Chapter 3: Secrets and Inspirations

A soul in what seemed like an eternal pilgrimage to find a place to belong to found its sanctuary.

In a big cold mansion with halls where shadows of supressed emotions were cast and every nook and corner of the house was haunted by the ghost of the past left to be forever unsaid.

"But not if I can't help it," thought Tamara to herself as she scanned the elegant but cold surroundings of the mansion. As she prepared herself to meet the notorious stone-hearted young lord of the manor, she reminded herself not to be affected by his attitude.

The housekeeper then ushered her into her master's office where she found a chair's back facing them.

"Master Earl, the applicant for the babysitting job is here," said the maid politely.

"Very well, leave us," a deep resonant male voice ordered. The maid obeyed him quickly.

The chair turned around, and a young boy in his twenties dressed in an expensive suit looked at her critically. "Tamara Daibashi, nineteen and from Japan. Do you have previous experiences in handling children?"

"N-No," she admitted grudgingly.

"Then how can I be sure that you can take care of my little sister properly?" he barked.

"I have patience and common sense," she began.

"And you think those are enough?" he boomed.

"I don't have to go to Harvard to get a degree in babysitting, do I, Sir?" she asked coyly.

"Don't get smart with me, woman. I can hire or fire you on the spot, and I'm very sure that you have nowhere to go to once I decide not to take you in my house," he said confidently, smirking.

"I'm ready to sleep in the streets, Sir," she countered. "And I don't give a damn if men suddenly ravish me-"

"Ravish?" his forehead creased.

"Ravish," she said with emphasis. "And murder me. I don't care if I become one nameless corpse in a foreign country that won't care about me."

"Murder?Corpse?"

"Furthermore, I will take revenge on you by haunting you as a ghost till kingdom come," she finished. She then stood up. "Thanks for the time you wasted on me anyway."

"Wait!" He stood up too. "You're hired."

An I-know-you-will-see-things-MY-way grin spread across her face. "Thank you, Sir."



Tomoyo stopped writing when her cel rang. She promptly answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, Tomoyo!" greeted a familiar voice.

"Hi Li! What's up?" she asked breezily despite the flip in her stomach.

"Sakura forced me to disturb your vacation to check on you-" he wasn't even done with his sentence yet when the phone was grabbed. "Tomoyo-chan!"

"S-Sakura!" she grinned.

"I miss you already, Tomoyo! Go home this instant!" she demanded.

She laughed. "I can't. I still have to finish my novel."

"I'm sure it will be a bestseller, just like the previous ones. You are Zephyr Romance's most sought-after writer, Ms.Midnight Blossom!" she gushed.

Tomoyo blushed. "Yeah well."

The phone was grabbed again. "Hello Daidouji!" It was Li Meiling's voice. "How is your novel going? How's your trip to London? How is Clow Reed Junior doing?"

"Hi Lady Boss!" She greeted the owner of the Zephyr Romance Publication. "I'm writing the second chapter of the novel already. London is ok..the Big Ben is still there. Hiragizawa-kun is fine. He's a father already."

"A what??!!" three voices chorused.

"Who's the unfortunate mother of his child?" asked Li curiously.

"Kaho-sensei."

"I see. Birds of the same feather flock together," he muttered.

"Now that's mean, Sweetie," said Sakura. Tomoyo then heard Li cry out in pain. Sakura might have pinched him in the waist just like she always does whenever he becomes a little too naughty. She sighed.

"Daidouji, are you ok?" asked Meiling, comcerned.

"Of course!" Tomoyo forced cheerfulness in her voice. "I'm just hungry, that's all."

"Then we'll have to go."

"Bye Meiling! Bye Li! Bye Sakura!"

"Bye, Tomoyo-chan!" chirped Sakura.

Busy tone.



"I'm hungry," said Eriol to himself as he put the book he was reading down on the table. He was reading the book Midnight Lady which was part of the collection of his wife's favorite novels. They were all sent by Sakura whose boyfriend Syaoran is the part-owner of a romance pocketbook publication, Zephyr Romances.

Nakuru then entered the room, carrying a tray of food. Eriol smiled at her gratefully. "You read my mind."

She beamed proudly at him before looking at the paperback. "Reading again?"

"Yes," he said. "This is the fourth novel I've read and still the author never fails to fascinate me with her wit, the twist of plots, the good meaty dialogues..the fluff. The author is really good. You should try reading it yourself so you would stop lusting over a person whose gender is same as yours," he teased.

She beamed. Her master could be really fun to be with if he was in a good mood. "Mind your own business!" she said in mock irritation as she placed the tray down. "What's the name of the author again?"

"Moonlight Blossoms." He scratched his cheek. "Catchy name, isn't it?"

She knew he meant romantic-sounding. Her master was fond of fluff and mush, even though he won't say it out loud, after practically declaring that his mission in life was to hate women who are not Kaho or Rose. She couldn't understand why her master all of a sudden decided to be a misogynist.

But no one else in the world knew romance better than a romance novelist. And Tomoyo Daidouji is a romance novelist. Meaning...

She smiled diabolically. She was suddenly inspired to have a mission in life too, and that is to help her master find a second love. After all, love is lovelier the second time around.

On the other hand, Spinel eyed the victim of identity crisis a.k.a Nakuru Akizuki distrustfully. The little busybody has another plan.

Eriol, meanwhile was clueless. He was still experiencing a special high after finishing the second to the last chapter of the novel.

Each of them were busy with their own thoughts

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