herself a present and…well, that was it.

Now, however, they didn't even bother with a call. Her husband was never interested in her birthday – even if they had been married for almost two years now, she highly doubted he knew when she was born.

Sighing softly, she stood up from her comfortable spot and headed towards the bathroom to take a shower. She took her time in washing her hair and her body, knowing that, most likely, she was alone in the house, anyway. She got out of the bathroom about half an hour later, a small, white towel wrapped around her body. She crossed the room and entered her walk-in closet; she pulled out a set of underwear, a pair of dark skinny jeans, a purple, long sleeved shirt and a pair of high heeled shoes, and pulled them on, before slowly making her way downstairs.

As expected, everything was silent. But that didn't bother her before, so why did she feel like that now? 'I should cheer up…it is my birthday, after all,' she told herself and tried to smile, but soon found herself unable to. She didn't cry, but it hurt…it hurt a lot. And, honestly, she didn't know how much more she could take.

~•~

The day had passed rather quickly, the hope of somebody thinking about her existence never disappearing from Sakura's mind and heart. It was already late in the afternoon when she arrived home with a few bags in her hands and a small smile present on her face. Shopping had done her good, just like it always did.

"Shiro," she called as she crossed the living room, placing her bags on the couch.

Shiro was a man in his early fifties, one of the servants – actually, one he and his niece, Yuki, worked there. She wasn't really sure of what he was supposed to be doing, but she could only guess that he was helpful enough. After all, her husband wasn't one that would keep useless people around. It wasn't like she was complaining, she actually liked the guy, not only because he was always in the house, which made her feel a little less alone, but also because he knew what to say in order to calm her down on those rare occasions when she just…broke down.

Being always around, it was obvious that he knew of the situation she and her husband were in, and she knew he had tried his best to understand it, without getting too involved. And it felt good, to some extent. It felt good knowing that somebody actually tried to understand what was going on in her life. It didn't matter that he couldn't fully understand – that was impossible, anyway; what mattered was that he tried.

"Yes, miss," he said as he entered the room.

"Did somebody call?" she asked hopefully, her green eyes sparkling the slightest bit.

"No, miss. Nobody called," he answered, shaking his head.

The small smile she wore on her face disappeared as soon as she heard those words; she frowned slightly. "Not even my parents?" she asked, her voice soft and disappointed.

"No, miss."

She sighed and ran a hand through her pink locks. Why did she even expect them to call? They didn't call during her last two birthdays. Why now? Inwardly shaking her head, she forced a smile to her lips as she spoke, "Okay, thanks. You can go home; tomorrow's Saturday," she said and watched as he nodded and left the room. Another sigh escaped her lips as she picked up her bags and slowly moved towards the stairs.

~•~

Later that night, Sakura entered the kitchen, already dressed in her pajamas. She had on a pair of black, short shorts and a hot pink tank top; her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, with only a few rebel bangs falling into her face. She crossed the room in order to reach the fridge, opening it as soon as she reached it. She pulled out a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass, before moving towards the dining room and sitting on one of the chairs. The table was long, long enough to fit at least twelve persons.

'How ironic,' she thought, shaking her head slightly. 'Why so many chairs, when nobody's home, anyway?'

The sound of the front door closing snapped her out of her thoughts and she frowned, not understanding, at first, who it could be. But, as soon as she remembered how late it actually was, she realized it could only be one person. She was proved right as he entered the room only moments later.

The white button up shirt he wore had the top three buttons unfastened, revealing a small part of his chiseled chest. The sleeves were folded up to his elbow, revealing his strong forearms, the black tie around his collar was loosened and his shirt wasn't tucked into the dark pants of his suit. His spiky, ebony hair was messier than usual and his expression was blank, as usual, though his dark eyes showed just how tired he was. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of the glass from her hand.

"Celebrating?" he asked, an almost mocking tone added to his voice. Remember what I said earlier? About how they barely saw each other? Well, when they did, it certainly wasn't the best thing that could happen to them that day. She didn't know why, but he was always like that; he always mocked her and spat things that, unknown to him, hurt her. And she didn't know why, because, just like him, she had never wanted this marriage.

One time, it occurred to her that he might hate her because she didn't say no to her family's wish, but then she realized that he would have no right to think like that. After all, he had been in all his rights to refuse this, just like her. She had tried many times to figure out his behavior, she had spent countless nights crying and thinking about all the possible reasons. But then…then she came to the conclusion that he didn't need a reason. He didn't need a reason to hate her. He simply did. And maybe, in time, she would be able to feel the same.

"Yup," she said, nodding, before taking another sip of her wine.

"Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "Celebrating what?"

She shook her head slightly, before turning to face him with a sweet, yet fake, smile. "It's my birthday!" she exclaimed in a cheery voice and watched as something akin to shock flashed to his eyes for a second, before disappearing under his emotionless mask. "Aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday?" she asked, faking to sound disappointed. He stayed quiet and she used it to her advantage. "That's okay," she said as she drank the remaining contents of her glass, before standing up and taking a few steps towards him. "A few more hours and this day's over, anyway…" she trailed off, gesturing towards the clock that hung on the wall. It was already ten pm.

"Don't feel guilty for not knowing, or for not remembering…after all, if not even my own parents know that I exist, then you're excused of everything…I don't have friends, or any other siblings…so the fact that my own husband has forgotten about this shouldn't affect me very much." Sakura felt how her eyes got glassier with every word she said, but she continued, refusing to let the tears fall. "In case you…in case you haven't noticed this yet, I didn't want this marriage either, Sasuke," she said and watched as he frowned, probably not understand what had their marriage to do with her birthday.

"I'm just telling you this now, because I rarely get the chance to talk to you and because I want you to know this," she explained and placed her glass on the table. "Good night," she said as she walked past him, intending on going to sleep. However, she had barely taken two steps away from him, when she felt something that made her stop dead in her track.

"By the way," she spoke, her voice shaking slightly. "Nice perfume."


A/N: Okay, first of all, thank you all for taking your time and reading this! I know that the first chapter had been short, but I just had to cut it there! I assure you that the other chapters will be a long longer. By the way, in next chapter you'll find out how Sasuke thinks about all this.

Confused?
If you have any questions about the plot or whatever, don't hesitate to ask me!

Is it worth continuing? Tell me what you think about this and review, please! :)